Backpacking Kelly Creek, Idaho

Last week Cheryl and I were able leave the kids with my parents and sneak away for a long weekend together.  On our first night out we celebrated our ninth anniversary and stayed at a bed and breakfast in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  Coeur d'Alene is beautiful, and we had a great time.  The next morning, however, our real trip began.  Our destination was Kelly Creek, a well known tributary of the North Fork of the Clearwater River famous for its native Westslope Cutthroat.  There are catch and release, artificial, barbless regulations in place, and the fish are known to love to eat dry flies.  Best of all, the upper 12 miles of river are accessible only by trail.  It sounded like the kind of place that I needed to check out!

Cheryl probing the waters of Kelly Creek, Idaho.

August 16, 2014 - Kelly Creek, Idaho

After a delicious breakfast in Coeur d'Alene, we headed Southeast on I-90 until we hit Superior, Montana.  There we turned back to the West and followed the long dirt road over Hoodoo Pass and into the Kelly Creek drainage, eventually reaching the trailhead at around 1:30pm.  It had rained that morning, but I was still very surprised when there were no boot prints on the trail.  Were we really going to be the only ones up here?

The trail actually remains well away from the river for the most part.  The glimpses I got of the river consisted mostly of shallow, clear water, making it easy to keep my expectations tempered. The trail was relatively flat and easy to follow.  The only excitement came from the garter snakes that were everywhere on the trail!  They must have been sunning themselves after the morning's rain, because on the trail that afternoon we must have seen over forty snakes!

Cheryl on the trail overlooking Kelly Creek.

Quickly we made it to the junction of Cayuse Creek and Kelly Creek, and finding a very nice campsite, decided to make it home for the night.  Quickly we got our packs unloaded, our tent set up, and our bear-bag hung.  It was time to fish!  That first night we wandered below camp about a quarter mile and fished back up.

It didn't take long for me to catch my first fish of the trip - as it turns out, one of the nicest as well!

It was evening, and there were a few caddis on the water as well as a few mayflies.  I rigged one rod with an elk hair caddis and the other with a foam hopper.  We were both soon into fish.  The action was never fast and furious, but we were able to get fish up consistently.  It had been a while since Cheryl last flyfished, and she was struggling.  When she'd finally make a good cast, avoid drag, and get a rise, she'd miss it, or the fish would come unbuttoned right after the hook set.  She did manage to land a couple fish, however, including one that would be a contender for the biggest fish of the trip.  We went to sleep that night with visions of many more beautiful cutthroat in the morning!

Cheryl with one of the biggest, and prettiest, fish of the trip - and proud!