Category: Sports & Outdoors

I know I have a lot of readers who are not fly fishers in the least bit, but that should not turn them off from reading many of the fly fishing books out there…I very much enjoy the extensive library of fly fishing books that I have acquired, read, and read again and again throughout my years is that they aren’t just about fishing. While on the surface, that is objectively what they are about, they tend to err on the side of natural philosophy like a book from Annie Dillard or Edward Abbey does.

By Katie Banning Alexys Mierke was a force to be reckoned with this season on the soccer field. As a senior and mid-fielder, Alexys dominated for the Badgers. She led […]

As humans, we all have this dog; the animal inside of us with an insatiable hunger for doing something until we cannot do it anymore … When it comes to fly fishing – and sure, other hobbies, but I am not writing about those – that hunger is stretched from ideas that can be inoculated quite easily to others that are harder to kick. Not all of them are unhealthy, and really most aren’t, but the addiction can hit hard if you are not ready for it.

 I do still prefer to spend much of the cold time of year under the leaden winter sky rather than in the warmth and comfort of the home. Sometimes it is active as I snowshoe through the Selkirks, take the child out sledding on the hills that I grew up sliding down, or sitting streamside to watch the birds, make my coffee, and watch the snow falling from the boughs and sunshine dapple through the needles. It is a much better life to live if you live it en plein air, and sometimes the rougher weather is just what you need to remember where you stand in the Anthropocene; Lilliputian and nigh non-existent outside of ourselves, our families, and our community. 

I know fishers who look down on a bobber and a worm but turn around to nymph river runs with an indicator. Do what you enjoy, and never let someone tell you that one way of doing something is better than the other. If I listened to that when I wanted to catch fish, I would still be slinging a rooster tail up and down the county. But I would rather be casting a hudson caddis along a seam and watching my fly (most of the time) while listening to the river rumble and the birds sing. That’s fishing to me, and I know it isn’t for everyone.

Bonners Ferry Wrestling Club was honored to host the first tournament of the year for the North Idaho Wrestling League with over 600 hundred wrestlers competing. The Bonners Ferry wrestlers […]

The Badger Youth Football team was invited to participate in the in the Inland Northwest 8th Grade Football Playoffs this weekend in Spokane. The Badgers played a successful season in […]

The Badger boys cross country team and Kylie Calderone are headed to state! 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Lewiston! GO, BADGERS!

Let loud, get proud! This Friday night, under the lights at 7 p.m., your 6 – 2 Bonners Ferry Badgers will take on their long-standing rival, the 1 – 7 […]

In a state like Idaho (and this would affect Idaho greatly) I grew up being told that the federal government controls too much and that in such a conservative place, […]

The Badger volleyball squad is at home tonight at 7 p.m. vs Clark Fork, and it’s senior night for the only senior on the team, Adleemae Robles! Be there to […]

The Moyie was out of question due to 1) I wanted to catch a trout and 2) the wind was going to be ripping in the canyon where I had planned to go. The Kootenai in town is slow this time of year and the wind really would have played my line hard. So I opted for a nearby creek in hopes to escape the pesky wind and put a couple trout in my net.

The Boundary County Volleyball Association is looking for people to join us for league this winter! Participants can sign up as a team of six or as free agents and […]

After chronic wasting disease was detected in three white-tailed deer near Bonners Ferry, a portion of Unit 1 was designated as a CWD management zone effective Oct. 1. During the […]

I used to wear a pair of my father’s old thick Hodgmen neoprene waders during my winter fishing trips up the Moyie river until I fell through the ice in January 2023 and tore a big hole in them on a river rock below. Now, I own a pair of cheap-o hip waders that work very well if I need them, which in reality is not that often.

Congratulations to the next Badger Hall of Fame inductee for the Class of 2025. Dr. Roland Houston Hall, or as his family and early childhood friends affectionately called him, “Toad,” […]

The Bonners Ferry Badger Athletic Hall of Fame is excited to introduce two of the six individuals and team who will be inducted in the hall’s Class of 2025; Kathy […]

Bonners Ferry Badger senior Ethan Cowell was at the head of the pack this weekend finishing in at 18:43 at the Bonners Ferry Cross Country Invitational. Five schools with 52 […]

It’s a sight you will never forget. The rhythmic sound of moving water, the crisp fall air and the vibrant red fish filling the creek will all leave you with […]

Young fly fishers, whether by age or how green they are in the neck, seem to like traveling to other rivers and streams, continuously trying new things like a kid […]

As life moves on, and summer drifts past us once again, our time at the river becomes less about each cast and more about becoming a part of the current ourselves. We rush past new landscapes, find ourselves stagnant in the slow waters only to take up speed again as we encounter rocks and boulders in our way, wildlife that laps up a bit of our soul, and share a feeling that there is an end to this all but we might as well enjoy the flow for a bit longer.

It is a nice feeling to wake up each day knowing that I do not live in a fishing destination necessarily, but I am surrounded by decent fishing and many […]

Hunters in 2025 will have mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease for deer in seven hunting units, including the addition of Unit 63A north of Idaho Falls, which was added […]

Many things drag us out into the wilderness: the daily barrage of incomprehensible political decisions, the copious amounts of brain-rot produced by the inevitable screen watching and scrolling that has […]

Sheer beauty comes from all places while you are fly fishing: the bluebirds song against the drone of a rolling creek, the ripples caused by emerging insects and the subsequent trout nose breaking the surface to feed, the analeptic response from feeling the tug of a trout at the end of your line. Or, sometimes the waters decide to paint a picture for you, a snapshot of nature that you, and only you, are usually there to witness.

The issue comes with the amount of mending one has to do to keep a good drift. It is the Kootenai, and with that comes an incredible power of cross currents, undercurrents, back drift, and spots of stillness. But if you have a good line and a bit of mending knowledge, it is manageable and rewarding.

Crayton Garrett, 10, Bonners Ferry is competing for Youth Athlete of the Year and a chance to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. You can help Crayton make […]

The average person just sees a bug. A fly fisher can see the caddis or the mayfly, the salmon fly and stonefly. They see a running current; at the same time a frightening, powerful phenomenon and a thing of beauty. A fly fisher sees the way the water curls over a large rock, the trout nearby waiting for the next course to their meal behind it. The fly fisher sees the water in a different way; it is a whole different experience. A better experience.

Boundary Community Hospital (BCH), in partnership with Boundary County School District 101, is proud to offer free sports physicals for Boundary County students from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July […]

… now I wanted to play catch and release rather than kill and grill. This drove my father crazy. He fished and hunted to put food on the table, and now his only son of four kids wants to let that beautiful 18-inch rainbow he caught on a stonefly imitation go back into the water rather than into his and his family’s stomachs.

Maybe the Moyie is what you could call a Pabst Blue Ribbon river: by myth, it won the award for “America’s Best” in the past–hypothetically at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition for the PBR–but in reality no one really knows if that is the truth or not. All we know is that they are both cheap, fun, will give you a slight buzz if you really try, and are made mostly of water.

In a place like the Moyie River, I want the only trash in there to be the quality of fishing. It makes getting skunked a heck of a lot more enjoyable when I don’t have to clean up the area every single time I am out there.

What lurks under these beautiful clear waters are what I consider one of the best (if not the best) fish to catch in this wonderful country of ours: the Westslope Cutthroat Trout.

Seven members of the Duke’s Claybusters Bonners Ferry High School trapshooting team heading south this weekend to the Boise Gun Club in Kuna, Idaho, to compete in the Idaho State […]

In my mind, and the minds of many other anglers, there is always a trout rising in the back of our head.

The Special Olympics Idaho Summer Games are just around the corner. On June 6 and 7 in Nampa, the games will commence and three of the Bonners Ferry Mountaineers; Dylan […]

My son Olaf spent all of last summer wading in the creeks, climbing over boulders, helping to net fish, and running full bore from nests of angry yellow jackets with me but he had not yet tried his hand in fishing with a fly rod.

As Gingrich wrote, “a trout is a moment of beauty only to those that seek it” … I hope we can keep our minds in the right place and keep our public lands public…we must make our voices heard if we want to save our public lands. For you, for me, for our families, our children, and our children’s children.

Members of Bonners Ferry Gun Club and the Bonners Ferry High School Claybusters traveled to a 2 day ATA trap shoot in Libby. We had two days of fantastic trapshooting. […]

By Badger Sports Reporter, Piper Banning The Badgers traveled to Boise for the track and field state championship this weekend and brought home some hardware. The 4A state champion for […]

By Badger Sports Reporter, Piper Banning For the first time in school history, Bonners Ferry High School has a tennis team. Though it be a team of just two this […]

There is movement of the water, the decaying dead things, the fish that feed our obsession, the change of sediment, the deer that drinks not fifty yards from me with its feet dug deep into the muddy bottom of the Kootenai. And under the slow moving foam, in the uncleared and slightly brown waters, are trout waiting as patiently as I am.

Idaho’s Free Fishing Day is a day to set for June 14, 2025. On June 14, there will be no need to have a fishing license, but all other rules […]

That’s a wrap. Bonners Ferry High School Golf has come to an end for the 2025 season. Badger state goer, Eli Blackmore earned a 6th place individual medal, scoring 77 […]

For the first time in school history, Bonners Ferry High School has a tennis team. It took two young people with a desire and drive to play high school tennis […]

… what has mainly stayed the same as it was 30 years ago is nature. Our surroundings. Objectively the best part of this area; a wholly unique and beautiful part of the country at large. And the best part of that nature is in the waters.

As a working family man, I can’t always get out when I want to (especially when I run out of good excuses). However, there are still things I can do in the meantime to soften the blow of not having my feet in the river.

Boundary County Sheriff Travis Stolley has announce two upcoming off highway vehicle (OHV) classes to be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 17,  and Saturday, June 7, both […]

Tuesday’s Trouble women’s bowling league sent eight players to the Idaho State Championships. The event was held on three separate weekends and in two cities to accommodate all bowlers. The […]

Helene Rae and her best friend Kim Lucas signed to their respective colleges last week. Helene Rae will be attending the College of Idaho in Caldwell as a track athlete […]

My reunion with one of my oldest, and dearest, friends began as one should: a few blue cans, a juicy tri-tip that had been in a smoker all day, and a bit of small talk.

“… the river changes towards beauty. It remains the same in our eyes but the water that rolls past your ankles is somewhere far, far down the river within a minute. It makes one question the minutiae of everyday life away from the river, how we humans conduct ourselves whether face to face or through a phone screen. And it makes one wonder why we have lost our way as rivers ourselves.”

On Saturday, March 1, The Historic Pearl Theater in downtown Bonners Ferry put on a showing of the IF4, or International Fly Fishing Film Festival, which I attended with some […]

There you are, watching your size 14 CDC caddis dead float perfectly with the foam in the current over what you know is at least a 12” west slope cutthroat. […]

By Kathy Konek Junior rifle shooters from the Sandpoint and Kootenai Valley (KV) clubs participated in the Washington State Junior Smallbore Indoor Championships on Saturday, March 8. They travelled to […]

Stolen by Mike Weland Momentous occasions so profoundly change the lives of those who experience them that grasping the idea that you’ve evolved to a different plane, a higher level, […]

It was an unseasonably warm day in late February for Boundary County. Not two days earlier, we had a decent covering of snow (enough that my son was still begging […]

By Jesse and Piper Banning Your back-to-back champions arrived home last night to quite the surprise. The Bonners Ferry High School gymnasium was packed to the gills with Badger fans, […]

Dear Bonners Ferry High School varsity basketball team … Congratulations on achieving a monumental milestone by winning the Idaho State Basketball Championship for the second consecutive year! This accomplishment is […]

By Badger football coaches and staff – Badger Youth Football and Cheer is excited to share our new website and simplified online registration. We are still very much a work […]

The Bonners Ferry High School cheer team competed at the state competition this year but did not place as hoped. While the outcome wasn’t what they had envisioned, the team’s […]

Badger basketball coach Nathan Williams sends congratulations to senior Thomas Bateman for achieving 1,009 points in his high school career, and state play lies ahead. Thomas put up 132 points […]

By Badger Sports Reporter, Piper Banning The middle school Badger boys kicked off their season tonight with three wins! The Badgers of Bonners Ferry took on the Spartans of Priest […]

Your 2025 Duke’s Claybusters – By Ron Campbell “Claybusters scores for week 5 (half way) of the Bonners Ferry Gun Club winter league. Scores are as follows: Juniors: Trenton Myers […]

By Badger Sports Reporter Piper Banning Thursday night was senior night for two Lady Badgers. With family and friends surrounding them, Syndey Hinthorn and Brooke Petesch played the second to […]

By Kathy Konek On January 18, the Kootenai Valley Rifle Club, in Bonners Ferry, hosted the Idaho State Junior Olympic Rifle Championship. Nineteen shooters from the Bonners Ferry (KV), Sandpoint, […]

By Katie Banning The Lady Badgers beat the St. Maries Lumberjacks tonight with whopping 33-point lead ending the game 80-47.  The Badgers started off strong with 47 points in the […]

By Piper Banning The annual Backwoods Brawl between rival schools Timberlake and Bonners Ferry Badgers is one for the books. Though the Badgers did not win the coveted brawl trophy […]

By Piper Banning The annual Elks Hoop Shoot North Idaho Regional competition took place Saturday in Sandpoint and our Boundary County Middle School contestants both brought home wins! The Elks […]

The Bonners Ferry High School Cheer squad won Grand Champion at the Winter Wolves Challenge at Lake City High School today! Nice work, Badgers!!

Conrad Gardner has been a fixture of Bonners Ferry High School wrestling since 1986.He started the Wrestling Wall in 2005, dedicated to Badger state champions and/or Badgers who go on to wrestle in college. This year, the wall is 20 years old. It’s also the first year a Lady Badger’s name earns a place there.

By Kristie Campbell Club Secretary The Bonners Ferry Gun Club (BFGC) and the Duke’s Claybusters High School trap team kicked off their league season with a soft opening this week, […]

By Piper Banning UPDATE:  Girls JV were victorious on Saturday 41-27 against Thompson Falls.  Great job, ladies! The Badger wrestling club made the trek over to Ronan, Montana where Sofia […]

Fighters Sofia Brown and Nevaeh Therrien were both crowned champions at the Western Montana Wrestling Invitational in Ronan, Montana, for the Badger girls wrestling team. Aubree Graves also made it […]

To add to their resume, the boys Badger varsity basketball team has won the championship game and taken first place in the Avista Tournament in Lewiston today, bringing their season […]

In their second game of the Avista Holiday Tournament in Lewiston, the Badgers dominated yet again against the Moscow Bears, taking the win 66-50.  They will grace the court again […]

By Katie Banning Two undefeated teams met for competition last night in the Avista Holiday Tournament in Lewiston at the P1FCU Activity Center.  The Badgers of Bonners Ferry and the […]

They are the only 7-0 boys 4A class high school basketball team in Idaho with only one other team, Snake River, awaiting a loss. They sit at the top of […]

Both the boys and girls varsity and junior varsity basketball teams traveled to Reardan, Washington today to end 2024 with ‘The Reardan Christmas Tournament’.  The Varsity Lady Badgers took the […]

Courtesy Paula Petesch Valley View Elementary School hosted the Elk’s Hoop Shoot today. Students practiced shooting free throws during their physical education classes recently and were able to qualify for […]

The Badger boys basketball team is on track for state this year and the Badger fans couldn’t be more excited! Last night the Badgers beat the Logos Knights on the […]

In a defining moment for Lexington Sporting Club, Lexington, Kentucky, and the local soccer community, the club proudly announced Terry Boss, who has deep roots in Boundary County, as the […]

Lady Badgers take the win AGAIN tonight against the Kellogg Wildcats, 49-21!! The Badgers host the Moscow Bears at 7 p.m. Friday, December 6 … Go Badgers!