The Women’s Fishing Tournament: Women With Bait

River Adventures All-Women Fishing Tournament

Welcome to River Adventures, where we proudly partake in the women’s fishing tournament in Idaho every year. Our annual Women With Bait fishing tournament has been providing friendly competition and good times for beginner and experienced fisherwomen since 1993. Take this opportunity to test your fishing skills and bring it to the river. Round up a crew of 7-10 ladies who are ready to “get their hands wet” and spend the day drifting down the river with an experienced guide and baitboy. The baitboys will assist with dirty work while the women focus all their attention on catching the prize-winning fish. Your main objectives are as follows: Have fun with your crew and catch the biggest and largest quantity of steelhead fish. From February 1st to the middle of March, we’re on the lookout for the woman who catches the biggest steelhead as well as the woman who catches the most steelhead. To close out the women’s fishing tournament, our champions will go home with a prize package that will be awarded to them at the annual Fish Dance. Every year Women with Bait manages to be better than the last. If you think you and your crew have what it takes to party on the river and bring home the big fish and the big win, call us at 800-524-9710.

  • Our annual Women’s steelhead fishing tournament runs from Feb 1 through the middle of March.
  • Advanced reservations are required if you want a spot for your crew. Booking opens Feb 1st for the FOLLOWING year. Must call to book. 800-524-9710.
  • You will need a valid Idaho Fishing license, steelhead permit, lunch, and drinks!
  • River Adventures will furnish all the gear, tackle and bait, as your captain and bait boy help you reel in the steelhead!

For more information on the women’s fishing tournament in Idaho, contact the River Adventures team today.

Official Rules

Official Rules

  1. By your participation in this tournament, you agree to all said rules.
  2. Your full tournament entry fee of $240.00 per person will be due before the actual tournament day—this will eliminate any monetary transactions during sign-ups, which will get you on the river faster!!  For early booked boats:  50% is due by October 15th, 20223. With the remaining 50% due by December 15th, 2023.  THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS!  Anyone else booking after these dates will need to pay in full upon booking.
    • It is up to each boat’s trip leader to be responsible for all money owed to the boat. There will not be contacts made to each individual participant, only the trip leader.
    • Rosters are due with the second payment, so by December 15th, 2023.
    • IF your money is not sent in by the said due dates you will forfeit your spot to be available for another group to book on that date. You will be required to rebook subject to availability and adhere to current payment dates. If you have an early reserved boat and your payment is not received on time, there will be a $20 per person late fee added to your rebooking.
    • We REQUIRE that your trip leader sends in (or calls in) two bulk payments, eliminating the need for 7 or more multiple transactions.
      • River Adventures accepts all major credit cards. You can call, email, or mail payment. 
      • Mailing Address: PO BOX 518, Riggins, Idaho 83549
      • Email: [email protected]
      • Phone: 800-524-9710
  1. Full Boats Only to reserve which is at least 7 women and no more than 10 per boat.
  2. If you cannot completely fill your boat (at least 7 ladies), it is up to YOU to fill those empty spots. We will charge you for 7 spots; You are welcome to fish with only a few girls as long as you’ve paid for the 7 spots!
  3. We do our very best to accommodate your guide, bait boy, and river section requests. However, this tournament is extremely labor intensive and with technical aspects such as scheduling, boat size, US Coast Guard regulations regarding load size, traffic on certain sections of river, weather, ice etc., we CANNOT GUARANTEE your guide choice OR your choice of river section. We are confident in all of our guides and we want you to be alsoWe reserve the right to change river section at any time and to change your guide at any time in order to best accommodate the needs of guides, individuals, and this company. Although this isn’t a likely scenario, it can happen and the reasons will only be for logistic purposes and will be done in a fair manner—one group will not be more favored than another when making these choices. We still try to look at guide, etc. choices as ‘first come, first serve’.
  4. Check in for your trip is at the River Adventures shop, 122 S Main St, Riggins, ID at 7am MT, you must check in before proceeding to your launch site.  
  5. For those fishing multiple days, you must decide on your official tournament day on the day you make your reservations. There is only one tournament day eligible per person. All other days fished will not count toward the tournament. Any extra day/days fished will be considered a charter. Goody bags are only given for one tournament day.
  6. CANCELLATION POLICY: Tournament fees are non-refundable after 12-15-23. It’s up to you to find another participant to take your place or to take the place of a vacant spot on an already reserved boat.
  7. You must have a valid Idaho fishing license and Steelhead tag. IN YOUR POSSESION  If you board the boat without a valid fishing license and tag, you will not be allowed to fish and will not be refunded your entry fee. We uphold all Idaho State Fish and Game regulations as well as Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board regulations. There are no exceptions to this rule. If your guide and fellow participants on your boat are willing to wait for you to travel and retrieve a license and tag, you are welcome to do that; however, your fishing trip will only be for the duration of that day.
  8. All tournament fishing will cease at 4:30 PM Mountain Time.
  9. Catch Records are FINAL at this time. 4:30 PM Mountain Time.
  10. River Adventures follows all rules set by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board, and the United States Coast Guard. We will adhere to such laws in every way, shape and form.
  11. Steelhead will be the only legal species fished in this tournament and must at least 20″ in length. Any fish still having their adipose fin are considered to be “wild” or native, and returned into the wild as soon as physically possible, according to the Idaho State Fish and Game regulations. Please take photos very quickly!  We only allow all physical handling of native/wild fish, be left to the guide or deckhand and any handling be kept to a minimum. As the angler, you are ultimately responsible for abiding by all laws set by the Idaho Fish and Game and we suggest you acquire a set of this year’s Idaho fishing regulations and familiarize yourself with them before participating in this tournament. These regulations can be acquired anywhere you get your license and tags.
  12. If you are fishing multiple days during the tournament, only the day you’ve designated upon making your reservation will be your actual tournament-counted day. Any other day of fishing during the tournament will be regarded as a regular fishing day and you will abide by regular Idaho Fish and Game bag limits that have been previously set for the season.
  13. DO NOT FORGET: There is a $4 use fee required by the United State Forest Service for those participants who travel above Vinegar Creek. This is a mandatory fee that YOU pay. This is to be paid to River Adventures the morning of the trip. If you have further questions about this, feel free to call the office or ask your guide the morning of the trip.
  14. Your safety is our number one priority, especially while fishing on the river out of our boats. If our guides or deckhands feel that you are impaired for any reason and are not deemed able to safely fish on or near the rail of our boats, you may be asked to sit down and fish or asked to stop fishing all together. We fully expect you to be cooperative and respectful with our staff while on this trip and any efforts not to will be grounds for dismissal from the tournament and from future participation. If you are asked to stop fishing altogether because of alcoholic impairment, you will not be refunded your entry fee. 
  15. We retain the right to change river sections and/or modify itinerary of any trip at any time due to water, weather, or safety concerns, or any other discretionary reason determined by River Adventures or Guide discretion. Reasonable credit will be determined by River Adventures if your trip is cut short due to any unforeseen circumstances out of our control.
  16. We hope you are here to CATCH LOTS OF FISH, have lots of fun, enjoy your peers, and experience the wonders of our rivers and streams. We expect you to conduct yourselves as the wonderful ladies that you are. Please, respect our staff, property, and the community.
  17. Keep your own safety in mind and make good choices on the river and off the river and while driving to and from the launch sites.  
  18. Please designate a driver from your group. River Adventures is not responsible for your safety or transportation to and from the launch site. You release River Adventures from all liability for any accidents by signing a liability release upon registration.
  19. A four-wheel drive vehicle with good snow tires and carrying chains with someone capable of driving the vehicle is required for travel to and from your fishing location. It is Winter in Idaho and things can change fast. If you have scheduled the shuttle, you will need to make sure you have a vehicle available and someone capable of driving that vehicle in case the shuttle cannot be used due to conditions. River Adventures cannot determine your capabilities or your safety for driving in winter conditions, so please make sure you have addressed this as a group before arriving. Refunds will not be given for failure to prepare for winter driving conditions. If you feel like you cannot safely make the trip due to weather, please reach out to River Adventures in regard to rescheduling or postponing.
  20. Please pack out all the items/refuse you take on your trip. This includes anything used in bathroom facilities not designated by the United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management or private backcountry ranches that allow use of their restrooms. Refuse containers will be provided by River Adventures to help in this process.
  21.  Although it is not mandatory, it is customary to award a gratuity or “tip” to your guide and bait boy at the end of every trip. These guides and deckhands work very hard to see that you have a safe and enjoyable time on the river. Feel free to remember their efforts!

      Results & Reports

      From the Tournament