Fishing at Camas Creek near Kilgore Idaho

We (Frank and Steve... and Pinot & Buddy) took off from Idaho Falls early around 0630 and cruised directly up the I-15 towards Spencer, Idaho. We took the Stoddard Creek exit and went down the dirt road about 12 miles over porcupine pass. We saw a coyote run in front of the truck and thought about plugging it. The rifle was in the back seat but unfortunately I left the clip and shells in the garage. Smart.




Here's a panoramic photo of 12 pictures stitched together. If you click on the picture below (or any picture) it will open into a much larger high-res view. But, the one photo below may take a minute to load as it's huge! A complete 360 view of the Camas Creek valley.

We were about 2 miles from the trail head to start hiking when we passed by Dave, Tyler and Alice camping. We stopped by for a while as they were packing up and then went to check out a pretty far out beaver pond. Camas creek was looking perty!



We ended up parking on the dirt road and hiking in the long way since one of the farmers put up a no trespassing sign. We had to go through the normal maze of willows that had tunnels the size of cows... The cows push through the willow trees creating a maze of willow bushes. We fished here about 8 years ago and bending over through the maze seemed quite a bit easier :)

Video Steve releasing a fish and the creek area


We followed the creek and fished... fished.... fished. Took a nice safety meeting break to just chill out under some tree's, in the middle of no where. All we could hear was the creek water, the wind, and the dogs running and having fun. I think we may have used worms a few casts but other then that, we caught probably 30 fish, all beautiful Brook Trout. Mostly off spinners with a tail, and another assortment of spinners.



It was hot as hell out there, probably 90 degrees just as we were heading back on the hike to the truck. Great day, didn't see a soul while out on the creek. Bugs weren't bad at all, I don't think either of us got any bites. We did about 8 miles total hiking in and out of the bush and then into open valleys that were a nice break. Until the sun felt like it was melting our skin.

VIDEO: Frank fishing on the creek


We were a little late returning back to IF because we got held up because of an enormous amount of sheep in the middle of the road. On the side of the road. All over the place! So, we had to stop while the guys on horses, along with the two sheep dogs herded them down the road. A strange ending to a great day in the wilderness...



VIDEO: Sheep surrounding the car

Fish Creek Camping Weekend

Steve and I were able to get away and go camping on Friday and Saturday. Amber and the girls were away in New Mexico visiting her Mom and Joe. So, I took off work a few hours early and Steve was already at my house, packing the car and almost ready to go. We had food, wood, dogs, and our poles. No kids, no wives, a full weekend and our tent. Ahhhh, time to ease into life. We were camping near Harriman State Park.

We packed the car as full as possible, through the dogs (Pinot and Buddy) in the back seat and took off towards the Island Park area. We stopped at a few "campgrounds" right on the Snake River and near Island Park Reservoir but didn't like the crowds... and the rules. They wanted the dogs tied up, hell no.

Heres a video of the bend on Fish Creek, feet from our campsite



We went towards Big Springs and found a great spot in the woods, about 20 feet from Fish Creek. What a great spot. It was a covered area of trees and forest. There was plenty of room for 20 other campsites within this area, but we had it all to ourselves.



We set up camp, fed the dogs and couldn't help but to wet a line. I won't bother to count the number of the fish we caught, I'm guessing 20 fish each, Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Cutthroat. Not sure if either of us caught a German Brown or not.



Anyways, we started out just to test the waters and didn't really take much with us... so a couple of hours and miles later, we remembered we didn't bring food nor water. So we headed back... fished the entire way back of course. Had a great time. There was a nice 5 foot watering hole on the corner of a cut bank, right where we were camping... and oh was it refreshing. It was hot as hell out there, probably 85 or so.

Another short video of the camping area...






Set up camp, cooked up some great tin foil dinners. Tons of veggies and then we dumped a can of stew in the foil. It was goooood. Dogs had a blast all day and ran their asses off. We did about 4 or 5 miles total that day, they did probably 10 miles.




We were able to hit Moose Creek where it merged into Fish Creek. Very nice looking water and we were able to walk the middle of the creek most of the day. Tons of fish, beautiful country and nothing but the breeze and fresh air. Saw tons of wildlife... mostly eagles and ospreys. Saw a few deer, dog tracks, and of course deer and elk.

The next day we headed out and fished a bit here and there. We cruised up to Big Springs to see where the Snake River comes out of the mountain into a nice spring. You can walk over the bridge at Big Springs and see otters, tons of 2lb+ trout, ducks, and other wild life. We hiked and fished more when we got back... found some good garlic wild onions.

This is a video of the creek just a few feet away

Again, at sun down, we were back at camp. Fire going, dogs passed out, and we ate and had some rum and coke... eased into the rest of the night. Both nights were great sleeping. Not chilly, not too hot. The damn dogs slept in the tent with us though, and they snore and are pretty clumsy. We didn't want them outside in case of wolves or coyotes.

On the way back to Idaho Falls on Sunday we stopped everywhere. We went to the Buffalo River and the Madison River... stopped at a few campgrounds and found some killer spots to fish. We cruised over the Island park reservoir, saw the falls, and a few other rivers.



We took the Mesa Falls area loop where we were able to pull off and blast off a few clips of Steve's 22 magnum handgun. Pinot ran like the coward she is... hid behind the tree's until we were done. We went to Bear Gulch turnoff, just pass Mesa Falls, and hiked back about 2 miles through the abandoned train tunnel.



Found some AWESOME looking holes down below. It was on the Fall River, just an incredibly beautiful spot. Popular place for bikers in the Summer. We had to descend about 80 feet or so down some pretty large narly rocks... but made and enjoyed the beauty of the spot. Canyon setting, aqua blue holes with falls everywhere. Surrounded by the pine tree covered mountains. Very nice spot.



Fun time. It was exactly what the doctor ordered... peace and quiet, good friends, and a great time in the outdoors. Can't wait for the trip next summer.