Anyone hiked or fished Hells Canyon Idaho?

[dgfavor]

I got invited to go on a backpack fishing trip for sturgeon in Hells Canyon this summer. One of the guys I'm going with went last year and had a good adventure. I met him catfishing last summer when my boat motor broke down and I ended up sharing his camp. He has a YouTube channel Chasing the Moby and likes to fish remote places. This year he's looking to go further and spend 6 days camping and fishing.

I have just started researching for the trip. I am new to that area, and new to sturgeon altogether. Any advice on what to bring, how to fish, anything that could help would be welcome. We are looking at going in late June.

A few specific questions I had:

From what he saw on the shorter hike, there was no great spot to sleep near the water on the ground. Lots of larger rock and nowhere close enough to be woke up by a bite alarm or bell on a rod reliably. Is this common along the river? I have a cot I can bring, but it weighs about 5lbs.

Are bugs enough of an issue to need a tent instead of a tarp? Enough to bring a Thermacell and not just bug spray? I'm looking at taking a Seek DST 10'x10' tarp mainly for shade and not a tent.

Is the canyon usually warmer than the temps outside it? A search shows the average temp at the nearest town to be 80's for highs and mid 40's for lows that time of year. My friend said after the rocks bake in the sun all day, the canyon never felt that cool. He said he slept in shorts under a light fleece blanket.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Do you have specifics on where in the canyon your hiking, etc.? There's a few ways to go about it...and sleeping in the rocks doesn't seem particularly necessary.

I've been up there more than I can remember...oh man, now you've done it...

We did a commercial trip last June because I had never been thru the last couple Class V's to go all the way to to the dam...depending on where you are planning, you could book a one way boat ride then hike back on the river trail. Kilgore's will for sure take you on a one way drop off...and other operators as well.

 

[betelgeuse]

I've always wanted to ride the mail boat

 

[betelgeuse]

Hells Canyon Historic US Mail Tour

Deliver the US Mail in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area where history, adventure and natural beauty abound along the Snake River.

www.hellscanyontours.com

 

[Bachto]

We raft that river almost every year. The small mouth fishing is unreal and the sturgeon fishing can be really good but there are definitely certain pools they like more. Like others have said the summers can get really hot. I would go early summer or late spring.

 

[Pony Soldier]

An important thing to remember is that there are huge blackberry bushes (6-8 ft) tall. The locals picked them from a ladder on top with and orchestra of rattleing snakes below.

The smallest rattler I ever saw was 3 inches on the top of a blackberry bush. Pick carefully.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I’ll ask my friend about discussing where in the canyon. I don’t want to share his fishing plan on an open forum without asking, I’m a guest on this trip.

You all have convinced me to take at least the mesh inner of my 1 man tent to help keep uninvited guests out of my bed. I could take my cot too, but its heavier. I always take my Wilderness Innovations XL super ultralight poncho on my trips where I don’t take regular rain gear. I need to experiment a little, but I think it would work fine as a fly over the poles of my 1 man tent. I think I could rig it for shade more than rain and have better ventilation than the regular fly to stay cool.

Carrying a bunch of 10oz lead weights makes me very weight conscious on gear. We’ll end up rigging up rocks if we lose enough sinkers, but hopefully we can postpone that for a while.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[BAKPAKR]

An important thing to remember is that there are huge blackberry bushes (6-8 ft) tall. The locals picked them from a ladder on top with and orchestra of rattleing snakes below.

The smallest rattler I ever saw was 3 inches on the top of a blackberry bush. Pick carefully.

And, there is abundant poison ivy.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I’ll ask my friend about discussing where in the canyon. I don’t want to share his fishing plan on an open forum without asking, I’m a guest on this trip.

You all have convinced me to take at least the mesh inner of my 1 man tent to help keep uninvited guests out of my bed. I could take my cot to get off the ground, but its heavier and only gains about 3” at it’s lowest point with me on it.

I always take my Wilderness Innovations XL superlight poncho on my trips where I don’t take regular rain gear. I need to experiment a little, but I think it would work as a fly over the poles of my 1 man tent. I think I could rig it for shade more than rain most of the time and have better ventilation than the regular fly to stay cool.

 

[mcseal2]

Another question I’ll also ask under footwear. With the poison ivy and wildlife, plus the rocky terrain what do you recommend for footwear? I was originally thinking my Kennetrek Hardscrabble hikers for traveling, and Crocs for use around the water & fishing. Now I’m thinking of taking some sort of trail runner or water shoe that would be better than my Crocs on the rocks, and offer a little more protection. Maybe my Salomon 4D boots instead of the Kennetreks too for more breathability.

Thanks!

 

[Bachto]

Some sort of water shoe would be great. boots will depend on your preference. something like the Salomons sound good since it will likely be warm.