Fishing on Snake River

The water was crisp and cold, the float rafts were equipped, the bait was ripe and the fish were fearful – The Martin Clan plus Laura were gone fishin’.

We were fortunate to draw the owner of the fishing adventure as our guide, who was born and bred in Jackson. He has guided Phil Fulmer and Peyton Manning, Harrison Ford and a host of other celebs and business tycoons. He carefully chose the raft with Brian, Debbie and Caitlin Martin, while dealing off Jeremy, Laura and Jonathan to his trusty assistant. We split into two rafts for a 10-mile float down the Snake River using traditional rod and reel and good old earthworms for bait. We’d float with our guides steering and rowing as needed, pulling off to the edge of the current flows to target cut throat trout .

Needless to say, the old folks left the younguns in their wake. While we (particularly Brian) were pulling in the hunkers, Jeremy and Laura were busy taking pictures of each other and Jonathan was feeding the fish for future anglers. In the lead boat, Mama Martin used the trip for sightseeing, Caitlin caught a few tokens that we tried to zoom in the camera but failed to see, and Big Daddy Martin (BDM) landed trophy after trophy. One fish species BDM pulled up was called the biggest one the owner had ever seen; the next is best described by a direct quote: “Oh my God.”

Jonathan was the best at our short experience at fly fishing, which is quite a skill. It’s all technique and feel. After Jonathan caught a keeper tree branch behind the raft, he found trout after trout in the water. Caitlin seemed to think that the trout were located two feet away from the raft with her casts.

All in all, it was a beautiful trip. We spotted bald eagles and white pelicans along the way, and Debbie actually identified a rare breed on a bluff near the river – a grazing cow.

-Brian Martin