Idaho Adventure News

For years the United States Forest Service has struggled maintaining our trail systems in central Idaho.  Lowering budgets have caused reduced manpower to get the job done.  It seems volunteer work is being relied upon more and more. Last spring I had talked to my interim permit administrator Phil McNeal and asked him if there was any way of clearing 3 or 4 trails in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon.  They had not been cleared since I bought the business 10 years ago.  Fortunately, these trails were not in the Frank Church Wilderness but they bordered it.  Since we were not relegated to using ...

Update on the Steelhead Closure by Aaron Lieberman Outfitters and guides from across the state gathered in Boise late last week for IOGA’s 64th Annual Membership Meeting, with great turnout, presentations and an engaged membership community in attendance. Among those positive outcomes was a vote on, and approval of, a Membership [Steelhead] Resolution outlining IOGA’s position on the ongoing closure of the steelhead fishing season on the Salmon River between Warren Creek and Copper Mine and on the South Fork Clearwater upstream of Mount Idaho Bridge. While press coverage of the closure has f...

[caption id="attachment_1239" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Auction items for The Thaw fundraiser will include river trips and pack trips into the Idaho backcountry.[/caption] By Steve Stuebner The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association 2018 annual meeting will feature the introduction of new executive director Aaron Lieberman, discussions about a new hunting tag allocation system and  budgeting for a seasonal business, and, of course, the Thaw Fundraiser, dinner, silent/live auction and live music by Jimmy Bivens. The meeting will occur on Wednesday, Dec. 12 and Thursday, Dec. 13, in Bo...

[caption id="attachment_1067" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Wilderness hunt in the Sawtooths (courtesy Mystic Saddle Ranch)[/caption] Idaho’s hunting outfitters and Fish and Game officials are expecting a very active big-game season this fall, with potentially a record number of hunters pursuing elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer and strong harvest rates expected. Archery season is under way, and rifle big-game seasons are starting in mid-September in Central Idaho units, where you can rifle hunt during the elk-rutting season. All of the big game seasons will be in full swing by October...

[caption id="attachment_414" align="alignnone" width="4608"] Deep mountain snow will provide plenty of water for Idaho's rivers this year. Here, a river guide navigates a raft through a big rapid in Hells Canyon, the nation's deepest gorge. (Courtesy Hells Canyon Adventures)[/caption] By Steve Stuebner Mother Nature blessed Idaho with bountiful snow in the mountains, and now the state’s world-class rivers are rising for what promises to be an outstanding year for whitewater boating for float-boat trips and jet boat trips. Snowpack ranging from 105 percent of normal in the Salmon River Bas...

[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="480"] A happy angler with a nice Chinook salmon caught in Lake Coeur d'Alene (courtesy Lake Charters)[/caption] By Steve Stuebner Spring fishing is starting to heat up in Idaho after a long winter that brought plenty of snow and freshwater to Idaho's rivers and reservoirs. Idaho outfitters are fishing for Chinook salmon on Lake Coeur d'Alene, steelhead on the Salmon River near Salmon, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout on the South Fork Snake River near Idaho Falls, and rainbows and browns on the Boise River and Owyhee River in Southwe...

By Steve Stuebner Jayme Moye, a widely published outdoor journalist who wrote an exposé about sexual harassment in the river-guiding industry in Colorado and inside the National Park Service, Grand Canyon District, will be the lunch speaker on Thursday, Dec. 14th, during the 63rd annual meeting of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association (IOGA) in Boise. The IOGA meeting runs from Tuesday, Dec. 12, through Thursday, Dec. 15 at the Riverside Hotel in Boise, culminating with The Thaw Fundraiser, a super-fun dinner banquet and silent/live auction on the evening of Thursday the 15th, starting...

Elk hunting is expected to be excellent in Idaho this year. (Courtesy IDFG)[/caption] By Steve Stuebner It's September -- the temperatures are cooling off, the nights are getting chilly in the mountains, and the spine-tingling bugle call of Rocky Mountain elk is echoing in the forest. That means it's time to go hunting! Idaho outfitters who lead big game hunts are optimistic about a promising hunting season this year. "For elk, it should be a good strong year," says Dale Denney, owner of Bear Paw Outfitters. "The deer numbers may be down a little bit after the big winter, but elk will be stron...

Riding horseback into the Idaho backcountry is a memorable experience! Courtesy Mystic Saddle Ranch[/caption] By Steve Stuebner As we’ve turned the corner from spring to summer in June, the weather is warming up into the 80s, the wildflowers are popping in the mountains, and the fish are biting on lakes and rivers in the great state of Idaho. Now is a great time to reserve dates for an unforgettable horseback ride into the Idaho wilderness. Ride in a small group with family or friends on national forest trails into high mountain lakes to go camping, fishing and relaxing off the grid. Some outf...

Lochsa Falls on the Lochsa River (courtesy Three Rivers Rafting)[/caption] BOISE -- (March 14, 2017) – Mother Nature blessed Idaho with deep snow in the mountains this winter, ranging from 98 percent to 180 percent of normal statewide, setting up an outstanding year for fishing and whitewater boating on Idaho’s world-class rivers. “We’re pretty excited! Things are shaping up to have one of the best seasons in a long time,” said Erik Weiseth with Orange Torpedo river trips, which offers multi-day trips on the Salmon and Owyhee rivers in Idaho. “This is going to be a season for the record books....

The Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association has a long tradition of bird-dogging legislation that comes up each year at the Idaho Statehouse during the legislative session to ensure that IOGA's interests are heard. And then in the evening, IOGA serves up a delicious dinner called, "A Taste of Idaho Outfitting," featuring scrumptious Dutch oven meals prepared by outfitters and guides from throughout the state of Idaho. Hunting outfitter businesses, river businesses, backcountry summer tour businesses, among others, are all represented. This year, IOGA talked to lawmakers about supporting the ...

[caption id="attachment_329" align="aligncenter" width="798"] Salmon River steelhead courtesy Mountain River Outfitters[/caption] By Steve Stuebner It’s late fall, and steelhead season is kicking into high gear in Idaho! The fish are moving upstream into the Snake, Salmon and Clearwater rivers as we speak. Now is the time to book a steelhead trip with an fishing outfitter to catch a big one with your friends and family. Late fall also means the IOGA annual meeting is coming up! It’s scheduled for Dec. 13-15 at the Riverside Hotel in Boise, including the super-fun fund-raiser, silent/live au...