It all began as my friend, Walker, and I laid out plans for a spring bear hunt in the Clearwater Wilderness Area in the Idaho panhandle. We wanted to arrive in the state a few days early so we could wind down from the 35 plus hour drive from home. And we wondered what else we could partake of besides the bear hunt. Seeing some of the natural wonders that Idaho has to offer was tops on the list, but we decided to incorporate a couple of days of fishing as well. As it so happened, the booking agent through, which we booked the bear hunt, had just listed a fishing opportunity for walleyes in eastern Washington, at a location just a couple of hours from where we would stay before the hunt.

We arranged to meet the fishing guide at daybreak on Saturday and Sunday and planned to fish until late afternoon each day, with a shore lunch thrown in for good measure. The plan was to fish on the Snake River, but a stiff wind from the southwest forced us to head across the Snake and seek shelter while fishing a tributary — the Palouse River. Both sides of the Palouse were protected from the wind by high canyon walls, consisting mostly of basalt (a lava rock) formations and cliffs. At some points along the river, sheer cliffs of basalt rose out of the water’s edge and extended 100 feet straight up, and at other points, grassy meadows met the river’s edge. Basalt formations of all shapes and sizes were predominant along the several miles stretch of water that we fished. The view was spectacular and unique.

On the first morning, almost an hour had passed when Walker hooked into the first walleye. Since there was no size limit and no limit to the number of fish we could keep, the 14-inch fish went straight into the cooler. Throughout the day, the fishing remained slow, with yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and walleyes brought to the boat. The perch and bass were released back into the water, and the walleyes were “released” into the cooler. Several other charter boats joined us throughout the day, and all were having little success, and all were using the same rig for trolling worms behind a brightly colored spinner and two brightly colored beads as an attractant.

Day two started out with my hooking into a real lunker!

At first, I thought I had hooked the rocks at the bottom, but then the line slowly moved sideways, and the line began to scream off the reel — this was a really nice fish. It was on the fourth attempt to bring him to the boat that we finally got him into the net. Much to our disappointment, it was a large carp that I had foul hooked on the dorsal fin! 

The fishing on day two was just as slow as our first day, with a total of just seven walleyes caught and none more than 16 inches in length.

But what we lacked in fishing success was more than made up for by the spectacular scenery along the Palouse and the birds and wildlife that we encountered. Hawks, vultures, and even bald eagles were continually passing overhead, and we were frequently entertained by mud swallows that would pass by in a cloud of a hundred or more as they left their nests on the sides of the basalt cliffs to dart about in search of insects. A hen turkey, a coyote, and four mule deer entertained us as we floated the river, but it was the game birds that were most prevalent. You could hear wild chukars and often hear Gambrel quail calling from the meadows and hillsides, but it was the cock pheasants that entertained us the most. All-day long, no more than 10 or 15 minutes would pass until you heard another cockbird cackle! There was an amazing number of wild pheasants all along both sides of the river. 

Occasionally, you would hear a bird cackle and then watch as one of these wild birds would fly, with his beautiful plumage and long tail showcased in the sunlight!

While the fishing was rather limited, the scenery and the memory of the wildlife we heard and witnessed were well worth the trip. 

Would I ever go back?

Sure, but perhaps the next time, I would leave the fishing gear at home and take a shotgun and a good bird dog to hunt the quail, chukars, and wild pheasants!