Whitewater rafting trip dates for 2016 on the Middle Fork of the Salmon will change. The June dates of 2, 11, and 20 will remain the same, but trips in July will start on 2, 11, 20, and 29. In August, trips will start on 7 and 16. In September, dates will be 8 and […]
This week we finished a trip on the Lower Salmon River, a combination of whitewater rafting and smallmouth bass fishing. Bass fishing was good, with fish in the 16-17 inch range being caught. Size of bass on the Lower Salmon has increased in recent years. In the past, there was a 12-inch minimum to keep […]
The sky in Salmon River is gray with rain instead of smoke. The fire season is over. The peaks above Salmon are white with snow. The Salmon River has come up a bit with recent rains. Late August was a scramble of low, slow, water, smoke, worry about fire closures. We were lucky enough to […]
Salmon fishing season opens today in the Salmon Idaho area. The river is much lower that average for this time of year, but the Salmon River is carrying a fair amount of sediment, apparently from the East Fork of the Salmon. The number of salmon projected by the Fish and Game department is good, and […]
The Salmon River flow has apparently peaked for the season. The Middle Fork of the Salmon is running about 3.4 feet now, and has been dropping for several days. The Main Salmon at Corn Creek was at 4.1 a couple of days ago, but has been dropping. This is a little early for the Salmon […]
Stephanie and I spent last week rafting the Main Salmon River with a group of outfitters and personnel from the Forest Service and other agencies. The trip was an opportunity to discuss a number of management issues, including dealing with rafting trips during wildfire, and campsite reservations. A couple of Forest Service archaeologists provided cultural […]
Picking up where we left off a couple days ago on our Dutch oven discussion, we’ll now cover the actual act of baking. Again, this is an excerpt from Bill Bernt’s article in Northwest Living, entitled, “Those Amazing Dutch Ovens.” Baking with a Dutch oven is just a matter of learning temperature control. The best […]
I was trying out a new recipe for our river trips earlier this morning, which made me think about a little article my dad, Bill Bernt, owner of Aggipah River Trips, wrote in the 80s about Dutch ovens. He had several articles published in a magazine called Northwest Living. He wrote all sorts of interesting pieces about […]
Spring is early in the Salmon River country. Plant stages seem to be at least two weeks ahead of average. Our home elevation is 4500 feet. The red plums have just blossomed. Arrowleaf balsamroot is beginning to bloom, along with lupine, yellowbells, prickly pear, and many of the sagebrush flowers. Snowpack is about 70% of […]
Steelhead fishing in the Salmon area is winding down. I have put away my rods until fall. The river is off-color, several inches higher than average per date. Spring has come early this year. A clump of cottonwoods than I have watched for many years usually will show first leaves very close to the […]
Historian Mike Crosby will join our July 14-19, 2016 trip on the River of No Return (Main Salmon) for an in-depth study of the Lewis and Clark expedition and Salmon River history. Anyone interested in the history of central Idaho will appreciate this unique opportunity to visit around the campfire with Mike. This is an eye-opening trip […]
Today was the first day of good steelhead fishing in the Salmon area in two or three weeks. This winter we had the best steelhead fishing that I am aware of, with such a mild winter, but we began to get dirty water early in March, and fishing fell apart. The river has been gradually […]
April has arrived in March in the Salmon area. Today the river was 46 degrees at mid-day, with about 8-10 inches of visibility, rising. Not good for steelhead fishing. We have had several mornings in the 40s recently. Grass is beginning to green. Buttercups are blooming. Usually we are in the beginning of our spring […]
We’ve been really focusing on getting more videos up on the site. As they say, “A picture is better than a thousand words.” So, if this is true, a video must be better than a million words. Link to Video: Messing About in Boats on the Middle Fork In keeping with the “words” theme, this […]
Weather in the Salmon area has been unseasonably warm, and the Salmon River is warmer than most years on this date. The last few days the river has been about 40 degrees, or slightly warmer, at mid-day, then several degrees warmer by evening. The spring steelhead migration seems to have started earlier. Fish are traveling […]
This has been such a crazy spring, none of us had any idea how to predict the fishing. We kept waiting for winter to slam down on us, freeze our river, cut the fishing off, but the river has been open most of the “winter.” Now, with water temperatures warming up, the steelhead are on […]
The Salmon River near Salmon is clear, about 38 degrees at mid-day. The forecasted night temperature suggested that there might be ice flowing this morning, but there was none. I’m sure that issue is over now for the season. Steelhead fishermen are scattered along the river now, with catch rate pretty good. There is some […]
The new 2015 Aggipah t-shirts and hats are in. We have green and red tees, adult sizes S-XL. We can take special size orders for kids’ and larger sizes. We don’t currently have any of these additional sizes in stock. We have khaki and green hats. We are going to be ordering different colors of […]
The spring steelhead fishing season in the Salmon area is off to an early start. This was a very unusual winter, with little ice in the river, and good steelhead fishing throughout the winter. In most years there is little fishing in the winter, and about this time, fishermen begin to get on the river […]
Here is a little story I wrote several years ago. I like to go back and read stuff like this on cold winter days. It makes the time between now and River Season seem not so long… Recollections of a Rapid The name Cramer never raised fear in a Middle Fork boatman’s heart before late […]
