It was a cloud day, unusual for this time of the year and rain was in the forecast for this ATV fishing trip up “The South Fork”. Starting at the Featherville River Motel I headed slowly upstream along the gravel road that follows this river for miles and miles. It wasn’t long before I started seeing good places to fish. The 1st few places I stopped, I found the scramble down to the river was steeper and a little more precarious than I wanted.
Video of the 4 Fishing Holes
South Fork of Boise River Fishing Hole #1
Coordinates: 43.610968, -115.230128
Fish Caught: None
Walk to river: About 100 yards
Description: This area of the South Fork of the Boise looked to be a great place to fish. There were a few pools visible from the road and access was down a well worn path to the river. I fished the 2 small pools and a couple other places in this area. While the water looked productive, I didn’t see or catch any fish. The water was quite warm as I waded in up to my waist in a couple places. As with all the places along this stretch of the river, the scenery was quite beautiful. By the sight of fire rings, trash and well worn path, I’m sure this area also get some heavy fishing pressure but I’m sure someone with better fishing skill would have better luck than I did.
Fishing Hole #2
Coordinates: 43.609811, -115.225826
Fish Caught: None but a few lure followers so I know there are fish in this stream.
Walk to river: 20 feet
Description: Fishing hole 2 is located not too far upstream from fishing hole #1 and is located just off the South Fork Road. This long narrow eddy looked like a natural place for some rainbow trout to hang out. The water was very clear giving me a good opportunity to watch my lure spin and track through the pool. I got a few hits and saw fish (and they saw me) following my lure. Pretty place to fish but the trout were smarter than me.
Fishing Hole #3
Coordinates: 43.610859, -115.152973
Fish Caught: 2 small rainbow trout…minnows really
Walk to river: About 40 yards from the semi-primitive campsite
Description: Fishing hole 3 is located a considerable distance from the first two fishing holes. The South Fork Road was getting busier and I wanted to get away from the traffic and dust clouds so passed up a number of promising looking places for a little more solitude. Then I came upon a nice looking campsite located a respectable distance from the road and a nice looking pool below some heavy rapids. I pulled into the campsite and walked down the bank onto a rough stone beach. I changed out my yellow Panther Martin lure with an old favorite orange Panther Martin. It didn’t take long before I got a few hits. In 20 minutes I fished this pool, I caught two very small rainbow trout and then it was over but at least I caught some fish! But time to move on.
Fishing Hole #4
Coordinates: 43.600743, -115.048092
Fish Caught: None
Walk to river: 20 feet down a short boulder bank.
Description: I continued upstream on the South Fork of the Boise River and past the Baumgartner Campground. This campground is huge and I figured the fishing around this popular place would be bad so I continued east along the river. There is a semi-large portion of the river that is private property where the road moves away from the river. Eventually, the road connects up with the river as you head into Camas County and the scenery becomes more wild. Fishing hole #4 is located right next to the South Fork Road. The water here is crystal clear and it’s more of a deep calmer area than a pool. I fished this area for about 15 minutes but had equipment problems and associated line tangles. I saw a few fish following my lure right up to the bank but never caught a fish. The line on my reel was tangling badly and I discovered I had only about 75 feet of string left. Guess all the fishing last year depleted the 150 yards I put on? In any case, I had had enough fishing…and lack of catching for the day.
Note: The rocks in this area are quite cool, geologically speaking. Some of the big boulder have huge quartz intrusions cross-crossing their entire girth. I suspect there is a rock hounding opportunity in this area but I will leave that adventure for another day.
Thanks for visiting and commenting on this fishing trip report.
Tim Bondy
The Bondyweb.Com author