Trip Report: This Must Be Like Fishing In Heaven

Today I hoped to get out after work but with storms in the forecast I wasn't sure it would happen. I don't mind a little rain but lightening always makes me nervous. I checked the radar at lunch at it looked like no lightening. As soon as I got home from work I checked again. No rain! I wasn't sure whether to trust that forecast as I approached the the foothills.

 Kind of interesting! I was planning on hiking a bunch to keep myself warm in case the rain came but seeing this made me stay close to the car. I parked next to the second bridge to the south and took a short walk down to the stream. I never fished this spot before but I've seen a car parked here a few times.

Like I said, close to the car! This area isn't quite into the mountains so instead of banks lined with trees, the banks are lined by shrubs and brush. Casting can be easier with long casting lanes, but any bend in the river puts shrubbery in your casting lane. As I haven't fished many areas like this I lost two flies, but I also caught a dozen or so rainbows.

 No notable catches today but the average size was a bit bigger. The biggest measured 13" but the average was probably around 11. After spending some time here and monitoring the skies I decided a trip to the canyons would keep me at a lower elevation in case storms rolled in. The view from where I parked inspired the title of this report.

The lake in the picture is locally referred to as second lake. The lake represents the point that divides the brookie filled headwaters with the rainbow laden lower river. The headwaters harbors a few rainbows as well and the lower stretches include a few brook and brown trout. Usually I don't venture too deep into the canyon because it isn't necessary to find fish, but today I felt adventurous. I also wanted to find a couple bigguns.

 I immediately caught five bows out of the first run I fished. With the clouds closing in I didn't need to sneak around. My casts fell heavy and my foot prints the same. In order to avoid dinks I tied on a big 'ol grasshopper imitation. I caught a couple chunky average sized ones but the bigger ones escaped me. After a few I headed back, my stomach growling. As I emerged from the canyon I turned around and looked at the mountains.

I really like this picture! It really captures the environment. After admiring the scenery I packed up and headed home. By the time I reached the park boundary I had already spotted a dozen mule deer. By the time I arrived at home I spotted a combined three dozen mule deer and antelope.

Stay Tuned: This weekend I'm headed to Glacier National Park and the Flathead River! (it snowed today in Glacier!)

Trip Report: A New Fly Fisherman in The Canyons

Today I drove to the mountains right after work. I wasn't planning on getting out because the forecast looked bad but I emerged from work to see sunny skies filled with poofy clouds. I headed to the canyons where I hoped to find a hatch. About three miles from my destination I spotted a biker who looked familiar. It was one of my friends headed north towards town. I pulled over and asked him if he was up for some fishing to which he responded, "Lets go!" We packed his bike into the car and headed for the canyons.

I took a few casts in a spot where I hoped to scare up a few bigguns, but I had little luck. I cast into a shallow riffle, my fly landing close to shore. I swung the caddis pattern under some stream side brush and my line went stiff. I set the hook, fought the fish, and posed for a picture.

This big 'ol mid teens rainbow was a great way to start out the outing! From that spot we continued up to a few pools. Ever pool brimmed with hungry rainbows with the occasional brookie. I took a few casts in order to demonstrate some basic casting concepts. While not trying to catch fish I hooked into a few nice bows!

I tried to teach my friend how to cast and after a few hours of fishing he became proficient.

 He ended the day with around ten fish. Not to bad for his second time out! With all of the learning going on I felt like I had to practice up lest the student become the teacher. I made a few tight casts and worked on really long casts.

 After some good practice we came upon the last pool in the canyons. A massive pale evening dun hatch erupted as soon as the sun slipped behind the hills. The fish didn't seem to care what fly we tossed so we stuck with the deer hair caddis. (actually, we used a mangled fly that I had retired) After a few casts in this pool we headed back to the car satisfied by the good fishing but eager to get out for more.

Trip Report: The Last Time I Hike W/ A Marathon Runner

Today I headed back to Sluice Box State Park to start where my wife and I left off last week. I decided I wanted to hike the entire 7.5 miles through the park and back, with minimal fishing as to not slow me down. This time, however, I went with a friend who runs marathons, triathlons, and all kinds of other endurance races. Usually I fear my hiking partner will not be able to keep up with me...not today! We arrived at the park around 11:00.

We crossed some sketchy bridges...

Crawled through downed trees...

And passed through solid rock to get to some of the most scenic areas in Montana!

 The Belt Creek Canyon is absolutely incredible. The views are outstanding and the fishing is not bad. Today I wanted to see more of the park so I only fished a few deep pools. I started with the elk hair caddis but, as I spotted no risers, I switched to a sculpin (minnow) imitation. The sculpin solicited a few strikes but no hookups. We spotted a number of fish down deep but I packed light with no nymphing gear. After a bit of travel by river we tried to find the trail but after around four or five miles the trail starts to blend into the underbrush. We checked a few spots but couldn't connect.

Just before this point we had to make a decision. My hiking partner Brian decided to try to climbing up to where he believed he would find the trail. I decided to go balls deep in ice cold water and cross. I followed the shoreline until I could cross. I found the trail but Brian was already up in the woods. We eventually reconnected up above the trail and continued on a higher path. That path led us to a rocky outcropping...not our trail. After a little more searching we found the trail but it was pretty overgrown so we decided against continuing. We headed back to the trailhead approximately 1.5 miles from our endpoint. Once we returned to the car we decided to drive to logging creek bridge, the endpoint of the trail. We had to see what the area looked like. After a 30 minute drive on a lousy road we reached the bridge.

At this spot the sluice box formation opened up into the Little Belt Mountains. It's a neat area! We decided to spend a little time here and take a few more casts. We hiked a short ways and passed the fly rod back and forth. Still I hadn't caught a fish. Brian was checking out a little cave so I climbed up to the bridge and dangled a deer hair caddis over the edge. Immediately I got a hit from something little but no connection. After a little more messing around I got a hit from something bigger. I skittered the fly over the same area and the water erupted.

Out of the depths came my first Mountain Whitefish! Most fly fishermen consider these fish undesirable but I am ecstatic! I always enjoy catching a new species. No trout today but it was a good trip. Good company, beautiful scenery, a new species, and I'm gonna sleep well tonight!

Trip Report: Montana v Wisconsin

This afternoon I got out for a short two hour outing. On my way down to the river I thought about the differences between trout fishing in Montana versus Wisconsin. So far I do not have as much experience in Montana but I have a pretty good idea of what it's all about. Rivers in Wisconsin vary from sand county brook trout steams to the brown trout filled spring creeks of the southwestern corner of the state. Wisconsin's native trout is actually a char, the brook trout. In Montana there are many spring creeks but the majority of the nationally renowned streams are freestone streams, fed by runoff and smaller creeks. Montana's native trout include the cutthroat and bull trout. Both states have rainbows, brookies, and browns in common. Wisconsin's trout streams, especially those of central Wisconsin, run through dense woods, making fly casting very difficult and often impossible. Stream substrate varies from quick sand like muck to sand to boulders. I have not yet found any sandy or muck bottomed streams here in Montana. After contemplating more differences I decided I missed the challenge of casting to skittish trout so I headed toward a section of my home stream that's dense with underbrush.

This spot was very shallow and actually had some mucky spots which made heading down stream difficult. The good thing about this spot is that I don't think anyone has every fished here! It was full of brookies.

This thick brookie hit the deer hair stimi. Rather than a dead drift I stripped the fly up stream and it drove the brookies crazy. I caught around 20 out of this stretch, but gave up after getting hung up in the brush too much. 

Once I got back to where I parked I decided to head up stream a little ways to see if I could find any deep runs. At this spot the river split, flowing around a gravel bar. This pool gave up a couple surprisingly nice fish.

These guys both fell for the elk hair caddis on consecutive casts! They both measured around 12 inches. After a short while heading up stream I decided to try fishing a spring pond in the middle of a section of river. In Wisconsin there are many remote spring ponds, usually with muck bottoms and woody banks. Montana has more alpine lakes fed by cold glacial melt water. This spring pond is probably not a true spring pond. There are springs seeping from the shorelines, but the river flows in and out. Usually a spring pond acts as the headwaters of a stream.

I fished from the gravel bar. With fish surfacing all around me I didn't have to be too accurate with my casts. I watched for fish to surface, waited until the surface ripples dissipated, then cast toward the spot. I ended up pulling in quite a few little brookies and some ok sized rainbows from the current seam. I also caught a few just casting randomly. Overall it was a nice trip. I got to be out side, sneak up on some trout, and pull 'em in!

Trip Report: If You Can't Take The Heat...

Stay Home! The fishes don't have that option, however. So when water temps start to heat up it's best to fish toward the headwaters. Catching cold water species in warmer temperatures causes them undue stress and a good fight with a trout in warm water can mean death for the fishy. Today I headed about 25 minutes south of town, to the headwaters of my local stream, in search of some chunk-tastic brookies. During lunch today I cleared a space on my cluttered tying desk and tied up some cinnamon flavored Skittering Caddis, tied chunky for those hungry Goliaths.

 These things had my mouth watering! I got to the stream around 6:30 and headed up stream to some deep holes running along a big rock outcropping. 

These little pools were chocked full of brookies eager to take the fly. With little room to cast, my skills were put to the test, but I didn't snap off any flies and I only got hung up a few times.

These two both measured about 12 inches, the biggest brookies of the day. 

This was the last spot I hit. The pool was around 4 feet deep and full of fishes. I pulled out about ten brookies. As I made my way to the end of the pool I saw a decent sized fish rising inches away from the undercut rock. My first cast bounced off the rock and right into the feeding lane under which the biggun was positioned. After a short drift I saw a sip and swirl so I waited a second and set the hook. My drag screamed for a minute, but with little room to run I pulled him in with ease. After I caught, photoed, and released him I noticed another rising in the same area. I made an identical cast with identical results. Both fish were healthy rainbows of about 14 inches.

I decided to head home a little earlier than usual, but on my way home I passed a big pool with rings covering the surface. I never really gave the spot much thought because it's always full of campers. I parked right next to the water and took a cast. On each of my first 4 casts I pulled in a little brookie. I saw a few decent fish rising but I didn't tie into any of them. After a little exploring I decided I'll check the area out further when I have time to hike into the dense woods and really fish it.

Overall, today was a good day of fishing. I caught around 35 trout on the cinnamon colored Skittering Caddis, 6 on my own invention, and 1 ambitious brookie on a huge grasshopper pattern. Lately I've been itching to tie into a few big trout, so stay tuned. I'll probably formulate a game plan to find some big trout in the next few weeks!

Trip Report: Home Sweet Home Stream

Today I found two hours to go exploring on a new stretch of my home stream. I wanted to practice casting in tight quarters so I headed up towards the headwaters. I found lots of brook trout with a few very nice ones.

I pulled these two and and a few smaller ones out of a quick pit stop.

At my destination the water is shallow, with the deepest pools only about two feet deep. As you can see there is little room for casting, but plenty of fish! It didn't take too long for me to give up on this spot. I caught plenty of average sized fish but after a few hundred yards of hiking the creek became impassable. I then moved on to an area full of campsites. I parked the car and got out to check the water. The first spot I looked at was a pool with a big tree fallen across it. I stood on the bank, about 5 feet above water level, and dipped my Deer Hair Stimulator in. Instantly, a big brookie slurped it down. I set the hook and fought him out of the trees, but when it came time to land him I couldn't get down to grab him. With 4.9 lb test line I tried to "fly" him. I lifted him out of the water with no problem but as soon as I gave him a little velocity the line snapped. Luckily he flew right up to where I stood. I grabbed my hook from his lip but decided against a photo as he was full of dirt. I didn't measure him but he was probably about 15 inches! After that I hiked a ways past the campsites and down to the river.

More tight casting! This spot didn't harbor as many fish but I did pull a biggun from the nearest run.

This chunker gobbled up the Stimulator and ran like crazy. Luckily for me, he had very little room to run. He came to hand after a short lived fight. I wanted to get him back in the water fast so I didn't measure him, but I would guess around 15-16 inches! From here I hiked up to a pool right near an access road that I sometimes fish when I am short on time.

 I stood at the beginning of the riffle and made long casts at the top of the pool. I literally caught a fish every other cast! After about 15 minutes and 15 brookies I decided to head home so I hiked back to the car. Overall I must have caught around 35-40 brookies.