I Can't Make This Stuff Up

After having lost sleep over the past couple of weeks thinking about the gigantic Rainbow I lost in Western Montana I finally made plans to head back to the scene of the crime and see if I could make amends. 

I left Bozeman a few minutes after 6:00am and headed West.  By 10:00am I was on the water at the spot of the source of my sleepless nights.  The water was considerably lower and clear and I could actually see three big fish that I began fishing to.  It wasn't long before I hooked up one of the big boys.  It promptly headed for the only cover in sight and got off.  I figured this was a pretty good sign as last time I was here it took me quite a while to hook up my first fish.  I continued to work to the fish I could see and saw both of the other fish at least investigate my offerings.  One thing I've learned fishing streamers is that sometimes it is impossible to tell if they've refused to eat or sucked in the streamer and spit it out faster than I'm able to detect what's happening.  Either way I'm having a great time as I know that I've got another 50 yards of water to work in this area. 

As I'm minding my own business enjoying a beautiful day I hear a vehicle and see a guy on a 4 wheeler riding up on the opposite bank to where I'm fishing.  The opposite bank is a good 4' above the stream and he is riding close enough to the edge to spook every fish in the area.  Real cool, thanks.  So said 4 wheeler captain shuts down his toy and gets off and proceeds to tell me, "You should be fishing dry flies."  I reply that I'd love to but there are no fish rising.  He then starts ranting how there are only 9 fish for the next half mile of water and that it is "weak" to be fishing nymphs to them.  I yell over him that I'm fishing streamers, to which he responds, "That's even worse man, that's weak".  I tell him he's entitled to his opinion.

He takes his hat off and I say, "You're Huey Lewis" and introduce myself.  He acknowledges he is said 80s pop star and continues in his soliloquy about how "if you guys cared about this you wouldn't be fishing here....there are only 9 fish left...you're going to kill these fish...."  I finally have to explain to him that he never stops talking and if he doesn't want to have a conversation I'll just keep fishing.  This gets him to stop talking for a moment as I explain to him that I've cut my teeth on much smaller streams where I've caught the same fish a dozen times or more so that while yes, many anglers catch and release methods do result in killing fish I'm not one of those. 

For anyone reading who doesn't understand the dynamics of this situation, I'll provide the 10,000ft view.  Basically this fishery exists as a viable, productive fishery primarily because property owners along it's banks, like Huey Lewis, invested their own money to improve the habitat.  Once word got out that this resource was a good fishery the general public began wanting to access it, ultimately leading to a drawn out, expensive legal battle over whether this waterway was a ditch or a stream and therefore whether the landowners had exclusive rights to it or the public had the right to recreate on it as long as they stayed below the high water mark. 

Ultimately the Montana Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the waterway was, in fact, a natural waterway and therefore protected by Montana's stream access laws, providing for the public to recreate on it as long as they stay below the high water mark.  Obviously, as someone who is enjoying fishing it, I'm thrilled with this ruling.  However, there are unintended consequences to this ruling.  The first of which is that many of the property owners are no longer willing to invest in the maintenance of the stream.  If this trend continues and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks doesn't step in to fund some stream restoration/maintenance measures it would seem likely that the stream will revert back to it's previous condition.  If this happens then the fishing will suffer dramatically and the public will have access to a fishery that is no longer worth fishing. 

The other unintended consequence of this ruling is that as it was touted as a win for the "real Montanans" FWP has been unwilling to regulate the fishery as a catch and release, fly fishing only,..., or enact  any seasonal closures to protect critical spawning habitat.  It is my opinion that they have been unwilling to do this lest FWP likewise be labeled as catering to an elitist mentality of excluding "real Montanans" who like to fish bait, or lures with treble hooks, and kill big fish to put them in the freezer, etc. 

Additionally, the rhetoric surrounding this issue has revolved around a narrative of rich, out of state, elitist, hobby land owners trying to change Montana laws to keep the serfs out of their kingdom. 

With all of that as background, it isn't difficult to see why Huey Lewis might come on a little strong when meeting someone fishing his property.  That being said, I wasn't offended by his condescending attitude towards me fishing streamers to his 9 fish.  Not to mention, I've literally caught tens of thousands (that statement contains zero hyperbole) of fish on dry flies and nymphs but only a few hundred on streamers, so tying and fishing streamers is an evolution in my own personal fly fishing career. 

By the end of our conversation I had decided that after he scared my fish I wasn't going to have much luck fishing this section.  I'd imagine this was in fact his number one goal in riding up the way he did, but I suppose it doesn't really matter either way.  We ended our conversation on a first name basis and he actually offered to give me a ride back to my vehicle when I told him I was going to head elsewhere.  I declined the offer and instead asked him if I could get on the high bank he was on to get a better look at the water.  After some hand wringing he responded, "Jeremy, I don't know you that well yet so I'd rather not let you do that".  If I had to guess why this was the case it's because there are way more than 9 fish in that area and he didn't want me to see that.  I know there are more than 9 fish because I hooked more than 9 fish in that area less than two weeks ago.

Anyway, to the fun stuff.  Huey Lewis had suggested I try a channel of the Bitterroot as Skawla stoneflies might be coming off.  If that didn't work he suggested I try the slough higher up as he had heard it was good, but never fished there.  He actually gave me his e mail address and asked if I'd let him know how it fished. 

The Bitterroot channel was crap and I only gave it an hour or so.  I decided that even if Skawlas were coming off (which in that area at that time they most certainly were not) I didn't drive 250 miles to fish that hatch.  I went that far to find some big Browns and perhaps a big Rainbow.  I headed to the spot Huey recommended.  When I got in I thought perhaps he had deliberately misled me as the water was very skinny and full of thick, silt/mud.  I worked my way upstream and found some water that looked promising and caught my first fish.  It was only a 14" fish so I was a little disappointed as my first experience on the slough involved catching nothing under 18".  I worked my way upstream through another area of thick mud and turned a corner to see that the character of the stream was completely different. 

From this point onward this section was clearly being maintained by the landowner as there had been cobble brought in, structure established, and trees planted.  Immediately I caught what was one of the most beautiful Rainbows I've ever seen.  It was only 15" and I decided not to snap a picture but in hindsight I really should have.  The colors were vibrant neon and it was truly amazing.  As I fished my way through this section it was apparent that the management by the property owner had succeeded in creating a healthier, more diverse fishery.  I caught fish ranging from 12-18 before catching my first good fish of the day.  This fish measured 22" and interestingly was missing a good chunk of it's tail.

The most interesting thing I noted about this section of stream was that in addition to investing heavily in stream restoration the property owner also did something very cool making it easier on anglers navigating upstream.  At the areas where he had barbed wire fences crossing the stream he installed PVC pipe over the bottom strand so that your waders/shirt/jacket don't get caught on barbs as you climb under it.  If I knew how to reach this landowner I'd say thanks, both for improving the stream and being generous in making access to it easier on anglers. 

Fishing through this section I caught another 22" fish and several 17-19" fish as well.  All the big fish were Browns with 3 Rainbows mixed in.  As I fished my way back downstream on my way out I was getting nothing.  Then I got back to this spot.

This was the spot where I caught my first smallish fish of the day.  I casted upstream, let the flies sink and then slowly stripped my two streamer rig through.  At the end of the retrieve I slowly lifted up and hooked a nice fish.  After a good battle this 23.75" Brown was brought to hand, having eaten the smaller streamer. 

Day one was in the books and had gone down entirely different than I'd ever have guessed.  I never got a shot at that big Rainbow that got away, ended up having an hour long conversation with an 80s icon, wasted another hour on the Bitterroot, fished a completely different section of water than I had ever contemplated and still caught 3 fish 22" or better.  All in all a good day.

The next day I decided I'd head back down towards H.L.'s place but fish upstream of his property.  As I was gearing up another angler pulled up and we talked for a bit.  He showed me some pictures of fish up to 26" he had caught in the slough.  He warned me that the water upstream, while good, gets fished the most.  This reality became apparent by the footprints, worms, flies and other signs of heavy traffic in this area.  Fishing started out slow, but the first fish was a nice 18" Rainbow. 

Fishing remained slow as I got to a point where an electric fence crosses the stream.  I gave it a quick touch with my arm to see if it was hot....no shock.  Ok, I'll just get my shoulder under it and push up and make my way under.  At this point I get a huge jolt in my shoulder.  Not being an expert on electric fences I didn't realize that touching it for a half second won't cause a shock.  After several minutes of trying to figure out how in the world I'm going to get over or under this thing I hatch a plan that will involve me trying to go over the fence while using the cork on my rod as an insulator to push the top wire down.  If this plan were to fail I would be receiving a shock in  the most sensitive portions of my anatomy.  Luckily I made it over without another incident and the fishing started getting better.  Clearly that fence becomes an effective barrier for anglers heading further upstream.  Within a half hour I caught the biggest fish of the day, this 23.5" Brown.

In continuing my way upstream I caught many more fish ranging from 12-22".  The 22" Brown pictured below was probably the most memorable as it raced downstream 50' or so before rocketing out of the water 2'.  I like how the dorsal fin in the pic makes it look kind of like a shark.

The rest of the day was uneventful with some more reasonable fish caught, I did nearly get stuck in mud up to my thighs and didn't shock myself getting back over the electric fence. 

I could have spent another half day fishing the slough but decided that as that would have involved me fishing water I had already fished in the past 48 hours it would be best to try something else.  Something else, as is often the case, ended up not being any fun. 

So after having heard the other side of the debate on the management of this waterway what do I think?  All I can say is that I hope that some compromise can be achieved among those who value this resource in order to preserve the quality experience it still offers.  Either way, as long as it's legal to do so and the fishing remains good I'll be climbing over and under barbed wire and electric fences to enjoy it while it lasts.