Fishing Report for the week of 7/28/2013

HOOT OWL fishing restrictions are now in effect on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork rivers, and likely on the Blackfoot soon.  These restrictions mean no fishing from 

2pm til midnight.  This is meant to protect trout during the higher water temps during late afternoon, and is in-line with our current fishing program.  We have been meeting early, 5-6 a.m. and noticed a drop off in the fishing around 2 even before the restrictions were in place.  The early alarm clock isn't ideal, but the fishing has still been solid.

It was a busy week at MTO so this is one of the longer fishing reports....

Mon. was the first of three days with Pasadena Fly Fishing Club member Jim, and his friend from Texas, Dale.  Since this was Jim and Dale's first trip to Missoula I wanted to be able to show them the area and put them on some of the best fishing around.  I chose a stretch of the Bitterroot with a nasty diversion dam since I knew not many boats had been in there lately.  We started with a dry dropper rig and had a few strikes in the first couple runs before connecting with our first trout of the day.  It was a little guy and so was the next one, but then the trout started to get a little better and a nice log jam produced a big fish for Jim on the dropper.  After a good fight he had the big 18" hook-jawed cuttbow in the net.  While Jim was landing that fish I noticed another fish rise so we dropped Jim off to wade fish the run below and I set Dale up with a single hopper to go after the riser.  It took a few casts to get the fly into a tough spot but when it finally drifted through a nice cutthroat hammered the dry.  The next logjam produced an even bigger cuttbow around 17" on the hopper before we pulled over to wade fish a sidechannel.  It was nice to get out of the boat but we only moved a couple smaller fish on dries so it was time to head downstream.  We stuck with small hoppers for the rest of the morning and raised fish in the right spots.  The best fish of the day was a 19" bow that Dale nailed tight to another logjam.  The Root is low right now so you only get one shot at dry fly fish which is why we went back to the dry/dropper rig in the afternoon and the action picked up for us.  All the runs produced fish on the dropper in the afternoon, and the best one gave up 4 or 5.  It was a decent average size too with most of the fish in the 13-15" range and a few smaller and a few up to 16" in the afternoon.  Once I portaged the diversion dam the river lost a lot of it's depth and we switched back to a single hopper.  The guys landed a couple and hooked a few more on the way to the take out.  We didn't see another boat fishing on the water and it was a nice day to be out.

The Release

Jim wade fishing the Bitterroot

Tue. I met the guys really early for a run up to the canyon of the Blackfoot.  We were the first boat in the water and Jim didn't waste anytime hooking a great rainbow only a couple minutes into the float.  A 17" fish is always a great way to start the day and we were off to the races from there.  I kept the boat moving early on, but the guys hooked fish out of nearly every spot we stopped to fish until we got into the Munchmore hole.  In the run above that I had seen a few spruce moths bouncing around and I hoped there would be enough to get the fish looking up.  We anchored in the hole to change our flies and I saw enough rising fish to know it would be good.  Dale was first up and it only took a handful of casts before he connected with a nice cutthroat on the dry.  Jim was next and he came tight on a really big and brightly colored cutt in the 18-19" range.  The guys continued to take turns over the next 45 minutes or so and kept hooking nice fish on dries.  We stayed with double dry fly rigs after leaving that run and the fishing was nothing short of fantastic.  Every run produced a fish or two and most were quality sized trout on dry flies.  It was some of the best spruce moth fishing I've seen and the guys were in heaven.  The beauty of the canyon and nice dry fly eating trout is a hard combination to beat.  After lunch we floated out of the canyon and the spruce moth bite faded so we went back to the dry/dropper rig.  The fishing tapered off from the pace we set in the morning, but it was still solid and the good runs were producing fish, mostly smaller in the afternoon but a few bigger fish as well.  Near the end of the day Dale hooked up on a nice fish at a creek mouth and it turned out to be a 17" bull trout which gave him a slam for the day, a cutthroat, rainbow, brown, and bull trout all in one day.  Both Jim and Dale remarked toward the end of the float that this was the finest day floating a river they've ever had.  That's high praise for the Blackfoot and the spruce moth hatch.

Dry fly cutthroat

Wed. was my last day with Jim and Dale and we headed to the upper Bitterroot and cold water today.  We started with a dry/dropper rig again and there was plenty of action right out of the gate.  Fish were eating both the dry and the dropper, and Dale got of to a hot start with the first few fish including a bright 17-18" cuttbow.  Then Jim popped a jumping 15" brown out from behind a root ball and the action continued at a steady pace from there.  We did stop in a couple places in the morning and fished single dries to rising fish.  The first spot yielded 3 cutts for Dale and Jim turned a number of heads just downriver.  We toyed with some straight dry fly rigs in both the morning and afternoon but they weren't producing as consistently as the dry/dropper rig.  The guys had 3 or 4 doubles today and there was a good mix of trout.  We caught a few browns, the best a 17" beauty by Dale, a few rainbows, and lots of cutts and cuttbows.  There were some smaller trout, but it was a good average today with most of the fish in the 12-14" range and several in the 15-18" class.  By 1 o'clock the fishing tapered off in the heat.  We caught a few more on our way to the take out but our best action was definitely earlier in the day.  It was a good introduction to Missoula for Jim and Dale.  Despite the warm weather we had 2 great days of fishing and one day that was decent.  They're both terrific guys and I had a lot of fun.  And they're already talking about a return trip next year.

Trapper Peak in the full moon

Dale's Bitterroot Brown

Thur. I fished with returning anglers Paul and Ryan.  I couldn't resist the opportunity to get back up to the canyon of the Blackfoot and hit the spruce moth hatch again.  The day started off great with 3 fish in the first two runs.  It was all dropper fish early and we moved fast, just hitting the best runs and most of those gave us a trout.  When it seemed like the time was right, I switched the guys over to double spruce moths and on Paul's first cast he came tight to a nice cutthroat.  There weren't a lot of moths yet but fish were still rising to the fly in the right spots until we pulled in the Munchmore hole.  There were lots of fish eating in there and Ryan connected with two quick cutts in the 15-16" range.  They got a little harder to feed after that but we still got a few more strikes before moving on.  The rest of the morning was simply awesome dry fly fishing.  Early on there were lots of smaller trout attacking the fly with a few good ones mixed in, but as the morning continued the size of the fish just got better and better.  There were lots of fish from 14-18" through the canyon with some great visual eats.  Paul rested for a bit and Ryan absolutely beat on the trout through the bottom of the canyon. Then when Paul got back in on the action we had back to back  doubles in a good run and Paul hooked several big fish out of one fast canyon wall run.  Once we got out of the canyon we switched to hoppers and moved a couple fish before pulling into the shade for lunch.  The afternoon shift was decent, we caught some fish and a couple of nice ones but we definitely had to work harder compared to the easy morning fishing.  Eventually around 2 things shut off completely and since there were plenty of fish to boat today we headed for the ramp.  

Colers of Summer in Montana

Blackfoot double with Paul

Fri. it was groundhog day with Ryan and Paul.  After the fishing we witnessed yesterday we had to go straight back to the Blackfoot.  The early fishing was similar with dropper fish, although we did get a couple on the big dry fly including an awesome brown by Paul in the 17-18" range.  Just a little while later Ryan got a bull trout on the dropper so in the first hour we had all four main species to the boat.  We made the switch to spruce moths and started raising fish right on cue again.  There was a little more traffic on the river today which changed our game plan a bit, but not much.  Again, it was lots of smaller fish early with small to medium cutts and bows all over the dry flies and as we got lower in the canyon the fish got bigger.  The entrance run to the canyon gave up four cutts for Ryan and there were a couple of nice troughs that produced some big fish including a 20" cuttbow that Ryan tagged at the end of his drift.  Not long after that Ryan fished the spot where Paul tagged some good ones yesterday and he came tight on three nice fish including another fat cuttbow in the 18" range.  There were some big fish on the hunt today and the guys found some of them.  The early dry fly fishing was fairly similar to yesterday, but our afternoon fishing held up a little better with plenty of action on small hopper patterns.  There were lots of smaller fish after the fly, but enough bigger trout to keep things interesting.  Toward the end of the float we got beat up by boat traffic a little, but by then everyone was worn out and ready to head home.  Paul and Ryan are always a pleasure to fish with.  They love coming out to Montana and they are usually rewarded with some pretty good fishing.  I hope to see them again next year.

Big cuttbow on the dry fly

Bigger cuttbow on the dry!

Sun. was another father/son day on the river and today it was with first time fly anglers John and Slade.  John had some work to do in Seattle and on his way back through Montana he wanted to get his 10 year old son out for his first fly fishing experience.  I love taking kids fishing and I had a great time with Slade in the boat today.  They're the future of the sport and the more we get involved the better fly fishing will be.  We met early and headed up the Blackfoot.  I was a little concerned when I showed up at the boat ramp and there were 4 other boats already putting in.  I decided against fishing with everyone else and we kept driving further up river.  Once the boat was in the water I went over the basics with Slade, casting, mending, stripping line, and setting the hook and gave a little refresher to John too.  I started Slade with a single nymph and John with a dry/dropper rig.  In the first run Slade set the hook on a nice fish and was briefly connected.  The fish was headed north and Slade was pulling south and the trout won.  It all happened so fast, on Slade's third or fourth cast, that we needed a big dose of luck there because he was just getting used to everything and the fish got away.  The guys were kind of feeling things out and we had a few strikes before John connected with the first few fish of the day.  The first two were whitefish before a small rainbow  came boatside.  At that point I started to see some spruce moths bouncing around and I switched Slade over to a single dry and took him over to a rock wall.  Only a couple casts into the run a brown trout came up and ate the dry.  After a good fight Slade had his first fly rod fish landed.  I switched John up to a spruce moth and we fished single dries for the rest of the day.  There was lots of action from that point on.  A good number of smaller cutts and bows were looking for the fly and some better fish too.  Both John and Slade connected with a few cutts in the 13-14" range and near the end of the float Slade stuck a pretty 16" cutthroat on a dry fly.  It was a great day on the water.  We had the river to ourselves, trout were eating dry flies, and it was good enough that even Slade lost count of how many fish he actually caught.  I fished with a lot of kids over the years and I can't think of another 10 year old who stayed as focused over the course of the day and who caught on to fly fishing as quickly as Slade.  John did well too, he was the perfect father/angler.  He fished where he could, kept the emphasis on Slade, and managed to catch some nice fish in the process.  I think Christmas may involve some fly fishing gear under the tree for this family.

Slade with a great cutthroat...take a kid fishing, it's good for the soul!

We also had several other groups out this week fly fishing around Missoula.  Doug Jones, member of the Orange County fly fishing club, brought a group out including his brother, Chris, and Charles and John.  This was their first trip to the Missoula area and they got the grand tour of all three rivers, the Bitterroot, Blackfoot, and Clark Fork with guides Erik and Chris.  They had a good time and caught some nice fish.  Some of the boys did best on the Bitterroot while some caught more on the Blackfoot, and the Clark Fork produced some good ones as well.  I think this crew really enjoyed the town of Missoula and the diversity of the rivers, and I hope to see them out again.

Chris with a Bitterroot brownie

Doug's big cutthroat

Joel and Larry were also out from Florida with guide, Evan for three days in Missoula.  Both anglers were fairly new to fly fishing, but they had a great attitude and were just looking to enjoy Montana.  They fished the Clark Fork on day 1 and found some of those big, hard-fighting cuttbows and then spent two days on the Blackfoot taking in the great scenery and hooking up on some awesome trout.  These guys had a solid introduction to Missoula and a killer fishing trip.

Larry's big Clark Fork cuttbow

Holy Hog!!  Biggest fish of the week, Joel's 21" Blackfoot cuttbow

Anglers Ellie and Andrea were over from Seattle for the day with guide, John, up in the canyon of the Blackfoot.  These great ladies were sent to me by friend, Matt who requested John and the canyon to show them the best time possible.  The report from John was a solid day of fishing with spruce moths and hopper/dropper rigs including a couple big trout in the 18" range.  John had the gals in stitches all day with his famous one-liners but unfortunately he didn't take any pics so I'll see if I can track any down from Ellie or Andrea next week.

Another solid week of fly fishing around Missoula.  The game has changed to early meet times, but I guess I'll sleep in the winter.  The weatherman says we have some cooler weather on the horizon and that should help immensely.  Hoppers and ants are starting to make an appearance too and those terrestrials will keep fish looking up.  Looking forward to another week on the water.

Tight Lines,

Tony Reinhardt

Montana Trout Outfitters

406-544-3516

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.