Still Finding Fish

So the Lower is at 4000+, the upper, Yellowstone, and Gallatin are all pretty much gone for awhile now. The spring creeks, lakes, and Tailwaters are still fine and fishing very well. I was up on the Missouri yesterday and Willow Creek today. 

We floated from the Deerborn down to Mtn. Palace and did great with Worms, Baetis Nymphs, and Caddis Pupa. Had some excellent dry fly fishing from about 3  on with Elk Hair Caddis, despite the abundance of Baetis. It was some of the easiest dry fly fishing I've seen on teh Missouri in a long time. There were lots of fish coming up and all we had to do was get it near one and bam. The Missouri should be fine all through the runoff with the exception of a few days here and there if the Deerborn shoots up over 1000 cfs. Prickly Pear could go as well, but I think it already has done it's things. So, head to the Mo.

I guided on Willow Creek today for the first time. I fished it years ago, but had never guided it. I always like guiding on new water as it adds a little "drama" to the whole thing and keeps me at attention most of the day. We wlaked up th mouth of the upper canyon about 2 miles or so. The fishing was very good with San Juans fished through likely looking water. It's a small stream loaded with fish, mostly in the 8-12 inch range but there are some larger ones around...there always are aren't there.

Don't you love it when a guide says that! What that means is that you should catch plenty 

of fish but the last time he saw a big one was in a newspaper article from 1958 with some kid hanging a 14 pounder over his back while walking down main street. So in theory, there could be some big ones in there. 

Anyway, Willow Creek was really beautiful. It reminded me of a mini Pomahaka or Von from NZ - less the enormous fish. I thought I had some good pics, but my lens was watery. It rained on us the entire day.

Run Off

The big melt is officially underway as of last Thursday. Lance got the caddis hatch on the Yellowstone with almost no visibility Thursday, sounds like that was the last day to get on the fish though. Some buddies and I hit the Upper Madison opener on Saturday with some good results. We ended up getting up real early and trekking upstream from West Fork Cabins quite a ways. There was someone already where we wanted to be so we used some sly trickery and waited them out. Fishing as very good one Golden Stones, Worms and eggs.

The Wets Fork is filthy, but the right side of the river is still fishable almost down to Windy Point, after that, it starts to blend pretty well and the whole thing is ruined. It looks like it will be at least a couple of weeks before that gets good again as Cabin Creek above Quake is now gone too, along with just about every trib in the region. 

The lower continues to be questionable as the flows have been coming up every day and things just haven't settled down yet. This pic, though, shows what can happen over there when things do come together. It's a 26 inch brown caught by a new employee, Nick Gibb on a Clouser Cray about 200 yards below Warm Springs on the north bank. That's pretty descr

iptive...I'd say.

I thought it was April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Today was another drizzle-fest here in SW Montana. I won't complain about the moisture as the ground, lakes, and rivers need all they can get. I will complain about the cool wet spring that just won't quit. That said, it's supposed to get up well into the 80's this weekend...and then cool back down again.

So, the short term forecast is that the runoff should get going pretty big time by next week. I can't believe I'm saying that in Mid-May. Typically, everything is blown out right now. So much for typical.

I've had a busy spring, it seems like things just get busier every year and that I hardly have time to do much pontificating and relaxing anymore. I've had a few things on my mind though that I've been dwelling on lately.

I guess I'm old enough now to remember "good old days." Things like the Missouri in the mid-late 90's (no people and oodles of fish that loved to eat pink sowbugs), blanket Mother's Day Caddis with rising fish to boot on the lower Madison, and whacking lots of BIG fish on the Beaverhead on opening day in the late mid-late 90's as well. I think that the point of the good old days is to appreciate them at the time, rather than look back on it years later thinking that that's how it is always going to be. With that in mind, one of my new goals in the life astream is to try to appreciate each day on the water so that I don;t have to look back for the glory!

I'm tired of the Bro-Bra fly-fishing attitude thing. Whatever happened to the quite sport? I think that that's still the mainstream philosophy, but this rad-dude attitude seems to be prevalent everywhere you look. From the Trout Bum Diaries to Kaenon ads, there is a message that goes something like " fuck up some fish and you'll be cool too" Not that I don't have my moments of dudeism..I have plenty. The sport and society would all benefit though by reading The Longest Silence by Thomas McGuane every few years.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is still on my not favorite list. If you don't know, here's a quick rundown of my bad experiences over the years. You can get details by asking me if you want more. A) 2000 - I had to pay in excess of $5000 to sell fishing licenses. B) FWP Employee told one of competitors about some company secrets, thus ruining any competitive advantage and my relationship with that competitor. C) Established a ludicrous use management protocal on the Beaverhead in Big Hole that seems to have derived from a Butte 3rd grade class getting wild with a pin the tail on the donkey game. D) Decided non-resident can't fish from a boat on certain days on the previous rivers, even though they pay more for a license to fish than residents. E) If they do patrol for fishing violations I don't see them (out of 300 + days on the water the last 2 years I have not seen a warden check an angler). F) Management of rivers is largley based on perception and not facts. G) There seems to be an overall misunderstanding of trout biology and evolution...I think that they use a resource guide from Alabama's trout management guide. H)The whole shooting incident with my employees and outfitters form Ennis - apparently if you poach, shoot at deer with birdshot in the middle of the river, don't wear orange, and get caught...you only get a $50 fine I) They take water temperatures in the hottest part of the streambed...the part where fish don't live...3 inch puddles with no current or shade J) Apparenlty the lower Madison is too far a drive for an easy bust of violators K) $100 access fees imposed in 2007 have yielded absolutley nothing...we pay more (which we should) but get nothing out of it L)New for 2008 is senior citizens get free licenses, they've always been glad to pay the $8 before and contribute to the "management" of the resource K) New for 2008 is the Madison River Use Fee...apparently BLM has jurisdiction over our use on rivers which is supposedly public domain ) once below the high-water mark...so much for that whole stream access law, plus the revenue generated (70-90 grand) is going to be used to fund 2 new positions to administer the program (what great minds we have in charge of this process!) Anyway, I'm sure there's more to come about FWP. My negative experiences aside, the employees of the agency are good, hard-working people. The policies and rules that come out just baffle me sometimes because I know these folks have better ideas than what we see.

So, fishing is going to get busy for me the next week. Some buddies and I are either hitting the Beaverhead or the Madison this weekend for opening day. I'm on the lower Mad the next couple of days and Monday and then who knows where next week!

High Water is Here

Spring weather continues to be unusual this year with some snow showers in the mountains and cool. drizzly days down here in the valleys. This is also accompanied by 3 or 4 really nice days with highs n the 70's. Caddis are out on the Yellowstone, but it is pretty much ruined, I bet we get a day or two on there this week thanks to some really cold temps in the park that should have slowed the melt down for a spell. In the meantime, the lower has been fishing better and the caddis have started out there over the last few days. So, we've still got some good stuff to come. Next Saturday is the general opener, so I think I'll either hit the beaverhead on opening day or explore a spring creek a came across this winter.

I just wrapped up some trips and am in getting geared up again mode. I fished the Madison, Yellowstone, and Big Horn on my last little run. The Big Horn was really good, but crowded. The fish are starting to spawn or squirting eggs out, so fly selection wasn't too hard. The biggest challenge is just to get your rig into some occupied water. The ladies and I had a great time though and got plenty of fish. We checked out some new stuff on day two and got away from the crowds. Good fishing and nobody around on the horn? That was nice.

Spring Fever

The last couple weeks in April are usually terrific around SW Montana with nice days, cold nights, and feeding fish. The past 3 weeks, however, have been cold, snowy, windy, warm, cold, snowy...etc. You get the picture. Fishing, however, has been good through it all. I've been on the Madison and Yellowstone a good amount the last couple weeks and everything has been good except the lower Madison.

Not sure why the lower has been slower, but it has. We've still been geting some fish, but have had to work at it pretty hard. I think it has something to do with the Rainbows being pretty serious about spawning right now and expect that things will pick up once there are more bugs than eggs in the water. This should be pretty soon as the Caddis should be popping anyday now.

Erratic water temps, flows, and color has kept the Caddiso from coming off on the stone as well, but I bet they get going the next day or two. This is looking promising for some upcoming trips. Overall, the last couple weeks on the stone has been good so long as the weather is stable and not ridiculously windy. 

I've been fishing it around Big Timber for the most part and have found the Pat's Rubberleg Golden Stone that we're selling (it's a custom tie) has been getting them real good. There are some March Browns out and Baetis as well, so The seemed to get on some larger PT's and Lightning Bugs more towrds mid-day. After that bite quit, usually 3 or 4 in the afternnon, a Bow River Bugger with a worm dropper still found some fish. Not crazy fishing, but still 20+ nice fish. Some guys have been working streamers pretty hard and finding some big fish all through the river, you won't get numbers right now, but might find that big one of the year.

The upper madison is still at low flows, but it's been reall good. I've been fishing a lot of egg and wrom combos and finding lots of fish in the buckets between Varney and Ennis. A big wire worm has been very easy to fish and more effective than not. That's all I'll say about this!

I've been fishing with a Helios 905 all year and I can't say enough good things about this rod. Everyone that I've had fish it has been really impressed and has fished better than with their other rods. This just tells me that it fishes as easy for less experienced casters as it does for those experts. Bottom line - it's an awesome rod. 

The other new gear that I've been getting on with as well is the new Orvis Large Arbor. Really lightweight and smooth. I'd take it over a Galvan or Ross anyday.