Nymphing Today

Yellerstone today down around Big Timber. Cloudy, windy, a little rain so not the best conditions for hopper fishing. Nymphing with golden stones did well enough given the conditions. More whitefish today than thus far this year but primarily rainbows.

I have little or no more value to add to the digital experience today so I am signing off!

Upper...what do you think?

Felt the "love" this morning and along with that came that unmistakable call of the upper Madison. Today was to be the day when all bets were off and fish would impale themselves on anything we threw at them.  But then again...it is the upper Madison and reality set in before we got to Macatee.

I always like being the first one to the boat ramp but I don't know that's such a good sign at the end of August at Macatee around 9:30 in the morning. Ended up being another boat putting in there though and they knew what they were doing...4 people all wearing waders piling into a RO Deville with out of state plates.

The dinks were eating little dries just fine but we had helluva time getting anything to eat nymphs and it was windy enough that dries were a little bit of a challenge. We ended up squeaking a decent day out of it once I cut all the accessories off some foam hoppers and added a split shot and an indicator. They ate that alright.

That was kind of serendipitous as Charlie wrote a blog post on our website about fishing drowned hoppers today. I haven't done that in several years, but I used to all the time, my favorite rig was a big MFC  foam hopper with a Henry's Fork hopper about 2 feet below with a size 6 split shot on it's nose. Deadly at times but in recent years I've become more of a one dry guy, opting for the nymph rig when I want to nymph. I do have some scruples.

One More Day Off

Had another day off today and am back at it for a week or so tomorrow. It has been great to have some time off; got to spend a couple of days on the water with both family and friends. Strange how worn out I was 4 days ago and now I feel like it's been a whole year since I guided last.

Anyway, headed to the Jeff today with Jones and John for a nice easy day with very low expectations. She did not disappoint! We got our obligatory 7 fish and headed for the ramp to beat the incoming storm. It is a strange river that Jefferson...he must have been a crap president!

Saw a black bear sow and 2 cubs that got hit by a car on I-90 near Baker Creek this morning. It was pretty sad and it got my mind wondering a little about why I feel bad for animals that get hit by vehicles. On one hand, you've got the whole survival of the fittest thing going on but on the other hand, dodging cars really isn't part of their genetic makeup.

Not to sound too fuzzy...but sometimes I wonder if maybe I take that survival of the fittest attitude as a work around to the guilt for the way we've kind of messed up the natural world. Hardly a day goes by during which I'm not amazed by the fact that Lewis and Clark came through this relatively unsettled and pristine countryside less than 200 years ago. I wonder if they had any idea how quickly things would change?

Ok Ok...I'll stop. The bear should have looked both ways and should not have been walking in between Belgrade and Manhattan on the interstate with her kids!

October Guide Trip Special

Fall generally starts sometime in September here in southwest Montana, some years as early as August or as late as Thanksgiving! 2011 has been a very different year for us in that the season started so late as a result of heavy spring rains and a protracted spring melt. As a result, we’ve seen some of the best late season water conditions in almost 20 years and expect these conditions to continue well past the first snows of the year.

Brown trout start to change their patterns and habits in early October as they “pair up” and move into their spawning areas. One of the highlights during this period of transition is their aggressiveness towards other fish, which translates into some ferocious streamer bites when the conditions all come together. It’s a unique experience and one that we get to see both wading and floating on just about all the waters we fish throughout the year.

In addition to the classic fall streamer fishing, October can provide great fishing on both dries and nymphs as aquatic insects regain their prominence in the diets of trout in the region.  As the terrestrial insects such as hoppers, ants, and beetles become less available to feeding trout, we see a shift in trout patterns that are more centered on the various hatches that take place with the cooler water temperatures and shorter days.

Along with the great fishing during the fall, it is the lack of crowds and changing landscape around the rivers that really makes for a special time of year. Bugling elk can often be heard in the distance on a crisp October morning and the air just seems to be alive as everything starts to get ready for the long winter ahead.  Active fish, uncrowded waters, and the amazing landscape surrounding it all…who could ask for more!

October really is a great time of year to be on the water in Montana, and we hope that you can make it out here in 2011 as we’re not likely to see conditions like this again for awhile.

Book 3 or more days with Fins & Feathers for October 2011 and get a reduced guide rate of $375. Purchase any of our various packages and save $225 (double occupancy) off the published rate. Make your reservations by calling the shop at 1-877-790-5303 or send us an e-mail, please mention the “October Guide Trip Special” when making your booking.

The Future

Enjoying a few days off right now with my family. We did a quick run down the lower Madison this morning, found a few fish and few laughs along the way. Heading over to Fairmont Hot Springs for the night.

Matty, my younger son takes this fishing business pretty serious right now. The shot above is just before he gives his mother a layout for the day and just what he expects of her fishing. The pic below was accompanied by some mutterings by him as he net this fish for his mom. It sounded like he was saying something like "finally, one you can't lose!"

No more pee on my waders?

I blew out my second pair of Sonic Seam waders back in June after about 40 days of hard use. The first pair lasted about the same and I was greatly disappointed to have a repeat. Granted, I am particularly hard on gear and do not take care of the stuff I use the most. If it passes my test...it's probably really well made.

If I get 40 days out of a pair of waders, most folks will get several years and I feel pretty confident with that statement. There's always the exception to the rule, but I really do tend to tear things up pretty quickly.

Anyway, the wader design is very cool. They are the most comfortable waders I've ever owned and pack into a tiny ball, ideal for travel. Orvis has had very few issues with the seams or waders in general, so they've put me on the field test list for the newest version which is still up in the air as to whether they will work or not and even ever be put into production.

I just received the zip-up version of the sonic weld waders and opened the package up today. They look good, but I've got a long way to go before I give them the "Toby Approved" stamp. One thing is for sure...I drink a lot of coffee and piss about 8 times a morning so the zipper will sure make that an easier task! Honestly though, I've worm waders enough this year so I'd prefer to hold off on them for another 2 months or so.

Initial thoughts are that I much prefer the gravel guards and suspenders in this version to the standard version. Maybe too many pockets and a little too similar in look to something a stormtrooper would wear in the swamps of Dagobah. Other than that, looks good at first glimpse.

Hoppers, Hammers, and Ninjas

Back on the Yellowstone today with slightly different conditions than we've seen in awhile...cloudy. Decent nymph bite in the morning and switched to hoppers later in the day. Did much better with a grand hopper today than the standard Moorish that I've been fishing.

I've been trying to stay ahead of all the other boats and it's been paying off as I've been finding plenty of dumb and hungry fish, glad I'm not number 10 going down through most of the water. Especially a day like today when they really weren't eating as well as they have been. I think being the first down a bank makes a big difference when less fish are eating.

Have tomorrow off and plan on doing some shop time as well as errands that are long overdue. Things like trailer lights, oil changes, boat cleaning, balance checkbook, pay bills, get a license plate for my trailer (it's been gone for a couple of weeks now), new guide stickers, photos, e-mail newsletter, and work on the October guide schedule.

I might even try to sleep in a little bit. Today's sunrise was really pretty and I hope that I'm not awake long enough to see it go down!

Uno Mas

It's been a long stretch this run and the day after tomorrow will bring a much needed break in the madness of the season. I think I've had one day off in the last 30 something or so. Not one to complain about the work though as I need to do as much of it as I can. But, I am looking forward to having a few days off!

Fished the Yellowstone today down around Big Timber and found it to be very good just about all day. Things slowed down a little after 2:30 or so, but was still pretty solid. Nymphed this morning and fished hoppers after lunch. They were eating today. Strange how some days they seem to eat more than others. The water is finally what could be called summer clear but flows are still enough to have plenty of water in the riffles and shallow flats. No weeds at all, which it usually has plenty of by this time of the year.

Tenkara Timmy was on his game today and got them good on hoppers with the ol' cane pole. I tried to stay ahead of the other boats and it seemed to work as we found lots of hungry fish that just seemed like they wanted to eat a small piece of tan foam really bad.

Back down that way again tomorrow and hope it fishes as well one more day.

Updated Daily

Lower Madison today with a pretty steady bite all day on crayfish and little bugs. As things warm up, the fish are concentrated more and more and more in the buckets and runs. Still some tubers out and there is some floating grass later in the day as well, but it's still manageable.

I have no tidbits of wisdom to offer today. Life is good, fishing is good, and I feel good.

The Ninja's Return

Spent the last 2 days pretty much just working hoppers for the vast majority of the days. Always nice when you can fish big dries and the fish come eat them. Hopper fishing has been good to very good for me for about 10 days now. Today's bite was good on the Yellowstone.

Fishing with The Hawaiian Hammer and his sidekick Tenkara Timmy the next few days. If you don't know what Tenkara is...read about it online or attend their conclave this weekend in West Yellowstone.

It's a telescopic graphite rod fished withe a butt section to tippet configuration. The typical rig has a braided leader type material as the butt section in 8-12 foot lengths with a few feet of tippet. There is no reel in Tenkara fishing as the style was developed for small streams with small fish. It's basically a glorified dapping technique.  I would have thought there is very little practical application for around here but it definitely accomplishes one thing that every fly angler should try to do everyday on the water. Namely, it makes for some fun on the river.

It really is an ideal technique for fishing everything from small streams up to something say the size of the Gallatin from shore. We've been messing with it from a drift boat the last couple of days and a few days last year too. The hardest thing to deal with from the boat has been landing the fish as there is a tendency to have a longer leader than you can really deal with minus a reel. Today, the ninja master used a shorter leader and everything worked great and the 10-16" fish eating hoppers were a blast on the rod.

Anyway, fishing is all about the fun and although Tenkara fishing is not the end all or be all. Actually, it's hardly anything at all if you want the honest truth. But, as with all things it's something different that can add some flavor to the day and usually catch some fish too.

Bullwinkle and Friends

Made the weekly trek to the Jefferson today with exceedingly low expectations in place. Boats everywhere so we ended up on one of my less favorite pieces of water and found the fish to be on their typical behavior of randomly eating some bugs here and there. One fish on a nymph and everything else was on hoppers, so all in all not a bad day at all for the Jeff.

We did get some great sights of a bull moose lying in the river and a turkey vulture trying to figure out how to steal an osprey's dinner.

Heading to the stone tomorrow for some numbers and hopefully some size too. I've got a lot of fish on the Yellowstone so far this year, really haven't had a bad day over there as of yet. Probably tomorrow. Anyway, I've had all good days over there but just one fish over 20" so far. Tomorrow is that day, looking forward to it.

Weed Free

Had a good day on the lower Madison today which was much needed by me as I've been running hard for awhile now and needed an easy day, close to home. We've been getting these "mini" cool fronts that have been coming through keeping the daytime temps in the 80's and nights down around 40. Not only is this great to be out in, but that little cool down keeps those fish active on the lower. Never had any tuber issues today and the weeds really weren't too bad even later in the day.

Wrapped up with an old dude I've been fishing with for many years yesterday. We've had an interesting relationship over the years and stuff gets said and done throughout the day that is pretty unbelievable. Every year is his last year, but he always seems to make it through the winter and back to Montana. He's 85 now and drives out from California to fish for a month or so around the region. Some years, I've prayed that it was his last, but the last few years have been different and I have to say that I hope he makes it out again next year. I misread him for several years and have come to appreciate that he is the quintessential fisherman that has loved to fish all his life. 

One of the things that I've come to appreciate this year is that I see shit everyday that you just can't make up! From hopper orgies, to boats pinned on bridges, to an amazing array of tangles, to those quiet moments working a fish or a run. This last week, I was fortunate enough to see an angler that loves to fish well...not for show or bragging rights but just for the hope of the tug and sight of a wild trout going this way and that. 

Horn Hopper Hos U Nose

Volumes could be written about the last 3 days of guiding around SW Montana. The fishing was essentially ridiculous at times and a little too good at others. Did the Yellowstone on Wednesday and found fish happy to eat a hopper all day. The Big Horn the last 2 days where they ate worms in the a.m. and hoppers in the p.m.

Ahh, but is the lessons in life that come to one with subtlety that are the meat of life. Those came too and will be shared at a later date.
So , sticking to things of a more frivolous nature as I am exhausted and have little interest in bearing the true essence of my humanity at this time...I have identified the root of the hopper plague in the photos below. The second one is a "hopper trois." I tried to capture some of these whore hoppers and bring them with me to release along the lower, but they all died along the way. Filthy critters.

Camped out on the Big Horn and did a little night photo of the moon rising too.

Back to the Murdison or Yellerstone tomorrow.

Small Rant

And another day gone by. Started off with some dirtier than expected water and a cold morning. The bite was slow early and steadily improved throughout the day. Worms.

Had some more thinking time today and mostly thought about how too many people can really ruin a good thing. Probably shouldn't complain about too many folks as I only add fuel to the fire. It's a simple biological issue and F&G should do something in terms of regulating use, both commercial and recreational.

There are some places that simply do not have the fish numbers to handle a bunch of guide boats and recreational floaters several days a week. Usually this is self limiting as you just kind of learn that if you are behind a bunch of other boats, fishing is going to suck. But, people have plans and they aren't always going to change their plans just because there are other people there. The problem that I've seen is that the few fish that are there are getting thumped on pretty good. It's not like some places where we have several thousand fish per mile. The places that I'm talking about only have 300 or so per mile, if that. When they're on, it's easy fishing but realize that it's the same fish being caught everyday. Throw some foul hooks, broken flies, fights that go on too long, natural mortality, and so on and suddenly things don't look so good.  

I've seen one of my favorite fisheries slowly deteriorate over the years and I think it correlates to pressure. Maybe I'm wrong but nobody really knows why, but the little data that is there supports a decreasing fish population. So, this is why lies are sometimes a good thing. The angling world is full of treasures to be hunted and found on your own. We live in a place full of some crazy good trout waters on the Yellowstone, Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson, and more. These are the obvious gems that should keep an angler busy for a lifetime. When you do stumble on something special, maybe keeping it to yourself isn't always a bad thing.

On that note, I'm heading over to the Big Horn tomorrow for a couple of days. Shhh, it's on the down low and I don't want the word to get out about hoppers over there yet.

Thinking Thoughts

I've been out of Ambien the last two nights...rough. Got me some more though so everything is rosy, plan on taking one in a bit and crashing out early. Seems like I've been busier than hell since April 15 trying to make enough money to pay my taxes for 2009 by October of 2010. At least I've been having a great time doing it!

Was thinking about things today in between fish on the Jefferson...so there was plenty of thinking. I've guided on 13 different rivers/streams so far this year and know that there will be at least 4 more added to that list within the next month. How cool is that? Many guides spend their whole career and certainly years on just one river or stretch of river. It's the diversity of the water, bugs, and fish that keeps it all interesting to me...not to mention the folks. Always the folks that save the day.

Honestly, I'd do it for free if I could AND I was entitled to bitch and moan all I wanted. I'd stick a needle in my eye if I had to look at the same water everyday. I think I'd rather be a mold inspector for the Detroit projects than a fishing guide limited to just the upper Madison. That would suck, the upper madison thing.

Ok now, did a little time on the Jefferson today up from Whitehall. One of my favorite stretches of rivers that I don't know too well. Always seem to do alright to good up there and see a moose or two along the way. That would describe my day today. Started of nymphing and got a little love on some crayfish things and then switched to a small yellow hopper that did the trick for most of the day. Didn't crush them, but had enough going on so that we could have ended up with 20 or so in the boat.

I called a fellow guide, nice guy - Greg Bricker - along the drive for some help with the Jeff as he probably fished it as much as anyone I know. He's always good about giving me a heads up and whats up in a 35 second phone call and it is appreciated. Many guides lie and bullshit all the time - I am 70/30 - and it's always good to have  a few really good guide contacts to get the straight poop from when in a pinch. Greg is a boy supermodel for SIMMS and went out on his own this year as a fishing outfitter. I am mentioning him today because it ended up being he and I as the only 2 boats on the river today and I felt kind of bad as I called him on m y way over there to try to figure out the where, what , and when of how to catch some fish over there today. Anyway, he hooked me up and did it with a smile so I thought I'd shoot him a plug as a good guy and guide because he is both of those things!

Just another day in paradise

This was perhaps the oldest, nastiest cutthroat I've ever seen. But hey, he ate a dry fly so what's not to love about it? Fish were on Spruce Moths this morning on the Yellowstone and we could barely keep them off the hook for a couple of hours. Once things warmed up, we had no interest in the hopper so went back to nymphing and picked up enough to round out the day.

I've really been finding fish in the riffles the last couple of days for what it's worth. The water through town isn't seeing as much pressure as above and below and is starting to fish pretty well.

Not sure that you're supposed to jump off bridges but I guess this one at HWY 89 is pretty safe if you're into that kind of thing.

Guiding a Guide

Had the chance to guide one of my guides and his father today. I've been fishing with them for 6 years now and he's in his 4 th year working for Fins & Feathers. Always a treat for me as his dad and I ride him all day and then he and I gang up on his dad. Today though, the bite was pretty good just about all day, so we really didn't have too much picking on anyone in terms of messing up the catching.

Steven dad is British and works in Poland. He's always got some great British lingo going on to make the day interesting. One year, the key phrase was getting on a "sticky wicket"...some cricket analogy to when you're in a pickle. Today, I learned that one of my favorite words comes from the phrase "fornicating under the consent of the king!" Who knew?

Ouch

Anyway, besides that, the day was interesting enough as we had a decent hopper bite in the morning but it dies off around 11 or so. We switched to 2 stonefly nymphs, concentrated on the riffles and never looked back. Nothing big but lots of 12-16" fish pretty much all day.

Stone Hoppers & FTW

Fished down by Big Timber today with a late start to allow for recovery sleep from yesterday and hopes of finding fish eating hoppers once things warmed up. Got some much needed sleep and plenty of fish eating hoppers, so everything worked out perfectly.

The bite was good in faster water like riffles and pocket water banks, with a few fish coming out of deeper water. It should only get better as conditions continue to improve.

Tidbit of the day came from an old dude RV camping at Otter Creek. He suggested that I not step on the head of the rattlesnake he just killed. The snake head was in the water just next to the boat ramp with it's tongue sticking out. Apparently the still have venom in them, even when they're  dead. Good to know.

different day

Long day today in search of rising trout for some video footage. We're kind of in between hatches around here right now and we were looking for some steady risers. Tried to get some spring creeks lined up the last few weeks but nothing seemed to work out, so in the end it was up to the MO we go. Left town at 6 and just got back home at 12:30 tonight. Some triocs in the morning and found dome rising fish until noon, were able to get the footage they wanted so all was well. We stuck around up there until dark, hoping for some late evening madness. There were lots of fish coming up but we couldn't get it sorted out, no idea why we couldn't get 'em. Tried lots of PMD's and Caddis over them but they just kept on eating everything except out flies. Fun day and I did get the chance to fish with Tom Rosenbauer who is as good a guy and he is angler.

Upper Madison is OK

Spent the day in the beautiful Madison Valley surrounded by the awe inspiring peaks of the Madison Range on one side and the subtle splendor of the Gravelly Range behind us. This remarkable landscape would be truly breathtaking if not for the 50 miles of ditch water running right through the heart of it! Yes, I fished the upper today and it was "as advertised."

Truth be told, it wasn't too bad. Nymphed most of the day and found some fish here and there, enough so that it ended alright. Had a few refusals on hoppers by some decent fish and saw lots of dinkers coming up to take a look. Steady enough bite to keep everyone interested an hopeful.

Looking for rising fish tomorrow for this video thing some guys are shooting. Been a challenge in that the only real rise we have right now is on Tricos and they are just getting started on the EG. Tried to get some no name spring creeks lined up, but everything fell through at the 11th hour. So, it's off to the other glorified irrigation ditch in between Helena and Great Falls in search of steady risers. Hopefully it all works out as its rainy and windier than crap here right now!

Whitefish Rock

Missing Tom

The bite was a bit tough today but we found enough fish and a few very nice ones along the way. Good day to be on the water. No complaints here today.

 There are plenty of nameless places and I'm always happy to share them with folks. Honestly, the pond at the mall is really fishing well...I have no idea what it's called.

Today and Tomorrow

Have the guys from Colton Bay Outfitters in Ann Arbor here for the next few days. We did the lower Madison today and it was ok, not great, not bad. Weeds are getting thick in the afternoon and temps are up there too so the bite slowed down around 2-3 and was never really that great all day long.

No big fish today, but I did get the opportunity to work on my surgeons and blood knot skills.  Also got to work on my patience which is always a worthy exercise. Also was reminded that it helps to bend the old elbow when making a cast. Also was reminded that hoppers should float and if a hopper that is 100% foam is sinking...there's probably some drag going on because foam floats.

Heading to that place with no name tomorrow. I like places with no name. It's not that places with no names are any big secrets, but most of those places already have enough folks that know their names so we really don't need more people mentioning those names as that leads to too much name dropping. As we are all basically monkeys...humans can be inquisitive. So, when we have a bunch of monkeys running around looking for piscatorial shangra la, some of them are bound to dumb into some of those no name places. So, it's better that we just don't mention these names and mislead through lies and deception. That isn't hard for any fisherman and other fisherman just assume that it's all cool. Thus, I'm going to the pond by the mall tomorrow to fish. See your monkeyness there.

Jeff Day

The Jefferson today through the canyon. Beautiful water void of fish. Actually wasn't too bad for the Jefferson, got one bow that was closer to 22 than 21 and an 18" brown. Never seem to tear them up over there but it's always worth the trip as there's always a chance at something special and unlikely to be too many other anglers out. I think I like the water up above Whitehall better, but don't want to be behind a bunch of boats from Twin Bridges and it's tough to get there before they do.

Fish were holding in the pools below riffles and along rip rap banks. Turned a few on hoppers and thought we should have seen more fish coming up as there were hoppers on the water. Bets rig was black and olive bow river bugger with a lightning bug. But the fish were far and few between as suspected they would be.

Eastbound

 Headed east today to see an old friend lost last year to high water...his buddy was still around though. Wrapped up 5 days today with some great folks on one of my favorite places on the planet. Fishing was good to ok to very good...it ranged throughout the day. Overall the water is in good shape and the fish were eating stonefly nymphs and Bow River Buggers just fine for most of the day.

Fish police were filming an episode of "Wardens"...they left me alone.

This was my first time down there this year and I was blown away by the power of the high flows in one spot where an island was just gone. Not just a little gravel bar island but I'm talking full on real island with 100's of Cottonwoods and one of the sexiest trout runs on the whole river...gone. There were remnants scattered around the river for miles and miles.

Hint...don't take the left channel up from Twin Bridges. I could barely get by a big downed tree by walking the boat around it. A few more days and I'd been screwed and dragging the LB across some rocks.

Upper Shitwater

Had my first real taste of the joy of the upper madison today. Yeah, you know the one. Miles and miles of absolute nothingness. The guys were great ad stuck with it and squeaked a few nice fish out of it, but it was tough going to say the least. Think that getting out on some of the buckets and runs would have been the thing to do to find a few more fish. Always make me wonder what happened to all those fish up there?

So, onward I go and scratch Varney to town off the list for the rest of the year. Back to the Yellowstone tomorrow and probably the foreseeable future.

Yellowstone in Town Today

Same old shit, different day. Yeah, whatever man. It's all good.

Hit the Yellowstone through town today and found a few fish fish along our way. There were lots of Spruce Moths out and about this morning and I saw some fish coming up, would have tried dries but the nymphing was going alright, so we stuck with it. Bow river buggers and lightning bugs, but mostly on the buggers. Clarity is maybe 2 feet now, green, and there is enough water running over the shallow flats to hold fish. Rick and I were the only boats in there (masses are down by Big Timber and Emigrant)

Now, if I were fishing in the next week here is what I would do. I would grab some hoppers and get on the water very early between Big Timber and Columbus. I'd probably hardly fish from the boat. I'd get out on every big long skinny flat and run that I can find and run a Henry's Fork Hopper over it all. I think I'd find a few big fish and get them to come up... but that's just what I'd do. We should have pretty solid dry fly fishing in a few days now on the Yellowstone. It's not as high as everyone seems to think.