Where am I?

Spartina grass redfish flat?

Is this a spartina grass flat filled with redfish in some tidal channel in South Carolina?

Carp flats of Clark Canyon, Montana 

Nope!  It's the carp flats of Clark Canyon, Montana.  I walked for miles and found no carp in the flats at Clark Canyon, yet.  Still hard to beat a long walk with the dog and some taco bus on the way home!

Winter Carp on the Fly - Montana

First carp of 2017!

Carp season has begun in Central Montana!  Well kinda.  You've got to know where carp are this time of year.  This guy came out of Canyon Ferry in open water.  Find the open water and you'll most likely find the carp.  I drove a huge loop to the main carp waters of Central and Southwest Montana over the past two days and here's what I found...

Update on the carp conditions in Central and Southwest Montana:

Clark Canyon:
Most of the lake is still frozen solid with 2+ feet of ice.  The ling are getting going with their spawn so, catch that while you can. There is a large, open-water area near the mouth of Horse Prairie. I'd bet good money that there'll be carp tailing in there on the warm sunny days from here on until ice-out. It's not right at the mouth of the creek so, it's not all quick-sandy. The mouth of Red Rocks can be scary during low water because the fine sediment is deep.  I'd bet there is some open water there too.

Three Forks Ponds:
If the weather stays warm (I don't think it is supposed to), the ice may retreat enough to allow the carp to start feeding in the open, shallow water within the next couple of weeks.  As of now, the ponds are still mostly frozen to the shore.  I would not walk on the ice!

The Lower Jefferson River:
It still looks like the arctic on the lower Jeff.

The Upper Missouri River below Toston Dam:
The river is big, cold, and off color.  No good.

Canyon Ferry:
The majority of the lake is still frozen and will be for quite some time.  However, there are many tributary streams that enter the lake.  Find the mouth of one and most likely, you will find a bit of open water. There are surface and groundwater flow coming in which makes these areas warmer than the rest of the water in the lake.  These areas area also shallow and now warm up pretty good on warmer, sunny days.  The carp will pour out from under the ice to feed in these bays.  Fun, fun, fun!
I got a location tip from an ice fishing guy last week who was witnessing this.  I checked it out and it was awesome!

Public meeting regarding Beaverhead River/ Clark Canyon Reservoir on Feb. 7th

Island Campsite on Clark Canyon Reservior

The following text was taken from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality website:

"The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and the Bureau of Reclamation began monitoring several parameters in Spring 2016 that may have contributed to severe turbidity and algae blooms in Clark Canyon Reservoir and the Beaverhead River over the past two summers. The river again turned turbid in late July and over the first weeks of August, 2016."

"A public meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2017 in the USDA Service Center Conference Room, 420 Barrett St. in Dillon. Entry is via the east door. Monitoring results, which are expected to be available at that time, will be discussed."

Save a trout [ride a carp]

Many of Montana's trout are having a crappy year. Most of our drainages had below average snowpack last winter, we lost said snowpack early, and we've had another dry, hot summer. These conditions have led to low flows, high water temperatures, restrictions, river closures, and most recently, a gnarly disease outbreak and fishkill in the Yellowstone River. There isn't much else I can say besides, this sucks!

However, you don't need to quit fishing. In fact, you can fish harder and become a better fisherperson while you are at it. God bless the carp.  Southwest Montana is a carp fisher's paradise. We have great flyfishing for carp in both still and moving water.

Last week we loaded up the boat with camping gear and headed out on Clark Canyon Reservoir to claim Armstead Island for ourselves.

The reservoir is low and the Beaverhead is nasty again but the carp fishing was great.  Water clarity has been getting worse over the past few weeks but it is certainly clear enough to sight fish all day.

McTage's Trouser Worm

Fly fishing for carp has also led me to tie a bunch of new fly patterns.  Carp eat a lot of the same things as trout but sometimes you need specially designed flies to match the carp's feeding behaviors.

Montana's Hybrid

I've been having so much fun exploring this great fish and the flies and techniques to catch them.  I'm sure that the stressed trout in my area are rejoicing at my absence.

Fiesta Mexicana

Carp + Dillon's taco bus = paradise!

The cure for the summertime blues

College brahs on the Clark Fork in Missoula.  I wonder where those beer cans will end up?

An asshole flotilla overtaking an anchored drift boat on the Missouri River

Are you experiencing the summertime blues?  Are you sick of the idiot, drunken, litter and flip-flops everywhere "splash and giggle" crowd?  Do you hate waking up at the ass-crack of dawn on your only days off?  Are you sick of drought, low flows, stressed trout, and Hoot Owl restrictions?  I know I am.  Well, I have the cure for you!

Beautiful scales of the common carp 

CARP!!  You've been hearing about fly fishing for carp and saying to yourself, "that sounds fun." Well...

• Fish in the heat of the day with no tubers.  
• Experience super techy fly fishing that requires some supreme boat and casting skills.
• Get blown away by the carp's strength and fighting power.  They'll snap your 6wt in half!
• Keep a few and help control an exotic, invasive species. 

I cannot stress how much fun catching carp on a fly rod is!  There are carp all over Montana and the American West.  Hotspots include the lakes/reservoirs in the Helena area, the upper Missouri River, and Clark Canyon Reservoir near Dillon.

You can help out your local ecosystem by keeping a few.  The myth that they are a trash fish is a result of Eastcoasters' experience with observing them in super polluted waters.  They are very edible and were one of the first stocked species in America for just that purpose.

Are you a Dry Fly Only asshole purist?  Well, carp eat dries on the upper MO.

Did I mention they get huge?  Here's a modest sized carp and a dog's butt.

I should have brought a bigger cooler!

These guys are headed for the kettle and some Hungarian Carp Soup!