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.

The Calm Before The Storm

Before I get too down and dirty with details, I'll disclose that I work at a very busy restaurant and I'm finishing up the last quarter of my Bachelors Degree. Did I mention that I'm married and the "house" husband in addition to the other "jobs" that I hold? Well, I am, and I can cook up a solid dinner, do laundry, and bust out term papers like it's nobody's business.

All work and no fun is not a recipe for happiness. My job is about to get crazy in the next few weeks (our busy season begins with the start of June) and finals are quickly approaching... all the signs pointed to a midweek retreat on the friendly currents of the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River for some Cutthroat action.

Meeting up with a good fishing buddy in CDA Idaho, we gassed up, got our morning coffee and headed to the river in my wade fishing transportation gem CR-V (30MPGs, no rod breakdown required when going between spots, and enough amenities to keep me happy). Sure, I had a class that afternoon, but with nothing due and not a single day missed all quarter, I let Senioritis get the best of me.

The CDA was on the drop (it looks like run-off came a bit earlier this year than in years past) and while still running relatively high and fast, there were fishy looking spots as soon as we hit the road. Sure enough, 8:00 AM, first spot, 3rd cast... fish on. It may have been a small little Cutthroat, but the strike on my self-tied Prince of Darkness pattern made my morning. The rest of the early hours were a bit of a bore...

My fishing partner got a pure Rainbow in the next spot (rare for being so far up the river!) which was attacked by something BIG in the pool while he fought it (Bull Trout? big Cutty? Hmm...) and I brought in another smallish (10" cutt). The spot would've been a whole lot better had I not fallen down a riverside embankment (nothing new) and bruised my palm up pretty nasty. My fishing partner took a spill and cut his thumb later on the same hole... curse? Perhaps...

Our next spot is a hole that I love in the summer but it produced with high flows for us. 10 AM, raining... Stoneflies up top? Why not!? I love catching fish on the dry in the AM.

We had to call it a day earlier than we would've liked as we had found a new $ hole around 2pm. My luck had picked up and it was a hookup per cast. Nothing like a little "Hook to Mouth" action to keep you on the river later than planned. At one point, it was 7 casts in a row with fish on in the same spot. The fish really liked the Prince of Darkness pattern, and it was only rivaled by a TB Golden Stone pattern. We lost a few nice Cutts but I landed one worthy of a streamside picture with my friend.

Wrist tattoos and Cutthroat trout. 

All in all, it was a 20 fish landed day for us, and a good one at that. The average fish size wasn't too terribly large (we lost a few legitimate 16" fish) but the action was consistent once the afternoon sun came out. As a relatively new fly tyer (started in January), I took great joy in the fact that my Prince of Darkness pattern (an Idylwilde pattern that I modified) was getting fish hooked like powerbait. 

My "Charlie Murphy" Prince of Darkness Nymph

The pattern is essentially the same as the Idylwilde pattern available in shops, but I modified the dubbing out (instead of plain black dubbing for the body, I've used Hareline Dubbin Peacock Black Ice Dub) to give it a bit more pop. This is a great searching pattern when the water is a bit off color.

Charlie Murphy Prince of Darkness recipe:

TMC 2457 (scud/pupa style hook) sizes 12-16

Black Tungsten Bead to Match Hook Size (2.4 or 2.8mm)

Black 8/0 UniThread

Ultrawire Silver size Brassie

Black + White Goose Biots

Mix of Hareline Dubbin STS Trilobal Black and Peacock Black Ice Dub

Hungarian Partridge tied in as throat

After my CDA trip, my free time is limited until the third week of June. I'm staring at 40 hour work weeks and finals with nary a day off to fish before Graduation. And of course river levels are dropping into PERFECT shape. Oh well... I guess I'll have to sneak in some bench time so I'm restocked and ready for that elusive day off.

My first crack at Green Drake nymphs

I've been working on Green Drake nymphs and am happy with my progress in experimenting with new materials and styles. We'll see if they fish well the next time I get out... whenever that is.