North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine September 2018 | Page 38

ROAD TRIP
THE ST. JOE RIVER
By Tyler Balich
I moved to North Idaho in 1994 to go to college.
Having never have been in Idaho previously, it
was a new adventure for me. I was renting a
room near the college and being a new college
student, with no car or knowledge of the area, I
was dying to get out and check out the fishing.
I quickly became friends with Chris Smart, a
goofy kid from Spokane, who ultimately turned
out to be my roommate throughout college.
Chris and his dad had been partially “restoring”
a mid-1970’s Chevy Camaro. It was covered
in gray primer, shiny new mag wheels, and it
had a new 350 with a cherry bomb glass pack
exhaust. It wasn’t exactly the perfect fishing rig,
but what the car lacked in practicality, it made
up for with its stereo. Chris had a part-time
job working in a car stereo installation shop.
He made sure to put in a stereo that was every
college kid’s dream.
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My roommate Chris had never been fly fishing
in his life, so like any good friend, who needed a
ride, I decided to take him fly fishing on Idaho’s
St. Joe River, known to the locals as “the Joe.”
I remember it being a spectacular fall day with
rods, reels, waders, and Led Zepplin playing on
the stereo. We loaded up and shot down the
road toward the Joe.
We made our way down to St. Maries, Idaho
in record time. Zepplin pulsed through the
speakers while exhaust scared off the local
wildlife. If we had Waylon playing, Beau and
Luke Duke would have been proud. We turned
up the St. Joe River road just before St. Maries
and made our way up the river. I remember
being in awe at the sight of the river and the
mountains. At that moment I knew, this river
would be a special place for me. It was one of
the most beautiful places I had ever seen.