The Chris Raine Adventure Watch…

Chris Raine has packed up his shiny new Airstream trailer and - with his just-graduated, headed-for-the-Air Force Academy son in tow - is headed for parts of the West commonly associated with big trout.

Because the technologically challenged Raine refused to install a digital satellite uplink dish on his trailer (or buy the equipment needed to make it all work, including a laptop), we’re going to have to make do with the messages and photos relayed via his son’s cell phone.

First stop was apparently Ketchum, Idaho - home to the Big Wood River (one of my favorites), Silver Creek, and the mega-dollar estates of Sun Valley. With Silver Creek at his front door, and some of the West’s most spectacular (and expensive) real estate looking back through the windshield, what did we get from our adventurer?

OK, so our first installment touches on a familiar subject - food. It’s clear that Raine likes to fish, but - if his spectacular performance at the Great Slaw Dog Cookout was any indication - it’s clear he likes to eat even more. Still, his hastily texted message offers some hope of actual fishing information in the future. To whit:

From Ketchum: Big Wood blown. Silver Creek OK. Windy and cold. No hatch. Try again tomorrow.

No fishing for me last night, but I’m out of here this afternoon. The Upper Sac continues to fall, and I’ve got a couple of midriver spots that are probably just getting wadable. They’re on the radar, I’m on the Internet, but not for long. See you on the edge of your seat, Tom Chandler