If you are a bird-watching enthusiast, you have the opportunity to observe killdeer, ospreys, belted kingfishers, common mergansers, water ouzel, red-tailed hawks, golden eagle, bald eagles, grouse, chukar, and great horned owls. Most of us interested in the outdoors have signal activities: those pursuits that so engage, so immerse us that our participation becomes obsessive, addictive, consuming. Killed by Sheepeater Indians. 801B South Warnock St Philadelphia PA or an email brochure. You can expect to be at the take out between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM. On the morning of the launch, you will then either depart with the guides for a one-hour drive from town or fly in to meet the crew (depending on water levels). It rockets within 10 feet of my fly, then five, then two. With so many protein-rich salmon eggs dislodged and drifting downstream for the cutties and bull trout to eat, why would they ever want to eat a fly? In fact, one of the guides personally built three of the beautiful wooden boats you will be fishing from during your trip. Other destination airports that are also options for renting a car and driving include Idaho Falls, Idaho (3.5 hours), Missoula, Montana (5 hours), or Bozeman, Montana (6 hours). The outfitter does have dry bags if needed. *Please contact us if you prefer or require a different payment option. Moon Phases The entire river and most of the six tributaries offer easy hiking trails for those seeking to stretch their legs. In one particular run, a feisty cutty is taking particular pleasure in feeding on every natural food bit that comes its way but doesnt even give our flies a second look, no matter how many different patterns we try. This airstrip is one of a small handful located in the Frank Church Wilderness. Kill kit weights and ideas. Administration of the wilderness is accomplished by two Forest Service Regions (Northern and Intermountain), and four National Forests, the Salmon Challis, Payette, Nez Perce, and Bitterroot. There are only a few ways to access this pristin. I try to avoid thinking about the principles of airline flight: a long metal tube with huge mini-rockets riveted under flimsy-looking wings that propel me (and hundreds of others) on an arcing trajectory that can suffer little variance. With the high country still covered in snow, I would limit my hiking on this trip to a mere five miles on the Lower Salmon River Trail and a short way up the Horse Creek Trail to a quaint campsite. A non-refundable deposit of 50% per person is due at the time of booking for all trip packages and reservations, and final payment if due 90 days prior to arrival. Good deal one-way. You can only fit so much weight and volume in a plane. What is special about the Frank Church Wilderness? - Call: 1-888-893-2820. Was considering hiking in from crags but now looks like a flight may be a better choice. The Middle Fork Lodge is the sole outfitter for over 400 square miles in the Frank Church Wilderness area. August 14 19 (full), 2024 Trip Dates A non-refundable deposit of 50% per person is due at the time of booking for all trip packages and reservations, and final payment if due 90 days prior to arrival. Big steaks, lamb chops, and salmon are also some of the other main dishes at dinner, and halfway through the trip, you might even enjoy ice cream for dessert. An exquisite Western getaway on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, The Middle Fork Lodge's 80 private acres are nestled inside Idaho's Frank Church Wilderness, the largest contiguous area of protected wilderness - 2.3 million acres -- in the continental United States. Since you must cover between 15 and 20 river miles each day, the guides row aggressively to the best trout water, which usually consists of slower runs and pools that are typically found after the turbulent rapids. Dont harass the salmon. $99. 406-585-8667 888-777-5060 Destinations My Favorites Search Menu Plan your trip Where In the World? For open and existing invoices with a remaining balance, payment reminders also include this easy link to the ACH page. The rattle stops and the snake slides off, downstream thankfully the opposite way from where were heading. July 21 26 (full) For Spring flights, we prefer you give us at least two weeks notice, but if you call us up the day before and ask for a flight, well do everything we can to accommodate you. Getting enough fishing time is never an issue on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River! Middle Fork aviation is top notch. I cant wait to book my next one! Michele W. You must plan on arriving into Boise before 2:00 PM to make the afternoon connecting flight to Stanley, Idaho with Sawtooth Flying Service. We were also hitting turbulence, and the airsickness that I hadnt really felt since my first jet flights was making me nauseated and dizzy. Ill be in the lead, and will give you all the help I can.. It was running a GPS app showing him the way, along with other critical information such as speed, altitude, and heading. Most popular time to fly with an average 21% increase in price. JavaScript is disabled. CLICK HERE TO VIEW YELLOW DOG GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND CANCELLATION POLICIES. Idaho Frank Church Wilderness Elk Hunt #OI-IWC4 They are based out of Challis. Since there are plenty of variables, we suggest you give us a call. From the air, we flew over terrain that I had previously hiked, and the brute topography became much more apparent-the rocky scree, the chisel-cut cirques, the rushing waters, scars of fires, new growth saplings like small radish shoots in a backyard garden. It looked to be fairly clear, but much higher than normal for this late in the year. Dinners range from seared ahi tuna to homemade Dutch oven lasagna. The rooms are around $100.00 for double occupancy (not included in the package). Has anyone used one of the many aircraft charters for the Frank Church wilderness? Idaho Hunting Flights - Get to the Frank Church or Selway Bitterroot This avoids the large rapids at the top of the river. My dad is sitting on the ground 10 yards away with his back against a log, holding a sandwich in one hand and pointing frantically with the other toward a mess of basket grass and burnt timber from an old forest fire. At the end of the strip, the plane turned into the grass to make room for our counterparts just minutes behind us, and as we deplaned and began throwing luggage from the cargo hold to the ground, two cowboys and a few pack mules headed our way. General Information We fly hunters in the Spring and Fall into multiple strips in the Frank Church and Selway Bitterroot Wilderness areas. Racist, sexist, homophobic, and generally hateful comments are not tolerated. The 2023 Yellow Dog Flyfishing Travel Guide is here! To become a WF Unlimited Member and get unlimited FREE deliveries for $29/ year ($35 . Places to stay in the area or at your place looking for cost information on guides, 2023 The Sportsmans Guide, Inc.1-800-882-2962|, Forward-Facing Sonar is Changing Much of Fishing. Add hotel. We were going to fish. Dan, the top hand, was a well-disciplined former Marine, who saw combat in Operation Desert Storm. We have to fly over at least once to spook any deer or elk off the strip, our pilot commented. Join the list to receive special offers and updates! Loading our gear we managed to squeeze Dan in with his saddle and tack. Idaho Jet Boat Tours Salmon River River of No Return Wilderness Banking hard to the north, the pilot made a tight 180-degree turn while peering down at a cleared strip of dirt that certainly didnt look level and most definitely not straight. No discussion of illegal activity. The rooms are around $100.00 for double occupancy (not included in the package). As wilderness area goes, no roads or other signs of civilization were apparent. The outfitter will block off rooms for your group, but you must call at least two weeks prior to your launch to book the room. Do you need to rent a satellite phone? It was a peaceful, serene, smoke-filled scene, although spotting a yellow Piper Cub sprawled out in pieces at the end of one runway did give me pause. They do this trip top-notch. Road trip! We pointed out features to one another; our gracious pilot told us the names of peaks and the years of various burns; he also asked again and again if we all felt okay (Im holdin on, was my reply); we flew past our landing strip to have a look at a raging fires progress. Meanwhile my companion had other ideas, and thought a bright attractor pattern might be the answer. A bus will be waiting for the group with fresh pizza for lunch. "The Middle Fork of the Salmon is ranked in the top three rivers in the world for its pristine nature," said Steve Lentz of Far and Away Adventures. Hunt availability: Mid-September through mid-October. There is a great bar and quality restaurant next to your room as well as free WI-FI. In the case of cancellation by the client, both deposit and final payment may be transferred to another guest or angler for those same (original) dates if facilitated and arranged by the client. You wont find a more DIY-friendly, cost-conscious fly-in adventure anywhere between Canada and Mexico, but if you want to tighten your budget further, its possible to fly in with backpacking gear and freeze-dried food, then fish and camp from one airstrip to the next. A pitch-tent toilet is provided at each camp, and showers are available twice during the five-day excursion. Not over 3 feet in width, there was a nice 200-foot drop on the river below. Located in central Idaho, The Frank Church Wilderness sprawls over nearly 2.4 million acres and, except for the bumpiest road in America-The Magruder Corridor-it's conjoined to the Bitterroot-Selway Wilderness (1.2 million more acres); together, they make a vast spread of wild about the size of an East coast state. We cannot convey to you how outstanding the guides and staff are on this trip. Great looking water it was, too, with deep riffle-filled bends, which leveled out into long sections of smooth runs. Fly in frank church wilderness elk/deer hunt | Hunt Talk Ben Romans is a passionate hunter and angler living in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and two young boys. Good deal one-way. The route is 139.5 miles long and will take you into the heart of the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness. Perhaps thats why were willing to go to such lengths-all night drives, rides in planes-to make sure not that these activities are mere parts of our lives but that our lives at least occasionally know the attentive magic of this engagement. When you book a trip with Yellow Dog, you never pay more than when you book directly with the outfitter. Pete, the pilot, stood on the brakes and we screeched to a halt at the very edge of the runway. You will find pure-strain West Slope cutthroat, rainbows (believed to be juvenile wild steelhead), and a few cutbow hybrid trout. They'll take you deep into the Frank Church Wilderness .