Play Time

Pheasant hunting on the Rocky Mountain Front

 

It's funny how fishing guides as a whole are largely committed to catch and release angling, and then as soon as the season is over most of them grab some type of weapon and head to the field.  For some it's a release, a change of pace after being in a boat from March through October.  Just like you don't go back to the office for your vacation, guides choose to play in the mountains and praires.  For me it's a truly special time of year.  I love both hunting and fishing and feel priveledged to live in a state where both seasons are long and opportunity is everywhere.

Nice 6x6 bull on public land

Hunting for me is not about trophy animals with big racks.  It's about filling the freezer with the best meat in the world.  Not only is it delicious but I know exactly what happened to it from the moment that critter died to the time it hits the dinner table.  There aren't many cellophane packages at the Reinhardt house from the grocery store.  In fact, we had to lie to my son Thomas when he was younger and tell him that chicken and beef was actually pheasant and elk just to get him to eat it. 

Sunset on the plains
 

The other great thing about hunting season is the opportunity to see gorgeous scenery all over our state.  I'm lucky to be in the outdoors almost every day and while I never tire of the sights on our rivers it is refreshing to be in the beauty of the mountains and the fields for a short while.  There's nothing quite like it.

Fishing Report for the week of 10/28/2012

Mon. I was out with long-time angler Bob Rembert. Bob is in fishing for the week after a quick and successful deer hunt over the weekend. The weather report for this week isn't that awesome so when it looked relatively nice up the Blackfoot this morning I figured we had better jump at the chance or we might not get the opportunity. We floated a stretch of the middle river under cloudy skies and temps in the 40's. Bob didn't waste any time hooking a nice rainbow on his first cast with the nymph rod while I was still rigging up a streamer. After a couple more fish right at the put-in on nymphs we switched to the streamer rod and headed downstream. It was solid streamer fishing with about a grab per run and some of the deeper back eddies producing multiple strikes. It only took about a half hour for Bob to get a slam with a brown, bow, cutt, and bull all coming on the streamer rod. Nothing huge in the morning but a lot of nice fish in the 15-17" range. After lunch Bob hooked a good fish right away and then we watched as a monster bull trout closed in. This fish was solidly in the mid-30" range but he never took a real swing at the fish we had hooked. While we were watching the big boy follow at the front of the boat I noticed 2 or 3 more bullies in the run get excited too. Eventually we landed a great 19" bull trout and it's hard to believe that we had another fish right on his tail thinking of eating him! We continued with streamers for most of the afternoon. Bob stuck a few on nymphs in specific spots, but the streamer was turning enough heads to stick with it. There were other nice cutts, a couple smaller browns, and a great 19" leaping rainbow. It was a perfect Blackfoot streamer day and we hit the takeout in the nick of time. Once the boat was on the trailer it started raining and I was thankful that we got the whole day in without any rain.

Tue. I woke up to an inch of snow in my boat and dense fog in Missoula. Bob and I decided on a lower Bitterroot float and he had a fish landed before I even parked the truck. As soon as we were in the boat he had another brightly colored brown trout on a streamer and it set the tone for the morning. Lots of brown trout and streamer eats in almost every run. The tempeture was tolerable and we were fortunate not to have any wind. Most of the streamer fish were mid-sized from 14-17" and they were aggressively pounding the fly. With the overcast and fog and I was hoping for a big hatch of blue-wings but it never really materialized. We found a few fish up on top in spots and Bob stuck some on dries but they were very snotty and there weren't many of them. We turned to the nymph rod to finish out the day and closed with a nice rainbow right at the take-out. Great fishing on streamers in the morning, fair fishing in the afternoon and extremely lucky with the weather. It started raining again as soon as we got the truck loaded up.

 

 

Wed. it was back to the Bitterroot but today we floated the middle river. The streamer fishing in the morning was interesting. Early on there were a lot of bumps and grabs but few solid hook-ups. When we did connect most of the fish were bows and browns on the smaller side so I think the little guys were active early which resulted in a lot of short strikes. As the morning continued the sun poked out and put a definite damper on the streamer fish so we made the switch to the nymph rod. It was the right move and before long Bob hooked several nice bows and cuttbows, at one point he even had a single double on, with two fish on his line at the same time. One of them got away but we landed the other. After a handful of nymph fish I started to see some bugs coming off so we stopped for lunch. As we were eating the bugs really poured off and we noticed some fish start rising just upstream so Bob got out for a little wade fishing and poked a couple before we set off for the afternoon. There was a mix of mahagonies and blue-wings and we caught fish on both types of patterns. The average size dry fly fish was a little better today too. We pulled into one back eddy and noticed a fish sip on the reverse current tight to the bank. After a couple of casts the fly drifted in perfect and a trout just sucked the bug under the surface. Bob set the hook and I saw a big fish shaking his head under water. I hoped the 5x tippet would hold and after a good fight he had a gorgeous 21" cuttbow in the net. It was a great fish and the good times kept rolling with a couple other spots that were holding rising fish. After some more dry fly fish the day was getting late, the temps cooler and it was time to head home.

 

 

Thur. was a laid back affair. We had a big breakfast and I helped Bob get some stuff done around his place before heading into town to hit the river. The later start convinced me to do a short stretch of the Clark Fork and it was the perfect call. The streamer fishing started off a little slow with only one solid grab in the first few runs, but after changing the fly Bob banged out three classic Clark Fork cuttbows in a row before we pulled into a big riffle to do some nymphing. This is one of the best spots on the Clark Fork and for good reason. I barely moved the boat over the next couple of hours and Bob stuck a pile of big fish on a consistent basis. There were a few smaller ones, but the majority were cuttbows from 15-18" and they were stunningly beautiful with bright white bellies, pink stripes and purples and fuschas in their faces. We stopped to eat lunch there and give the fish a break for a bit. When Bob went back to fishing he must've boated another 6 or 7 before we decided to move on and look for some rising fish since there were a bunch of blue-wings around. Just downstream we found a big pod of fish rising on the edge of a current seam so I dropped anchor and Bob went to work again. The fish were set-up perfectly and when Bob would hook one they would immediately run out into the main river and most jumped several times but the rest of the pod didn't spook so as soon as we landed one we started looking for the next target. Eventually we had poked most all of them and had to move on but it was a lot fun sticking those fish on dries. There were quite a few random risers in the next big slick and we picked off a good number of those as well. Then the hatch started to fade and we only found little fish up top. This time of year there is no real point in forcing the issue, when the fish are done it's time to get off the water so that's exactly what we did. It was a killer day all around. The fishing was great, the weather gave us a little of everything with mostly clouds, a little sun, some snow, some rain, and we also had huge migrations of sand hill cranes flying over us the entire day. It just doesn't get much better.

 

 

With such good fishing yesterday Bob and I decided to do the same float on Fri. The first half of the day was pretty much a carbon copy of Thur. Started out fishing streamers with a few grabs and then switched to nymphs at the riffle and lit them up again. The biggest difference was that today at lunch a little front moved in and the temps dropped and brought a cold breeze as well. That didn't seem to affect the nymphing too much as we continued to hook-up with bright Clark Fork bows and cuttbows but it definitely put a damper on the dry fly fishing. We only saw a handful of blue-wings and the rising fish we did find were eating midges. We were able to find enough rising fish to keep us busy, but between the bitter cold and lack of mayflies Bob and I eventually decided to cut our loses and head for the warm truck. There were still plenty of fish today and not another angler in sight. I always look forward to Bob's trips and they always seem to go by too fast. We'll have bent rods together during Skwalas next spring and some good times around the campfire this winter.

Well, the 2012 season is in the books. Friday was my last day guiding and now I'm onto hunting, traveling, and Mr. Mom duty. Thanks to everyone for making this another great year. In the weeks to come I'll take a look back at some hightlights of this season, and a look ahead at what's up for 2013.

Tight Lines,

Tony Reinhardt

One Fly

Last week I participated in Grizzly Hackle's 12th annual One Fly.  It's a fun event that Dan Shepherd has been putting on for guides and shop employees near the end of each season.  You are drawn for a teammate and a river section and then you must pick only one fly for the day.  If the fish aren't eating it, too bad.  If you break it off then you're out.  You are allowed to measure 8 fish for the day and of those the biggest 6 will count toward your score.  The points are weighted heavily toward the top so an 18" fish is worth considerably more than a 16".  My day started out with a bang when I tagged this guy on my second cast.

 

A 22" brownie right off the bat definitely put me in the game.  Unfortunately I broke my fly off 10 minutes later and my day was over early.  Still it was a great day on the water.  My teammate, Matt had a solid day and finished second, and my trout won big fish for the day.  After sitting in the rowers seat all year it was nice to get up in the bow for a while.

That's Fall Fishing

It happens this time of year.  Look around, it's all over on blogs, facebook, instagram....heck some guy might just walk up to you and show you pics on his iphone.  Big ones, really big ones are being caught on a daily basis in western Montana.  This class of fish is only vulnerable for a short window each season, mid-March to mid-April, June, and again in October.  Those aren't time periods for the fickle, but dedicated anglers are anything but fickle and they're usually the ones hoisting two feet of trout for a grip-n-grin.  Near the end of a long season it's fish like this that keep me in the game.   

Fishing Report for the week of 9/30/2012

Tue. I was out with Dick and Cindi Hayne for our end of the season celebration. The date didn't fall on the end of season this year, but it has become an annual event and is not to be missed. We floated the upper Bitterroot and Cindi started with a single dry and Dick had a hopper/dropper rig on. True to form, Cindi hooked a couple of dicklings (small fish) right out of the gate and then she proceeded to seine the river after that. Dick might have had a couple bumps on the dropper but with Cindi tagging fish in nearly every run it didn't take long to get Dick switched over to a dry too. The morning was mostly smaller fish, but there was a nice mix of cutts, bows, and browns and once we had a couple better fish come for the fly I knew it was time for lunch before the main hatch came off. Lunch on this day is pretty much an event in and of itself, and it grows more extravagent every year. Cindi always prepares lunch for the end of the season float and today we had an absolute feast. She even had menus printed up and there was everything from spinach salad to quiche to wild alaskan salmon and all the side dishes you could ask for. Did I mention the killer champagne and chocolate turtle cake for desert? It's also the longest lunch of the year, but worth every minute. After lunch I was ready for a food coma, but we set off to see if those trout were still looking up. It was a great afternoon of dry fly fishing. The wind kicked up a little and blew some of our bugs away but we were still able to find willing fish in most all of the places I thought they should be. Cindi was gunning most of them down out of the front seat with the best being a couple of 17" trout, one bow and one cutt. Dick pulled his weight out of the back too with a couple of nice browns and a 16" cutt. There were lots of filler fish too from 10-14" and it was just a beautiful day to be on the water. Dick and Cindi are truly great folks and I always look forward to spending time with them.

Wed. was day one with long time clients, Gregg Kimball, David Joyner, Steve Dunleavy and this year they also brought first timer, Larry. I had Gregg and Larry in my boat and I was joined by fellow guide, John Gould. Larry had a few hook-set hiccups early on but Gregg kept us busy with several smaller fish on the dropper before finally coming tight on a big rainbow. After a long fight we had the 19" bow in the net which turned out to be our best fish of the morning. Larry didn't take long to catch on and a couple runs later the guys doubled up on trout and then one of the huge old bull trout starting chasing the fish on the end of our line. He never grabbed one but it was still cool to watch. Tricos were going strong by the time we made it to Munchmore and Larry and Gregg took turns drilling fish in there. It's the best that hole has fished form me in a while and the guys hooked up on a pile of cutthroats. A lot of them were smaller fish but there were at least 8 that went 15+". After that we gave up the spot for Steve and David, and we found more rising fish further downstream. Gregg took another 4 nice cutts before we pulled in for lunch. The afternoon was a mixed bag of hoppers, droppers, and little ants. Larry did well with the dropper connecting with several more great cutts including an 18" brute, and he also hooked a monster brown that ran straight at the boat, jumped and then broke us off. Gregg found most of his fish on the hopper and a couple on the ant as well. He even hooked a bull trout on the hopper in some fast water. I thought for sure it was a big rainbow, but after an epic battle through shallow rocks and boulders it turned out to be a 23" bull trout. It was another great Blackfoot day. The guys caught their share of little trout and really good numbers of quality fish from 15-17" with a few bigger ones as well.

 

 

Thur. my original client had to cancel and I was fortunate that Matt Horn called and was looking to fish for a day. I've had Matt in my boat since the 90's and he can flat out fish, whether it's dries, nymphs, or streamers he's able to fish with whatever the situation calls for and today was mainly dedicated to streamer fishing up the Blackfoot. We met at 0 dark-thirty for a trip up the canyon. The day started well when Matt smacked the first bull trout of the day before I even had the boat completely ready. The streamer action was pretty decent considering the bright sunshine we had and it was long until Matt was into another bull trout about 17", similar to the first one. We worked the streamers hard and found that a fast retrieve got the most attention as there were a number of follows and bumps to go along with a few small cutts and a fat 17 incher. We made it to Munchmore early and after working it through with one streamer I changed the fly and on the next cast Matt experienced quite a memorable moment. He was working the fly and saw a big bull trout just slide over and inhale the bug. Matt stuck him hard, came tight and the fight was on. He was pretty jacked up with being able to see the fish eat the fly and then it came to the surface with big gill rattling head shakes. In all the commotion the fish got wrapped up funny and was a little difficult to land, but the hook held and Matt had his biggest Montana bull trout to the net at 27". That alone would've been enough to make the day a success, but then I blew his mind when we slid over to the foam in Munchmore and he fished tricos to non-stop eating trout. It was so good in there that I even landed two cutties while holding my sandwhich in one hand and the fly rod in the other. We spent a long time in there tormenting those fish and Matt landed a number of 16-17" cutts and a bunch of smaller ones too. After that we found some really nice fish still rising to tricos in the shelf rock and Matt had no problem sticking several more nice, thick cutts on a little dry fly. Then it was back to the streamer for the rest of the canyon with decent success. There were lots of follows, some bumps, and a handful of small to medium sized cutts and bows. With the streamer bite fading I switched Matt over to a hopper/ant combo and he proceeded to light up a bunch of nice fish on dries. It was mostly cutts again from 15-17", just healthy and thick and a great way to finish off an awesome day. We didn't fish a nymph all day and Matt ended up with a big bully, and a grand slam with bulls, bows, cutts, and one brown trout. I always love it when anglers who fish hard and well are rewarded for their efforts because it doesn't always work out that way.

 

 

Fri. I was out with Bitterroot valley regulars, Brian Bachman, Bob Dennis, and Bridger the trout dog. The guys live around Hamilton and were looking to get out of the smoke a little so we floated the lower Bitterroot. We started the day with a hopper/dropper rig and Bob had the hot hand out of the back of the boat. It was a mixed bag of trout and whitefish on the dropper, but Brian couldn't even buy a whitey in the front seat. He finally came alive though and stuck the two biggest dropper fish of the morning with one bow around 15" and the other at 17.5". They had a number of other smaller bows before the tricos started coming off. Once the hatch was going we switched over to a single small dry and took turns casting at risers. Brian didn't waste anytime as he connected on a hot bow with his first cast and then Bob hooked a big 18" bow when it was his shot. The next pod produced good fish for both Brian and Bob and then we set up on a couple of big fish eating tight to a root ball. Again, Brian's first cast connected and the fight was on. After a long battle our best fish of the day came to the net and this bow taped out at 18.5". The guys kept taking turns like that on good fish and they did amazingly well. Those trico fish are hard to feed and they're even harder to hook and land but we only broke off one fish that ran us under a log, and only missed a couple others. Everything else was solid hook-ups, wet nets and big smiles. We finally took a break for lunch and then rigged up with mahagonies for the afternoon. It was solid dry fly fishing even though we didn't see many bugs or actively rising fish. Bob picked off a lot of the best fish in the front seat, but Brian smacked a few too and he also hooked into the biggest fish of the day. It was big, brightly colored rainbow that ate super tight to a log and after a big jump it was running back for cover when it broke off. I was sorry to see the fish get away but I was glad that Brian took his chances with the tippet holding instead of just letting the fish run him into the timber. Not long after that Bob took our only cutthroat of the day in flat calm water and that fish was another fat one that went 17". There were a lot of fish today and a lot of bigger fish too. The weather was beautiful and the river treated us well. It's always a nice day on the water with Bob, Brian and Bridger.

 

 

Sat. was my last day with the Osprey cabin crew, David Joyner, Steve Dunleavy, and Gregg Kimball. They were a man down today so guide, John and I had just three anglers. We launched the boats right at the cabin on the lower Bitterroot so we could shoot at some trico fish that aren't used to being messed with that time of day. Right off the bat David hooked a really big fish that broke the fly off in short order. A few casts after that Gregg got a mid-sized bow on a trico before we slid down on two more toad trout that were sipping tricos. These fish took a few more casts but David finally fooled one and had it briefly hooked up before the fly popped out. Then we found a really big fish just barely sipping tricos tight to the bank in a quiet back eddy. It was Gregg's shot but after a few casts his fly hung up on an overhanging bush so David was in the game. It was a challenging drift but David got the fish to eat the fly a couple of times and we missed him. Usually you only get one chance at fish like this, but today he kept eating and the third time was a charm as David came tight with a good hook-set. The fish rolled up to the surface and when I saw how big it was I thought for sure we'd lose him to the bank side brush. Luckily the fish charged out into the main river and we were eventually able to get the net under him. It was a monster bow at 21.5" and David got him on a little bitty fly and 5x. Gregg was up next and after breaking off a big fish in a slough I put him on a seam with a couple of risers. The first fish was a scrappy 12" bow, but the next one had more meat on his bones and gave Gregg a good fight. It was a heavy 19.5" bow. The trico action pretty much dried up after that and we switched to a hopper/dropper rig. David smacked a mid-sized brown and a 17" bow on the dropper and Gregg had a big one just pound the hopper. After a couple of big jumps we landed another great 18" bow. The guys switched it up after lunch and I had David as a single for the afternoon. We fished a mahagony dry with mixed results. There wasn't much of a hatch in the afternoon so most of the fish we turned on the dry were smaller than the trico fish of the morning. We did find some big boys up eating at the mouth of a spring and David had several eat the fly but we never really connected. Then we decided to do a little pike fishing in a slow stretch of water. We worked our way down a long bank and had two follow the fly but wouldn't commit. We also saw a monster pike probably pushing 20 pounds but I couldn't ever get the boat in the right position to put a really good shot on that fish. As we neared the end of the pike run I saw an old friend rise in a sneaky little spot. I have had folks hook the fish twice earlier this year. Once it broke us off and once we were able to tow it out of the gnarled log jam mess that it lives in. I gave David the set-up with where to cast and what to do once the fish ate the fly and it all went according to script. The fish ate on cue and once David was tight, he got his rod tip in the water and hauled that trout upstream to safety. A short fight later and David had another Bitterroot giant in the net. This cuttbow hit the tape at 20.5" and after a couple pics we sent him back to his little hide-out. We kept at it with the dry fly and had a couple other big eats and a few decent trout to the boat. These guys are always a ton of fun to fish with and I look forward to their trip each year. Their cabin, the Osprey, is right on the banks of the Bitterroot and is available to rent most of the season. It's an awesome place to stay if anyone is looking for a good alternative to a hotel in town.

The past week gave up some great fishing which is to be expected in late Sept. It's hard to believe that it's October already. Our weather doesn't seem like fall yet and I think this is the first year I've made it all the way through Sept. without wearing waders. Change is in the air though, and a cold front is supposed to hit by mid-week. If we're lucky it will come with some rain and put an end to the smoke that's been around for over a month now. One thing is for sure, when it does arrive it will put an end to the already dying hopper fishing but it will ramp up our mayfly hatches. The coming weeks should be dry fly nirvana with mahagonies and blue-wings in the afternoons. I love my job.

Tight Lines,

Tony Reinhardt

They're Here!! Salmonflies in Missoula

One of the most anticipated hatches of the year has finally arrived.  Salmonflies are going strong on Rock Creek, just showed up on the West Fork and upper Bitterroot, and will pop on the Blackfoot in the next few days.  The hatch is one of the most awesome spectacles you will ever see, and if the stars align it can also be the best fishing of your life.  It's a dynamic time around Missoula right now, even though there are bugs around the fishing is far from easy.  You have to read the weather, streamflows, and other factors to put yourself in the right place at the right time.  Any of our rivers might be great with dries one day and dead on the surface the next.  The trout absolutely gorge on these bugs and the fishing reflects that.  Hit it the day after a binge and all the naturals in the world won't raise fish to the surface, a rain storm or cold front could stall the bugs and the fish for a day, or you everything could come together and your rod is bent with big trout all day.  I love this time of year.  We don't kill 'em every day, but the potential is always there and the biggest trout of the year will be caught on dries over the next couple weeks.  Pack the rain gear, the camera, and the 2x and get ready for some excitement. 

Fishing Report for week of 4/29/2012

Mon. was the first of two days with Jim Cote and Herb Depp over on the Missouri. Last week I fished with Jim on the Bitterroot for one of the last dry fly days of the Skwala season before local rivers started blowing out. I mentioned how good the Mo had been this spring and he was up for the road trip. It was an easy drive to Craig, and after getting the hotel rooms and a few flies we headed up toward the dam. There were a couple boats and some wade fisherman in the normal morning spots so we started sliding downstream. Jim hooked a decent fish in our first spot and Herb netted a rainbow in the second spot we drifted. We continued making our way downstream to a good inside riffle and the guys doubled up on nice rainbows there. I recycled that spot a few times and we hooked fish on each pass. As I was rowing back upstream I noticed a pod of fish sipping midges behind the boat. We rigged Herb up with a dry and a dropper and took some shots at those fish. The boat angle was bad so I rowed us further upstream and Herb fished to them again, but still no luck. After changing flies several times Jim finally asked me what would happen if he threw his indicator nymph rig at those fish? I told him they would probably scatter like the wind but since we were moving on he might as well make a few casts. He hooked a big bow on the first cast and we were all so suprised that the fish got off. A few casts later Jim was tied into another 19" rainbow and I think we hooked another 5 or 6 good sized fish out of that little spot. They simply wouldn't leave or go down despite strike indicators and split shot bouncing off their heads. That was to become a common theme today. We'd come to a spot where I usually catch them on shallow dry/dropper rigs and we wouldn't touch a thing on the short stuff, but as soon as we switched back to the nymph rig we would start catching fish again. Both guys landed several nice bows and a few good browns as well, but Jim did especially well today with a bunch of big rainbows in the 18-19" range and one that stretched the tape to 20". We pulled the boat out at Craig and were within walking distance to our rooms and a great dinner at Izaak's.

Day two is a day surrounded by rumor, speculation, and controversy. One thing is for certain, it will live on for some time to come. After a breakfast sandwhich and a cup of coffee we drove back up to the dam early so we could have our pick of the water. I rowed up to one of my favorite spots on the river and Herb hooked a trout on the first pass. After that it went quiet and I made several more passes and a couple of bug changes with no luck. I was a little concerned but we moved over to another little shelf and quickly boated three rainbows on a couple of passes before a gaggle of wade fisherman pushed us out of there. We made our down to the inside riffle from yesterday and doubled up on the first pass. Since no one else was around I was able to row all the way to the top today and we hooked at least two fish on each drift. Since the river is up a little from earlier this spring, this spot is a tough one to row back up and after the second pass I wasn't feeling quite right. On the third pass I felt like I was going to heave right in the boat, and on the fourth pass I had to stop the boat and take a walk. Without getting into the gory details, I'm sure some critter was able to enjoy a slightly used breakfast sandwhich on an island of the Missouri. After that I felt great! I jumped back in the boat and we made several more passes and landed nice healthly rainbows on each drift. Eventually I started feeling a second wave coming on and knew I needed easier water to row so we floated down to the next island. As I started rowing up that channel we could see dozens of big bows just laying on that shallow inside. We started fishing and it was a near instant double where Herb landed a 20" bow and Jim an 18". The first several drifts we hooked at least two fish and sometimes three or four on a single pass, and they were all 17+" rainbows. The predicament was that the fishing was absolutely awesome, but I was feeling like death. After the first few passes I had to go get rid of the last of the smoked bacon and english muffin, only this time it brought no relief. I was light-headed, could hardly talk, and barely able to row the boat. To their credit, the boys offered to bail out on the day and head back, but I wanted to stick it out for as long as I could. I did change my shuttle from Craig to Wolf Creek so we could get out of there in a hurry if need be. The fishing was just too good to leave. It was big fish after big fish with Jim tagging a bright 19.5" bow and Herb landing a giant 21" rainbow. We'd hook a couple nice fish, they'd ask if I was OK (the looks on their faces was that of a 10 year old just hoping to stay a little longer at the county fair), and we'd go do it again. At one point I was seriously debating asking Jim to row my boat to the take-out, but about that time we took a break so the guys could eat. Not long after lunch the fishing slowed to where we were only hooking one fish each drift and it started getting crowded with other boats so we looked for new water. Our next spot proved just about as good with a double right away and multiple hook-ups on each drift but the last one. That's when the wind really started to blow and since I still wasn't feeling much better we started making our way toward to take out. We still hooked fish in each of the last two spots we fished, but I was awfully glad to get my boat on the trailer and into the air-conditioned truck. The guys had wanted to fish till around 4 so they could make it to Hamilton at a reasonable hour, but I was only able to last until 2. In hindsight, it was actually a blessing because the wind blew 20-30 mph all afternoon which would have made for pretty miserable fishing conditions to finish out an otherwise great day. We made it back to Missoula and I hit the sack at 5:30 that night and didn't twitch until 9 the next morning.

Now here is the fun part; well, fun for Jim and Herb...not so much for me. I know I am going to catch sh#$ for years about this day. It's to be expected, I certainly would have a lot of fun with it if I was in their shoes. So, for the sake of full disclosure here are the facts of the trip. After dinner the first evening I had a night cap with Herb and then a few drinks with some other guides (sleeping, eating, fishing, and drinking are the only 4 activities available in Craig). I would rate the alcohol consumption as moderate to slightly above, but I was in bed by 12:30 and woke up feeling fine. Still doing good after breakfast and coffee, and the party in my stomach didn't start until 10:30. The effects of which lasted until Wed. evening. Some may claim the brown bottle flu as the culprit, others the salmonella special for breakfast, still others state the drinking water in Craig is akin to Tijuana, and a small faction assert divine intervention in getting us off the water before the guys found themselves bouncing split shot off one another in the 30 mph winds. Whatever the case may be, it's one hell of a story that won't soon be forgotten. Oh by the way, Jim and Herb caught a boatload of great fish, Herb described it as one of his best big fish days ever and I can't wait to go do it again........all but the puking part of course!

 

 

After a couple days of fishing early in the week I was stuck in Missoula catching up on things until Sun. when I took my Dad over to the Missouri. We were both busy this spring and didn't fish together once, so I wasn't going to let the chance slip away to get on the water with him for at least a day in the early season. We launched the boat at Craig hoping for some good dry fly fishing further down below the dam. Dad started with a nymph rig and it didn't take long to start catching fish. I think he hooked five rainbows out of one riffle in the morning and most of the other good water produced fish as well. I rowed up a little side channel looking for rising fish, but when we didn't find any I ended up tossing the indicator rig and landing three nice bows before switching to the streamer rod and tagging a fat 18" rainbow. The weather was perfect today, high 50's clouds and no wind and the fishing was very good. The only disappointment was the lack of dry fly fishing today. We had good bugs and clouds, but there weren't many fish up on the surface. It might have been the weekend traffic, but we did find three good pods of fish and managed to stick at least one fish on a dry out of each group. I caught a couple dry fly fish in the afternoon, but otherwise Dad did most of the fishing and he simply drilled them on nymphs. Most were rainbows in the 14-16" range, but we also had a number of fish from 17-19" and a handful of brown trout too. Fishing with my Dad is always a good time, but the perfect weather and easy fishing made today extra special.

Local Missoula rivers are all back on the decline after hitting record high flows for this time of year. If the weather stays mild we may get another shot at area trout before the real run-off sets in. Of course, the Missouri is fishing very well with nymphs, sporadic dries, and streamers and I plan to hit a few area lakes in the next week or so. There's still some great fishing to be had right now so long as you do your homework and are willing to travel a little.

 

Fishing Report for week of 4/15/2012

Dry fly cuttbow

After some pretty tough fishing last week, the Bitterroot roared back to life on Mon. It was the first of five days with long-time angler Bob Rembert and we picked a stretch on the middle Bitterroot. The water had been on the drop for the last few days and with the warm and mostly cloudy forecast I figured we would be in for some good fishing. We started the morning with a dry/dropper rig and Bob was picking off fish right above the put-in. We landed quite a few smaller (10-13") trout in the morning, but he also had a bright 17" bow. After landing three fish in a run, with a couple on the dry we decided to do an early lunch in anticipation of the dry fly fishing to come. After packing up, we switched over to a single skwala dry and the fish came absolutely unglued in the afternoon! It was literally non-stop action from 12:20 to 3:30. There were a pile of smaller fish on the hunt, but we were also seeing quality trout in spots too. At one point we landed at least 5 trout in three consecutive runs. There were a bunch of bugs around today with skwalas, march browns, and gray drakes all on the water. Some days that can make for tricky fishing where some fish are keyed in on drakes and others on the stonefly, but today we got virtually every rising fish to eat the skwala. We witnessed some pretty awesome dry fly takes today with fish absolutely crushing the dry. Later in the afternoon the fishing slowed from fever pitch to very good and our average fish got bigger as well. Bob landed a number of 18" class bows and cuttbows and a nice 17" brown to go along with an unreal amount of 12-16" trout. It was by far the best day of fishing I've seen this year and one of the best days of skwala fishing for numbers of trout that I've ever experienced! Spring fishing is always a bit of a gamble and today we hit the jackpot.

So after the best day of dry fly fishing so far this season, what did we do today? Went up the Blackfoot to streamer fish of course!?! The thing I like about Bob is he'd go fish a muddy irrigation ditch with me if I told him I thought it would be good. That willingness to take a chance has led to some epic fishing in the past, and it's also led to our fair share of ass kickings as well. It's part of the game and Bob has seen the upside often enough to know that the risk is worth the reward. We headed up to the canyon today with hopes of big fish on streamers. The big meat didn't produce much all morning. Bob had a handful of grabs and a chunky 17" cuttbow by the time we reached the Munchmore hole. The bright sun wasn't doing us any favors so we switched to a nymph rig and the results were immediate. Bob hooked over 8 in that run including a few fat 16-17" cuttbows. I focused on specific spots through the canyon and almost every run produced multiple fish. It was outstanding nymph fishing the rest of the day. We never got the big boys to eat the streamer, but we landed a ton of healthy 12-17" cutts and bows. The weather was perfect, warm with little wind and we had the entire river to ourselves. I'm sure the dry fly fishing was solid again today on the Bitterroot, but the Blackfoot was gorgeous, the fish were willing, and there wasn't another soul around.

Wed. Bob's long-time fishing buddy, Roger Austin, joined us for a day on the Bitterroot. After some warm weather the river was back on the rise so I picked a float on the lower river hoping to stay ahead of the push of water. Our morning was par for the course with most of the fish coming on a stonefly nymph dropper. We had a couple trout take a whack at the dry throughout the morning and then just before lunch we started to see a few bugs around. I stopped and switched the guys over to single dry flies. While I was still rigging Roger up, Bob stuck a nice big rainbow on the dry. Not long after that Roger coaxed a hefty brown out of a tight little hole in the bank. That fish wrapped around a bunch of tree limbs under water and I thought for sure we'd lose him but Roger managed to get the fish back out of the tangle and into the net. With the fish starting to look up I decided to stop and eat so we'd be ready when the bugs poured off in the afternoon. The only problem was that the bugs didn't pour off in the afternoon, in fact they pretty much disappeared completely. Distant clouds keep teasing us as well while we baked in the bright sun. We caught some fish in the afternoon and most everything that ate the fly was a good sized trout from 16-19", but it was tougher than we thought it would be. A combination of bright sun, rising water levels, boat traffic, and no bugs made the trout a little grumpy. We still had a great time on the water, I always enjoy having Roger in the boat, and there were some gorgeous fish today.

Midge Brownie!

After a great dinner with friends on Rock Creek with world class home made pizza by Mike Lombardi, Bob and I made the trip over the pass to the Missouri for two days of fishing. On Bob's spring trip we usually fish the Mo one day during the week, but with all the rivers in western Montana on the rise we decided to make an overnight trip out of it. We stopped in Helena to pick up provisions since we were renting an awesome cabin overlooking the river. After all the little stops we finally hit the middle river around noon. It was cloudy and relatively calm and we started fishing streamers. It didn't take long for Bob to hook three or four on the streamer rig and then we started to see some fish rising to midges. We switched over to a little midge cluster and the next couple hours was some of the best dry fly midge fishing I've ever seen. I found a little current seam with three or four fish rising. I thought they were mostly little fish, but when Bob came tight on the first one, a 17" bow I realized they were all good trout. Everytime Bob would hook a trout it seemed like two more would slide in to replace it and start feeding. I don't know how many fish we hooked on that current seam, but it was over 10 nice rainbows. It's hard to beat 16-20" bows on a size 18 dry and 5x tippet. We went from one current seam to the next picking off risers until we came to a calm part of the bank and I spotted a big fish feeding up under some overhanging willow branches. Degree of difficulty for this presentation was an 8 or 9. The fish was tucked up under the willows tight to the bank. There was only one gap in the branches to get the fly in close enough to the fish and then Bob had to feed at least 15 feet of slack into the drift to allow the fly to make it down to the feeding trout. After 20+ attempts everything came together and the fish ate the fly. Bob set the hook and a big brown erupted in a cartwheeling jump from under the willows. It was perfect. There are scores of great trout over the course of a season, but there's only a handful of special moments like that; big trout in a super tough spot on a tiny fly and light tippet. I won't forget that brown trout anytime soon. We continued catching fish on midges until the hatch petered out and the wind picked up. We switched back to streamers with reasonable success and then when the wind really started to howl we rowed for the take out.

Mo Rainbow

Fri. I really wanted to head back lower on the Missouri for streamer and midge fishing, but the weather was telling me to point my rig toward the dam. It was bright sun which typically means marginal streamer and dry fly fishing. A nymph rig on the upper river is fairly impervious to the weather and I knew Bob could stick a bunch of nice fish under the indicator today. Since we stayed the night we were able to get on the water early and row upstream to one of the best runs on the river. We stayed in that one spot for over two hours and hooked at least one fish on every pass that we made. Most were good sized bows from 16-20", but we also saw a few of the smaller 12-14" bows in the river. We finally cut loose from that run and started drifting downstream. Every spot that I thought should produce a fish, did produce and most runs Bob had several strikes. In one particular run I think we had five fish hooked, and the last was one of the hardest fighting rainbows I've seen. Bob's been around the block and knows how to play trout, but this fish just wouldn't give up. After a long battle we landed a gorgeous 20+" bow that was so thick Bob could hardly hold it. After lunch there was a traffic jam of boats so I opted for a little side channel that no one else had been down. It's funny how little decisions like that can make or break the day. We ended up finding a small shallow water spot where fish were midging and I didn't pick up the anchor for over 2.5 hours. The sun made the fish a little reluctant to rise, but we dropped a little zebra midge 4" below our dry and sight fished to big Mo rainbows. It was a blast watching the fish react to the fly, and it was amazing how many fish were stacked up in a small spot. I couldn't tell you how many fish we poked out of that spot, but there were 4 20" class rainbows with the biggest a 22" stud and many more in the 14-18" range. After that spectacle it was hard to go back to the indicator rig so we just cruised the river looking for some more midging fish. We finally found another bucket in a maze of side channels and Bob lit up a bunch of other big bows with a couple more approaching 20" and the rest from 17-19". When the fishing finally slowed down it was getting late and we cruised down to the boat ramp and back to Rock Creek. It was another great day on the Mo and an awesome week with one of my favorite anglers.

Snowy Mo Bow

Sun. I fished with Linda Hogg and Frank Heigel. We set out again for the Missouri since our local water is still a little out of shape. Linda hasn't fly fished much in the past and Frank hadn't tossed a fly in 15 years, but I knew the river would produce for us. The weather didn't help much though, after driving through snow over the pass the white stuff was still falling as we launched the boat. It made for tough conditions with bulky clothes and gloves on, and ice building up in the guides but Linda and Frank were troopers and persevered despite the elements. We hooked a bunch of nice fish today and brought some real nice rainbows to the net. Linda landed her first rainbow on the fly and Frank boated a couple great bows over 18". Both anglers fished really well today with good casts and few tangles, but the cold made it tough to feel the line after hooking up, and there were a number of fish that got away simply because it was hard to control the fly line with big gloves and numb hands. Toward the end of the float Frank hooked up on a big brown that stretched the tape near 20" and Linda boated her biggest bow of the day at 16". I had a blast fishing with these two today. A lot of folks would have had second thoughts considering the conditions, but Linda and Frank never complained and were rewarded with a bunch of nice fish. I look forward to fishing again with Linda later this summer and I hope Frank makes it out again soon.

Conditions locally are back on the verge of very good dry fly fishing again. The Bitterroot is clear and the bugs are out, but it is still flowing a little heavy. The weather looks good for this coming week and I expect to see fish on dries again soon.

MARCH MADNESS: Missoula, Montana Style

Bitterroot River Bracket

Fly fishing with big dries is happening around Missoula right now.  Some watch March Madness on TV, getting all worked up about their $20 office pool.  Others witness March Madness live, on the rivers of western Montana.

Missoula, Montana Fly Fishing Report for 3/18/2012



Scott's Dry Fly Brownie

The 2012 fishing season has finally arrived! It seems that our mild winter has been agreeable with the trout and, our fishing went from not much of anything to game on overnight.

On Wed. I got out with former guide and long time friend, Scott Timothy. We put in on the middle Bitterroot and the river was in great shape, clear with a decent flow. Scott was on fish right away with a dry/dropper rig and landed a couple nice bows righ across from the boat ramp. It wasn't long before Scott got his first dry fly eat on a Skwala, and then I landed my first Bitterroot trout of the year on a dry fly. We found a few rising fish just after lunch and I fooled a couple mid-size cuttbows on a blue-wing olive. Our fishing was solid all day with most of the fish coming on a dropper, but enough action on the dry to keep things interesting. Scott and I didn't fish too hard, it was just nice to be back on the water again with some decent weather as well.

Steve's 19.5" Bow

Logjam Rainbow

 Thur. was my first guide day of the year and I headed to the Osprey cabin on the lower Bitterroot to pick up 1/4 of the LaMosca club, Steve Duvall and his buddy Tom. I fished several years with Steve but this was to be my first float with Tom. Unfortunately Tom had to bail out and head back to NY, literally at the last minute. We had the boat in the water and I was rigging rods when Tom finally reached someone who could change his flight. We were lucky to get my shuttle driver to rush down and take Tom back to the cabin so he could make the flight. I'm glad it all worked out, but it was a shame that Tom missed the first really good dry fly day of the season. Steve had a couple dry fly eats right at the put-in and the action stayed steady all day. With stuck with a Swkala/dropper rig for most of our fishing and the ratio was probably 40/60, but there were a few spots where we ran a single dry and found fish. The trout are still holding in the slow water and virtually every little soft spot and back eddy we pulled into produced a fish or two. We caught some small fish, but our average was around 14", and we landed five trout that were 18" or better with the biggest at 19.5". One of the highlights of the day was a little foam spot that was surrounded by downed trees and branches. I told Steve to cast in there just for fun, knowing there was virtually no chance of landing a fish in that tangled mess. Steve came tight on a fish and I was hollering to try to horse him out of there and then I saw the fish on the surface. It was a big bow and I figured we were screwed, but Steve managed to keep him out of the wood and after making sure we wouldn't flip the boat I jammed it into a tight slot in the log jam. It was an impossible situation but we managed to land the 18.5" bow and keep from dying at the same time. The weather was perfect today, mostly cloudy mid-50's and calm. Steve caught a pile of fish and I look forward to seeing him and the rest of the boys later this fall.

Rainbow on a Skwala Dry

Fri. was my first of two days with Ryan Jack. Ryan typically comes out in the summer with his Dad, but he's getting married in about a month so he contacted me to see if there was any spring fishing to be had. I told him about the Skwala hatch and he jumped on the opportunity. It rained most of Thur. night and I was dreading pulling up the streamflows on the computer Fri. morning. Sure enough, the Bitterroot was coming up hard at Darby. I really wanted to put Ryan on some good fishing, after all this would be his last trip as a single man and I didn't want it to be a dud. I honestly didn't know what to do, I thought about running over to the Missouri for good nymph fishing, floating the lower Root where the river wasn't rising as bad, but in the end I went with my gut and we headed back to the middle Bitterroot where the fishing and bug life has been the best. The river was definitely up, but I breathed a sight of relief when we hooked our first fish within sight of the boat ramp. The morning fishing was decent as we found fish in the best water on a dry/dropper rig. The weather improved after lunch and the fish turned on as well. Again, slow water, back eddies, and inside bends were all consistent producers. For the first time this year we found a couple spots where fish were actively eating Skwala dries and we switched over to a straight dry in those spots and tagged some nice fish. Ryan landed browns, bows, and cutts with five or six in the 18-19" range. We had a good number of dry fly eats, but the ol' dirt snake is still pretty hard to beat. The worm produced consistently in most all the spots we put it in the afternoon. The fishing slowed down around 5 and we managed to find a couple more fish in the last hour before we got off the river. We had a great day, and I was even more amazed when I got home and saw that the river was rising hard all day long. The Bitterroot is typically a cold mistress on a rising tide but we managed to beat the odds and put a bunch of nice fish in the boat.

Ryan's 20" Bow

Sat. dawned cold and wet and I wondered if the river was looking to get even with us today. The upper river had nearly doubled in volume over the last 24 hours and I figured we would be in for a challenging day. We went a little further upstream today to try to find the best water for the conditions. It was cold and raining at the put-in and I wasn't sure what would be tougher, finding fish or just staying warm. The river had lost quite a bit of clarity and was definitely running harder than yesterday. After fishing a couple spots with a dry/dropper set-up I knew we needed the nymph rig for today. We made the switch and a couple runs later Ryan was tight to a 18" cuttbow. Another cutt came a short while later and I was a little more optomistic about our chances. The conditions were much worse today, but at lunch we had more fish in the boat than yesterday. Ryan was seining the river and no fish was safe, he even managed to tag a whitefish and the ultra-selective sucker. Our biggest failure came at lunch when we couldn't manage to get a fire going. Not even the "special sauce" floatant could help us get a flame going in those cold and wet conditions. Fortunately the rain tapered off and the temp came up just enough to make things borderline comfortable. We drilled a bunch of nice fish in the run where we ate lunch and the fishing was consistently solid all afternoon. We focused on specific water types and there weren't many spots that didn't produce. The dry fly fishing never materialized but it was hard to argue with a bent rod most of the time. Again we saw a mix of fish with a 17" brown and several bows and cutts in the 17"-18" range, and late in the day Ryan boated the first 20" bow of the season. The river seems really healthy this year. The proof is two great days of fishing despite conditions that could have easily produced catches in the single digits. Ryan is always fun to fish with and I'm glad that the Skwala hatch treated him well. I look forward to seeing him later this summer with his Dad.

We've dried out a little and the forecast for the next few days is cool with temps in the 40's. The river has levelled off and is back on the drop. We should be back to dry fly fishing in a couple days and the higher flows have shuffled the fish and there should be some big trout holding in vulnerable lies over the next week. It's great being back on the water. There's nothing quite like watching big trout eat big dry flies after a long, cold winter!

Tight Lines!

Missouri Road Trip Video

Missouri on a sunny Feb. day

Finally got all the footage put together from our great trip to the Missouri last month.  This is my first attempt at video editing and the audio isn't quite right.  You may have to crank the sound up on your computer.
Click here for video

Storm's a Comin'

Storm clouds on the Root

Our first batch of nice weather finally made it to western Montana.  It was sunny and over 50 today with more mild weather on the way.  It's enough to make a guy itch to go fishing if I didn't already know better.  The spring Skwala hatch is the most anticipated event of the fishing season for those in the know.  Along with it comes a heavy dose of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. 


The Good is that it's the first and possibly the best big bug fishing of the year.  There's not much better than watching big trout gobble dry flies after a long, cold winter and if you know the river, the hatch cycle, and the weather you can stay on solid fishing from mid-March all the way till the river blows in late April or May.  


The Bad is that this hatch has gained in popularity over the years and it's no secret anymore.  The best fishing and heaviest pressure is on certain sections of the Bitterroot forcing anglers and guides to adjust their strategies.  Instead of just fishing the best water at the best time of day you have to get creative with access and use a few other tricks to avoid the traffic.  


The Ugly is what is about to take place in the Bitterroot valley over the next 10 days or so.  With the recent good weather every cabin fever afflicted angler within a couple hundred miles is headed to the river.  Locals, guys from Washington, and MT plates from out East will all be spotted at access areas in the coming days.  It plays out like this almost every year.  Unfortunately, the fishing is just not that good yet.  It's ugly (and a little funny) because it turns into a crowded river with anglers hoping against hope for a fish to eat their dry and it's just not going to happen, at least not very often.  The downside is the increased pressure clues the fish into the fact that the game is on again.  The upside is that a bunch of frustrated anglers who showed up too early go home whining about the Skwala hatch saying that it doesn't exist and is just a bunch of b.s. put out by fly shops and guides to make money.  The crowds clear out and leave a less congested river for the rest of us.

Here's to the start of the of 2012 season.  There are a few fish to find right now, but things should really get rolling in another 10 days or so.....till then I'm steering clear of the storm.    

Grip-N-Grins: How to make your fly fishing pictures worthy of the wall

You waited all year for your fly fishing trip, picked up some new gear and had one of your best trips ever.  You caught some awesome fish and were amazed by their beauty.  Your fishing partner or guide snapped some pics of the better fish and now you can't wait to get home to show friends and family.  You checked the photos on that ridiculously tiny LCD screen on the back of the camera and they looked just fine.  But when you get home and pull them up on the computer the best fish of the trip ends up looking like this.

Yep, that 20+" bow that you were going to brag about is hardly worth showing.  Your buddies may really believe you about the fish's size, but you're never going to get the reaction you want with a photo like this and it's definitely not going up in your office.  This photo is an extreme example with several major flaws, but even small miscues or one bad element can ruin an otherwise great photo.  Catching a trophy trout is hard to do, but getting that bruiser to the net is only half the battle.  There's a lot going on when a big fish is landed and you're getting ready for the photo-op.

All too often I see folks just grab the fish anyway they can, one maybe two shots are taken and that's it.  When I land a photo worthy fish the first thing I do is get the hook out and then get them back in the water. The biggest priority is the welfare of the trout so make sure the fish remains in the water as much as possible.  That way if things go sideways trying to get the pic the the fish can be quickly and easily released.  Once the hook is out I start thinking about composition, can I get the sun at my back?, sunglasses off, hat tilted slightly up.  Then it's time to get your hands wet and get ready for the shot.  While this is going on the photographer should be framing the shot.  Don't wait till your buddy is holding the trout to raise the camera up.  Get the camera where you want it so when the angler holds the fish they come into the frame.  Don't be shy to give orders at this point.  You don't want the fish out of water long so make the shots count.  As the photographer you want to fill the frame with the angler and the trout, after all they are the stars of this production.  Don't be afraid to use the zoom, or better yet, get the camera closer to the subjects since the zoom tends to compress the image.  What you want to avoid is a pic like the last image above, a bunch of scenery and what looks to be a guy holding a small trout (it's a 22" bullie by the way even though it looks 16").  Get in as close as possible so you have the fish and the anglers head and shoulders.  The other thing to keep in mind as the photographer is to shoot as many pics as you can.  Point and shoot cameras have a delay between when you press the shutter and when the pic is actually taken so you're likely to get a different image than the one you saw when you pressed the button.  Usually the pic snaps when the fish is moving or the angler has a weird expression on their face so shoot as many as possible, you can always delete later.

As the angler it's your job to make the fish look good and keep from looking stupid remember to smile.  It's important to take a second and think about things.  First of all, relax, the fish seem to be much more cooperative with someone who is relaxed than a tense angler trying to put the death grip on them.  Keep the net below the fish so it's no big deal if it slips out of your hands.  Rule #1 is keep your fingers off the front of the fish.  People want to see the pretty trout not your big sausage fingers like the second photo above.  Cradle the fish with your fingers under the fins and your thumbs up near its back for balance.  Make sure to show the entire side of the fish to the camera.  Rule #2 is hold the fish up and out.  The first photo above shows an angler holding the trout down and off to the side.  That's a big disservice to an otherwise big, colorful rainbow.  Try to get the fish up at least shoulder high and extend your arms toward the camera without locking them straight out.  Your photos will look unnatural and gimmicky if you hold your arms all the way out, a slight bend in the elbows works great.  Straight on photos are just fine, but a little angle on the fish with the head toward the camera looks even better.

Fish photos are like anything else in life, put a little thought into it and things are likely to turn out for the better.  Don't hesitate to practice on fish that may not be "trophies".  While those photos won't end up on your wall, you will be able to see the things that work well and those that don't so when that once in a lifetime fish does make it to the net you'll end up with a picture worthy of the moment.

Road Trip: Fly fishing the Missouri in February

Hooked up at Eagle Rock

Well, it finally happened. Cabin fever got the best of me and I had to get out of the house for some fishing. Usually it's a steelhead trip to Idaho this time of year, but the conditions have been miserable over there so I joined up with friends Jason and John for a road trip to the Missouri. I pulled my boat and Jason towed his killer trailer over to Craig. If you've ever been over to the Mo' then you know there's not a lot in the way of services and there's even less in the winter. Unless you're content to sleep on the floor of Joe's Bar or Headhunters Flyshop then you had better bring your own accommodations. 

Jason with a Big Streamer Bow

We arrived in Craig around 3 p.m. on Fri. afternoon and after catching up with the guys at the fly shop and setting up the trailer in the campground we headed up to put the boat in below Holter dam. It was fairly nice weather, partly cloudy, no wind and 40. The nymph fishing was nothing short of spectacular. After an hour or so of non-stop action on nymphs we decided to slide downstream and look for some rising fish. Dry flies in Feb????? When the conditions are right there can be some great, but technical dry fly fishing for big pods of sippers on midges. As soon as the sun slipped behind the ridge we had an inside bend that was covered in rising trout for over 100 yards. It was a great scene, but it was by no means easy pickings. The fish were very selective but Jason and John were both able to connect with nice rainbows on dry flies.

On the Hunt for Meat Eaters

Day two was cooler and breezier. Since Sat. is typically the busiest day on the Mo' we decided to float below Craig to avoid other anglers. It was also an opportunity to check out the winter streamer fishing. It's hard for me to believe that these fish will move for a streamer in 34 degree water, but they will. Slow water was key and a slow swing/strip was the retrieve that they wanted. We didnt' see the numbers of fish that we hooked up by the dam on nymphs but I thought we did really well considering the conditions. We landed over 20 fish on the big bugs, most were rainbows from 15-20" but once we got below the mouth of the Dearborn we boated 4 or 5 browns up to 19".  Of course, Sat. night is big in Craig, MT so after dinner we headed over to Joe's Bar for some pool, some lies, and a few drinks with the boys from Headhunters.

Bugger Brown Trout

 

Sun. started warm and calm, but the wind kicked up in the late morning and cold hands were part of the day. We headed back up to float the dam to Craig knowing that we would have good nymphing and hoping to find some dry fly fishing. We parked the boat in one spot up by the dam and the fishing was insane. The kind of stuff you really don't want to describe because most people won't believe you. It's the first time I've ever seen a quadruple! John and I doubled up on nice rainbows. We netted both of them, got the hooks out and before Jason could release them, John and I were doubled up again. It was quite a sight to see 4 big Mo' rainbows in the net at the same time. We probably could've stayed in that spot and caught fish all day long but we decided to move downstream. The wind never really let up and the temp never got to 40 so our dry fly prospects didn't happen, but the nymphing remained good until the cold wind had us rowing for the take out around 5.

Nice Double with Mr. Double Up Himself

It's so nice to have a river like the Missouri only 2 hours away. Any time of year that a trout fix is in order we can just roll over Rodgers Pass and a bent rod is only a cast and a good mend away. I shot a lot of video over there as well and hope to have something up later this week.

 

Most of the 2012 season is already booked. If you haven't made your fishing plans yet this year you should consider doing so as soon as possible. Skwalas are only a few short weeks away and I can't wait to start throwing big dries on the Bitterroot this March.

Oops! Montana Fly Fishing Pics Gone Awry



As a fly fishing guide I take lots of fish photos each year.  The majority are classic grip n' grin poses due to sheer necessity.  When you have a cold, wet, slimy, uncooperative model you often take the quickest and most reliable photo possible.

Creative and artistic shots are great, but trout are a challenge to deal with even for experienced anglers and despite my personal desire to get the best photos, I have to keep in mind that trout much prefer being in the water and I try to get them back there quickly.  As a result I have hundreds of the same photo; tightly cropped angler holding trout a.k.a the "grip n' grin".

It's the easiest pose for both angler and fish and it usually goes something like this:  Net the fish and remove the hook, put the trout back in the water in the net while the camera comes out, position the angler and frame the shot, bring the net to the angler and have them get their hands wet, get both hands behind and under the trout lifting it up, snap several frames while keeping the net under the fish just in case, put the trout back in the net for the release.  If all goes well the whole process takes less than a minute and the trout is only out of the water for 15 seconds or so.

As you can see by the photos, all doesn't always go well.  Trout have the uncanny knack of springing into action as soon as the shutter is pressed.  These are some of my favorite shots.  I love the expressions on the anglers' faces and seeing the trout in motion.  It's also why I bring a big net, makes the slimy buggers easier to catch when they're jumping around. 

Next week we'll take a look at the do's and don'ts for good fish pictures and some alternatives to the classic grip n' grin.







Montana Winter Fly Fishing

X-treme Winter Fishing

I'm not much of winter trout fisherman anymore.  I enjoy it, and it's a nice diversion this time of year when there's not much going on.  I just feel sorry for the poor bastards.  We chase trout so hard from March through October that I feel they deserve a little break.  That has led to afternoon fishing excursions with my daughter Kaitlyn in the living room.  She's got a pretty good cast these days but her mends could use a little work....couldn't everybody's!  Still, it beats the hell out of playing Barbies and doing tea parties.  Of course, cabin fever could strike at any moment and all the above goes out the window when the need to feel a bent rod overwhelms any shallow feelings of pity for the poor trout.

Digging Out

Friday view from the porch

It's snowing again today, but the weekend gave us a break from the 5th biggest snow event in western Montana history.  I don't know what the official numbers were but we got nearly two feet of the white fluffy stuff at my house.  Spent all of Thur. and Fri. just keeping the driveway cleared out. 

Most of the other guides I know finally breathed a sigh of relief.  Up to this point it's been a mild winter and we were looking down the barrel of a low water year.  One big storm and suddently we are in good shape again.  I don't think we'll see the record high water levels of last year, but we've broken the dry weather cycle and we're in store for another good water year.  Time to go shovel again......