Trip Report: Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

Yesterday I decided to fish the world famous Rock Creek. At the urging of a friend I stopped at Flint Creek on the way. He warned me that a big forest fire raged near Rock and gave me a few alternatives in case the roads were closed. From town I can see and smell smoke so I didn't think I'd make it all the way to Rock. Flint is a beautiful high gradient freestone stream full of feisty rainbows. The river runs along the road so access was simple. The first pool that I fished produced a fat rainbow.

This chunker measured just shy of 17 inches! He came on the skittering caddis on my first cast at this spot. After limited exploration I moved on to another spot.

This beast struck twice. I got him on the second. This spot wasn't very productive otherwise, but it was really neat. An old light gage railroad track followed the canyon meandering along the river. From here I hit one other spot which produced seven or eight stout little bows. Then I continued on to Rock Creek. At this point the peaks of some distant mountains were obscured by smoke. After forty more minutes of driving I arrived in a smokey valley with a beautiful river flowing through it.

I fished near the headwaters fighting the smoke and heat to catch some dandy trout. Immediately I hooked into a few little mountain whitefish. I cast over a deep pool and missed a strike from a very nice brown. After an hour with little success I stepped back to take in my surroundings.

 This river runs swift with many deep pools and side channels. After admiring my environment I took a side channel that looked like it contained some deep pools. I tied on a cone headed sculpin pattern and dredged the deep holes looking for big browns or cutthroats. I pulled the fish pattern along a logjam and my line went stiff. I set the hook and the fish took off under the jam. I maneuvered him out and landed him quickly.

This is my first Bull Trout! They are a species that was at one time fished near extinction. There are very few left so this was an exciting catch. It is illegal to target the species and if one happens to hook into one they must be quickly released unharmed. After snapping a quick picture I released him unharmed. After this excitement I changed to lighter tippit line and returned to the skittering caddis. After a few more misses I tied on a rainbow warrior dropper fly. Right away I caught a decent cutthroat from a deep, fast riffle.

This guy was probably near 15 inches but I didn't measure. He fell for the warrior but also hit at the caddis. After a few more little cutts and some little browns I hooked into a few more respectable ones.

I didn't catch a ton of fish but I caught a diverse bunch. I pulled out brown, rainbow, cutthroat, and bull trout, and whitefish. I wish I would have caught a brookie too! I planned on hiking with a friend from Kalispell in the evening so I decided to call it a day a little early. The smoke also got to me. I drove back to the hotel and met up with my buddy. We decided to hike Humbug Spires, an expansive formation of granite boulders in the mountains. The area is popular with rock climbers. We scrambled along the boulders and hiked some trial. Before we left my friend asked me if I could catch a fish out of the little stream that flowed along the trail. I laughed at him and told him that I can catch a fish out of any body of water.

This spot challenged my in every way. The water had good depth but the boulders made it hard to get a good drift. The banks were so brushy that I had to travel down the stream corridor. Traveling in this way made quiet stalking difficult. I fished for about 15 minutes with nothing. I knew my friend was under the impression that I know what I'm doing but I didn't want to fall short of his expectations. I knew he would pick on me if I failed to catch a trout. I took my caddis dry over to a deep pool and drifted a few times. I saw one little trout in the pool so I hoped to entice him. After a few failed attempts at that little guy the water boiled and my fly disappeared. I knew it wasn't the little one and he felt big. I saw the flash of a nice trout as he swam under the rock that I stood on. I reached down, grabbing my line, and gently guided him from the depths. 

This brown was not massive but for a stream this small he is a trophy! Probably around 13 inches. After a few quick photos he was released and we headed back to the car. Overall it was a great day of fishing and fun in paradise!

Trip Report: Red Rock Creek, Boulder River

The wife has a conference in Butte, Mt for the next two days so today I got a chance to fish around the area without the ol' ball and chain. Today I planned on fishing the Boulder River, about 40 minutes away, but upon arrival I found the confluence of the Boulder and another stream. I decided to first follow the other stream, which turned out to be Red Rock. 

 This creek was full of eager brookies and rainbows. It moved at a medium pace and was characterized by deep runs and pools with sparse riffles. Most of my fish came out of the middle of runs with a few coming out of the edges of pools. The biggest trout exploded from undercuts. 

 I caught a few bigger ones but this one had the best form. It measured 14 inches had a hefty gut. He put up a good fight with a few good leaps, but came to hand fairly quick. I caught mostly rainbows averaging around 12 inches. I caught a fair number of brook trout with an average size of around 10 inches. Most were very small but this guy bumped up the average.

 

This fella came from deep under and undercut to snatch the skittering caddis from the surface. He put up a pretty good fight but was no match for the St. Croix! He measured close to 14 inches. After catching this beautiful specimen I began to notice that the fish out of this creek are especially pretty.

After probably 20 rainbows and around 10 brookies I decided to head back to the Boulder River. I researched this river a little online before the trip so I know a little about it. I expected a mix of rainbows, cutthroats, brookies, and a few browns. 

Despite a beautiful river in spectacular surroundings I only pulled a few small rainbows and brookies out of the Boulder. I tried five or six spots along a poorly maintained frontage road but although they all looked promising, they all fell short.

I ended up catching a mixture of around a dozen bows and brooks, all very small. I did get on big strike solicited by the black cone head leach fly, but the beast only sampled the very tip of the leach tail. I ended up with around 40 fish in just over four hours of fishing/exploring. Not to shabby!

Stay Tuned: Tomorrow a.m. I'm heading to Rock Creek (if I can get around a big forest fire) or Flint Creek.

Trip Report: Monday-Great Bear Wilderness and Glacier Nat'l Park

Today we planned on a little fishing, a little hiking, and a long drive home. We got up early, packed everything up and decided to hit anther stretch of McDonald Creek. We arrived shortly before the sun peaked over the mountains. The air was chilly but the cutthroats were cooperative.

 I ended up with around ten fish but that didn't matter. The scenery on this creek is second to none.

After twenty minutes of fishing we headed down the Going to the Sun Road en route to Hidden Lake. 

Lots of picturesque settings. The pictures never do it justice. We reached Logan Pass (elevation 6696'), the trailhead to Hidden Lake, with visions of Avalanche Lake-like numbers of cutthroats in our minds. Our hopes were quickly dashed by signs informing us of a closure on the trail due to bear activity. Disappointed, we hiked a boardwalk trail that teemed with tourists. It still ended up being pretty cool. We saw some big horn sheep, deer, and squirrels. You can always tell the tourists that came from cities by how they react to seeing deer and chipmunks...

The view of the mountains from this elevation gives a very different perspective.

After messing around in this alpine prairie for a little bit we finished the Going to the Sun Road. It's hard to believe that only a little more than a month ago parts of the road lay buried under 90' of snow! On the way home we decided to check out one more spot.

 We hiked a back country trail for a ways until we reached the N. Fork of Cut Bank Creek. The creek was largely devoid of fish. I only caught one very pretty brookie. After a short time we headed back to the car and on our way home. Just outside of the park the wife pointed out a crazy formation in the clouds.

I think it must have something to do with wind currents along the front range. Very cool! Overall, it was a great trip. Miles and miles of quality hiking, good company, and spectacular fishing. No bigguns but plenty of fish. I ended the weekend with at least thirty cutthroats and ten or fifteen brookies. I can hardly wait to get back to Glacier and the Great Bear.

Trip Report: Sunday-Great Bear Wilderness and Glacier Nat'l Park

After a good night of sleep we headed to the Flathead. On the way we took a detour and fished Moccasin Creek, a small tributary to the Flathead. The first pool I hit yielded the only fishes, brookies.

I pulled around ten out of this spot. When I waded beyond I noticed around fifty brookies sitting on the bottom. They scattered as soon as I got close. I turned around and headed down stream to the confluence of Moccasin and the Flathead. No fish here but it's a beautiful spot.

This spot looked ultra fishy but it wasn't. We drove a little further and checked another spot.

This spot proved much better.

 This little cutthroat and this semi-respectable rainbow both fell for an olive skittering caddis. The water was so crystal clear that I could see the fish rise to my fly from six feet down. It's difficult to hook 'em because you anticipate the strike but it's difficult to judge how far away from the surface they are. I missed a few decent ones due to premature hook sets. After an hour or so on the Flathead we headed into the park to check out the water and hike.

Lots of pretty water, not enough time! After checking out some rivers we decided to spend the rest of the day hiking. We headed to Avalanche Lake Trail and began the hike on the Trail of the Cedars. 

I've never seen such big trees! After a short jaunt among these giants we continued onto the lake trail. We hiked around 2.5 miles on an uphill trail, traveling among massive trees and mossy boulders. We emerged out of the forest onto the shores of Avalanche Lake, a lake fed by springs and glacial melt water. 

On the trail we talked to a few fellas with fly rods who'd said they had good luck. Already regretting our decision to leave the gear in the car, we spotted tons of pan-sized cutthroats eager to take the fly. It was painful to see but it leaves us with another excuse to come back.

 The first picture doesn't make sense without the second!

After a much faster hike back we headed to McDonald Creek for some lunch and a few more casts. Lots of people lined the banks of the river skipping stones and picnicking. I headed for a spring seepage that fed the creek. It brimmed with little cutthroats.

 After pulling in around twenty of these I headed to the main stream. On my way to the creek I ran into these footprints.

The first one may look like a deer print but it was HUGE! Definitely a moose. The second print measured about eight inches across, probably a grizzly. I'm glad I didn't run into either of these two. 

I approached the creek a little more cautious of my surroundings. After catching a few little cutties I headed back to the car. We headed to Kalispell for a late dinner and some firewood. We returned to camp, built a fire, and basked in its warmth until bed.

Trip Report: Saturday-Great Bear Wilderness and Glacier Nat'l Park

This weekend my wife, a friend, and I headed west to the Great Bear Wilderness and Glacier National Park for some hiking, fishing, and camping. We set off Saturday morning bright and early to arrive at the mountains by lunchtime. After some quick sandwiches my friend and I wet our lines in Bear Creek while the wife read a book. I plucked a few little brookies out of the first pool and a few more out of the next. My final count at Bear Creek numbered eleven.

We wanted to get a good hike in so we only fished for about 20 minutes. We got back in the car and headed deeper into the mountains. After a short period we pulled over to a waterfall for some pictures.

Don't be deceived. This cascade looked small but after climbing it I can tell you it just keeps going. We climbed it in search of a fabled lake brimming with fish, but our attempt fell short. After about 2000' of climbing we decided to head back down and look for an easier lake to fish.

As tired as we were after this we resigned ourselves to checking out a few pull offs and heading to Lake McDonald to set up camp. After procuring firewood and setting up we went for a short hike around the lake. We brought our fly rods just in case and happened to run into a tiny little creek. We each pulled a few little Westslope Cutthroat trout out of the trickle. Knowing that we planned to fish the Middle Fork of the Flathead River in the morning made it a little easier to part with the little stream, so after minimal exploration we headed back to make a fire, roast some brats, and hit the sleeping bag.