Trip Report: Fishin' With the Woman-Part II

At lunch I told the wife that I wanted to get out at least once this week. She said maybe tonight if the weather stayed warm. After work I asked her what she wanted to do for the evening and she excitedly proclaimed, "Let's go fishin'!" We decided to just head out for an hour or so. Last night I tied a few experimental foam hoppers and decided I would test them out on a nice, open stretch of stream where a few hoppers still survived the cool evenings.

This picture is from after the rainbows had at 'em! The fish didn't come easy though.

 I had to be sneaky but the fish were attracted to the big splashes caused by the hopper, so I didn't need to land my casts perfectly. The best casts still caught the biggest fish though.

These two little chunkers sipped the hopper off the surface. I missed one that was much larger, probably 16-17 inches. The first time he hit I simply missed him. The second time he hit I was talking to the wife when her eyes got really big. I turned around to see a big swirl, but I only felt a slight resistance when I set the hook. Numerous casts couldn't coax the beast to strike again.

 It was a fun little trip. I caught around 10 trout with a few decent ones mixed in. My confidence in tying with foam was boosted and now I'm excited to experiment more with the medium.

Trip Report: Brown Trout Madness

Today I decided to head out for a short outing at my home water while the wife took a nap. The new foam deer hair caddis were burning a hole in my fly box! I decided to hit a few spots that I wanted to check out yesterday but never got to. First I stopped at a bridge crossing where I previously caught my first Montana brown trout.

The last time I stopped here I couldn't make it past the rocks because spring runoff prevented it. This time I intended to do some exploring. Some little yellow flies bounced around on the surface so I tied on my yellow foam caddis. The trout loved 'em. This spot produced three nice browns and a few average bows.

I didn't measure any of them but I estimate the biggun at around 15 inches. The first two hit hard on the surface, while the big guy gently sipped the fly from the top of the water.

Casting lanes became less than optimal as I descended deeper into trout country, however I've gotten so good at casting that it didn't matter.

 After quite a few nice bows and this little brownie I turned back with another spot in mind. I headed a few miles down the road to a spot that spring runoff left inaccessible until a few weeks ago. I got to the new spot and immediately landed a little bow. Looking downstream I spotted a beaver dam. I took a cast into the deeper water. A flash penetrated the cloudy water and I set the hook. My sunken fly hooked into a beast. He ran deep under the bank while I tried to steer him out. Then he ran down stream. After a few magnificent leaps he stubbornly submitted. 

Still a nice fish, his fight led me to believe he was bigger! I then turned my attention upstream, deciding to bypass the places that I've fished before in favor of some exploration. I walked deep into the valley until I found some deep water. I spotted a fish surfacing at a great distance. I surveyed my surroundings and calculated a good casting lane. My first cast hit the water and immediately solicited a strike.

This vibrant brown came in with little fuss. I snapped a photo and set him free. On the next cast I hooked into this little guy.

While not the most exciting catch, it is nice to see that there's an up and coming generation of browns in this stream. I pulled in a few nice rainbows and continued on. Within sight of the bridge where I intended to exit the stream I cast to the head of a deep, brushy pool. The water swirled and I set the hook.

This nice brown has awesome colors! After a couple quick photos I held him in the current until he regained his composure. He took off into the depths of the river to grow bigger. Rather than head home I continued up stream a little bit. I caught a bunch of rainbows but gave up on photos until I turned around.

The photo does not do this scene justice! I snapped this pic and headed back to the bridge and then back to the car. Today was a successful day of fishing. In less than three hours I caught around 6 brownies and countless rainbows. The foam caddis proved effective too!

 Keep an eye on the blog, I'm heading to Kalispell next weekend to chase some cutthroats in beautiful alpine settings!

Some New Flies

I've been tying a bit in the last few days. Tonight I decided to go small and try some new techniques. I tied up some size 24 and size 22 zebra midges, a good pattern for any time of the year, however I only use them in winter. They are supposed to resemble the pupal stage of the tiniest little flies that rise off the surface.

The top ones are size 24! The bottom picture is of the size 22 midges drying out on the line. I also decided it's about time I learn how to tie with foam. The result is a more durable fly that is practically impossible to sink.

They aren't the best but they should work. I can't wait to try 'em out! Tying with foam is a really big thing here in Montana. I'm going to start tying hoppers and some other foam flies this winter. Stay tuned to see these flies in action.

Trip Report: New and Old Spots, Complete w/ Bushwacking

Today the wife and I planned some recreational fun away from the water. She woke up feeling less than ideal but wanted me to go out and work off some energy. (I had too much energy to let her nap) So I got out for a short 2 hour trip on my home stream. With 17 miles of public water I still haven't explored the whole creek. Today I decided to stop off at the spot at which I previously pulled in a few browns. Then I wanted to check out some new water.

The new water required some bushwacking. But more on that in a minute...

First I stopped at my brownie spot. The rainbows were particularly hungry today and colorful too.

 But they are not what I was after. Using the sliver cone headed sculpin I prodded the bottoms of the deepest pools and runs. This method produced lots of bows, but no browns. I lost the sculpin on some underwater brush about 6 feet down in a deep pool. I tied on a UV clouser minnow and continued. This pool produced the biggest brown from my last trip here.

I cast into the current near the right center of the picture. The minnow drifted as I twitched it, stripping in line a little slower than the current. My line took off and I set the hook.

 This beast came from the depths to my feet in well under a minute. He looks an awful lot like the last one I pulled out of this pool...possibly the same fish?

When I released him he swam right in front of me and just kind of hung out. After a few casts my shadow passed over him and he took off. I then turned around and headed to some new water. I drove north about 4 miles and stopped at a spot that I always drive past. I got in the water and tied on a deer hair caddis.

This vibrant little brownie came from the tail end of a deep pool. From here on out I only caught more rainbows, although I missed a few strikes from some big fish (possibly browns). 

 These two average sized bows were really silvery!

After catching a few more of these I hooked into a beast of a bow in a fast run of medium depth.

This chunker must have been around 16 inches! He hit the caddis pattern off the surface and dove toward some brush. I steered him away and pulled him in. After a swift released I decided to head to another spot for a few quick casts.

This spot required a lot of bushwacking with little reward.

But boy were these fish colorful. This trip was a great little trout adventure. I pulled out at least 25 trout with most being around 12 inches. I discovered some new water, and most importantly I wasted some energy!  Now it's time to eat...

Trip Report: Cold Weather, Cold Water

This morning I had to scrape ice off my windshield! The daytime temperatures still reached the 70's though. With the wife out of town on business I had to go see what effect the first frost of the season had on the fishes. I decided to fish the headwaters of my favorite little trout stream, as I have been ignoring the brookies lately. I reached the stream by 5:45 and worked my way down. 

I had a deep hole in mind, in which I previously scared up some large brookies. The elk hair caddis solicited a few strikes and landed a few fish immediately. 

 The one on the left was about average. The fish on the right measured 11 inches. He erupted out of the water to suck down the caddis. After a short fight, during which the fish darted back and forth, I set him on the grass for a quick photo. I then released him to fight another day. Just before the honey hole I cast randomly into a riffle with the intention of keeping my line out of the brush I had just blazed through. My fly sunk, disheveled and saturated. A quick swirl came across the shallow riffle and my line went taught.

 This beast came from slack water into the riffle to munch my fly. After a quick photo I released him without measurement, but I estimate him to measure around 13 inches. He didn't put up much of a fight but he had little room to run. I continued on to the deep pool with high hopes, but I caught nothing there. I came out of the woods onto some campsites where I previously caught a few nice brookies. I observed the water from a distance, hoping to see some surface activity. Approximately size 20 BWO's were hatching, but I had none in my box. That can spell disaster but brookies are not the most intelligent fish. I felt fairly confident in the caddis patterns but I tied on a smaller one (from a 12-18).

I landed the fly snug to the bushes hanging into the water near the center of the photo. I saw a swirl and set the hook...prematurely. I felt some pressure on the line and saw a hefty brookie breach the surface. Unfortunately my line went limp and the trout swam away. He must have been at least 15 inches. Disappointed, I decided to hit one more pool upstream.

This guy came from that last pool. He put up a good fight, leading me to believe he was a big brookies. Nope. With the sun setting I decided to focus my attention on a nearby spring pond. On my way back to the car I snapped a quick picture of this little shelter with a mountain in the background. Kind of a cool pic.

With the sun setting I only took a few casts at the pond, but I managed around five or six average brookies and a few little bows. Overall it was a good evening of fishing. I caught around 15 brookies and probably eight bows.

Stay Tuned: I'll be tying lots of flies for sale in the next two weeks, minimizing fishing time, but I'm heading out towards Glacier for some hiking and alpine lake fishing soon!