Portneuf River

[cpierce]

I enjoyed a beautiful day of skiing in the sun today. Then before going home I decided to stop for an hour on the Portneuf River to see if I could catch something.

I think it was colder on the river than it was at the top of the ski hill, but I got a chance to fish a bit. I caught one nice brown, then missed another couple of hits. One was on a red zebra midge and the other was on a midge emerger. Those little buggers are almost too small for me to get them tied on!

The brown was about 14 inches and only about medium in girth. Not real skinny and not big and chunky either, but a welcome catch for winter time. I didn't get any pictures as I didn't think to throw my camera in the car along with the other ton of junk that I took today!
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[macfly55]

sounds like a fun day on the mountain and the water...

MacFly [cool]
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[cpierce]

It was just nice to get a chance to fish a little. It has been too cold or other things interfered, so that I hadn't gotten out to fish since November. I was actually amazed that I caught anything! I think that I must have been there at just the right time, as there were a bunch of midges all over.

My guides were still icing up though, so I will probably look for a warmer day in Feb to go for a full day of fishing. Now I am looking forward to that. I wasn't sure you could catch much here on a fly in the cold of winter, but I am becoming a believer!
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[fishfreak66]

Doesn't that river close down to fishing at some times during the year? The reason I ask that is because I went up there a few years ago to check it out and as soon as I got to the river access there was a sign that said close to fishing until a certain date and i don't remember the date but i checked the proc on that river and it said it was open so i wasn't quit sure what to do so i just went back home didn't want to get in trouble plus there was a trail cam in a tree looking right at the parking lot and access point so if i did decide to go in they would of had a million pics of my truck and could of given me a ticket buy mail.
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[cpierce]

You must have been in the area above Lava before when it closed for the winter.

The Portneuf River has always had some complicated regulations on it. The Lower section below Lava was open all year. The upper section above Lava Hot Springs used to close on Nov 30 and reopen Memorial Day weekend. Different sections were catch and release, different harvest rules, etc.


The new regulations are much simpler:
The section in downtown Lava Hot Springs is still Closed to Fishing (it always has been)

The river below Lava is open all year with regular rules.

The river above Lava is now open all year, but is 0 harvest, catch & release, and barbless hooks from Dec1 to Memorial Day Weekend. The rest of the year it is a limit of 6 trout, no harvest of cutthroats.

Still a little complicated, but at least it is now open all year!
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[fishfreak66]

Thanks for that information I have been wanting to get back up there but was alittle uneasy to just because of that first trip up there was alittle confusing like you said.

Thanks again

"May your fish always flip"
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000]OMG - Sking & fishing all in the same day. Almost sounds like SoCal where one can ski, fish a trout stream nearby then tale a polar bear dip in the Pacific. Oh no not me. lol[/#008000][/font]
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[cpierce]

The river is 3 miles straight line from the ski area, but there is a small 2000 ft elevation difference. [] It still was colder on the river because of an inversion that was holding a freezing fog in.

I probably won't be out for a full day fishing until it starts getting above 30 in the day, but it was so fun to get on the water that I might go for a short one again. The Idaho version of a polar bear dip involves waders and long johns! [cool]
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[macfly55]

hey remember polar bears have their nature made insulation... you just to use man made.. :-)... keep us posted on your short ventures out into the water..

MacFly [cool]
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[ditchbanker]

I love the idea of getting in a couple hobbies (obsessions?) in the same day. This summer I have dreams of loading my fly rod onto my motorcycle and cruising to the eastern part of the state to try some of these rivers I keep reading about. Motorcycles and fishing. How could life get any better?
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[flygoddess]

Cpierce does that too. I use to, but kept getting run off the road here in Utah. How they missed a Bright Red full dressed FLH Harley with Fish Tail exhaust is beyond me, but they did.
So now, I load up my BICYCLE and go.
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[ditchbanker]

Yeah, gotta ride like everyone on the road is out to kill you.

Do you pack waders when you go? I can figure out how to easily pack rod, flies, even camping gear, but my current pair of neoprene chest waders wouldn't work. I've decided that the neoprene waders that kept me warm last weekend probably won't work for the summer, so I will need to look for another pair if I don't want to wade in shorts this summer, just not sure which way to look.
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[ditchbanker]

BTW, sorry to get so sidetracked. Didn't think about it 'til I'd already posted. If I'm too far off topic, tell me to pack up this discussion and I will.
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[cpierce]

For me, the topic can wander where ever. It's all good.

We do ride motorcycles, but haven't combined it with the fishing yet, because we didn't both have fly rods that pack small enough. I think we have that solved now. Then there is the problem of finding some areas sort of close to good roads. Big road bikes are NOT the same as a dirt bike.

Anyway I think we're going to give it a go this summer! Considering everything else we will need to pack, we will probably opt to wet wade. I really like a pair of crocs for wet wading. They are light and pack easier than my boots. They don't absorb and dry quickly. They don't slip much, and I do have the option of adding a set of ice cleats to them if I am slipping. No ankle support if you need that though. I wade fairly carefully, and not the deep and fast stuff.
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[cpierce]

I used to have a pair of Red Ball Fly Weight waders. They were made of vinyl or vinyl coated nylon. They weren't very tough for brush, but they were sure great for hiking or traveling as they packed down to the size of a book. I am still looking for something similar to replace them for traveling like on the motorcycle. I am thinking of attempting to make my own from sylnylon.

Anyone have any suggestions??
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[ditchbanker]

I've got a 4 piece fly rod and a decent case, I think I can get it loaded pretty easily. I've got a couple bikes. The one with its engine in parts on my garage floor is a 650 dual sport I've taken to some pretty wild places, and on some pretty long pavement rides. I've also seen some big street bikes, when ridden by people a lot better than me, taken to some pretty out of the way locations. Just have to ride carefully.

Wet wading makes a lot of sense, it'll just be lousy when you wake up chilly and want to fish first thing. I guess you just need to camp somewhere with a little "beach" to start from.

Can't wait for warmer weather.
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[macfly55]

Just a suggestion.. especially if you are not wading too deep... but you may want to look into hip waders... I know FG uses them at times.. or at least used too.. she also had a picture of herself in them... not sure what happen to that picture.. :-)

MacFly [cool]
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[cpierce]

That is a good suggestion. Hippers or even waist highs would pack smaller.

I seldom get deeper than just over my knees. At least I don't if the water is fast. I seem to come up off my feet too easy and have a hard time with deeper wading.
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[poky-mon]

We can even stillwater fish 45 minutes away [cool]
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[cpierce]

Have you been out on that stillwater lately? I would love to know how it is fishing. It is a bit more of a drive for me, but it is definitely on the early spring schedule.

Actually, I am a cold weather whimp and am waiting for it to warm up and the wind to take a day off. Fat chance of that happening!
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