Moby Goes to a Secret Stream in the Owyhees

May 2016

A few years ago, Larry pulled 30+ native redband trout a day from this creek, many of them 12″-15″.  The fishing was so great that we went back, taking our pals Ann and Gig.

You can read about Larry’s previous trip here: Moby goes with ONDA to the Owyhee.

I’d tell you the name and location of this lovely trout creek, but Larry says it’s a secret.

Larry and Gig  fished their way up the creek looking for all those 15″ redbands, while Ann and I hiked along the top of the canyon. Despite Larry’s previous fishing success here, this year the fish were few and small. What happened to all the fish? A biologist once told Larry that sometimes an otter family comes in and eats all the big fish.

Despite the scarcity of fish this year, the scenery was top notch.

This area was ranched in the early days. We found the remains of an old stove with an oak leaf pattern and the words “Charter Oak” on it. The Charter Oak company was in operation from 1849 through 1900 and was a top-selling cooking stove in the United States. I wonder who cooked on this stove . . . and when. (Read more here and here).

We enjoyed a nice dinner and great company.

On the way out, Moby crossed a squishy spot (no problem!) . . .

The flowers were in top form, as were the lizards.

On our way back to Boise, we stopped at the Owyhee Reservoir where Gig settled down in a sea of grass to work on his chair-fishing technique.

Thanks to Gig and Ann for the fine trip. We’ll go back in a couple years when the fish are big again. In the meantime, Larry’s looking into getting an otter trapping permit . . .