Too Good To Be True

I moved to Pocatello, Idaho in 1977. It was my first summer in Idaho and I decided to try my hand at fishing. I hadn’t done any scouting but I knew of the American Falls dam and decided to fish below it. Armed with my trusty rod and a half dozen spinners, I headed for the Snake River.

I crossed the dam and headed down the North side of the Snake. Noticing a couple of inviting ponds, I decided to give them a try. Parking on the road and hopping a small fence, I walked into the ponds. With my first cast I had a strike and reeled in a 2 foot trout. I put it on a stringer and cast again. Wham, I scored a second strike and another nice trout. I was more than suspicious. I am neither that lucky nor that good of a fisherman. I released both fish unharmed and hiked out along the river.

It didn’t take long to come upon a sign notifying the public that I was in a State of Idaho fish hatchery.

I didn’t study the area before I began scouting and I made a horrible mistake.  Fortunately I did no damage before recognizing my blunder and I learned an important lesson.

Fast forward to a recent incident at Mack’s Inn. An out-of-state hunter spotted a magnificent bull moose in the headwaters of the Henry’s Fork. He possesses a moose tag and this one is just standing there, so close to the road. He is surprised that moose hunting in Idaho is so easy. It is his lucky day. He takes the shot and drops the moose. Unfortunately, there is no hunting of moose between North and South Big Springs Loop according to the regulations.

Residents and visitors alike have enjoyed seeing that bull wading in the river. I had admiringly posted video of that bull (Big Moose, No Tag) on my YouTube channel over one year ago. While I would love to fill a moose tag with such a bull, I was glad that the bull stayed within the safe zone where he could be enjoyed by so many.

The area was not safe from someone who didn’t bother to study the regulations however. A concerned resident called Fish and Game and the hunter was apprehended. The hunter has a court date, but that doesn’t help much.