Nothing gives you new points of view like a trip to Hell.

I discovered this at the beginning of May when Mrs. Fuzzy (aka Barb) and I drove to Lewiston, Idaho, for the annual conference of the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association (NOWA).

Understand that I'm not equating Lewiston with a place of eternal damnation. Quite the opposite. Lewiston is a lovely little town at the junction of the Snake and Clearwater rivers (you may have heard of them . . . ). It's a mecca for fans of the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (you may have of them them, too). It also has more cool public art sculptures per capita than any town I've ever been in.

And Lewiston stands at the gates of Hell. Hells Canyon, that is. And that's where I learned a few things.

The Middle of Hell

Tuesday evening we parked the trailer in Hells Gate State Park--one of the nicest state parks I've ever camped in. This grassy, treed park is on the banks of the Snake River, and as soon as I'd set up the trailer I checked out the shoreline for suitable places for carp fishing. A small, shallow cove looked promising, but it would have to wait a couple of days because the next morning we were headed upriver for two days in the heart of Hells Canyon.

Let me state clearly that commercial jet boat tours have never been my "thing." The boats are big and noisy and filled with people, whereas I prefer quiet, motorless drifts with (at most) two other people. But NOWA's Board meeting was 90 miles upstream at the Copper Creek Lodge, so Barb and I dutifully got in the big boat along with a dozen other NOWA folks and headed up the river.

I have to say, I enjoyed it far more than I expected to. The boat trip and the lodge were provided by Beamers Hells Canyon Tours, and the boat jockey/guide knew his stuff. While we dropped off mail for the remote ranches in the canyon, he told stories about the ranchers, shared local history, and pointed out big horn sheep roaming the steep side canyons.

There's a lot of history in Hells Canyon. We saw the two big backeddies on opposite banks where Chief Joseph and his tribe crossed the Snake River at the beginning of the Nez Perce war in 1877. Further upstream was the site of a famous massacre, where white miners murdered Chinese miners, chopped up the bodies and tossed them in the river. Between eight and 30 Chinese were killed (accounts vary), and no one was convicted.

We also saw a plentitude of big horn sheep. All in all, we probably spotted close to 30 sheep in a dozen locations. At one time we got out of the boat and got to within 150 feet of a group of ewes with lambs. I'd share some photos, but my camera had a dead battery. Sigh.

And 500 feet up the canyon walls we could see yellow markers that showed where the water level would be if the Corps of Engineers had had their way and constructed a half dozen dams in Hells Canyon. Thank God they were stopped after just one.

In addition to history, geology, and sheep, I was on the lookout for smallmouth bass fishing spots. I'd taken a suitable gear, and was eager to take a few casts. The best opportunity came at the end of the day when we stopped at the Copper Creek Lodge. This remote resort has several basic cabins, served great food, and is a worthwhile tourist destination. There are good hiking trails in the area, and it's very scenic.

First thing Thursday morning, I was on the river flexing my fly rod. The water was high and cool, so I had low expectations. But still, I managed to hammer a few smallmouth on a black Woolly Bugger and a T-200 sink tip line.

The Snake has an abundant smallmouth population, and they are eager for flies. The best fishing is in summer, when the bass will take surface poppers as well as streamers. Smallies are ambushers and love structure, so look for fish on the shady side of rocky areas, on the edges of backeddies, and in coves.

I had a few more opportunities as we headed back to Lewiston, but I would have had more if I'd gotten an Idaho license so I could fish both sides of the river.

The Beamers people provided transportation, lodging, meals, and a great tour to the NOWA Board. They have my thanks and my admiration for putting on a great operation.

Lessons from the Middle of Hell

1. For better or worse, the Snake River holds a plethora of smallmouth bass.
2. Jet boats have their uses.
3. The Beamer's people can be very generous and supportive of outdoor writers.
4. There's lot of history (and geology) in Hells Canyon.
5. I'd like to go back.

The North End of Hell

Back in Lewiston, I headed to the river at the first opportunity. My plan was to try a bait rig in my Cove of Promise at the state park. I figured if I found any carp, I'd switch gear chase them with flies.

I'd barely set up the bait rod when it started to jiggle. "Hmm," I thought. "Must have bumped the rod when putting it in the rests." But it jiggled again. And in the river I saw eight big carp about 40 feet from the bank.

So it was ditch the bait rod and get out the fly gear!

I tied on a Head Stand, a bead-chain fly with an orange head and a tan, hackled body with peacock sword trimmings. I saw this pattern on John Montana's carp blog, and tied up a few of these before the trip. I had no idea how or if it would work. A big carp cruised very close to shore, I plopped the fly about 18 inches from it, and--just like that--he moved to it and the fly disappeared. I tightened and all hell broke loose. So I guess that's a good fly!

I spent the next hour prowling the shore in search of more carp. Eventually they switched from feeding behavior to sunning, and that was the end of that.

Lessons from the North End of Hell

1. For better or worse, the Snake River holds a plethora of carp.
2. I found a new carp fly that works well (or at least worked one day in one place).
3. I really could spot carp habitat.

The South End of Hell

Barb and I returned home on Sunday. Because the Lewiston trip was a conference and I had responsibilities, fishing opportunities were not as numerous as I would have liked. But after four days at home, I was back on I-84 headed for Nampa, Idaho, at the other end of the Hells Canyon area.

This time I had no responsibilities other than going fishing. I met up with Dave Gourley (DRG on the Idaho Board) for an enjoyable evening fishing for largemouth bass and bluegill in a private pond. Then Saturday morning we met about 15 other fly anglers for the annual Gold Cup carp tournament on the Snake River.

Dave and set out in his drift boat and poked around the shoreline. We saw signs of carp back in the reeds, and spent half an hour trying to entice a big mirror carp along the shore. But carp were tough to come by. The Snake was flowing at about three times normal flow for this time of year. Despite the warm weather that makes it hard to find fish on the flats--because there were no flats!

The next day Dave and I went to a different spot. It was loaded with carp, but they were on the wary side and tended to stay out of reach.

Lessons from the South End of Hell

Here are a few ideas I picked up after fishing with carp ace Dave Gourley.

1. I'd been looking mostly for carp on flats and gravel bars, but we saw a lot of carp along the edges of the Snake. I also saw this in Lewiston. Similar structure exists on the Columbia downstream from Portland, and on the Willamette above the Falls--areas I'd not been fishing, but will now spend more time at.
2. Dave has a variety of flies for different conditions. For example, he picks a large black fly, such as a black rabbit strip leech, for muddy, murky conditions. A fly such as the Head Stand, that I used to good effect in Lewiston, is suited to flats and gravel bars but has its limits.
3. Suspended carp are catchable. Conventional wisdom is that they cannot be taken on flies when they're suspended. However, Dave feels that with the right fly and presentation they can be induced to strike. He uses a carefully balanced fly that drops slowly and horizontally in front of the fish.
4. Carp will travel in definite feeding lanes. Each fish will have its territory. Watch a fish and learn where it wants to go. Then make sure your fly is there waiting for it when it arrives. When the fish is close, give the fly a subtle twitch--careful, not too much!

Hell is Cool

So I have to say, Idaho is great, Lewiston is a nice place to visit, carp tourneys should be on my calendar, and Hell is cool. Only in Hell--and at its gates--could I have learned so much while having such a good time.