Trip Report: Hoppers and Midges and Caddis, Oh My!

 

The temperature dropped thirty degrees from when I left work to when I passed the bank en route to the creek. I departed as the apocalypse swallowed town. I was eager to get to the mountains all day at work so I was determined to make it work. After Tuesday's debacle I checked and double checked the radar. There were some pretty severe storms working across the plains of North Central Montana but they parted, leaving the mountains high and dry.

This pool yielded the biggest and best fish of the day. As I waded up stream I pulled out a few good rainbows on the Elk Hair Caddis, until I lost the last one in my box. I switched to my own invention, a buoyant dry that resembles nothing, or everything. That also got me a few bows.

I continued up stream to a pool full of rising rainbows. None of them appeared huge, but I had fun picking off the risers one by one. I pulled at least 15 out of that hole and the riffles surrounding it, when I decided to challenge myself. Tons of approximately size 28 midges were hatching so I tied on a size 24 Xelon Midge, the smallest fly in my box. After a frustrating 15 minutes of fish surfacing all around me with nothing to show I tried a hopper. I pulled a few more out of that hole. My urge to continue was stifled by my hunger so I turned back.

I hunkered down at the top of the pool that I had so much success from on my way up stream and lobbed the hopper as close to the rock outcropping (pictured above) as I could. Immediately, this unique colored brookie leaped out of the water, swallowing the fly.

I tossed the hopper to the same spot and this gator hammered it.

The picture doesn't do this brookie justice. He was a bit heftier than the photo would suggest and his colors were much more vibrant. The blue halos on this guy were beautiful! I got another big bow out of the same general area and decided to call it a day as the skies opened up. I hurried back to the car and took off.

Stay Tuned-This weekend the wife and I are planning a camping trip to Holter Lake and a pilgrimage to the Missouri River.