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!
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