MONTANA 1/06/05.
Thoughts from SUMNER. .
With regret the Montana in May trip is over. To borrow a passage from a great book, and to sort of switch it a round a bit, "It was the worst of times and it was the best of times".
Ten of us arrived at the lodge at 8:15 PM local time on Wednesday. We were greeted by two of our party who had to arrive the day before and fished on our travel day, as they had to leave a day earlier than us. They gave a report of excellent fishing: Browns, Rainbows and Whitefish, and a fair number of them.
The drift on the Missouri River that I was hoping for, from the Dearborn River to the Sportsman’s Bar takeout was a no go. Western Montana had been hit with a massive rainfall, we had been looking at the various rivers on the way over and they were all blown out and the color of coffee with cream. While the Missouri River above the Dearborn looked great, meaning nice and clear, the Dearborn was dumping in a massive amount of muddy water, flowing at twice its normal rate.
One of the reasons I like going to Arnie Gidlow’s Missouri Riverside Outfitters and Lodge is the location. I always get a room on the back (south) side. I am an early riser. I like to wake up and reach over and push the button to turn on my coffee pot and brew some Starbucks coffee (I was trying out their Komodo Dragon blend). I then get dressed and take my coffee outside, to sit in the wooden chair and take in the morning. This first morning it was around 5:00 AM.
The sun was just kissing the eastern sky with a hint of pink, and the wind was blowing from the west. The air was crisp, cool and clean smelling. There was an owl up in the woods on the mountain side, asking the eternal question. A Chinese Pheasant rooster was calling from a ridge line to the east. Two Canadian Honkers flew over from the east, loudly calling out, looking for their flock. A Mule deer doe and last years fawn were grazing on the hillside, working their way over the draws, always hesitant. The fawn was copying her mother in all of her actions, learning, getting ready for the time when she would be on her own. My coffee smelled very earthy and strong, like I like it. The eastern sky was turning a flaming red and orange. Right then, all was right in the world for me.
They split us up in two groups of three boats each. One group headed for Holter Dam and drifted from there to Craig. Our group launched at Craig and drifted down to the Dearborn takeout (an 8.6 mile/13.8 km drift). The wind, oh the wind! I would estimate the winds were usually around 30 mph (48.2 kmh), usually heading downriver and they lasted all day. PJ and I had to use every trick in the book to catch any fish. Drag free drifting? Yea right. We couldn’t tell if we were drag free or not. There were some gusts of wind that were so bad that when we went to toss in a mend upstream, the wind would pick up the line and take the flies, weights and strike indicator and carry them downstream in the air. There were many times my 6 wt, 11 foot Sage XP rod would be fully loaded, just from the wind. I have never seen it bend so much because of the wind.
It was a tough fishing day. As for PJ & I, we caught 22 fish between us, Browns, Bows and Whitefish. I limited my photo taking because of the wind, the guide had all he could do to control the boat, and we had all we could do to control our rods, no time for posing for photos. Most of our fish were trout in the 16 to 17 inch (40.6 to 43.1cm) range with a few 18 inches (45.7cm) and over.
The rest of the group didn’t fair quite as well. There were only about 4 of us who had fished with strike indicators previously while the others were learning the process. We had one member who had hardly fly fished at all. Everyone caught some fish, but the excessive wind made it a very frustrating day.
Still, everyone was happy back at the lodge. We had a good dinner, had a few drinks, played some cribbage and talked a lot of fishing stories.
The next morning, I checked the newspaper and saw that we would have a wind free morning, but it would pick up again in the early afternoon with the chance of thunder storms. Before breakfast I gave a little talk, telling them that they had already experienced the worst day they would ever have on the Missouri, so today could only get better. I suggested to them that they really work on their drag free drifts and casting techniques this morning as the afternoon would be windy again.
The morning was overcast but wind free. PJ started off catching a fish, and another, and yet another setting the stage for us during the day. Between us we caught 55 fish, Rainbows, Browns, Whitefish and one very nice Cut-Bow that PJ caught. (By the way, I normally do not keep track of the count, but I wanted to do so for this fishing report). This time the majority of our fish were Whitefish, but that is OK, they are good fighters. PJ had one huge Brown roll on the surface and curve down to take his fly. John, the guide and I saw it and I must say it was a huge Brown. Not as big as the Brown I hooked into last year, but it was big. It took the fly and kept going, eventually tossing out the fly. PJ ended up catching the majority of the fish that day. I was able to use my Ketchum Release tool a lot both days. It makes for a quick and non-traumatic release of the fish while they are still in the water. With the small flies we were using the tool worked like a charm.
At noon, the wind started up, with some gusts that equaled the previous day, but for the most part the wind was not at bad and we usually were able to cast with only minor problems. We did have a thunder storm come over us. It had been sounding off with thunder to the west of us, but held its lightning and only dumped some rain and increased winds as it moved to the east.
That evening we found out that everyone had a very good day, using the morning to practice their casting and drag free drifting. A lot of fish were caught and memories were made.
By the way, the top fly for the trip was the Bead Head Lightning Bug, followed by the Copper John and the BH Pheasant Tail with flash. The sizes most popular were 18’s and 20’s.
I guess they had a good time, I was asked by several people if I was going to organize another trip there for next year. I hadn’t thought about it, but I guess they could twist my arm and get me to do it. Maybe the Dearborn will be flowing clear and I will be able to do my favorite drift. There is always the anticipation.
PJ had mentioned he would like to do a three river fishing trip like I did last year, with some of the others asking if I was going to organize another trip, my mind got to thinking, a dangerous thing for me to do. I am thinking of a three leg trip next year, like 2 days on the Missouri with Arnie Gidlow. Then 2 days on the North Platte River in Casper, Wyoming with Mark Boname of the Platte River Fly Shop. Then 2 days on some rivers in Dillon, Montana, like the Beaverhead and Big Hole or Madison or Ruby or Jefferson with Tim Tollett’s Frontier Anglers. Now that would be a trip. I already have the route marked out on the map. I just need three other people to make that extended trip with me. Shouldn’t be too hard to sell the idea for that, I hope.
Larry.
