Hey everybody!  Even though our first boats don’t go out until tomorrow, we thought we’d give you a big heads up on what the river and fishing conditions are currently.  First of all, we’re VERY excited and feeling quite blessed with all of this wonderful mild weather.  It’s allowed the sections upriver at Spring Bar and Vinegar Creek to already be open so we’ll have full use of all fishing grounds right off the start!  PLUS, we’re hearing of excellent fishing reports EVERYWHERE…no matter where you fish, it’s looking great!  We just received word this a.m. from a guide who took a two day trip down in the lower gorge (below Hammer Creek area) and boated over 30+ fish in the two days they were there!  PLUS, Spring Bar fishing has been extremely hot with many catching lots of fish there too!!  Rich and Gary Miller (of Gary’s Smoke House–see below) went up yesterday to do some “research and development”…got all the way up almost to Polly Bemis…not even hard fishing all day and still came home with 10 keepers between them!  So ladies…it’s wide open and anyone anywhere can catch fish!  Now it’s up to you!!!!!! 

The "Shut Up and Fish" Flag! Betcha can't guess WHAT that flag is made of??

TODAY, Rich took a guys trip and you wouldn’t believe me if we told you–so all we’re going to say is the fishing is absolutely UNREAL!  This year’s tournament should really start out with a bang!

One more thing we want you to keep in mind for this year’s WWB…we have a really wonderful NEW SERVICE here in Riggins that we personally think you’ll all be very excited about!  It’s called “Gary’s Smoke House”.  It’s a pretty neat deal…you can either drop your fish off and pick it up on the way out of town (it takes approximately 6 hours from start to finish to properly process) or he can vacuum pack/ship it to you if you aren’t able to wait.  The cost per fish to smoke is $10.00 a fish plus any shipping charges (NOTE: Game fish are not for sale).  We just want to tell you that this is seriously some of the best smoked fish we’ve ever had…and in the business we’re in, we’ve tried it all!!  So keep that in mind when you bring your keepers home with you!!  A smoked fish is a nice way to enjoy your catch!

And ladies, don’t forget to use those coupons and specials you receive in your “goody bags”!  The nice folks from all the businesses who participate in putting that information in those bags really want to see your smiling faces in their establishments!!  Take advantage of all that good stuff and show these businesses that it IS worth their efforts in coming up with these deals for you!!  Most coupons are good through the entire tournament and beyond!!

Finally, one last thing to put on your calendar!!  This year, not only are we celebrating the end of the tournament on Saturday, March 6th, but this time we’re adding something special to that day!!  BRING EVERYONE back to Riggins on March 6th to join in on our 2nd Annual Crab Feed that will benefit the Salmon River Jet Boat Races later in April.  All proceeds of the crab feed go to the jet boat races we have here every year…it takes fundraisers like this crab feed in order to make these races happen–we’ve been hosting one of the best race events right here in Riggins for over 25 years!!  The Crab Feed will be going on all day long on Saturday and into the evening, so the ladies that will be fishing that day can plan on eating some yummy crab and fixin’s that night before the awards and of course, dancing all night long to the River Rock Band!  If any of you have any questions regarding this event or would like to donate toward the races, feel free to contact me at [email protected] .  See you all later and happy fishing! 🙂