There’s no better way to bring a crew of outdoor enthusiasts together than sending them down 40 miles of untouched river for 5 days, deep into a canyon.

Travel.Fish.Film. is Joseph’s business he’s been working on since he was 17, and it is represented by spending a damn good time fly fishing with his best friends. This trip was captured in the YouTube video above, give it a watch to experience all 5 days on the Grande Ronde River with the Travel.Fish.Film Crew.

Joseph’s best friend, Bradley, attended the University of Idaho in the small town of Moscow, Idaho. As a college kid, it is always difficult to find a part-time job you thoroughly enjoy, while attending a pile of classes.

Tyler Nash and his wife Sierra, own and operate White Pine Outfitters. Tyler gave Bradley a job running the counter in their fly shop and outdoor consignment store. Bradley and Tyler built a strong friendship both inside and outside of the workplace, as they were both beginning their careers in the fly fishing industry.

White Pine Outfitters offers guided upland bird hunting and fishing trips in Northern Idaho, Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington. The guides spend a great amount of time on the St. Joe River fly fishing for West-Slope Cutthroat Trout, while also doing multi-day fishing and upland bird hunting trips on the Grande Ronde and Salmon Rivers targeting Steelhead, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass and Chukar. The team is full of passion and knowledge on the area.

Tyler reached out to Joseph and Bradley about collaborating on a project to fish and film a new section of The Upper Grande Ronde River that White Pine Outfitters obtained a permit on just over a year ago. This 40-mile, roadless stretch of the river boasts a wonderfully mixed bag of wild Rainbow Trout, by-catch Bull Trout, and Steelhead in the fall. This float takes 5 days, and 4 nights on both the Wallowa River and Grande Ronde River.

Joseph and Bradley brought their Sony cameras, two GoPros with a ton of batteries, some clothes, and a positive mental attitude. On the other hand, Tyler brought along his head fishing guide, Chelbee Rosenkrance, his long-time friend Jeff Foy, and two of his talented river guides Kaleb Bass and Matthew Peters. They packed 4 rafts, food and drink for 6 people, fly fishing gear, tents, sleeping pads, and just about anything you'd need for a good time on the river. This type of trip requires an absurd amount of gear and planning in order to be comfortable and successful for 5 full days. That is why experienced fishing guides with multi-day rafting logistics knowledge are crucial. For Joe and Bradley it was easy to put this in the hands of the WPO guides. They had the proper equipment and team to take care of up to 10 clients on this multi-day trip.

Early October was the time of year they chose, which gave them the best shot at catching both Trout and Steelhead. A 6wt streamer rod, a few nymphing rods, and some spey rods for swinging up Steelhead would be the weapons of choice. On day 1, boats were launched on the Wallowa River near Minam, OR. The gear crew would push the large rafts full of camping gear and food, 7-11 miles downriver, ahead of the two fishing rafts to the campsite and begin setting up a fire and preparing dinner each day.

For Joseph and Bradley, this was a new river. From past experience, it is always great to search to any new stretch of water with a streamer. The first choice was an olive mini dungeon for the rocky basalt river bottom. The Grande Ronde River is a freestone, so they knew it should have an abundance of sculpin and stoneflies. The streamer would be used to gauge the willingness, size, and where the fish may be holding. This ended up being the absolute ticket for the course of the trip when it came to hooking into the aggressive, resident wild Rainbows. They also discovered quickly that a rubber leg stonefly on a nymph rig was a favorite.

Day 2 went by, they entered the confluence of the Wallowa and the Grande Ronde River and began swinging for Steelhead. Early October is not peak season for the run of Steelhead on the Upper Grande River, the majority of the fish are still in the lower system near the confluence with the Snake River. However, if one were to do this journey in mid-October, there would be more Steelhead all the way upstream in the Wallowa River system.

Day 3 and 4 passed, and many wonderful-sized Rainbow Trout had hit the net, but still no Steelhead to hand. The confidence and morale were still through the roof given the quality of the fishing and the stunning natural beauty of the canyon with unique geology, and flora and fauna popping with fall colors. After each full day of fishing, they were able to relax under the stars with world-class camping, a crackling fire, a cocktail, and a warm cooked meal. Chicken Teriyaki or Salmon with Pine Nuts to name a few, I mean c'mon!

On Day 5, they kicked off the morning catching the first Steelhead of the trip, a hatchery run fish enticed by a hotspot stonefly nymph. Next, a larger, wild Steelhead ate just like a Trout, taking a rubber leg behind a boulder in shallow water. Before lunch, they hooked into a third Steelhead on that same olive mini-dungeon that had been producing all trip. All it took to find the Steelhead was floating downstream far enough to where the first push of Steelies were hanging. From big, freestone Rainbows to the opportunity of catching Steelhead in multiple different ways, the fishing was nothing short of epic.

Q/A w/ Tyler: “Why is this permit special to you?” - Joe

Tyler:   “This permit is so special to me because there are a very limited amount of outfitters that hold it, helping keep pressure to a minimum. I aquired the permit from my mentor Lonnie Hudson who ran trips on the Ronde for years. He would run white water dories down the canyon with Martin Litton, a Grand Canyon dory boatman. In fact, both Lonnie and Martin are legendary river runners. Martin passed some gear down to Lonnie and Lonnie passed that gear down to Sierra and I, the gear has some soul. It’s pretty special that Lonnie could see my passion and passed the torch off to Sierra and I to build our program out here at WPO.”

“Why do you love this section so much?” - Joe

Tyler:   “I think the river corridor speaks for itself. Few rivers in the lower 48 offer guests the opportunity to take multi-day, roadless and remote float trips targeting Steelhead and Wild Rainbows. We take every opportunity we can to educate guests on low-impact camping and proper fish handling. We also only run trips when the water temps are cooler. June - early July for strictly Rainbow Trout fishing during the peak golden stone fly season. We ramp back up in late summer or early fall as the Steelhead enter the system in Mid-September through November from the Snake River.”

Whether you're an experienced angler or just starting out, the 5-Day Wallowa and Grande Ronde River fly fishing trip is perfect for anyone who wants to unplug and recharge in nature. With the chance to catch big wild Trout by day and tell stories next to the fire with a stiff cocktail swapping stories about all the fish you thought you should have landed each night, you'll leave with memories to last a lifetime.

White Pine Outfitters works hard to create a great fly fishing experience in the inland northwest. Travel.Fish.Film released this video after their experience of spending 5 days in this untouched canyon on YouTube for everyone to enjoy. This is an hour-long film that’s filled video with good times, laughs, beer, and plenty of fish.

Photos by Joseph Evans and Bradley Funkhouser.