Tight Lines in the Pines
The crowds head home after Labor Day. The trout don’t.
Fall is the secret season on the water around McCall: cool mornings, the tamarack’s turning, and rivers you usually have entirely to yourself on a Tuesday. Last fall, the crew from The New Fly Fisher, a television series that travels the continent chasing exactly this kind of thing, spent a week here finding out what our home waters can do. The whole episode is below.
Why fall?
Ask anyone who fishes here and they’ll say the same: the water gets better when the weather turns. Summer crowds thin out, flows settle, and the fish put weight on ahead of winter. The North Fork of the Payette holds trout right through fall, the main Payette fishes well before the cold sets in, and if you are chasing something bigger, fall steelhead run the Salmon River about an hour north through Riggins.
It’s also hard to beat the setting. October here means gold on the ridgelines from fall leaves, frost burning off by mid-morning, and afternoons warm enough for shirtsleeves. The scenery in the episode is not a special effect.
Go Guided
The fastest way into fish is a local guide. They know what’s hatching, where the water is right this week, and how to put a first-timer on a trout without embarrassment. The crew in the episode fished with local guides for a reason.
McCall-based guides and trips:
• Fly Fish McCall — guided fly fishing on local waters. flyfishmccall.com · 208-628-3862
• The McCall Angler — guided trips and local know-how. themccallangler.com · 208-315-6445
• Drift West — guided drift boat fishing. drift-west.com · 208-315-6445
Salmon River trips (about an hour north, big water and fall steelhead):
• Salmon River Drifters — salmonriverdrifters.com · 208-507-8447
• S&S River Outfitters — salmonriverfish.com · 208-628-3733
• Wild River Adventures — idahowildriveradventures.com · 208-995-0181
know before you go
- When: September through October is prime. By November, winter is negotiating.
- Getting here: about two hours north of Boise on Highway 55, and the drive along the Payette is part of the trip.
- What to pack: layers! Frosty mornings turn into warm afternoons. Waders extend the season considerably.
- Book ahead: guides run small calendars, and fall weekends can fill up fast.
Our wild spaces are worth protecting. Pack out what you pack in, stay on the trail, and leave it exactly as you found it.
