Saving the Best for Last

Winter has arrived in full force in the Northern Rockies.  Correspondingly opportunities to spend time on the water have decreased accordingly.  Lately I've been able to get on the water one day a week it seems.  On Friday the mercury hit the mid 30s and I spent a couple of hours on one of my least favorite waters in the world.  Unfortunately it also happens to be one of the most convenient waters for me to fish as it is close to home.  Needless to say it was more of a reason to spend some time outside on a nice day than it was fishing. 

The forecast for Saturday was likewise conducive to wetting a line so I headed over to a quality winter fishery.  It's been an interesting year of fishing as we experienced  record high water that really made for relatively disappointing fishing this summer.  I did have a great run in the spring that resulted in a few big Browns, but the summer didn't produce any particularly memorable fish and the fall produced some 20" fish but nothing truly large.  The water I fished on Saturday does hold the potential for big fish.  I've hooked a few that were 4-5lbs or more and landed some fish in excess of 20" over the past year. 

Upon arrival the wind was blowing pretty good, which is all too common on this piece of water.  My hands,  along with my guides, were frozen and the fishing started off slow.  I worked some water that normally produces and didn't find any willing fish.  I headed upstream to another likely spot and got a respectable 15" Brown to get on the board.  From there I headed up to the make or break spot for the day.  There's a bucket that has been holding lots of fish for the past 6 weeks or so.  I've caught upwards of 20 fish a day in this spot at times so I figured if this didn't produce it was going to be a long, cold, frustrating day.  After several casts I hooked up a small fish that ended up being foul hooked.  I was a bit concerned that my honey hole was going to be relatively barren.  I made a few more casts and saw a slight pause in the indicator.  It was the subtle indication that most anglers, even relatively experienced anglers, would not set on.  Usually when these subtle pauses are set on there is nothing there as it is just an indication of the weight or fly bouncing on the bottom.  The flip side is that when the indication is actually that of a fish taking the fly it is often a larger fish.  I suppose that is because the bigger, dominant fish exert the least amount of energy possible when they are feeding opportunistically on food in the drift. 

I set the hook, with little expectation that it would be a fish, and felt a fish on.  The fact that the only fish I had hooked in the spot so far was foul hooked had me concerned that I had possibly foul hooked another fish.  There was no doubt that the fish was strong and heavy, but a 16" fish hooked in the tail can at times feel like a 20+" fish hooked in the mouth.  I got a glimpse of it and realized it was a very, very nice fish.  At this point however I still couldn't see if it had eaten one of my flies or if the hook was embedded somewhere on the fish's body.  I kept my cool and tried to get control of the fish and keep him out of the various weeds that could spell disaster if he dove into them.  I got another look and saw that he had eaten one of my flies and it was sitting right in the corner of his mouth.  At this point I start to get very concerned that I was not going to be able to land this fish.  If it were foul hooked and it got off or broke off it really wouldn't be that big of a deal for me.  Sure I'd like to see exactly how big it was, but ultimately landing a foul hooked fish isn't satisfying.  Now that I was sure it was fair hooked I'm contemplating how in the world I'm going to land the fish.  My indicator was set a good 10' or more from my bottom fly meaning that was as much line as I could reel in.  On top of that my net isn't all that large or deep. 

I worked the fish with all the finesse I could while still keeping it from getting wrapped up in the weeds and finally was able to lift it's head and reach with all I had with my net and scoop it up. 

24 Inch Brown

After landing it, then began the mad scramble to get my camera and measuring tape out with my numb, frozen fingers.  I worked as fast as I could in order to reduce the stress placed on the fish as much as possible.  The pictures correspondingly aren't as great as I would have liked but will work.  It measured 24" on the button. 

With 21 days left until the end of 2011 I caught my largest fish.  Anything is possible but I would suppose this will be the big fish of the year for me.  It wasn't in the fall like I had expected and it wasn't on one of the big rivers that I picked up the Spey rod to be able to fish, but it was big and it was fun.

Quality Browns

In between snow storms I was able to spend a couple of days on one of my favorite late fall/winter fisheries this week.  For reasons that I'm uncertain of, the Browns in this stream spawn considerably later than any other water I'm familiar with.  While other waters I fish have seen the completion of the spawn, the fish in this stream haven't even started in earnest. 

The first day I was by myself and enjoyed a great day of streamer fishing for a couple dozen Browns between 14-20".  I did foul hook a fish that would have probably gone 5lbs, but after being drug 50 yards he came off.  The fish are at their physical peak right now and are heavy and powerful. 

20 Incher

Upon hearing how good the fishing was, my friend asked if I'd go back the next day as he'd managed to wrangle a hall pass.  It didn't take any arm twisting to get me to agree.  I figured we should fish a different section of the stream so we headed downstream.  For reasons I'm not quite sure of, this lower stretch can be quite good, but is not as consistent as the upper reaches.  It started off fine with some fish being caught like this one.

Unfortunately it went downhill from there and fish were hard to find.  We eventually abandoned the plan and headed upstream.  It was liking fishing a different stream as fish were big and plentiful.  The biggest fish was only about 19" but was especially thick.



19" Brute



It's Coming

The picture sums it up, winter is rearing it's ugly head.  Monday, fall was in all it's glory with leaves of gold, orange, and red.  After two hard frosts since then most of the leaves are off the trees or brown.  Snow isn't falling yet but yesterday my guides were iced up for the first couple hours of fishing, even though I didn't get on the water until 11:00am. 

Fishing was good with several Browns in the 14-18" range landed and one Hog Johnson broken off.  I got a good look at it and it probably would have gone 4-5lbs....that one hurt.  The fish below were two of the better fish landed for the day.

Bass Boatin'

On Wednesday I got an offer to join a friend of a friend on his bass boat for the last trip of the year to one of his favorite fishin holes.  I've never fished from a bass boat, let alone fly fished for native Cutthroats and non native Lake trout,  from one so I figured what the heck. 

The day started with meeting at 6:00am to try and be on the water by 9:30am.  I was warned to bring plenty of warm clothes as the wind chill is pretty intense zipping across a lake of 42F water at 30mph with ambient temps in the 30s.  I complied and piled on layer after layer, including snow pants and my winter parka as we headed out on the lake. 

My host had been given a tip by an old timer as to where we could find spawning Lake trout.  These fish get very large...30lbs would not be out of the question if we could find them.  Unfortunately the area he pointed us to was devoid of all life and all necessary elements to host much life.  No rocks, no weeds, no contour to the bottom of the lake, no fish.  We trolled around the area for a couple of hours, landing one random Cutthroat before neither of us could stand it any longer. 

My host took me to a cove that often has plenty of fish in shallow and clear water that provides for exciting sight fishing.  We found a few and were able to get some to play.  We worked our way around his usual loop and caught quite a few Cutts like this one in the 2.5-3lb range. 

We worked pretty hard to try and find fish and ended up landing perhaps 25 total between the two of us with a few better fish in the 4bl-4.5lb range like this one.

As we headed back to the marina the chop on the water got pretty intense and the corresponding spray resulting in me being bathed in 42F water.  It was much like I would imagine a Disney ride from hell.  All in all it was a good time and fun to experience something different. 

The juxtaposition of the sparkly bass boat on trout lake at over 8000ft is priceless. 

Fishing is Heating up as the Weather Cools Down

While I haven't yet got the big fall Brown trout that I'm looking for, I keep getting 20" fish from water that I've never got one that big from before.  Yesterday I took plenty of fish between 15-18" like these two.

All the fish were taken on streamers, these two were taken on the Mr. T starter set flies.  I've been tying articulated streamers lately and I'm pretty sure I saw Mr. T wear earrings that looked just like these flies in Rocky III.  As hackle feathers have become a fashion accessory of late in women's hair, perhaps I can make a killing bringing Mr. T earrings back in fashion....hmmm.

Had I just got lots of Browns and a handful of Rainbows in this range it would have been a great day.  However I was lucky enough to have finally corralled a legit 20 incher on this small fishery.  The pictures don't really show just how magnificent this fish was, but you get the idea. 

It Finally Happened

Today it finally happened.  No, I didn't run into a grizzly, that will eventually happen but not today.  Today, fishing the switch rod was exactly what I had hoped it would be when I picked it up. 

It was cool and raining at my place this morning so I headed out with the intention of hitting a big river that I normally don't fish very often and swinging streamers.  This was the exact scenario I envisioned when I picked up the switch rod.  Autumn weather, overcast, rain, big river...I started my day a little lower in the valley than I had originally planned and fished for a couple of hours, getting an ok Rainbow and a Whitefish before heading further upstream. 

I headed up to spot that I've fished before, having never hooked into any good fish.  It wasn't long before I landed this 20" Brown on the swing.

Energized after landing a good Brown, I pressed on.  I actually ended up getting the grand slam, several Cutts, a Rainbow, and a few Whitefish.  The second Brown was a good fish as well.  I didn't measure it so I'll call it 19". 

A Good Ending to a Rough Week

The past week has seen fall show up to Southwest Montana with a significant amount of snow falling on the mountains and nights starting to dip below freezing. 

I fished hard all week, sometimes in rain, sometimes in heavy winds, and for the first time in months was actually cold a few times.  I fished large rivers, a huge tailwater, a tiny tailwater, a freestone, a famous river that is supposed to be full of lake run fish right now.  Basically I put in a lot of hours hoping that the change of weather would put fish in an aggressive mood. 

Magazine articles and book chapters all speak of fall in Southwest Montana as being the time to get big fish and the time to see huge fish rush streamers.  As I've never really given myself to fishing streamers in the past I decided this year I would get serious about it.  For the most part I spent my week fishing streamers, both with my new spey set up and my 4 wt.  I picked up the spey rod with two goals in mind.  The first is to force myself to start at ground zero learning new skills.  Casting and fishing a two handed rod is a completely different animal than anything I've done before and I am, for the most part, enjoying the learning process.  The second goal in picking up the two handed rod was to be able to fish bigger water more effectively, particularly with streamers with the ultimate goal of getting some bigger fish.  Over the past week the two handed rod was a bust, producing very few fish and none of them being impressive in the least.  I'm beginning to feel like a true steelheader...that is a guy that spends all day casting with no fish to show for it.

On the other hand, the best fish of the week were actually taken with the 4 wt.  Yesterday I fished one of my favorite winter fisheries, a small tailwater that has been nearly unfishable all summer.  It still looks terrible with less than 8 inches of visibility and tons of floating moss to contend with.  However, I convinced myself that it would still be good fun if I could force myself to stick with fishing streamers all day.  Fortunately, I was correct and caught many fish.  The fish still aren't as aggressive as one would think with fall setting in and their time to spawn coming within weeks but enough ate the streamers that it kept it fun.  I landed a couple that exceeded 18", one Brown and one Rainbow.  I did see some larger Browns follow the streamer but wouldn't commit.  Theoretically, this will change in the coming days as the big fish become super territorial and start to actively chase space invaders.  We'll see..

Nice Brown

Fall Is Here

We're starting to see rainy, overcast days with the forecast for perhaps some snow accumulation later this week overnight.  While I do hate to see winter start to show up as it will be a long 6 months, I'm excited at the prospect of potentially finding some big, nasty browns on streamers and quality fish sipping tiny Baetis mayflies. 

This one went 20".  I hope to get some considerably bigger than this before winter sets in but this was the first time I've caught a legit 20incher from this freestone river so I was pretty excited.

This fish did not sign the waiver to reveal its identity, hence the obscuring of his face

Reunited And It Feels...OK

I paid a visit to my Spring love to see if any big Browns had moved in with spawning on their minds.  I did not have high hopes as I knew the water would be low and fishing wouldn't be easy, if there were even any good fish in the stream. 

As I pulled up I was happy that I would be the first and probably the only angler on the water.  With this stream having a reputation for being prime grizzly habitat I decided I'd take two bear sprays with me.  Funny enough at the first spot I stopped to fish I found a brand new can of bear spray in the grass.  There was no decaying body attached to it so I was pretty happy to find a can of $50 bear spray.  Now armed with three cans of spray I figured I was as prepared as I could be for an encounter.

The water was low as expected and many weeds had grown high in the stream, making fishing even more challenging.  I fished a couple of likely spots with not so much as a fish being seen.  Then I watched a 20" Brown follow my streamer not once but twice.  I think he probably bit it once or twice without me feeling it unfortunately.  At least I knew there were a few good fish in the system. 

Shortly after witnessing that fish chase my offering I watched a Brown that would have gone 5lbs race down a run.  Now I knew I'd make a day of it here, even it meant getting skunked.  Luckily that didn't happen.  The first fish was a 17" Rainbow,  which surprised me a bit.  I don't know if it spent the summer in the stream or followed the Browns up out of the lake recently, but it was great to get on the board. 

I kept hard it with no success for a couple of hours.  I got to the spot where I lost a huge Brown in the spring and unfortunately it looked like an entirely different piece of water.  It was so low and slow that I didn't have high hopes I'd move a fish in it at all.  I cast towards a willow and made a few strips, actually taking my eye off what I was doing for a moment.  When I looked back a good Brown was eating my streamer. 

19.5" Brown

She was a beautiful, thick fish.  Surely there would be a few males fighting over the right to spawn with her in the coming weeks. 

As I fished up a little further I hear water being displaced rapidly upstream and look up to see a huge wake in the water.  I wondered if that was a huge Brown or perhaps a beaver.  As I stood and watched, two huge Browns swam by, nipping at each other.  Unfortunately they wouldn't slow down or stop and were gone in an instant.  Each was 22-25". 

Fishing my way out I caught one more Rainbow of 18".  A nice fish and nice to get another one for the day but not what I had come for.  I'm sure the allure of those few big fish will bring me back to see my love again before the season ends in 5 weeks.  While the chances of getting one of the few pigs in the stream are small, I can't resist the challenge...bears and all.

Wyoming Part II

I headed back down to Wyoming on Friday to enjoy what was possibly the last of our Indian Summer fishing my favorite freestone. 
Fishing was good with plenty of 15-19" fish landed and one Rainbow around 21" that broke off just as I was going to net it...oh well.  If you won them all it wouldn't be as fun, at least that's what I'm telling myself. 
There several Rainbows taken on hoppers like this one.

19" Rainbow

On Saturday morning I fished my new switch rod and swung streamers for a few hours.  It was great fun to practice this method of casting and fishing even if the catching wasn't great.  I only got two fish but this one was a beautiful male Cutthroat that was just under 20".  Believe it or not the Cutts in this drainage don't know they are supposed to roll over.  This fish actually put a bend in the 6wt switch rod. 

Big Cutt taken on the swing

I was fishing through some good looking water and not moving any fish kind of wondering what was up.  The shops in town claim that the fish are highly migratory in this river and sometimes just aren't where you expect.  I was guessing perhaps this was the answer until I saw this.

I've seen a few otters while fishing but never one this big or even this color.  Usually they are gray and about half as big.  This guy saw me, got in the water and keep popping up to take a look at what I was doing.  I suppose he was bigger than average because the river is full of bigger than average fish. 

All in all it was another successful trip and left me wanting to try and get back one more time before the snow flies.

Wyoming...Montana 50 Years Ago?

I spent a few days in Wyoming fishing my favorite freestone river and once again wasn't disappointed.  After having traveled to Canada recently, where the outfitters advertise that the fishing is like Montana was 50 years ago, I'd have to say that I'd rather fish Wyoming.  It is surely an overstatement to say that it is as good as Montana before it was discovered, but there is some fantastic fishing in Wyoming. 

Unfortunately the memo was leaked and there were plenty of other anglers on the water this time.  I fished the same water last September and found nothing but solitude and big, hot fish.  There were still plenty of good fish but I bumped into more anglers that I would have liked.  Unfortunately the two biggest fish that I hooked up were both lost.  One was a beautiful, technicolored Cutthroat that was 21-23" and thick.  I've honestly never had my butt kicked by a Cutthroat...until this guy got a hold of me.  I fought him for perhaps 2 or 3 minutes before he came unbuttoned.  He didn't break off, my drag was set stout, and I made him work for every inch of line he took...he just won the battle.  The other fish was a Rainbow of over 20" or so that I fought for several minutes and couldn't seem to get the upper hand.  I decided that rather than kill the fish by playing it to exhaustion I'd put my tippet to the test and shape my rod like a taco shell.  Unfortunately my tippet broke after 15 seconds of this and off he went. 

I did land this 20" Cuttbow on a hopper, which was cool.


20" of Fun

 If the weather holds I'll try to make another trip or two down that way this year.  Until then enjoy some random shots.

First fish of the trip 18" Cutt

This caterpillar was colored just like a tiger

First fish on the new switch rod--19" Rainbow

The only fish I was in a spot to lay down for a good picture...17" Rainbow

Wardner/Fernie British Columbia

I spent my birthday with my wife and dogs in Wardner, British Columbia last weekend.  I spent one day fishing the Elk River and one day fishing the Bull River.  I've read for years about how great the fishing is in this part of Canada with it often being described as what Montana was 50 years ago and had wanted to check it out for some time. 
This area is certainly beautiful and the fishing was good.  However, the reality didn't live up to the hyperbole.  The Elk was good fun and delivered up plenty of Cutthroat with a few being 17-18".  However, I had four guide boats cover the water I was on, including one who anchored across the side channel I was on and ate lunch, putting off the vibe that he would wait all day with his clients to fish this water.  I moved on as I had already taken 7 fish from the spot anyway.  There are many spots I fish regularly in Montana that I never see a guide boat on, let alone 4, and certainly I've never had a guide be such a douche bag as to anchor on the water I was fishing.  It was funny that when another guide floated by and asked this db how it was going he muttered, "Not good".  I doesn't surprise me that a guide who would park on a wade angler would also be so poor at his job that I would be catching lots of fish while he couldn't get his clients on any....but I digress.

On Saturday I fished the Bull River.  I was told it was a smaller river and gets much less traffic so thought it sounded good.  The river is beautiful and freezing cold.  It was smaller than the Elk but flowing at a steeper gradient and clearly colder.  I hiked up a canyon and found some beautiful water.  The Cutthroat were plentiful and willing to rise but unfortunately were not large.  The largest fish were 15" or so. 

All in all it was a good time but certainly it's no "Montana 50 years ago".  Fifty years ago it didn't cost $100 in license fees to fish for two days. 


First Canadian Fish--14" Cutthroat on a hopper



Spot where I started fishing the Elk



Elk River



Moreof the  Elk River

Nice 17" Elk River Cutthroat

18" Elk River Cutt

Underwater shot

Bull River

More of the Bull