I have to admit I don’t get to Western Idaho very often, I was there a few years back for a fishing trip on the Owyhee River and South Fork of the Boise and then again to go through my pre license education to get my real estate license.  This time I made the trip west to hunt Chukars and Pheasants.

I am still a rookie when it comes to any type of hunting having only shot a handful of ducks and grouse on day trips near Teton Valley but my friends Stephen and Ben Adamson are very avid hunters and their enthusiasm for the sport is contagious and they are gracious and patient enough to take me in and show me the ropes.   They have had to teach me just about everything from how to load my shotgun properly (It was jamming occasionally if I loaded it.) to how to clean birds.  Kind of nice having friends with an encyclopedic knowledge of hunting.  And did I mention they have bird dogs….wow what a difference…hunting behind a well-trained pointer makes all the difference in the world.

Western Idaho is much drier and lower in elevation than the highlands to the east but the terrain is beautiful, the people are very nice, and the bird hunting is impressive you can hunt ducks, chukars, grouse, huns, quail, and pheasants all in the same day.  We spent all day Friday and Saturday hunting Chukars and I wasn’t quite prepared for how much “walking” we would do.  Stephen warned me that there would be a lot of walking but this is not walking this is steep aggressive mountain climbing without trails and the sidehilling really works your ankles.  Following these birds up and down this amazingly steep slopes is a great work out and I think you have to be a little crazy to actually enjoy it.  It can be so frustrating trying to chase these birds down that after a while it becomes a pure act of revenge and you want nothing more than to kill those little fuckers.

Being so new to the sport my revenge will have to wait until next time, the steep fast flight of the Chukars was too much for my lack of shooting skill, but I did manage to shoot one the first day when one bird happened to fly in front of my line of sight while I was taking aim at another bird…got him and man it felt great.  Ben was curious why I didn’t keep shooting at the rest of the birds but I was so thrilled that I shot one I could have cared less about the others.

On Sunday Stephen and I hunted pheasants after we dropped Ben off at the Boise airport.  Pheasant hunting seemed like a lazy man’s sport after Chukar hunting, we would casually walk the flat fields while Greta, Stephen’s dog, would dutifully and expertly find us birds to shoot.  It would have been really easy if I could shoot!  Stephen shot his limit of two Pheasants after about 10 minutes and we spent the rest of the time trying to get me some birds while Greta worked her ass off.  Greta got me set up on birds time and time again while I proceeded to miss each time, only managing to wound one bird that Stephen helped me find and finish off later.  It was embarrassing and Greta must think I am an idiot.

So before I go hunting again I think more time spent knocking down clay pigeons is in order and maybe some more time running up steep hills getting ready for Chukars.

Here’s some pictures from our trip.

Thanks Stephen and Ben!

Ok this is a purely selfish post…well and a plug for my tattoo artist.

Here’s the deal.  For a long time when someone would ask me “Would you ever get a tattoo?”  I would say “Yes, I want a stonefly nymph on my ankle.”  Simple as that.  And maybe it was a little bit of an early mid life crisis but when I saw that there was a new tattoo parlor open in Victor I started doing some research and eventually went to talk to Autumn Goodspeed at Tinnelli Bros. Ink Slingin Saloon.

And here is where the real point of this blog is going….Google….I had searched on line for images of “stonefly tattoos” but after a lot of searching only came across one and it just wasn’t my style….so by naming the title of this blog “Stonefly Tattoo”  Google can work its magic for others looking for a stonefly tattoo and in the process will find a great tattoo artist to work with.  Autumn walked me through the whole process and was very careful to weigh my wants with her ability to make a tattoo that would look good.  You can reach Autumn at 208-787-1278 or visit their shop on Main Street in Victor Idaho.

Heres the pics!

You know you suck at blogging when you start hearing from friends and family how they have stopped checking your blog…oh well…what can I say.

It is amazing how a summer can just dissapear, especially when you try to make the bulk of your annual income in basically a 90 day period.  I started to get busy guiding in mid-June and things just barely slowed down, when I wasn’t “shoveling water” while looking for trout I was keeping the car wash clean and operational, trying to close what few real estate transactions I could muster up and squeezing in the occasional family day or even a short family vacation.  Oh and I even snuck in 17 hours and 55 minutes to climb the Grand Teton with my Brother in law John…my be the highlight of my summer.  Certainly a great story to tell my fishing clients.

Grady is growing up fast and I think he likes summer, days at the pool with Mom, watching Daddy paint out his window, getting toy cars from our neighbors who spoil him.  I am definitely looking forward to spending more time with him now that I wont be on the river as much.  The days when I didn’t get to see him at all were sad, many days he was asleep when I went to work and asleep when I got home.

We are looking forward to the fall, looks like cold weather is coming tomorrow…wow.  The pace in Teton Valley will slow now that Fall is upon us.  I look forward to splitting wood, spending time with my family, trail running in the falling leaves, chasing large Brown Trout, and skiing powder this winter.

I will try my best to update the blog more regularly and keep you posted on anything cool happening in Teton Valley.

Thanks for reading,

Chris “Jigidy” Jensen

I have been really busy guiding…even though the water on the South Fork is at record levels.  The fishing has actually been very good…shhh.

Check out my report here.

http://tlapc.wordpress.com

Wow what a wet Spring!  It’s rained every day for the last 18 days!  I was supposed to paint my house before I got busy guiding for the summer, now I am looking at my schedule and the weather forecast trying to figure out how to get it done, looks like Friday morning or Tuesday….guiding gets cranking on Wednesday…unless the river is raging….see my fishing report @ http://tlapc.wordpress.com

I think we had Spring in Teton Valley for all of about two days and now summer is in full swing (I hope…we had several snow storms in June of last year.)  My last post was a couple of weeks ago and like everyone in the valley the Jensen family has come out of winter dormancy and into the “get it done” time of year.   Plant a garden, fixt the drip system, water and fertilize lawn, paint house, stain the deck…on and on…all while chasing a very busy 14 month old boy.   Phew…we even managed to squeeze in a trip to Southern Utah (finally)  we had been planning the trip for months but every time we picked a day to head out something would come up.

The excellent weather in Teton Valley has really made business at the car wash pick up.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to get their Spring clean on their car done.

Here’s some pics with a rundown on whats been going on.

For a long time I have wanted to be able to carry my rods (and clients rods) fully rigged and ready to go, flies and all.  My Dad has a really cool carrier for his rods inside his Suburban and it makes things really easy when fishing multiple days or hitting different areas all in the same day.  It’s just nice not to have to put everything away when you know you are going to be fishing again soon.  Especially around here when you could be fishing the Henry’s Fork in the morning and stop to wade Fall River or Bitch Creek on your way back home.

Anyway because I do not have a sliding rear window in my truck and it costs $550 to get one I had to come up with some sort of rack to carry my rods.  Enter the FRCM 1.0.  After a lot of pondering and staring at random parts in Home Depot (“May I help you find something?”….Uh…no…) I came up with this contraption.

I am very excited to announce my newest listing, 4 acres of premier Henry’s Fork River Front property.  Located 45 minutes Northwest of Driggs this lot features everything you could want in a riverfront lot, views of the river and the Tetons, a private boat launch on the river, access to National Forest across the street, and it’s on a paved road that has year round access.  There isn’t much more you could ask for in a recreational property.  For more information shoot me an email chris@countrywideprop.com or visit my website www.chris-jensen.com

I hope Spring has arrived where you are!

Chris

Spring appeared for a few days this month we had temperatures in the mid 50’s for awhile, but Winter has definetly returned this week.

Here’s a look at the Targhee snow report…

Snow is still piling up.

I am very lucky to have a neighbor who has a plow on his truck.   They are out of town this week (biking in St. George…lucky.)  so I got to use the plow myself yesterday busting out about a 3 foot drift at the end of my driveway.  Takes a little bit of practice to work the controls and drive the stick shift, but it’s quite the tool when you get used to it.

Bust It

Thanks Neighbor!

Looks like more snow for the weekend, we have two passes that we need to use at Targhee so you know where we will be.

Jig

Spectator

I fished the South Fork of the Snake on Friday…58 degrees, sunshine, friends, and trout…doesn’t get much better.  I posted my report here for The Lodge at Palisades Creek.

Thanks for reading!

Chris