Tue I fished with local angler Bobby and his friend Eric from Salt Lake. The recent warm weather had Missoula area rivers high and off-color so we headed over the divide to fish the Missouri. We were greeted by snow falling on the drive over and it was hard to believe I was sweating in my waders the last few days. Bobby had never floated before and while Eric had fished some other western rivers, neither angler had ever been on the Mo. It was cold outside, but the fish didn't seem to mind and Eric hooked up on the first rainbow of the day before I even had Bobby's rod rigged up. It took the guys a little while to get used to the light line, small flies, and big rainbows on the Missouri. There were a couple break offs and a few fish that pulled the hook, but before long those big slabs were hitting my net. There were at least 4 fish in the 20" inch class and Bobby had big fish honors with a huge bow that went 21" and was so fat it had to be over 5 pounds. He also caught one of the prettiest rainbows I've ever seen. The fish had giant, almost dime sized spots on it and they extended through its stomach and lower jaw which is very rare. Unfortunately it was so cold that the fish slipped out of the net while I was fumbling for the camera. There was a bitter wind for most of the day with frequent snow squalls and it was so frigid out there that the guys didn't even want to eat lunch. There was plenty of shaking going on in the boat but we stuck with it and were rewarded with a bunch of nice fish. The smallest fish of the day was 15" and most were in the 17-18" range and red hot with lots of jumps and one fish that nearly ran Eric to his backing. We had several near doubles during the day and a good run in the late afternoon finally produced the double hook-up we were looking for. The fish were going crazy, the lines were crossed and I handed rods back and forth between the guys while the boat spun around in the end. How we landed those fish I'm not sure but it was a great way to end the day. The cold had finally taken its toll and we rowed off for the warmth of the truck and ate lunch on the way home. It was an incredible wildlife day too, we saw several herds of elk, mule deer, and whitetails along with antelope, a golden eagle, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, a great horned owl, and an osprey grabbing a big rainbow just below the boat. The weather was a challenge, but I had a great time with Bobby and Eric and hope to get on the water again with them soon.
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| Bobby with a nice rainbow |
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| Eric going for a little liquid warmth in the midst of a white-out |
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| A good double to finish off the day....even I was cold at this point! |
Thur. I was out with local angler Jim Cote and we set off for the Missouri. Jim usually tries to spend a couple days on the Mo each spring but this was a one day affair so we hoped the fish were in a good mood. There were a couple of other boats around at the put-in but I was still able to get on a run I really like and it paid off. Jim hooked fish on every pass we made and they were all big bows in the 18-19" range with the exception of the first fish that was a spunky 16" female. After 8 or 9 passes another boat moved in on us and it was time to make our way downstream. Jim tagged a couple more on our way down to the "bull pen", a well known run that was surprisingly void of anglers. We worked that run over hard producing another 8 or 9 fish before taking a break for lunch. It was hard for me to believe that just two days ago I was in this spot with snow piling up in my boat and my anglers were so cold they didn't even want to eat lunch. For Jim and I it was a little breezy, but sunny and close to 60 out. After lunch we had the slightest hiccup. I changed the bugs in anticipation of afternoon hatches and we floated through a run with no strike. I quickly switched the flies back and Jim was right back on the fish. It was as good a fishing as you could ask for. We found fish in every single run the rest of the afternoon and most runs produced multiple trout. What was truly amazing was the size of fish today. If I had to peg the average it was a solid 18". We caught that 16" bow first thing in the morning, had two other fish in the 17" range and then just about every fish the rest of the day was a true 18-19" with 3 or 4 coming in at 20", and the best fish of the day was a big 21.5" bow. They were all healthy, fought really hard, and a few put on great aerial shows with a bunch of great jumps. The Missouri right now is like the Disneyland of trout fishing....it's where dreams come true. I have a feeling Jim and I may be headed back there again before the month is out.
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| Big bows putting holes in the river |
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| 21 inches of fun |
Back to the Mo again on Sat. This time it was with Kent from Missoula and we met his son, Jim over in Craig. Since it was the weekend I decided to dodge the traffic at the dam and put in down at Wolf Creek. The weather was cloudy and mild, and the day got off to a fast start. Jim connected on a nice brown right away and the guys came tight on another 6 or 7 fish before we were even on off the flat at Wolf Creek. There wasn't much boat traffic and we were able to fish every spot I was hoping for, and every run produced solid strikes. It really doesn't get much better than we experienced today. Not only did we find nice trout in every good spot, but there were fish coming out of places where I wasn't even expecting it. We caught fish with the flies just swinging below the boat on anchor, while picking up to recast, and one fish even came on a back cast when Kent stopped his cast and let it drop on the other side of the boat. Before he could get it over where I wanted it, he had another rainbow on. Jim really racked up the numbers today in the back of the boat with a load of rainbows in the 14-19" range and Kent held big fish honors with a couple 20" bows, a fat 21" bow, and a giant 22" rainbow. There were doubles today and absolute non-stop action. The only time that the guys weren't on fish was when I was moving the boat between spots. Once those flies were in the water someone was getting bit within 60 seconds. Jim and Kent had a great time out on the water, and I was simply blown away at how well the river fished.
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| Kent with a big Missouri bow |
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| Jim out wade fishing at lunch |
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| Too many of these this week to count |
Run-off is finally starting and with the 70-80 temps they are calling for it should be going full-tilt by mid week. There won't be much for local options during May, but I'll be hitting a few area lakes and of course heading over to the Missouri every chance I get. In 15 years I've never seen the fishing on the Mo as good as it is right now. I have a few open days this month so if you're interested in tangling with a bunch of big rainbows just let me know.
Tight Lines,
Tony Reinhardt
