Big Hole-Fish Trap to East Bank

Nathaniel, Jill and I headed over to the Big Hole yesterday and floated fairly high up above Wise River. The water was running pretty clear for the Big Hole and we were seeing caddis and some big may fly spinners right away. We fed a couple on top without hooking up before Jill started crushing little brookies on caddis pupas. Nathaniel moved a bunch on streamers and wound up putting a number of those little guys in the net as well.

We switched up and I also put the hurt on those little guys and eventually caught one on a dry fly before lightning sent us heading to the bank looking for cover. We thought the storm would blow over but then came the hail followed by a torrential downpour.

While sitting on the bank, a raft of three women and one guy floated by. The women only had shorts and t-shirts on and flimsy little rain shells. They had to be freezing as the temps fell to just above 40. The weather can change in an instant out here so you got to be prepared. They ended up dragging their raft up the bank and hitching a ride out.

At the put-in we saw a bunch of little kids in swimsuits playing in the water getting ready to float with their parents...I hope they got off before the storm hit.

Once the hail and lighting went through we made a break for it and rowed out the last couple miles. We did catch a bunch of little brookies and a few whities. ( The biggest just happened to be a whitefish unless you count the 6 footer I caught in the finger...pictures coming soon.) It was a beautiful stretch of river but the fishing was little disappointing. Maybe I'm just spoiled.
Keep 'em where they live...