I couldn’t agree with bdn06 more. When I was a teenager I would get upset by the sheer number of Utah fishermen. Now there are even more Utah fishermen coming to Idaho but I realize they have just as much right to fish in Idaho as I do. I've also found many of the out of state fishermen are very friendly when I take a minute to talk to them. I think it is very important for out of state fishermen to go out of their way to be friendly and respectful (leaving a place better than you found it and don't get so drunk that you can't walk). You don't want to give Idahoans any additional reasons to dislike you.
Flygoddess, I think you know why each state charges for a fishing/hunting license. The constitution gives the states ownership of fish/wildlife. With that ownership comes the responsibility of managing the fish/wildlife. The state needs money to manage the fish/wildlife so they tax us by requiring us to purchase licenses, tags and permits. If the federal government owned the fish/wildlife, I doubt there would be separate fishing licenses for each state. I think it is fair that out of state fishermen pay more for a fishing license because Idaho residents are paying Idaho State taxes. Besides that, Utah charged me an arm and a leg for a fishing license when I went to Lake Powell last June. The
thing is that the oil companies made more money from my fishing trip to Lake Powell than the Utah DWR. The oil companies make way more money when out of state fishermen come to Idaho than the Idaho F&G do. I find it funny that out of state fishermen always state the Idaho F&G are charging them too much without mentioning how much money they spend on gas.
Nowadays the only fishermen that really bother me are the ones that blatantly break the rules (over the limit, keeping sub legal fish, fishing with bait in "no-bait" waters, leave garbage, etc) These guys that choose to break the rules are starting to learn that it won't be tolerated. I know of a few recent poaching cases where the judges really threw the book at them. I almost felt sorry for the poachers because the fines and loss of license for years was harsh (keyword was "almost"[
]). The poachers did get what they deserved and I don't think their punishment was enough to repay what they steal from sportsmen.
I thin we kind of hijacked fishextc thread. Next time it would be better to start a new thread to discuse something like this. I think I will at least post a response to his question.
fish2xtc,
There are many good places to camp. Others have already given you some good ideas. There are many great places to camp/fish so it is hard to just list a few of them. Here are a few ideas.
#1 The area around Lava Hot Springs. You could camp right in town or up in the mountains. The Pebble Creek or Toponce Creek area might be the mountain camping experience you are looking for and the snow pack is below average so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Friends that don't fish could go to the hot pools in Lava. Chesterfield is about 20(??) minutes from Lava. Chesterfield can have some decent fishing for better than average sized rainbows. You could also fish the Portneuf River downstream from Lava hot springs. The Portneuf River upstream from Lava, Pebble Creek and Toponce Creek don't open to fishing until Memorial day weekend. Runoff this year won't be as bad as it was last year and if you do some wading or floating you won't see many other fishermen. Most of the shoreline of the Portneuf downstream from Lava is private land but Idaho has good stream access laws. Check page 14 of the fishing regulations for details about public right of way. Also don't forget to look at the fishing regulations for any place you plan to fish. The Idaho fishing regulations can be confusing so don't hesitate to ask questions here on BFT or call the Idaho F&G's regional office.
#2 Devil Creek Reservoir - fishing for 10"-15" trout should be fairly good and you could also catch a few largemouth bass. You could camp right on the reservoir or you could camp a few miles away in Mill Canyon (just West of the Malad summit). There are also a number of other reservoirs within a half hour of Devil Creek that you could try.
#3 Preston Lakes - Many good places to fish for planted trout, bass, bluegills and perch. Twin Lakes is a good one and there is plenty of camping in the Cottonwood trees surrounding the reservoir. The Bear River isn't too far away if you like to fish rivers for trout but I would choose bluegill fishing over fishing for planters in the Bear River. You won't be camping in the mountains but the view of the mountains is very nice.
#4 Bear Lake - Pretty area and plenty of places to camp in the Canyons West of Bear Lake. The number of fish you catch in Bear Lake won't be that great but the average size of the trout is better than average. The creeks in the area won't be open to fishing. The upper end road to the Bloomington Lake trailhead may be closed but it wouldn't surprise me if it was opened earlier this year because the below average snow pack.
#5 Pali
es/Swan Valley - if you are willing to drive a little farther this is a beautiful area with some decent fishing. Pali
es Reservoir and the South Fork of the Snake will be open to fishing but the creeks in the area will be closed.
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font]
[signature]
]. The way I see it is get to know someone on a personal basis before you dislike them--it's much harder that way [
]