Ask Fish and Game

Q. It's too hot in the valley and I'm ready to head to the high country for some fishing. Fish and Game used to publish a guidebook to high mountain lakes, but now you don't. Why not? A. A number of years ago, the department did publish such a book which was extremely popular with many anglers but irked a lot of others whose favorite secret trout lake was revealed. As backcountry use increased, the department decided for biological reasons that it was best to stop printing a guide that potentially could bring too much pressure on sensitive fishing resources. Many old-time Idaho anglers still have a copy in their fishing libraries-usually guarded tighter than the family silver-that they might let you see. Not much has changed in alpine fisheries over the years and the high country is still the right place to be this time of year.