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!

The homemade air conditioner

I'm over summertime.  The heat, the tubers, everything.  My friend made this homemade air conditioner yesterday and she let me take some pics.

First, you start with a disposable cooler or a cheap old crappy one.

Trace a hole that fits your electric fan.

Trace holes for your vents made out of PVC elbows (or something similar).

Cut out the holes at an angle (like the top of a Jack-o-lantern).

 

Fill cooler with as much ice as possible, insert fan, and turn on.  The air coming out of the vents was around 45-50 degrees Farenhiet.

 

 

 

 

Anything is better than blowing hot air around.

Nobody around but the moose and the bears

Guest photographer: T. Willis

Missoula area fishing report - July

They're here 

Clark Fork:  The CF is still big but clear and fishing great!  You'll want a boat and someone who can row or hit your safe high-er water spots.  I saw a lot of summer weekender fishers struggling this weekend with the current conditions.  So, maybe this report will be more effective if I write about what not to do.  First off, it's summer and fishing on a bright sunny day at 3 in the afternoon is about the worst time ever.  Yet, for some reason, it seems that a lot of people wait all year to go fishing and then go at that time.  You need to get up early or get out at dusk.  As you can see from above, the tube hatch is in full swing.  A good rule of thumb: If there's tubes on the water, you should not be.  Also, if you'r not catching fish, move on.  I saw about 10 people fishing the Double Tree hole last night like they were on the Salmon River in NY with a guy skipping stones in between them all.  I mean, give yourself a chance people.  There are tons of rising trout less than 1/4 mile up or downstream and all these people were in the wrong spot and all over each other.  Weird. 

In the early morning there are tons of PMDs and huge Clark Fork trout gorging on them until about 11.  There is some mid-day fishing to be had but it tapers off hard in the afternoon.  Then, at about 7:30 +/-, the PMD spinners and swarms of caddis cover the water, and it is on all over again.  I caught some great fish on caddis dries this last weekend.  Finally!!

The Blackfoot:  I try to stay away from the shit show of guides, dudes, and tubers that take over the best reaches of the Blackfoot for the summer time.  Can anyone say “river permits are on their way?”  However, just like on any other body of water, the Blackfoot has its secrets.  If you actually spend the time to do your homework, you can have the best of the fishing and the whole place to yourself.

For instance, there are miles and miles of Blackfoot and some fantastic tribs up around the Lincoln area.  See my Mike Horse Mine post to understand why the fish numbers are lower up here than on the lower river.  However, when you consider people per fish per mile (something that should always be considered), you’re in the money. Instead of other fisherpeople and tubers, the only thing you’re going to run into up here is bears and moose.

Streamers are great in the morning and there are some great brown trout up here mixed in with the cutthroat. My best brown was caught dipping a Prince Nymph into a root wad hole.  In the evening, there is a massive rusty spinner fall and caddis are everywhere.  These fish don't see a lot of artificial flies and will destroy your Elk Hair Caddis without thinking twice. 

Buy a map, some gas, some bear spray, and some elk hair caddis and get it done!

The Bitterroot:  I can't give a really accurate report here.  I haven’t been on the Root since before runoff.  I imagine it’s shaping up like nobody’s business.  The caddis and PMD spinners on the lower Root are great this time of year.  You’re still going to want a boat for a little while longer with the above average flows.

Rock Creek:  This stream is so much fun this time of year!  An attractor with a dropper is all you usually need unless you get into a specific hatch.  Instead of tubers, you’re going to have to deal with a bunch of dudes.  The thing that you have to remember and keep telling yourself is that the majority of them have no idea what the hell they are doing and they are not catching all the fish, by any means.  The best way to avoid them is to get up early, get off the paved road, cover some miles on foot, and you will catch more awesome fish than you ever thought possible.  Don’t drive up next to the hole, make 1,000 casts in the same lame spot 500 other fisherpeople have pounded on for the past 3 months.  Try to remember Montana’s stay-out-of-sight ethic and try as hard as possible to make it happen.  

For this time of year, I like to fish a smaller golden stone attractor with a short nymph dropper in the daytime. Fish the knee deep riffle water. If you can't get up early to avoid the other fisherpeople, you will get double rewarded right now by staying out late.  As I mentioned earlier, most people want to fish in the heart of the afternoon.  Most of them will go home right before some great evening caddis fishing starts to shape up. In the evening, your favorite caddis pattern or a rusty spinner will nail em. 

Area lakes and ponds:  The trout lakes are fishing great.  For the most part, the summertime rules of early morning and evening still apply here.  I'd love to be up at Georgetown right now as I'm sure the damsels have the big rainbows all worked up.  I'll be fishing the Seeley-Swan region in the coming days and will have an expanded report on that.  The little stocker ponds are not the place to go right now.  They get fished out and hot and filled with swimmers etc.

So in a nutshell, avoid tubers, stale water, the middle of the day, and you'll have some really great, classic Montana, summertime fishing.