Winter 2008

We still have space available on most of our 08 trips at this point. We are offering a special river history trip on the Main Salmon on 28 June, featuring Dave Wolfe of the Rhett Creek Wolfe family. Dave also brings a violin or banjo, so we call it “fiddlin’ with history”. A longer description is in the “special trips” section.

Snowpack in the Salmon River in early January is right at average, while total precipitation for the water year (begining 1 October) is well above average--reflecting warm weather through the fall. High elevation reporting stations are above average snowpack, low elevation stations are below normal. Assuming the current snowpack continues, and we have normal spring rains, we should have pretty high water at the beginning of June, moderating by late June, and be able to do complete Middle Fork trips without flying to Indian Creek through July. Snowpack doesn’t mean much for Main Salmon trips, which aren’t affected much by low water.
Fall snowfall is important to river flows the following summer. The fall snow seems to pack down, freeze hard, and last better. Late winter snow may bring the snowpack average up, but it doesn’t seem to last--at least, that’s my notion formed over the last 35 years. The above-average precipitation, even if it doesn’t add to the snow pack, does build the ground water, and helps next year’s river level.

From late February, when the ice breaks up, through early April we will be fishing for steelhead near Salmon. Fishermen stay in a local motel, and we are back in town by suppertime. We fish from a drift boat, two fishermen per boat, small heater, lunch, and basic tackle furnished. Give me a call to check on current fishing conditions.

2007 was Aggipah’s 30th year on the Main Salmon. After working for several years for other outfitters on various rivers, we purchased a retiring outfitter’s business in 1978. We had gotten a permit on the Lower Salmon the previous year, and later in the 80s added the Middle Fork. How did the years go so fast? Lots of miles of river and trail in the Salmon River country, and the chance to spend time with people who have been everywhere and done everything.

Those of you who follow events on the rivers will remember the log jam at Pistol Creek rapid on the Middle Fork the summer of 06. The jam briefly re-formed last May, during what little high water we had, then broke out naturally before there was much traffic on the river. Upstream at the mouth of Lake Creek, the source of the logs that jammed, there was a problem throughout the summer with the new rapid, bank cutting and channel changing, and logs in the river. It was a nasty spot, and a particular concern for sweep boats. It will no doubt look different next spring after high water.
You will also be aware of the fires on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon last summer, and that the rivers were closed in August. I have not yet been on the upper Middle Fork after the fire season, but have heard concerns that there may be log problems next summer. I have been on the middle and lower sections, and, while we will see evidence of the fires, much of the area that was burned will be green with grass next spring. In October, after the fall rains started, there already was a little green grass coming up. I have not yet been on the Main Salmon, but suspect things will be similar--the grass and shrubs will bounce back, and there will be some sections where dead trees will be obvious.
Over the last few years, after the fires, there have been several changes to the rapids of the Middle Fork. The Lake Creek rapid just above Pistol Creek has formed and washed out five times as a result of mud slides from the creek, though it has not a major concern other than producing logs for the Pistol Creek jam until last spring. The Orelano rapid near Pungo has slid about three times, but has washed out enough to not be a big deal. Just above Loon Creek a blow-out a couple of years ago created a new, minor, rapid, which has mostly opened up. A couple of years ago Bernard Creek blew out at the bottom of Haystack Rapid, flooding most of it. The lower end of the rapid was still flooded last summer, but this year it has cut through and is similar to the old Haystack rapid. Immediately below Haystack, though, is the debris from the Bernard Creek blowout, which is a new rapid. The Cramer Creek rapid just above the Middle Fork take-out, which became a major rapid after a blow-out in August 03, and was nasty in 04, began to ease in 05, and was more fun than worry this year. We had a sharp high water in May of 06, up to about nine feet on the Middle Fork, which blew out some of the recent debris.

Among the trips we offer, the Lower Salmon in September is a sleeper. September is the best time to be on that section of river, after the summer heat has moderated in that low-elevation country. September is still summer there, and more pleasant than July or August. Small mouth bass fishing is good. Few people are on the river at this time of the year, after the traditional summer vacation period. These trips are especially attractive for people within a few hours drive of the Lewiston area, since they are scheduled to be extended weekend trips, without a major vacation commitment. You can drive to the area after work on Thursday, float Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday, and return home in time for work on Tuesday. We do have some flexibility on dates there, if other dates match your schedule better.

Also among the variety of trips we offer is a trip on the Main Salmon using lodges instead of camping, either in the summer or during fall steelhead season. Sometimes instead of a complete lodge trip, people will choose to spend one or two nights of a trip at a lodge to break up the camping. We can also arrange to drop people at Shepp Ranch on the Main Salmon after five days, for two or three days of riding, fishing, and lodge stay.
We can also do a couple of nights at lodges on the Middle Fork. We have always had access to the Flying B, but now the facility at Loon Creek has begun accepting overnight stays, too. We arrange the horse-back/float combinations with these people.

Give us a call day, evening, or weekend to discuss any details about our trips. If you get our recorder, be sure to leave a message, and we will return the call as soon as we can.

Bill Bernt
208-756-4167