Leaving for MT

[fshsltwtr]

with only a few weeks remaining of fishing the salt, I'm packed and ready for a trip out to Montana. With 4wt in hand, and backpack stuffed, I leave Boston tomorrow afternoon and land in Kalispell around 10pm tomorrow night. Thursday, we head out to fish some private water near Whitefish, then packing up the rig, along with driftboat, camper and pooch to go fish the Missouri. Visiting my buddy who's a fisheries biologist out there, has been for 14 years. This is my 4th trip out there and each tops the last. Last trip included a ride up to Calgary to fish the Bow and back down to fish the Missiouri. Trip prior included a 15+ mile hike into The Bob and fished the South Fork of the Flathead, fished the Locksaw in Idaho and the Black Bear (i believe) back in MT.

Will report back when I return next week.

[flatbottom]

man that sounds like a trip !

good lucks !

[WAHOONBOX]

STANDING BY AND GOOD LUCK!


PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE A CAMERA

[Dave Sikorski]

Few things are finer than a western trout stream with a little chill in the air.

Take a ton of pics and post them when you get back!

-D

[tunacity]

So much amazing water to explore out there...

Will look forward to pics.


"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

[fshsltwtr]

just cleared out my 1gb chip, charged the battery, found the silicon for the waterproof casing - all packed and ready to go. Now, it's time to pretend to work for the next 3 hours.

[fshsltwtr]

hey everyone - sorry for the delay in getting this posted, things have been a pretty $hity here at the office since getting back.

Anwwho, MT...what can be said...beautiful country out there!

Day 1 - fished some private water just outside Columbia Falls. stopped at Let's house to pick up some homemade flies for the Mighty Mo - buggers and beadheads, mostly. 2 1/3miles past CF, take at left on Dirt Road. Follow for 1 1/2 miles, bear right, follow to fence. 6th post on the right, key underneath the rock. Thought this was a stocked private stream, not a bad first day back casting the 4wt, but turned into out it was a string of private lakes. Awesome fishing, as we caught dozens of fish...each!! Really not all that hard to believe given zero fishing pressure...in any case, it was a blast!! even after stepping into a hole and going straight up to the neck. Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mind you, i was trying to unsnag a nice fish that got stuck in a tree. these fish were very aggressive...i mean, tail walking trout?!?! first for me!! fished brown flashy buggers for 4 hours. no need to try anything different. fish ranged from 12" - 18"/20". eyed them on the rod, measured later.

Day 2 - packed up the rig and headed out towards Craig, MT to fish the Missouri. Couple stops along the way got us to Craig in the mid-afternoon. Unpacked, got the campsite all squared away, we walked downstream to fish the banks for a couple hours. Rather unproductive day...for me, as Ryan (fishin buddy from Boston) and Clint (friend from 3rd grade, fisheries biologist) hooked into a couple smaller sized Rainbows.

Day 3 - Drove up to the dam, got the boat all inflated...all the while, fish were breaking water left and right. i'm not saying rising, cause they really weren't. these fish were jumping and splashing...in any case, it was getting us excited to say the least. We rigged up a couple varities of dredging rigs with nymphs and beadheads. Clint and I were fishing 4wt, ryan had a 5wt. we had another 4wt rigged with a dry set up, including dry dropper. we caught 14 fish on this float - 2 browns, 3 whities (which, for the record, are a great fighting fish. not the species we're targeting, but still a fun fight!!) and 9 Rainbows. all fish ranged 14"+. i think the biggest was probably the chessey gay pic of Ryan (Pats hat) and me with the doubles. Ryan catching the bigger fish. that happened to be the 1st of 3 double headers on the first part of the float. We got back to the campsite ~530pm, with just enough light for clint to bike back to the rig and pick up where we started. yeah, that's right...no need for shuttles when the kid is a professional mountain biker...he needs his exercise, right?! haha...

Day 4 (sunday) - woke up early, packed up the camper (which was an addition to this trip, and a great one at that!!! winds were howling that night, blowing easy 50+. with the heat inside, we didn't feel it one bit!!) and clint took off to drop off the rig for us at the pullout. 30 minutes later, he's back on his bike, locks up and we're off. very unproductive day, for clint and me. clint was ill, but still rowing (he rowed the entire trip so ryan and me could fish) and i couldn't seem to land a think. i went 0-3. ryan went 4-6. in one stretch where we waded, ryan found a honey hole! one fish brought him down stream before losing it. i wasn't catching, but it was a pure pleasure just being there watching a great friend experience a true epic trip...at least for us it was!!

Headed back to Whitefish, MT sunday night after a great float. stopped at the airport to rent a car, as we wanted to fish monday.

Day 5 - We were on our own, so off to Glacier National Park to fish the MiddleFork Flathead, near Belton Bridge. Clint happens to work inside the park (not for the park!! i was corrected, LOL!) and showed us where to start. fished some deep pools, but it was early and cold and the fish weren't bitting. ended up tripping and breaking my 4wt. bad end to a great trip.

Next trip scheduled in one year. we'll be back. On a side note, bring an extra camera battery. i thought i was all set with a relatively new battery, but i was wrong. couldn't hold a charge so my pictures were limited!!! BOOO!!! didn't get any pics of the private water. that bums me out the most cause the colors of these fish were incredible. the deep purples and fat shoulders...only a mental pic, wish i could share with you all.