The Rapid River Roadless Area is the next featured destination for the “On the Rise” fly fishing program, which highlights the work of Trout Unlimited volunteers and staff all over the country.
The program airs Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m.on the Outdoor Channel (www.outdoorchannel.com).
The Rapid River country was visited last summer and features the roadless backcountry with TU field coordinator Scott Stouder to experience some of the best backcountry fishing Idaho has to offer. Rapid River is a hidden Idaho gem located in west-central Idaho and is a tributary to the Little Salmon River. In the summer, the Rapid River teems with pan-sized native rainbow trout and massive bull trout, which move into the river in July and August in preparation for the fall spawn.

I got my first report of a rattlesnake sighting in the Boise Foothills today.
A reader called to say that she and her husband spotted one on the Hulls Gulch Trail.
It was coiled right in the trail.
Luckily, they spotted it before they got too close.
The snake stretched out to about 3 feet after the couple walked around it.
They said the snake appeared to be still sluggish because of the colder weather. They saw it at about 2 p.m.
The weather's going to get warmer and you can bet rattlers are going to get more active.
Be alert and leave them alone.
Good hiking.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is taking comments on proposed wolf-hunting rules until Friday.
There's a different twist developing. Some Idahoans want wolf-viewing areas.
It makes sense. You're not going to see wolves with bullets flying in all directions.
As Fish and Game proposes wolf hunting areas and quotas, it should also designate wolf-viewing areas where wolves will not be hunted, said the Idaho Conservation League.
The conservation organization says twice as many Idahoans watch wildlife as hunt, and the number is growing.
"We need opportunities for everyday Idahoans who want to watch wolves in the wild and prefer 'catch and release' shooting with a camera instead of a rifle, the organization said in a press release.

Most of us float the Boise River through the city of Boise. It's the most familiar stretch.
But there's another 40 or 50 miles of river from Boise to Parma. It winds through small towns, farmlands and thick riparian zones (brushy areas).
I've hunted ducks on the Lower Boise near Middleton, Notus and Parma, and where it dumps into the Snake River. What an incredible resource.
There are a lot of hidden places along the lower river for bird watching, fishing and canoeing.
Sadly, the Lower Boise River is polluted. But there is a considerable effort being made to clean it up.
Local experts Sherill Doran of the Lower Boise Watershed Council and Scott Koberg, district manager for the Ada Soil & Water Conservation District, will talk about the work to clean up the Boise River at a free community program at 6 p.m., May 20, at the Garden City Hall, 6015 Glenwood St.

It's shaping up to be a normal spring, the kind we can't remember because of all these years of drought.
The thaw is taking its time in the high country. The U.S. Forest Service reported today that the roads to Redfish Lake and Stanley Lake, two popular Memorial Day weekend destinations, are still snowbound.
What happens with the weather in the next week or so will determine if campgrounds in the area will be accessible. I remember years when some campgrounds around Stanley still had snowdrifts on Memorial Day weekend.
There is still enough snow to ski on along the Harriman Trail past Baker Creek, north of Sun Valley, the Forest Service said.

Saturday I topped off my truck ($50) and headed over to the Owyhee River to help teach a fly fishing class. As usual, fishing for brown trout in a green river that flows through redrock country was a fun trip. The Owyhee just looks, feels and fishes differently than any other river.

I mention that only for comparison purposes. On Sunday I spent most of the day working in our front yard, most of which I also spent cursing the fact I was working in the yard instead of fishing, or doing anything else fun. My frustration peaked when I went to the local landscaping store and bought a load of bark for $56.

I have to giggle at Pete's previous blog about the uproar over dogs in the Foothills. While people are clashing over dogs in Hulls Gulch and other popular trails, I am having a blast at the new Eagle cycle park.

The park has a fun mountain bike trail network that's just going to get better with age. It's a little rough now because it's new, and some people hiked and biked on it while it was wet, which makes it ride like cobblestone in some stretches. But there's also tight, twisty singletrack with mellow climbing, which is a refreshing change from other Foothills trails.

What really makes the park rock are the jump lines, pump track and mountain cross course. Before they were built, I didn't know a jump line from a jumping jack. Heck, I barely I knew what "velopark" meant. But I've watched as it progressed and was itching to ride there after it opened.

OK, if we get a cooling off period and the city takes time to educate dog owners to clean up after their dogs and obey trail rules, that period should also include strict enforcement of the rules. Education without enforcement hasn't worked over the years.
I remember back in the old days that if your dog was seen chasing deer or elk, it could be shot by a conservation officer. I grew up with that strict law and it stuck in my mind. I'm not advocating that dogs be automatically shot for chasing game but the owner should be cited and given a hefty fine.
I think Idaho Fish and Game should do more patrols in the Foothills during critical times of winter and write some tickets. Running down deer in a weak state in the winter is just as serious as poaching.

It's a pretty funky spring. I can't remember one quite like this. I went for a motorcycle ride in the Foothills on Saturday. I was throwing a pretty good plume of dust behind me, and then I came around a corner, and there was an impassable snowdrift.

It's not uncommon to find a snow drift in a shady area at high elevation, but there's definitely something different going on this year. There's still lots of snow on north slopes and in shady areas, but it's bare and dusty on south slopes and sunny spots.

Unless we get a serious rain storm, which seems less likely as we get closer to June, I think we're going to see slow, steady snowmelt this year. We have a big snowpack in the high country, but high country snow tends to come off slowly. When we get the first sustained heat wave, we will get a flush of water, but I will be surprised if we see any flooding. I am predicting the Salmon River will crest at about 60,000 cfs in the first week of June, and screamin' high water won't last long.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game released its recommended wolf hunting rules and one of them really caught my attention.
"Trappers who accidentally capture a wolf must release the wolf uninjured. . ."
That sounds like a tough job, like maybe you'll need one of those police-dog training suits.
Actually, " trappers, who accidentally catch a wolf, are encouraged to contact the nearest Fish and Game regional office within 12 hours so a determination can be made whether to attach a radio collar to assist wolf management efforts.
I remember having to get a pet dog out of a trap. I got pretty ripped up.