Old skool

Bear Creek Schoolhouse - Cameron, Montana

Yes litteraly, an old school.  It is the final stretch of my academic run.  All I can say is that there is going to be some serious fishing real soon.  Over it!

Mish mosh SW Montana fishing report - Late June

Carp flies now sold at Sportsman's Warehouse in Helena 

The huge variety of fishing options in Southwest Montana makes it much harder to write coherent fishing reports like I could do in Missoula.  I write reports every once in a while so that there is a non-biased, transaction-free source of information out there for anyone who cares.  I also use this blog as a personal fishing log which comes in handy sometimes for my own pursuits.  So here it is:

Big Hole River:
It was huge and the salmonflies have come and gone.  Usually, the fishing sucks for a couple weeks after the hatch.  It's called the "salmonfly hangover" and it can really suck.  I avoided the party this year due to my trip to Florida and the shitty conditions.  The river is dropping in nicely now and summer on the Big Hole should be the best it has been in years.  It would be awesome to be able to fish hoppers in the afternoon this year!

Upper Clark Fork:
As the river drops and clears, the caddis fishing will get insane.  The Upper is a caddis stream through and through.

Silver Bow Creek:
I haven't been out there yet this year but things usually get going right about now.  You'd be surprised by what may eat your larger attractor dry or simple streamer...

Missouri River (Craig reach):
I have to distinguish what area now because my Missouri River Range has grown so much over the last few years.  The dry fly bite is on big-time.  There are pods of snotty MO trout all over the river. You need to bring your A game.  Perfectly placed casts and drag free drifts are crucial.  Fly selection comes second in importance.  They will eat PMD spinners, caddis, and buzzballs like candy if you can present them properly.

Holter Lake Carping: 
I'm embarrassed to say that it was my first time on the boat up at Holter recently.  It is such a beautiful place!  I didn't have much info on carp fishing up there but I knew that they had to be there. They are, and they get big like in Clark Canyon.  The carp were tough and I got my ass handed to me. There is still a bunch that are spawning but I was able to find some over on the rockier eastern shore that were willing to eat.  I even landed one of the largest carp yet to date. I can't wait to get back up there again.  There are also some great trout in Holter!

Three Forks Ponds Carping:
The carping in the Three Forks Ponds is outstanding right now!  There are still some spawners but the ones that aren't are tailing in groups in the flats.  Throw a small black wooly bugger or small leech pattern for all-day action.

Clark Canyon Carping:
I haven't been down there since I've been back but I imagine it is the same as Holter.  They were in full spawn mode before I left and the fishing was hit or miss picking on the wallflowers. The carping should get better and better here by the day.  It's time to start thinking about callabaetis, damsels, and dragonfly nymphs perfectly cast and timed to be in the hot zone of a slowly cruising, golden submarine.

Georgetown Lake:
I will be checking in on Montana's finest brook and rainbow trout lake very soon.  The traveling sedge caddis should be underway as we speak and intensifying over the next few weeks.  Also, callabaetis, damsels, and dragonflies in nymph and adult form will play out as well.  The traveling sedge hatch on G-town is one of the finest of any hatch you will ever encounter.  Big bugs and big willing fish are what it is all about.  Have you ever had a 100+ fish dry fly day?


Thats all I got for now.

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!

Southwest Montana fishing report - late February 2016

Fiesta Mexicana or "The Taco Bus" in Dillon, MT

If you have never eaten at the Taco Bus in Dillon, MT, you are missing out on the best, most authentic, and unique meal in Montana!  Go there!!

For whatever reason, the fly shops in Southwest Montana don't do fishing reports in the winter. We have 4 awesome tailwaters within an hour and a half drive from Butte that fish all winter long. What's the deal!?

I've been really busy with work, teaching, and school but I've made it out the past few weekends to check in on the trout. Here's what I've found:

The Upper Clark Fork:
The river is carrying a ton of water right now.  We are having a pre-runoff runoff.  Southwest Montana had a decent winter run for a while there, maybe even better than last year which was not good for snow and summer flows. That seems to be over now though as early spring has set in big-time.  Let's hope for more snow and a wet spring or the Hoot Owl will wake up again this year. The fishing in the UCF was the slowest of all the rivers and for the most part, downright sucked. Throwing streamers and nymphing was the game, however,  the push of cold water was not on our side.

The Ruby River:
The Ruby is still running turquois.  Does it ever stop?  The fishing resembled the Clark Fork with a weak streamer bite.  The only real action was on winter-type tailwater nymphs right below the dam but even that was slow.  I saw two or three sporadic rises to midges but nothing really going on that front yet.

The Beaverhead:
The Beav is where all the action is.  It has been windier than a bucket full of assholes in SW Montana for the last couple of weeks and any midges have blown clear to Iowa.  The streamer bite was red-hot 2 weeks ago but a little less so last week.  The Poindexter is undergoing some restoration work (I'm getting restoration fatigue) but still fished pretty good with streamers and winter nymphs.  I saw some spawning behavior in some brown trout which was a bit weird.  Be careful of redds.  The midges will be on the main stem if you can avoid the wind.

The Missouri:
Haven't got to the MO yet this year but will in the next couple of days.  From my experience, the nymphing with winter-type nymphs should be great.  March is one of my favorite times to throw streamers on the MO for the biggest browns of the year and the rainbows which are fattening themselves up for the coming spawn.  I always say that some of the best dry fly action is in the next couple months with the midges and BWOs.  The fish haven't been relentlessly pounded on top for months on end by every dude in the world so, they're much more likely to eat a fly.  We'll see how that goes.  More snow, less wind please!

Southwest Montana fisheries improvement meeting on Monday in Butte

Silver Bow Creek cutthroat trout

Next Monday, January 11th 2015, there is a public meeting to discuss the improvement of Southwest Montana fisheries. At 6:30 pm Ron Spoon, State Fisheries Biologist, will give a presentation on the Jefferson River Project, a restoration project which is helping make the Jefferson River into a world-class trout fishery. 

Also, Josh Vincent of Water and Environmental Technologies (WET), a local environmental engineering firm, will discuss how he, Pat Munday, and Steve Luebeck utilized a grant they received on behalf of the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited which they used for habitat improvements on German Gulch, the most important tributary (for trout) to Silver Bow Creek. 

The meeting is at the Butte Business Development Center at 305 W. Mercury Street in Butte, Montana.  This is the old Boys Central School Building.

See you there!!

Info from The Montana Standard

"Stand up for the Beaverhead" - an op-ed by Wade Fellin of the Upper Missouri River Waterkeeper

Beaverhead River moose

There is a great op-ed in the Missoulian today from Wade Fellin, Program Director for the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Inc.  It is a call to action for the Beaverhead River's recent algae issues and is critical of the proposed hydroelectric use of the Clark Canyon Dam.  

Read it here.

It's my time!

Early winter on the Bitterroot

I love to fish in the winter.  There is just something about it that makes it more mysterious or something.  I always catch the biggest fish in the winter which may be part of it.  Also, there is no one around, no tubers, no dudes, no noise.  I certainly love the spring and fall but winter holds a special place in my heart. Summer can go suck it!

 

Most people spend the winter tying flies or skiing and I do enjoy that too.  However, if it gets above 32 deg F, I'll be damned if you don't find me mining a winter run for some silver and gold.  In the Butte area we have a solid couple of winter options to choose from.  We've got the newly restored tailwater section of the Upper Clark Fork below the Warm Springs Ponds, the Beaverhead is a wintertime must, the Ruby will be on the radar big-time this year, and the mighty MO is an hour and a half away.  That's just a start really...

  

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Autumn is about more than just brown trout...

Giant Georgetown Lake brook trout

I absolutely love brown trout!  I live in a part of Montana which is lousy with tons of huge, angry browns and fall is like the Superbowl of brown trout fishing.  However, it's always good to remember that there are some other great fall spawners worth pursuing as well.

Georgetown Lake, Silver Bow Creek, and the Big Hole River all hold larger-than-average sized brook trout.  The monster male shown above was over 20" long!  I bet folks back east didn't know they could get that big.  Our brook trout here in SW Montana (especially in Georgetown Lake) rival those found in Labrador, Newfoundland.

Other fall species to chase in Montana are:

• Kokanee salmon (landlocked sockeye) - great fun and good food
• Lake Trout moving out of Flathead Lake (yes, in the fall you can catch them on streamers in shallow water and the Flathead River)
• Bull Trout (only in the South Fork of the Flathead!!)
• Pike seem extra feisty in the fall and are easy to spot in the Lower Clark Fork and Bitterroot
• There is even a strain of fall spawning rainbow in the Upper Missouri (above all the dams)

For all of these fish, you'll want to throw streamers.  Check out the streamer factory on my dining room table.  Priorities.

Red Boat Mark's dining room table

It's fall, get out there!!

The Big Hole River, Montana in the Fall

Maiden Rock Bridge

The Big Hole is arguably one of the most beautiful rivers anywhere.  In the Autumn, it is really out of control.  This river is predominantly a brown trout stream, making Fall even more mystic and exciting!  This is my first Autumn in Butte and the closest large river is the Big Hole.  I have a lifetime of exploring to do here and I'm really happy about it.

Yesterday, the fishing was great.  I'd rather have been in my raft all day but this was a quick after-work fix. The streamer bite is on!!  Yellow bunny streamers and darker Skiddish Smolts were the ticket.  The fish were in faster knee-deep riffles and absolutely pounded the fly.  It felt like I'd hit a boulder and then there'd be that brown trout, throbbing head-shake.

I had the place to myself with the exception of this guy who fished for a little while in one spot.  He had brought his wife and kids who waited stream-side in their truck.  Poor bastard!!

It was mostly cloudy but when the sun would break through, the Fall colors were outstanding.  I saw some really slappy rises from big fish here and there and figured there must be some remaining October caddis.  I put on an appropriate foamy and skated it over a shallow riffle and Boom, rainbow trout!

There were some signs that the spawn is getting going.  I caught a couple rainbows on egg-type stuff and a guy came by and told me that he saw some browns sitting on redds in the upper river by Wisdom.  He also mentioned that the fishing was slow up there and that is was really weedy.  He was from out-of-state so it may just have been him.

The Fall has really just begun here in Southwest Montana.  I can't wait to float the Jefferson for the first time, hit the awesome streamer maddness on the MO as always, the Yellowstone beacons as does the Madison, and there's huge brook trout on the spawn in Georgetown Lake.  Not to mention the Upper Clark Fork and the brookies in Silver Bow.

Too much awesomeness, too little time!!

The moose days of summer - Butte area fishing report

Beaverhead River moose

This has been a very long and hot summer in Southwest Montana and I'm not gonna lie; I'm over it. I used to put together a Missoula area fishing report from time to time and folks seemed to appreciate the unbiased reports.  I'm not affiliated with a fly shop and I'm not a guide so there's no hype. I just have a love for my area's amazing fishing and I hope that the ridiculous time I send on my local rivers can bring others some insight and a few fish.  I have held off on doing a Butte area report until I really felt like I had a solid grip on the area, but I think the time has come.

Beaverhead River:
The Beav is carrying a lot of color and water.  The fishing is a bit slow for my liking, but you'll have the river to yourself.  I've been spending a lot of time down there over the past few weeks and last week I floated from Buffalo to Pipe Organ and did not see another boat.  The best bet is to get out at sunrise and chase the cranefly hatch.  Since I work all week, waking up at 5 on my day off is not something I'm really down with.  In the late morning, there are still some PMDs and every once in a while you can get one to eat a hopper.  The streamer bite is weak even though the conditions seem appropriate.  Your best bet is to fish cranefly larvae under an indicator or pumped right off the banks. Also, going dirtbag and fishing a double worm rig with one of them being a Wire Worm has been effective. Once we move into fall, the Beav will come alive.

Big Hole River:
Check the mandatory closures before you head to the Big Hole as there are a couple of closed sections.  The Big Hole has really suffered from drought and heat this year and is running very low. I've been leaving it alone for the past month (as there are better options) but it is fishable.  Spruce moths, hoppers, and tricos are the fare on the Big Hole this time of year.  Prepare to drag your boat a bit!

Upper Clark Fork:
The Upper is also suffering from a severe lack of water but if your willing to do some walking, you'll find the fish.  They are in the places you'd expect them to be, the deeper riffles and runs.  It's hopper madness up here with some craneflies and tricos in the morning as well.  I had a great time fishing cranefly larvae through deeper holes stacked with brown trout this week.

Georgetown Lake:
The lake is fishing pretty well. The best bet here is to throw a hopper with a longer dropper rig than you'd use on a river.  Surprisingly, using a larger red San Juan Worm as a dropper can be killer even though it really doesn't make much sense.  Just have faith.  Some other good droppers are larger pink scuds and standard chronomid and midge larvae are good too.  There are some PMD/PEDs and still some Calibaetis as well.  In the late evening you can also frustrate yourself to no end with the micro caddis.  I love G-town and have really got to fish the crap out of it this year.  What a treasure!
    
Silver Bow Creek:
This may be the first true fishing report written for Silver Bow but it is not a secret anymore and I'll keep it real.  The work up in the canyon and the nasty, hot weather has made the creek a little bit tougher this year but due to the engineered nature of the channel below Fairmont, the creek is pretty drought tolerant.  Those big deep holes are still over a person's head in many spots.  All you need is a hopper here for some good fun.

These conditions should be the norm until the real fall weather starts to show.  I can't wait for that. Die summer die!

The Hoot Owl is officially dead in SW Montana!

"No Owls" art prints by Society6

The mandatory Hoot Owl closures have been lifted for Silver Bow Creek, Upper Clark Fork River, and Flint Creek.  It's hopper-time in SW Montana.

Check out these cool prints by Society6 while your waiting for your fishing partner to find their hopper box.

March Madness on the Poindexter Slough

The Poindexter Slough of the Beaverhead River

The Poindexter Slough in Southwest Montana flows through one of the finest pieces of public land in the entire country.  The Slough is America's spring creek and although it is on public land, the skill and physical fitness level required to fish it keeps the crowds very much at bay.  In fact, I fished just about the entire reach and I saw nobody else all day long.  The only people I did see were two bait fishermen fishing frog water while I was limping back to the truck in the dark.  I was too tired to tell them that fishing bait is still illegal for two more months which turned out okay because they were really nice and told me they hadn't caught a thing.

I, on the other hand, had a 40+ fish day and one of the most fun days bushwhacking and catching large browns and rainbows so far this year!

Brown on the line

The Slough is not the place to bring a beginner.  Your roll cast needs to be in top shape here as the banks are lined with thick willows.  You're also going to want to leave lollygaggers and the timid behind.  If your not getting your ass kicked by the willows and your skin and clothes ripped by the roses and currants, your not getting in deep enough.  Effectively getting to where the big fish are is as close to going guerrilla in a jungle as you can get in MT.

Underwater Brown

  


























The Slough is chock full of very large, very wary brown trout and some big-ass rainbows too.

Brown Trout sucking on the Meat Whistle

I fished streamers downstream all the way down to where the Slough hits the Beaverhead and was absolutely blown away by the number and size of the browns in that small piece of water.  The MeasureNet works on a number line centered on 0.  To get a measurement, you add the value at the head and the tail of the fish.  As you can see here, this guy was pushing 20in. (51cm.)  John Barr's Meat Whistle in green was the ticked to getting some vicious hits from the browns.

Another brown sucking on the Meat Whistle

Once I reached the mouth, I set up a nymph rig and headed back upstream.  I put on the Soft Hackle "Sow Bug" and all of a sudden, started to catch huge pre-spawn rainbows.  Surprise!

Soft Hackle Sow Bug in a big rainbow's kype jaw

I'm talking BIG rainbows!  Check out the kype on this big guy.  He was pissed about getting caught.

Female rainbow release

This large female was never lifted out of the water and released faster than a toupee in a hurricane.

Underwater rainbow

It's getting to be the time of year where you have to start looking out for redds.  More on that soon.  Once irrigation starts in the Beaverhead Valley, half of the water going into the Beaverhead and also the Slough ends up going down ditches.  The weeds grow long in the Slough and the fish become almost un-catchably spooky.  I'll see these guys again in the fall...

Brown Trout Fail

The Release

The Escape

The Beach - Oops!

It was full-on March Madness on the Poindexter Slough of the Beaverhead yesterday.  Stay tuned for a full post on the happenings tomorrow...

Spending V-Day with those you love

Beaverhead Brown Trout

If you love something, set it free...

It was 60 deg. F yesterday in the Dillon, MT area.  The fishing resembled April conditions more than February.  In fact, just like the weather, the fishing was unreal!

The first half of the day was probably some of the most fun I had throwing streamers in some time.  The browns were out in the shallows in force and they were just as pissed about it being Valentines Day as me.  They were doing that thing where they hear the splash of the fly hitting the water, leave their holding spot, and viciously chase it down.  They even wanted a fast strip.  It was unreal!

Then, at about noon, I started to see some consistent rises to the midges that were showing up in good numbers.  It took a while for me to actually cut of my streamer.  I was kind of in denial that the big guys were eating dries.  I figured it was just some dinks eating a sparse hatch in the sun. Nope!  I put on a Buzzball and every fish that got a solid drift, sipped it without a second thought. When I set the hook, they flipped out just as if it ware a summer evening.  They made huge runs and did acrobats galore.  Some did the Jesus tail-walk across the width of the whole stream.

Dry fly fishing midges in February on the Beaverhead

   
























That is a crappy trout picture but I wanted to post some evidence of the dry fly goodness.

The Dillon area is absolutely gorgeous, just like this horse.  And again, I already can't wait to go back.