blog about a goal he had been working on. The plan is to catch at least one fish each month of the year (January – December) on a dry fly. I thought well that seems attainable & so it began for me. I thought I had done this already in 2008 but as I thought it through, I actually was nymphing in December or using streamers in November. So in January 2009 I started keeping track. If for nothing else this plan made me want to try to cast dries more often than anything else. I learned If there were fish to be caught on top, then I was going to figure out how to get them. Through the course of the year there were some very memorable trips to the river. Here is just a few:
· In February I recall a great day of freezing my finger to the bone but Doug & I loving it. Nothing a flask of bourbon couldn’t fix.
· In April I went fishing each afternoon to try for blue wings, & most often was lucky enough to be rewarded.
· In May I saw my very first Salmon fly. The hatch is the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen. Driving up the canyon when I first spotted them, with excitement pulled over the car to catch one right out of the air. The best part of that weekend was sharing it with my family. The kids loved feeding the fish by tossing these giant orange stones on the river, & in a second they would (gulp) disappear. They got huge kick out of that.
· June marked first day of 09 when I had not yet tied on a caddis, but once I did, it was the fly of the day, fish after fish, including very nice sized trout for such small water.
· June, July, August, & September, All were months with great rivers, great fishing, & great trips floating on the cataraft & loving every minute of it.
· October was the month I taught a few friends the joys of night fly casting & even better Pabst beer drinking.
· Warm November afternoons were spent with my son casting to sippers taking blue wing emergers.
· December consisted of days of struggle & cold. I actually, to my on disbelief & dismay, got skunked.
Then there was today. December 14th was the day. I was so afraid of not catching a fish in December I had to hedge my bet just a bit. I decided this week I would have to spend lunch time going fishing close to work, up the Wasatch canyons to try for my December fish. I pulled in to the snowy lot. Hopped out of the rig & had to dawn my waders & boots. Not because I got in the water, but because the snow was so deep & I was wearing my clothes I going to go back to work in. First casts, nothing. I leaned over the perch to see better, uh oh, I had spooked em & there they go swimming away. Next spot, I didn’t see a thing. Third pool, same thing, nothing. So on it went. I decided to hop back in the rig head to one last holes before I threw in the towel. I walked from the road through the 24” deep snow slowly to the overhang above the creek. I readied my fly and in one cast put it out in quite drop to creek’s surface. The fly drifted perfectly & went behind where I could not see it. The snow was so high there was a bluff & I didn’t see my midge. So I lifted my rod tip & “aw damn” I must’ve snagged on a low lying limb. Except wait I hear a splash down there. I peered over, & it’s a fish on. Wah Hoo! It was a nice little Bonnie Cutt to fulfill my year long endeavor to catch at least one fish per month on a dry fly. What a year! 
“Okay, team, here we go!” the she yells. The boat then sets up to face dead ahead into the roller coaster maelstrom. “Looks like fun! Let’s run it. All forward hard!” The raft speeds into and over several waves. Paddles fly. We all whoop and holler, especially the kids as we bounce up and over and through the heart of Salmon Falls. After gracefully moving through walls of white and mountains of waves we reemerge, soaking wet and elated. We then pat the backs of family members and new friends, as our paddle raft team celebrates a successful run through an unbelievably fun rapid. “We did it,” we all unanimously say. Here we are, whitewater rafting in Idaho. It’s more fun than I could have dreamed. And the trip had only just begun. 
This is the classic "River of No Return," and BIG is the best word to describe it. Big river, big canyon, big rapids, big wildlife and big sandy beaches, perfect for camping. The Main Salmon is the second deepest canyon in North America and drains over 14,000 square miles of land form the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area. It's rapids range from big (Split Rock, Salmon Falls, Cascade, Dried Meat and Five Mile) to huge (Big Mallard, Bailey Falls, Chittum, Vinegar and Elk Bar). It is also the home of wolves, black bear, deer, moose, elk, big horn sheep and cougar. The first wolves re-introduced in the Central Idaho Wilderness were released at Corn Creek, where we begin our trip. All of which were seen in plane site by members of our trip except for the elusive wolf & cougar.
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