Power Fishing Trip Report - Central Oregon, August 2013

Just because I can...

Two days, two fisherman, two rivers, and one mission...

Fish until we drop.

There is nothing quite like a power fishing trip... those trips where time is limited, your rods are always rigged and ready to go, every worthwhile looking pull off is explored, and you don't stop until your wife calls and tells you to come home.

My friend and I did that this weekend, and we sure as heck made the most of it.

Camping in the Sunriver area of Oregon leads to many quality fly fishing options, both riverine or lacustrine. It's especially helpful when a thunder and lightning storm moves in on your water, and a 20 minute drive will take you to less lethal waters. If only we had brought our float tubes, we'd have had more opportunities, but I can't complain!

During our weekend power trip we saw more people fishing some of these spots than I ever had before. It was borderline ridiculous at a few of our stops that we fished.

First to the hole, serenity for an hour, then five groups of anglers show up. My favorite section of a particular river was so heavily pressured that it's normally ravenous Brook trout had their bellies to the bottom in a way that I'd never seen before. Thankfully, some helpful local anglers gave us a tip on some currently red hot water nearby... Needless to say, we owe them a beer.

We caught Brooks, Bows, Browns and of course Mr. Whitefish, and we did it on streamers, nymphs, and dries. It was the best 43-hour power trip that I've yet to experience.

My fishing partner caught the biggest trout of his life (twice) and got his first Brown trout on the trip. I, on the other hand, lost the biggest trout of my life (multiple times... one was the size of a damn Steelhead...) and landed my biggest Brown yet. Needless to say, I should've been nymphing with my six weight instead of the five.

Enjoy the pictures and remember to make the most of your "power fishing trips."

Best trout of my friend's fly fishing career... for an hour. Then he caught a bigger one. 

My buddies first Brown trout. Great spotting on this guy.

Lamson reels... getting it done!

Even 13" Brook Trout love to crush streamers... Beautiful fish

My friend's big hen Brown. Love the sparse spotting on this one.

Best fish that I've landed on a 5 wt. You don't have to go to Montana to catch big healthy Browns.

Close-up. Love the blue shine on their gill plate.

Parting shot on the way out. Beautiful country, even prettier fish.

The Highs and Lows of Trout Fishing...

This past week has been a roller coaster of sorts for me. I've fished two well known, fish packed bodies of water and have had two extremely different experiences.

To start the week off, I took my Grandfather along for a trip to Diamond Lake in Southern/Central Oregon. The drive down was miserably long (I had worked the night prior and slept for just a few hours), but upon arriving to the lake (a big one at 3,000 acres!) I was excited.

I've caught more fish out of Diamond Lake then I care to count. The lake is not only massive, but it holds Rainbow trout that average over a pound. Fish to 10 pounds swim in Diamond and a 20" fish wont raise an eyebrow on the dock. When we went to rent our boat though, something told me we were in for a rough day. Near sixty degree water temps and an algae bloom (pretty odd for October!) had kept fishing slow according to the resort staff. After driving 5 hours though, we didn't relent and hit the water.

Early in the day, my Grandfather caught a fish on eggs and since he was nose hooked, we released the little guy. I fly fished to my hearts content trying nearly every lake method I know. Nada. Most boats complained about off fishing, and these folks complaining were pitching power bait. Not good!

6+ hours on the water and I had just one definite strike. It was a first for me, a skunking at Diamond Lake. We tucked our tails between our legs and hit the road, homeward bound down the gorgeous N. Umpqua highway. I watched in envy as fisherman spey cast to Steelhead around every bend. I knew I needed a fish fix!

Low and behold, I returned to Central Oregon in the same week. A family member had work to do in Bend and I offered to drive, knowing that I could get 4-6 hours in on some water near town. With such a limited time frame I decided to hit a well known and easy to fish spring creek, the Fall River.

The Fall River is a beautiful spring creek that flows into the Deschutes near La Pine. The lower Fall, ironically below the Fall River Falls, holds native Redside/Redband trout, whitefish, and some monster Brown trout. Regrettably, the lower river closed the week before I made it down to Bend, so I was relegated to fish the upper river which is stocked with Rainbow trout from the Fall River hatchery. These fish stocked are from Crane Prairie Reservoir stock and are actually very attractive hatchery fish, but I must admit they still leave much to be desired compared to wild, native trout.

Some of the trout in the upper Fall reach upwards of 8 pounds, and I did spot a few lunkers hiding under the numerous downed logs in the stream. These big boys are targeted specifically by many local anglers and can be quite picky. Most fish in the river are 8-12" though, and these are what I had a field day with.

BWOs, Mahogany Duns, even a Callibaetis attractor, rose fish to the surface. I tried to target rising fish when it came to fishing dries. Many fisherman working dry flies seemed frustrated that they couldn't get fish to eat... they were simply fishing the wrong method in the wrong spots.

I worked a small double nymph rig through holes, putting a clinic of sorts on. Carefully working the nymph along the volcanic bedrock ledges under water, and around downed trees, I picked up some solid fish. In fact, I hooked one fish that was all of 17" and had him to the net before he came unbuttoned. CDC collar PTs, anato may nymphs, October Caddis pupa, and a good old tungsten weight fly were hot items for the trout.

By the end of my 5 hours of fishing in two different areas, I had caught at least 30 fish. I stopped counting at a certain point because it was so ridiculous. No, these weren't the wild trout that I so dearly love to catch, nor were they monster trout out of a lake that fight with reckless abandon. But they were a needed pick me up of sorts. An affirmation that I still am a fishy dude, even if I haven't gotten out as much as I would like to.

I guess one could say that the Fall River is like Prozac for a recently skunked fly fisherman.

Next time though, I'll up the game. I'll be wading the Metolius River chasing Bull trout with streamers. And I will most definitely be on the prowl for Steelhead as we have just received some much needed rain to get the fish active.

But for now, I'm content with my week of experiencing the highs and lows of trout fishing on the fly.

Lost in an Ancient Place...

Gorgeous scenery.

No other person on the trail.

Feeling immersed in an ancient place.

Oh. And wild trout, eager to hit a Norm Wood's Special.

While I haven't found trophy trout water nearby, I have found some beautiful places to cast a line. If only I had a 2 wt!

Here's to hoping for the rain to come so I can chase some fresh Steel.

Cutthroat, Dry Flies, and Bats...

I'm moving away from Spokane soon. The end of August to be exact. It will be bittersweet... I'll miss the Spokane River, my fishing companions, co-workers, and the proximity to Montana. I won't miss the crazy tweaked out meth addicts, the terrible roads and drivers, nor will I miss the awful economy. I guess I'll miss the fishing most of all though...

That lead me to this week's short fishing trip, originally planned for a two-day trip on the St. Joe River in North Idaho. The Joe is a tributary to Lake Coeur d'Alene and is renowned for its Westslope Cutthroat fishing. I hadn't been on the Joe since last September and sunny skies greeted my fishing partner and I when we arrived on the river this past Wednesday.

This 18" Cutt fell for a Stonefly Nymph. Caught by Dustin Bise. 

The intense heat and cloudless day was not great for hatches (sparse PMDs, Golden Stones, and Caddis) but fish were still active. Combining nymphing slots and buckets and throwing attractor dries, we quickly got into fish. In fact, our first fish of the day was actually one of two on the same cast. Yes, my first one-man double... a 16" Cutt on the stonefly and a 6" Cutt on the Prince dropper. The day was looking solid until an incident on the next hole.

Two Fish = Win! 

While I was hiking down a trail to a boulder that created a huge eddy, I reached forward to brace myself (going downhill) on an old tree stump. I looked at the stump before I reached for it, and saw nothing unusual. As soon as my hand touched the top of the stump (and my fingers reached over the edge of it) I felt a sharp prick and heard an odd screeching noise. A small creature of some sort fell to the ground and started crawling around while I quickly jumped down to the river bank, scared to death. I looked at my finger and saw two small puncture wounds (practically superficial) and looked on the trail to see a small bat (silver haired bat) hissing/screeching at me.

Now, I was scared, didn't know what to do, and in hindsight I should've captured and killed the little bastard, but instead I went to the river, got out my soap and began washing the wound out continually. We continued to fish for the rest of the evening and set up camp that night. I figured/thought that rabies took some time to set in and the bite looked mild enough that I'd be fine if I waited till the following day to trek back to Spokane.

We fished through the night, netting 20 fish between the two of us, mostly Cutthroat with a few Whitefish thrown in for varieties sakes. The following morning, we fished for a few hours working fish on dries and nymphs in the nicer buckets on the river. Even a big pool produced fish for us, which was shocking considering how much pressure these fish had seen recently.

Great Cutthroat from the "Bat Hole."

It turned out to be a near 40 fish trip for us, which is phenomenal considering the chatter from most anglers on the river was that fishing was terribly slow.

Nice Cutthroat following release.

Wrapping up early, we drove back to Spokane where I went immediately to the hospital. It was determined that I needed to get a Post-Exposure Rabies treatment (series of 5 shots, plus an EXTREMELY expensive anti-body shot to start off with)... the bummer is that insurance will barely cover any of it (read none... just adjustments... they say it's not a preventative thing but rather an injection) and the average bill for people bitten by bats who need the treatment is $10,000. No joke. In fact, that first day I had 11 shots at the Hospital including 6 of the anti-body into my fingertip... painful freaking stuff.

So a trip that went from being a cheap, camping overnight for Cutties, turned into the most expensive and frustrating ordeal of my life (wait... maybe college takes that title).

I won't be posting too many fishing reports in the near future as medical appointments, work, and packing for our move will occupy most of our time. I do have a float planned for next week on the Spokane and will have a full run-down on that.

So next time you're out fishing/hiking/exploring in North Idaho, be aware of bats and stay the #%#@ away from them. They do have an important role in our ecosystem but they sure can be expensive and possibly deadly.

Gear Review: Redington Torrent Fly Rod

Seeing as the blog is in it's infant stages, I'm not in the position of receiving free fly fishing goods to test  and review. That being said, if I personally buy a product and feel strongly about it (for good or bad), then I'll possibly post a gear review on it. The following review is my honest input about a product that I spent my hard earned money on... enjoy.

Redington Torrent 8'6" 4 wt 4 pc. Rod

Despite being on a budget, I was on the hunt for a perfect small/medium water dry fly rod. I had a few 5 and 6 weight rods in my quiver but wanted a faster action 4 weight that could shoot some serious line, had solid pick up, but would also cast accurately in close/tight situations. With summer dry fly season nearing, I wanted to find a rod that would fit all those needs but for under $300.

Thankfully, you don't need to spend $750 anymore to get a quality made fly rod. I looked at rods from Echo, TFO, Orvis, Sage, and Scott before settling on the Redington Torrent. One of my local fly shops, Westslope Fly Shop in Spokane, was kind enough to order the rod in for me and allowed me to cast it before I walked out with the rod. Being a newer model, none of the local stores had any Torrents in stock.

Beautiful wraps and green finish. Nice work Redington. 

After just a few days, the rod arrived from Bainbridge Island and I met owner Jesse Clark at Westslope to test cast the rod. First impressions were simply... "wow." The Torrent featured a fairly fast action but was inherently smooth with a slightly tip heavy flex. I was throwing accurately from 15-60 feet and if needed I could punch it further. To be blunt, it cast better than my older Scott A series 5 weight and it gave the Sage VXP (a $500 rod) a serious run for it's money in lawn casting scenarios. Needless to say, after test casting it for a half hour, I left with the rod in hand.

Finish wise, the rod features a nice dark green finish that has some SERIOUS coats of paint on it. Talk about a glistening finish. The cork was not necessarily premium (some filler, but to be expected) but the grip was comfortable and more than adequate. The reel seat has a green graphite insert and a single up-locking reel seat keeps my Lamson Guru 1.5 securely in place. Stripping guides are PacBay and are high quality, and the wraps are nice and neat. The rod tube is a sweet stealthy gray aluminum with a lime colored Redington Logo.

Graphite insert on reel seat. 

The real test for a rod is, to me, how it fishes. A rod can lawn cast like a dream but until you fish it and become infinitely familiar with it, you don't know what you're getting into. The Redington Torrent is built to fish. I've used it with great success throwing everything from dries on the Bitterroot (60 foot reach casts with accuracy) to dropping lighter double nymph rigs on the Coeur d'Alene River. This rod is simply wonderful. Fish from 6" to 18" are a blast on this setup and though a 3 wt would be fun on smaller mountain streams, the 4 wt. Torrent doesn't feel like overkill in those situations.

I love the faster action (now that I've been fly fishing for long enough, I feel that a faster rod can work for many different applications) and enjoy the light weight, sleek finish, and of course the low sticker price.

This Bitterroot Cutthroat was a Torrent 4 wt. victim. 

You can certainly find a cheaper rod out there, but you wont find many with this quality finish, action, and phenomenal warranty (Redington/Sage are some of the best in the business). I suspect that the rod taper was borrowed from an older or current Sage model (perhaps the VXP with slightly lower modulus graphite?) and I don't regret the purchase in the slightest. I'll be looking at a Torrent or Predator in the future for a solid 7 weight streamer/bass rod and recommend it to anyone looking to find a quality, fishable stick.

Redington Torrent Grade Sheet -

Finish - 9/10 (only cork could be better... but for the price that's not realistic)
Hardware - 8/10 (reel seat is solid, but a slightly sturdier one would be nice)
Lawn Casting - 9/10 (faster, progressive action... similar to Sage VXP)
Actual Fishing Situations - 9/10 (can really do it all in the 4 wt class...)
Value - 10/10 (Great work by Redington... as usual)

Overall - 9/10. I prefer this single-hander over a similar CPX and find it to load with minimal line out, make accurate casts from 10-60 feet, and the fit and finish of it is excellent for the price. Pick one up and you wont regret it.

Montana Trip Recap

This past Tuesday afternoon, Wayne "Trout Jedi" Jordan and I embarked on two days and nights of camping and fly fishing in the Missoula area of Montana. We planned to fish for sure on a few rivers and would "wing it" according to water flows, fishing pressure, etc if our destined waters were not fishing well.

We hit a few big name waters, some relatively unknown creeks, and a few quiet but excellent rivers. 

I had a few goals before the trip...

1. Catch my first Bull trout. A must.

2. Catch a big Brown.

3. Drink good beer.

4. Catch all the available gamefish/trout species on the waters that we fish... nearly improbable but a good ultimate goal.

5. Work on my dry fly game... ie. Reach cast effectively, stalk fish, and make my first cast count.

In the end, I accomplished four out of five goals. Only number two eluded me, but I hooked a MASSIVE Bull trout on the ******************* River that took me to my backing before coming unhooked. That one still grinds my gears. Oh well...

PMDs, Caddis, and Drakes up top seemed to be the main meal tickets, and my self tied Z-wing Caddis Pupae was a winner nymphing. Wayne of course caught fish in all manners, and he even enticed a fish to a purple/glitter Chubby Chernobyl dry fly... and it wasn't just any fish, it was an 18" Westslope Cutthroat. Not your average Cutty!

Enough text for this post though. How about some pictures?! Wayne took the shots of my fish and I threw a couple of Wayne's victory photos in for good measure as well.

Rock Creek, Montana.

Rock Creek Brook Trout. Small guy, dry fly. Only Brookie of the trip.

Wayne's Big Cutthroat.

Hello Cutty. How was that Chernobyl pattern?

Biggest Cutthroat to date for me. Just shy of 19". Great fish.

Close-up.

My first ever Bull trout. Small but native and gorgeous.

Dry fly stalking Cutthroat. Always fun.

Feisty Montana Cut-bow.

Riverside refreshments. Critical to a good trip.

Dry Flies and Redemption, NW Montana Style.

After last week's 19-hour, one-day fishing adventure, I figured I'd take it easy for my fishing trip this week. I've got a 2+ day trip to Montana with the Trout Jedi planned for next week, and while gas is getting cheaper, me falling and destroying gear + not being home does cost money. And that rest and sleep thing... underrated in my mind.

Icing on the cake... 17+" small river Rainbow. Thank you Caddis hatch.

With all those factors in mind (and a Montana fishing license in my pocket), I figured I'd hit the St. Regis River for some mountain freestone action. A straight shot over I-90 (which parallels the river for most of its length before it dumps into the Clark Fork), the St. Regis River is a bit of an enigma. Not known for great fishing, it runs cold and features high gradient fishing in it's channelized waters (thanks Interstate!). Some of my friends swear by the river and gave me excellent intel about where to go and what to use... others said to stay away from it (they used less appropriate language). I decided to give it a shot.

What I found when I got to the river was interesting. Some fishy looking spots, freeway traffic blaring in the background, and very few fish. I several promising looking spots and saw just two fish (one of which said "no thanks!" to my Golden Stone pattern) in 3 hours of fishing. I followed my friend's advice but with water temps just barely over 40 degrees, I figure that most of the fish aren't terribly active yet... that and there wasn't much in the means of obvious holding water in the heavy-ish flows.

Dejected, I pulled into St. Regis, conferred with some locals (who also scoffed at my fishing their local river, telling me it'd been poor this year), and grabbed a bite to eat. I couldn't head home yet. A two hour drive with nothing to show for it? No. I decided to jet north an hour to the Thompson River... get a few hours in on the Thompson and then cut over Thompson Pass and be back by 8 pm. Not a poor plan it seemed. Worst off, I'd be down two more gallons of gas... but at 30 MPGs and $3.40/gallon (sad that I'm stoked about that), I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch fish.

Last week on the Thompson, it was a nymphing clinic that my fishing partner and I put on... This week was slow on nymphing. I had one strike while nymphing a usual hole that produces for me. I worked my way upriver (which was substantially lower than last week) and pulled up to a favorite spot of mine.

Pulling off the road, I looked into the water below and saw rises... lots of them. I could literally see 30 fish stacked up in the current below... smallish fish, huge fish... it was like looking at a wild trout aquarium, and these fish were hungry. Money.

I casually worked up to a hole well above where the fish were working and examined the hatch... PMDs, Drakes, and an odd Golden Stone. And big looking ones. I tied on a Golden Stone, PMD double dry set up and went down the bank stealthily below the active fish. Now, I'm known to be a clumsy, piss poor wader. I could scare a fish across the river from me, but on this day, I was smooth. On my hands and knees, ninja-style smooth wouldn't even describe it. I made a first cast upstream to the rising fish and it was game on.

Westslope Cutthroat... A fishing partner would've made for better photos!

Cutthroats, Browns, Rainbows... it didn't seem to stop. While I didn't hook them all, and I certainly lost a few fish during the fight, it was a glorious time. Over the course of a few hours I landed several fish on the PMDs.

Feisty small Brown trout.

I rested the hole for 10 minutes at a time (it's a big run and you can fish different sections in it without scaring too many fish), and eventually noticed a lull in the action. I moved upriver to a different locale (which was a big producer last week) but came up empty handed... the lower flows made the hole less suitable for holding many fish.

Back downriver, I saw that a Caddis hatch had broken out and the fish were working the same hole that I had fished earlier. Re-rigging to a Yeager's Neversink Caddis/X-Caddis trailer, I played the same game working the bottom of the hole to the top... Money. It was just that kind of day. I landed the largest fish that I've caught of the Thompson... a 17" Rainbow that looked a lot like the Spokane River Redbands that I love so dearly.

Big Thompson River Rainbow. X-Caddis.

After three more fish in the same hole, I realized it was nearing 5:30 (PDT) and decided I should get back over the pass. It was my first time taking the Thompson Pass road, and I doubt I'll go another way again! I saved 40 miles and nearly a half hour of drive time... Only downside was a robin that decided to play chicken with my car on the CDA river road. My car won and I felt a little bad about the whole affair.

All in all, it was a great day on the river. I wasn't gone too much longer than I had originally planned, I caught nearly double digits trout on the dry, and got some stealth wading practice in. Always have a back-up plan, and never let a skunking ruin your day on the water.

Now it's time to gear up for my extended Montana trip next week. More reports to come! 

Sunny Skies, Healthy Trout, and Busted Reels

Graduation has come and gone. I've got a B.A. now, and have begun my first school-free summer in some time. I've been job searching, preparing resumes, and working my restaurant job in the meantime. I also have more time to fish... never a bad thing. Especially when you have a Montana annual fishing license.

This past week, with flows finally dropping, temperatures rising, and a day off work, I met with my friend Dustin (of Big R Fly Shop - Ponderay, ID) and headed out to a small tributary of the Clark Fork River in NW Montana. This stream was running just over 1100 CFS and dropped another 10% while we were on the water (about 10 hours).

Saw some drake activity, a few golden stoneflies, and lots of caddis in the evening. Rock checks revealed green drake nymphs, and caddis cases galore. I had three rods set up and the first run yielded the day's first fish. Double nymph rig, meet Rainbow trout. Shortly after our Rainbow friend came to net, a Whitefish followed. The next run yielded a small Cutbow, and we were into fish early and often.

A slight mishap occurred on the water early in the day. I took a spill on a large rock (studded boot bottoms, not a good call here!) and my reel took the most damage...

Broken reel... no good.

Shortly before I noticed the damage to my reel (one run later), I hooked into something BIG. It happened in a spot that is typically a "honey hole" of sorts for me. Big boulders in the water redirect the current as the river takes a hard turn, and the hole is DEEP. Think 15'+. Drifting my nymph rig through the hole, my indicator takes a slow deep pull into the water. I react and set the hook figuring that I snagged a rock. Now, rocks don't head shake and move though, and this fish has my 5 wt doubled over. Into the current, back into the boulders, up a bit (I see a nice big silhouette), and then back down... it was 30 seconds of bliss. While I began to walk down the shore towards Dustin, hoping to work the fish downstream and out of the heavy current, I feel my line tension slacken. NO! The fish was gone. Came unbuttoned. 

What was it? I have my thoughts (the fight, location, and seeming size of the fish indicate Bull Trout) but I can't be certain. This missed fish would haunt me all day.

Dustin got his first trout of the day in the same hole on a nymph rig and we head upriver to a spot that I had explored but didn't hook up at the previous trip to this stream. With water levels lower than before, the hole looks better than ever, and better accessible (a short hike and then wade out to a gravel bar) than my last trip. It was during the hike out to the hole that I realized my 5 wt reel was toast. Nymphing was out of the question at this point, as I did my fishing on a 4 wt that was rigged for dry flies the rest of the day. Dustin began annihilating Rainbows on this hole. It was a strike nearly every cast for him.

 Healthy Montana Rainbow

The fish Dustin was getting were of great size for this system. We're talking  average fish of 12" (the norm) and the ones he was catching were 15-17"+. Not shabby at all, and on simple attractor style nymphs fished at the bottom of slots. I threw dries while Dustin was harassing the trout down deep, and low and behold we soon had our first of three doubles for the day. 

Dustin's biggest Rainbow of the day... healthy fish!

I landed a fantastic Rainbow at the head of the run on a anato-may dropper fished below a Golden Stone. Great color on this 15+" Rainbow who had struck my dry on an earlier drift through the slot. 

Great color on this fish. My best (landed) trout of the day.

My one and only Brown trout of the day came in the same hole shortly after I caught the Rainbow. Dustin didn't get his Brown until later in the day, but it was a pleasant (and colorful) surprise when it finally met the landing net.  

Small water Brown trout. 

We fished the entire afternoon, and despite ever persistent drakes and caddis flies, few fish were consistently rising. After fooling multiple sub 10" fish on dries, I decided to re-rig my 4 wt as a nymphing rod, and was rewarded with a solid Rainbow on the last  productive hole of the day. 

Final tally was 20 fish to hand between the two of us and well over 20 fish lost. Gotta love barbless hooks. By the end of the day, Dustin and I were both muttering and joking about all the fish we'd lost. The colder water temps (hovering around 50) seemed to induce short/soft strikes. 

Lots of laughs, good brews on the riverbank, and some nice fish were what I will remember the most from this trip. The broken reel (sent to Lamson today... I'll have a post on the warranty service when it returns), lost (Bull) trout, and lack of sleep (5:30 AM - 1:AM on the road) won't dampen this angler's mood. 

Anniversary in Montana

This past Tuesday was a very special day for myself and my wife Ashley. Not only was it the date of my last class/test of my undergraduate career(!) but it was also our second wedding anniversary. What would be more romantic than a quick round trip to Missoula for a day of good food, sightseeing, and a bit of casting? I'm sure Ashley could find a few better options, but she gamely decided it would be a fun way to spend our special day.

The morning started off with a final exam at 8 AM in Cheney. After the test, I rushed home, loaded up the wife and spaniel and made our way out of town.

All the driver could think about was fishing... the passenger, not so much.

We made good time across the panhandle, my mind racing as to what fly patterns would trick fish in the short hour I had to fish on the way to Missoula. Rain fell intermittently through the pass, and the rivers we passed were absolutely raging. The creek that I had in mind (a tributary to the Clark Fork) would likely be running high, but I figured fish would love to hit a meaty Salmonfly pattern up top... Only a little ways further and we came upon this inconvenience...

Jack-knifed Semi on 2 lane interstate = Less time on the water.

Aside from the jack-knifed semi truck, what seemed like miles of endless construction and 45 MPH speed zones (very un-Montana...) made the trip towards Missoula stretch on. This all meant less time on the water for me. Ashley does not fish (yet) and I bribed here with the promise of a fine dining meal in Missoula after we fished and checked out the fly shops and bars in town. Being our anniversary, and my desire to keep the anniversaries coming for the long term, I would not break that deal!

We finally hit the creek, and raging it was. From what I'd heard from friends who fish this little known body of water, the water was running at double the typical flows. Rainbows, Cutthroat, Whitefish, and a few Bull Trout inhabit the stream and I was anxious to get fishing. So anxious that I pulled into the first spot at the first access point on the creek. 

She's moving...

I believe that this is a Green Drake nymph.

Golden Chubby Chernobyl

It only took 10 minutes of throwing my dry dropper rig (Salmonfly pattern w/ red CJ) to get a strike up top. A decent Cutthroat came and took a swipe at my fly and in my trigger happy excitement I missed the fish. This scenario played out another 5 times, though I did manage to hook up with 3 fish, all of which came unbuttoned. A Golden Stone Chubby Chernobyl attracted the most attention with one brute (at least 16") Cutthroat taking two stabs at my pattern only to get away without meeting my net. Despite my frustrations, my lovely wife (who has a Fine Arts degree), managed to take some great photos of the excursion before Missoula (and that promised dinner) beckoned. 

A spot that yielded countless strikes, and no hook ups. 

Mirrored water + Chubby Chernobyl... success

Beautiful water, with the fuel saving fishing machine (CR-V) across the stream. 

Beautiful water.

Despite getting blanked, I was beyond ecstatic to spend time on the water with my wife. She got to see, firsthand, what I love to do. I couldn't complain about having 8 strikes up top on dry flies in under an hour either... not too shabby at all. 

Oh, and the rest of the trip. It was fantastic. Wonderful meal at Scotty's Table in downtown Missoula. Lots of Big Sky Scape Goat Pale Ale, fantastic thunder and lightning storms to experience throughout the day, and my best friend along with me. Happy Anniversary indeed.