North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine September 2018 | Page 39

Our exploratory mission to the Joe didn’t leave
us with many fish, but we had fun none the less,
at least until 20 miles outside of Coeur d’Alene.
With all the money that Chris had put into
the stereo, he should have invested in a new
radiator instead. The new 350 was belching
steam and cut our drive short. We were left
stranded on the side of the road. Mind you, this
was 1994 and cell phones were still very large
and expensive. So, we sat by the broken Chevy
and hitched a ride back to Coeur d’Alene.
Once back home, the next week or so, during
class, all I could think about was that river. The
fishing bug had become too strong within me. It
challenged my academics and eventually led me
into a 10-year guiding career. It was during this
time that I fell in love with the Joe. To this day,
I still consider the Joe the most beautiful trout
stream I have ever been on. Not only is it one of
the most beautiful places on the planet, to me,
I’m not kidding when I say, there is probably a
fish behind every rock.
THE RIVER
To begin, the St. Joe is a very long river. It is
one of two main rivers that feed lake Coeur
d’Alene, the Coeur d’Alene River being the
other. It starts at an elevation of 6,487 feet in the
Bitterroot Range, and it flows west 140 miles
out of St. Joe Lake. It then dumps into Coeur
d’Alene Lake at an elevation of 2,129 feet. It
is also the highest navigable river in the world.
There are a few small communities along the
Joe with Avery, Idaho being the furthest upriver.
Heading down the river, from Avery, you first
come into Calder, then St. Joe City, and then
eventually you end up in St. Maries.
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