Michael J.
Yelp
My wife and I have been fly fishing for upwards of 10 years now. We've been to some of the hot spots (Missoula, Yellowstone, etc.), always with guides who know the area, and we nearly always have a good time on the water. We thought we knew what to expect when we went to Ketchum for three full days of fishing. Suffice to say, Silver Creek Outfitters far exceeded our expectations.
We asked to have the same guide go with us all 3 days. No problem. We told them we would be bringing some gear but would still need some loaners, we weren't sure what or when. No problem. My wife wanted to check out a new 5 wt rod on the trip, so I asked whether they would let her try two or three different rods. No problem. She ended up buying one of the rods, and so they voluntarily waived our miscellaneous equipment rental fees for the trip. I thought that was a solid thing to do.
Look: fishing with guides can be expensive, and Silver Creek is no exception; they charge what most professional guides/outfitters charge. But if you get the right guides -- the ones who know their stuff, the ones who are there at 8 a.m. when they say they will be, the ones who do everything for you (if that's what you want or need), the ones who spend nearly 12 hours per day for three straight days with you, the ones who jump up and down when YOU catch a nice fish, and the ones who are just genuinely nice people to talk to and be around -- well that makes all the difference in the world, if you ask me. And that's exactly what we got with Silver Creek Outfitters.
Our guide was Jake Nelsen. The guy is top notch in my book. Enough said.
We told Jake we didn't want to see another angler when we were on the water, and we wanted to check out different water each of our three days. He was fully on-board with that plan and did all he could to accommodate. Day one: wading the Big Lost (three spots on the same river). Day two: floated the Salmon River and then, in a little detour ON OUR WAY HOME for the day, pulled off and sight-casted for another hour to some bull trout (some strikes but nothing landed unfortunately). Day three: tubed two sections of Silver Creek, where we had the privilege of fishing some of the biggest rainbow and brown trout we've seen. (Silver Creek is NOT the place to go if you want to be left alone, but it is one of the coolest fisheries with some of the craziest trout you'll ever see.)
If you head to Sun Valley for guided fishing, I fully recommend going with Silver Creek Outfitters. If you can sign up for a day on the water with Jake Nelsen, even better.