Holy 20,000 cfs!

That's right. They 'bumped' up the flows throughout the week from 15,900 cfs to 20,000! So what do you do? To be honest, I got a little stymied yesterday morning so I'm probably not the best person to ask. I would like to say that in spite of the changing weather, sun, and high water, we wrecked 'em but I'd be lying. But then, I didn't see many people having too much luck up high so I felt pretty good with how we did. Plus, the guys in the boat from Bloomquist's lodge were pretty damn cool so all in all, we had good days.

Starting on Wednesday, keeping consistent with wanting to stay away from the boat show up high, I took my guys down low and like a couple days prior, we did pretty well keeping out of the main channel and fishing off grass ledges. On Thursday, we did it again and the fishing got increasingly better. The word on the street was that the entire river fished pretty well so we didn't really gain anything as far as fish counts go but then, catching high numbers of fish is only half the battle. We had awesome days floating to Cascade on Wednesday and Thursday because we were able to find fish, (lots of fish,) and we were the only boat on that section. It was hard work, I'm not gonna lie, but definitely worth it.

So Friday, due to some time restraints and quite honestly, I was beat from going down there the last few days, we stayed up high and floated Wolf Creek to Spite Hill. Throughout the day the flow went up to 20,000 cfs so the row-arounds were pretty much impossible. Even in the channels, the current was raging. We missed a few fish on the Little Prickly Pear riffle right out of the gate and after rowing back up twice I had to keep going down stream. We hit the next run and stuck a 21 inch brown but again, could only make one more pass before going down stream. The channel run produced a couple but we got foul hooked and trying to bring a fish in against that current sideways is pretty much impossible. I should have just had my guy break it off but we chased it instead. We did land it but we lost the run and had to move down.

It was kind of like that pretty much all the way down. We started hugging the bank and fished the eddies along the bushes and got some action but not much. We went deep with long (very long) leaders and a ton of weight but still couldn't seem to get anything consistent going. By the time we hit the Sterling Channel, I was getting pretty desperate. We had caught a few really good fish but we needed something to make the day. And I kept looking at that channel wishing we could fish it but even at 16,000 cfs I only had about an inch of clearance under the bridge half way down. There's no fricken way we would clear it at 20,000.

There are no secrets on the Mo. We all know there are fish in that channel. We've all fished it and as long as there aren't a ton of boats going through it, you will catch fish. So I'm not giving up some secret that nobody else knows about and now there will be 100 boats going through there on a daily basis. You still have to know how to fish it. It's not like the toilet bowls where fish are stupid and competing with each other for food and you can pretty much throw anything at them. And, you have to be able to access it. So feeling some desperation, I said fuck it. We are going to fish it.

I told my guys to strip in their lines and hold on. We pushed past the mouth of the channel, down along the island and as we got to the bottom of it, I started pulling. The bridge is about a half mile from the bottom where the channel spills back into the main stem and we rowed all the way back up to it; fighting the current, getting out of it when we could, and zig zagging back and forth from eddy to eddy. It took about 30 minutes to get up it and I was whipped. I dropped anchor and switched up our rigs and explained how we would fish it. I also told them when they set the hook, just hold on.

Gordie, who graciously took the back seat the entire day, told me at the beginning he knew fishing would be tough due to the conditions but his goal was to catch one monster brown. (No pressure.) On our first pass, he no longer threw his line out when I yelled, "Hit it!" A fat 20 inch rainbow exploded out of the water and as he laughed, the other gentleman, Dave, looked back at me shaking his head and said I was crazy. On our third pass, Gordie got his 22 inch brown.

We didn't catch a ton of fish yesterday but we definitely finished strong. Geordie got his 22 inch brown and a couple really nice rainbows along with a number of "average" fish. Dave landed three browns well over twenty inches and since this was his first fly fishing trip, he was pretty stoked.

As for the rest of the group, I have to say I don't know the last time I laughed so much in the boat with clients. Keep it up Will. You'll get it. Thanks Bruce, it was definitely good to see you guys back out on the Mo. And JT and Ron, you guys were fricken hilarious. Thanks. Hope to see you all next year.

Keep 'em where they live y'all, in the water not in the trees. That means you Gordie.
(Pictures will come as soon as Gordie learns how to use his email.)

April Fishing on the MO

I'm telling you, if you haven't been out to the Missouri for early spring fishing, you really should. Again we were out a few days ago and the dry fly fishing was epic. It's not that we didn't have to deal with the elements or that the fish would eat anything and everything we through at them, but there were tons of fish up and they did eat. Midges of a few varieties were the flavor but we also got some on larger parachute Adams and when we needed to burn up some water to get down to the take-out, we got some good fish on streamers.

Before we even left the first flat, we anchored up on a pod of fish and stayed there for about an hour before moving downstream. We caught a number of those fish in that pod but no matter what, they just kept coming up. When they did eventually go down, we just pulled up anchor and rowed up to the next pod and kept fishing. Had we thought of it, we would have just left our rig at the put-in and we would have pulled out where we put in; working our way upstream until we ran out of targets. I don't think we would have ran out.

\So why don't people book trips this time of year? First of all, you can never count on the weather. Take a look at the photo. It never got above 37 degrees and it snowed most of the time. The flakes were so big, at one point I got dizzy trying to find my fly drifting one way down the river and the flakes falling the other. I have to say though, if you do hit a good cloudy day, your guide will make it worth your while and a little less painful by planning for shorter trips so that you are never too far from the take-out. The idea is that you will find fish to sit on, which allows for fewer river miles and a lot more opportunity for either shortening up the trip if it gets cold, or working pods late into the day.

The other thing I've heard is that there aren't as many fish because the rainbows are in the tribs spawning. This is true. You don't catch as many rainbows. However, every brown is up on the flats feeding on midges and they have to eat a lot of them to support their diet. They don't seem to be nearly as selective and you can definitely catch some pigs. Like I said, we never ran out of targets and every fish we caught was a brown averaging 18 inches until we got downstream a ways and caught a few small rainbows.

Bugs, bugs, bugs...depending on what section you fish, you will encounter a variety of bugs this time of year but the main staple from March through April is midges. Yes, they are small but like I said, fish eat a ton of them to support their diet and to make up for the winter fasting. It's fairly technical as a fish won't move far for a midge but you usually have a number of fish feeding in a small area. This increases your odds of hitting your target if you're casting over five fish as oppose to just one steady nose poking up along the bank eating caddis. And, because they haven't been hammered yet, you can put the sneak on and get in pretty tight.

The other benefit to fishing this time of year is that many of the outfitters will be more apt to cut you a deal. I do trips for MRO, Headhunters, The Missouri River Lodge, PRO Outfitters, and CrossCurrents out of the Helena/Craig area so if you want to hit it, let me know or contact them and request a trip with me as your guide.

Take care and keep 'em where they live.

It's On!

There are a few heralding events every spring that bring the true fly fishermen out in droves to test their skills on some very finicky and sometimes seemingly impossible rising fish. The ice has opened up on the lakes and even the stubborn two acre berg that drifts back and forth with the wind has disappeared on Holter, which means the water temps are warming in the lake translating to warmer water releasing from the dam. Modest midge hatches have kept the die-hards interested for the latter part of the winter on those days where the wind lies down but as the water temps reach the forties, a noticeable aggression increases on the Missouri as fish stack up on flats and rise with an intense predictability. I've been out a few days a week in the past month checking out the activity and getting a feel for where the fish are in their spring awakening and have to say, yesterday brought a sign of really good things to come.

We put in at Craig at around 1pm. At 2:30, we were only about 100 yards from the bridge and still had plenty of targets until the wind picked up, scattering the bugs and putting the fish down. It started out epically. The wind was almost completely still as thousands of midges danced on the surface. Trout were sipping across the entire flat with an occasional slap and a swirl as some fought to protect their lane. There were so many bugs it was almost impossible to find your fly amongst the smorgasbord. Changing to a colored post on a parachute Adams as the lead fly definitely helped; it also produced about half the takes.

When the wind did finally pick up, (as it almost always does,) we headed downstream, nymphing the flats, picking up some fish here and there. Finding pockets that were a little sheltered almost always produced more rising fish. They weren't shy either. At one point we even saw a couple blue winged olives. Get ready boys!

Until next time, keep 'em where they live.

The Mighty Mo Blows

I've been out a few times on the Missouri in the past week and unfortunately, have been blown off the river each time. Last Saturday I took a couple friends from Helena down to Cascade. The winds were out of the South West at around 25-30 mph, which makes for a quick float but not all that productive. We were managing a few fish on streamers and although it was work, we had enough action to keep our interests up. At around 1:00, we rounded a corner and found a little break from the wind. There were a few fish sipping midges in a spot that was definitely doable. I grabbed my dry fly rig and began the stock. At about 1:05, the sun came out and before I could even get a cast in, the fish went down. We didn't touch another fish for a couple hours until the clouds came back and the fish came out of hiding. Big black and hairy was the flavor of the day when they were on.

I took one of the kids I work with out on Monday and just got hammered by the wind. At one point there were white caps blowing straight downstream and cross winds at about 40 mph making fishing impossible. It was so bad all I could do was hold on to the oars to keep the boat moving straight with the wind; a 3 mile float took about an hour after trying to fish for a little while and then just giving up. The little dude did stick a really nice bow right in front of a couple spin fishermen, which was pretty cool.

Knowing today was bringing some much needed snow, I took the little guy out again yesterday and again, the winds blew straight downstream in 20's. At least it's consistent. A good lesson for me was when at one point I referred to the wind as evil and, since the little dude is autistic, he takes those kinds of comments quite literally. It gave us something to talk about for a few hours.

Tomorrow will be another day as long as I can find a partner/guinea pig. The water temps were at 41 degrees coming out of the dam this morning. Big browns should be waking up, looking for much needed protein to make up for a long lethargic winter. Bigger bugs should also start hatching and hopefully, the pigs will start moving into feeding lanes to take advantage of the hatches. The next few weeks should start to get good.

Keep 'em where they live...

Silver Lining

Whew! Tough days on the Mo. I spent the past two days fishing the Missouri. The first day I took the little guy I work with out and we did manage to nymph up a few fish. He loves to net them. We sat on one riffle for about an hour and hooked a number of fish on scuds and as we moved down, we even got some targets on top.

Yesterday I went out with a couple buddies; one of them another guide. I know I've talked about this before but there are certain methods to fly fishing that are a little more attractive to avid fly fishermen that don't include nymph fishing. Chucking streamers and throwing dry flies is it and for some, even chucking streamers is cheating. Part of it has to do with the challenge, especially the dries but also it's the action. Stripping a streamer and having a big brown come crashing in at 90 mph is about as exciting as it gets but there is a cost.

We spent almost 6 hours yesterday chucking streamers against the bank, across flats, drifting them through deep pools; we changed up presentations, colors, and sizes and just got our asses kicked. It was not good. But we stuck to our guns, right?

The one bright spot is even with some pretty high winds and even higher sun, we came around a corner with some shelter and along the inside edge of a downstream seem off an island we found a pod of fish sipping midges. Trying out a new pattern I tied, we each got a few shots at the risers and managed to hook a number of them before the pod went down for good.

Vindication? Not really but it was nice to get a chance to sharpen the saw, so-to-speak and even nicer to have found a pattern that will take these picky fish in some really flat, slow-moving water.

Keep your flies where the live...

March Fly Fishing on the MO

I was on the water twice so far this week with some very limited success. Air temps rose into the 50's but with water coming out of Holter at around 35 degrees, water temps might rise a couple degrees throughout the day but not nearly enough to push fish out of their lethargic winter moods. Not only that but until the water temps approach the mid-40's, about the only bugs you'll see are midges.

Most of our time was spent chucking streamers. Deep, slow presentations are usually the way to go, however, the few fish that were caught seemed to be taking it in faster water with a faster presentation. While in the slow deep water, we were getting follows but the fish were reluctant to attack. What this might mean is there are a few random fish moving into some feeding lanes but the majority are hanging low and are virtually impossible to get unless your dropping chunks of sucker meat behind a 1/4 once sinker. Bright yellow seemed to get more follows and produced the only fish to the boat. We did get a few good fish as the browns were all colored up and the one rainbow was pushing 19, and very healthy.

The bright side to this would be the midge hatches and late in the day, (earlier if you have clouds,) fish will be up on them in the soft water. Unfortunately, soft flat water means the fish get all day to look at your presentation and although getting a drift isn't too tough, enticing a fish to eat is. It does give you some targets though and for the die-hards, it definitely allows for a challenge too temping to pass.

Stay tuned and remember, keep 'em where they live; in the water not the trees.

A Few Gems

Alright, alright, there are plenty of other streams out there to fish that haven't been totally polluted. In the past couple weeks I've had a few days to go exploring and I will tell you, all the places on this video were well within an hour from Helena. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELp4lJJ-pgQ And unlike the Little Prickly Pear, the campers in the Blackfoot drainage seem to do a better job of realizing what the have and take care of the resource. It may have to do with the Blackfoot River Recreation Corridor Landowner's Agreement.





Admittedly, I don't really know all that much about the agreement other than what I heard at the PRO Outfitter's rendezvous earlier this spring but what was presented was pretty cool. A local landowner, who obviously had a lot to do with the program, presented the landowner's perspective and it was interesting how many of the assumptions I had about some of the ranchers was affirmed but also, that there are a significant number of them that realize the traditional way of thinking was destroying the water resources and they are extremely motivated to do something about it. I apologize for not knowing this gentleman's name because I thought his presentation was outstanding and I gained a lot of respect for the landowner's in the Blackfoot system because of this and I wish I could give him the credit he deserves. Instead I'll just generalize to all the landowner's in the Blackfoot Corridor and just say bravo and congratulations for stepping up and actually initiating the partnerships created with Trout Unlimited and other recreational groups to preserve the resource. Thanks guys. I really enjoyed my time over there and I hope this becomes a model across the state for taking care of other drainages. I think the Mo and its tributaries could really use it.





Take care y'all and keep 'em where they live...

Smith River Trips

Ah yes, the Smith River. Touted as one of Montana's more pristine rivers to float; so much so, FWP has limited the number of permits to reduce the use and preserve the resource. Starting near White Sulphur Springs, the Smith flows north to the Missouri River, converging near Ulm, MT some 200 river miles away. As a floater, the trip begins at Camp Baker near Sheep Creek and ends at the Eden Bridge 59 miles downstream. Once you're in, you are in and there's no getting out. A typical trip will take 4 or 5 days depending on flow and ambition and with low water, you will be dragging boats, which will definitely slow the progress.

We gambled on weather this year, putting in on April 16 and taking out on the 20th. The flow was up over 300cfs at the beginning, dropped to around 200 the first day and came up to over 700 by the end. It snowed on day one, but we were prepared, bringing a wall tent and a wood burning stove--we didn't need the stove or the tent after that first day as the temps pushed 75 degrees each day following.

They say you don't float the Smith for the fishing and I'm a little more understanding of that after this week. We fished hard and conditions weren't bad as for the water clarity and levels but we only managed to put a handful in the the boat with the biggest just under the 20 inch mark. There were skwalas on the bank but other than that, the bug life was lacking and with the instability of flow and water temps, most of the fish we caught were tucked right up on the cliff walls are hanging in the eddies. As a group we did just as well on streamers as nymphs and since streamers are more fun, my boat only drifted the bobber for a total of a couple hours or so.

We had two guides on the trip, myself being one of them, and Jeff Rawlings the other. Jeff has guided on the Smith a number of times so we let him run the show. I would definitely recommend either using an outfitter or having someone well experienced on your group before going if you plan to do the Smith. Jeff definitely helped stave off any real issues and our experience was overwhelmingly a positive one because we had the provisions we needed. When issues did come up, we had the appropriate gear we knew how to deal with it.

It's inevitable that you will hit rocks on the Smith and you will drag boats during normal flows. You can't avoid it. It's extremely important to rig your boat to keep hard bottoms such as coolers and ammo boxes off the floor of your boat. We had one bucket boat on the trip with its rigging a little low and ass-heavy and the vinyl bottom got pinched between the casting platform and a rock. The video shows the process we went through to fix the problem and within a couple hours, we were back on the river.

On that note, keep 'em where they live y'all.