As some may have seen from past reports, my dad and I make an annual trip into the hills of Idaho, on the Clearwater river above the Dworshak dam. This last weekend was that trip and the my youngest son Levi, just like Jonah did last year, earned his rights of passage to fish with the big boys. This year, the weather, the water and the company were as good as in all the years past, and daily catch totals of cutthroat, smallmouth and Kokanee, well into the triple digits each day, speaks volumes of the quality of fishing.

despite camera issues, I managed to capture some images that hope will last on the internet as long as they last in our minds.

Levi and I clean and ready for the 5 days of fishing in front of us. My glasses are safely sitting on the bottom of the Lake, and my hat, having been dunked in the water, flown off my head at full speed and sat on more than once, now has more character than style



Levi at the wheel



We camped 10 miles up from the boat ramp and 2 miles below fastwater, in the heart of some of the best smallmouth fishing the reservoir has to offer. the smallmouth on average were smaller than last year, but the sheer numbers of them kept our lines tight continually, with double and triple headers the norm.




occasionally we would tie into a really nice smallmouth.


after breakfast we would load up the boat with enough food, water and beer to last us the afternoon and head up into the fastwater to beat the heat of the day. Cutthroat and Kokanee were plentiful and ranged in size from 8 - 18 inches and most falling into the 12-14 range. Levi loved the trout fishing best of all, he was always the first in the water and usually the first to hook up on our drifts downriver.






lunches were spent on a sandbar



Levi even found fish from shore.



we managed to catch a few nice crappie as well... this was the first time Levi had heard of Crappie and he asked me over and over again what it was called. He laughed each time I said Crappie.





you cant spend 5 days in triple digits temperatures without spending a little time in the water. Just like his brother did the year before, more cannon balls were launched into the lake than during the civil war.





It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back again next year.