Big Rainbow Trout
Cold and wet to start the week again and finally warming by the end.
Some awesome groups and solid fishing from start to finish! Big Rainbow Trout
Monday was the second day with the Bryan crew. The wind was absolutely howling at Hidden Canyon Lodge in the morning and we questioned even trying to get on the water. Once we drove up to Craig, the wind was still blowing but not nearly as bad.
We decided on a short stretch from Craig down to take advantage of the least windy stretch of water. I had Sheila and Jeff today while fellow guide, Scott, had Jason and Laura. It was a good sign when Jason hooked up straight out from the boat ramp while I was launching my skiff.
We hit the same spot and Sheila connected with a hot rainbow trout right away. Around the corner the next run produced 3 or 4 for both Sheila and Jeff. Then the next run had a jumping rainbow trout for Jeff at the top and Sheila tagged a nice male bow in the back eddy.
We tucked out of the wind for lunch at that point. The breeze kept up all afternoon and we never did get a great bug hatch today. That meant some of the big foam back eddies weren’t very good, but we were finding enough fish on the banks to keep things interesting.
Sheila hooked two in the afternoon when she wasn’t even fishing. He flies were just dangling downstream of the boat and trout grabbed them and took off. The fish continued to cooperate all the way to the take out. The wind was a menace all day long, but we preserved and were rewarded with some great trout in the net.
There was a mix of sizes today with some little 10 inchers, most were 15-17” and a few healthy rainbow trouts up to 19”. The weather was tough again, but it was a great two days with the Bryan crew. They love to fish and are a ton of fun to spend time with on the water. We look forward to doing it again next year.
Big Rainbow Trout
Tuesday was the first of 3 days with the Hoffman gang. I have been fishing with these guys for nearly 20 years and this season they were out on the Mo for Lev’s birthday. On the way to Craig this morning I noticed the Dearborn was high and off color.
I knew the safe play would be the upper river, but I also knew it would be crowded. I have had great fishing below the Dearborn in dirty water for big browns and so we decided to roll the dice. We hedged our bets a little and launched at Stickney Creek to have at least a couple miles of clean water to catch a few.
Today I had Bill and Dave in my boat and Dave hooked up right away in the first spot to a rainbow trout that came unbuttoned on a jump. Bill picked up a feisty rainbow trout below that and Dave connected with a thick 19” bow that put up a good fight.
We picked up a handful of smaller bows before Dave stuck another big 18” rainbow trout. We had decent action the rest of the morning until the dirty water from the Dearborn fully mixed into the main river.
When we stopped for lunch I knew the conditions were not ideal, but I still had hope we could find some big fish. After lunch we tried a bunch of different stuff to no avail. Lev and Hunter picked up a couple in the other boat,
but it was obvious the fishing wasn’t going to improve in the dirty water so I made the call to push off and head upriver to finish the day. We rowed to the ramp, loaded up and headed up to the dam for the last couple hours.
When we arrived we had clean water and hardly another angler in sight. On our second drift Bill stuck a hefty 19’ rainbow trout to get us back in the game. Just below that he tangled with a big 21” hen. Dave had a fish of similar size come unbuttoned just before hitting the net.
The action was steady. Dave and Bill had one double on mid-sized bows and then Bill hooked up on another jumbo rainbow trout and after a long fight he had a big 21” male in the boat. We had to scramble to make it happen today, but the morning was good fishing and once we escaped the dirty water the late afternoon was great with plenty of hook-ups and some great big rainbow trout in the net.
Big Rainbow Trout
Wednesday was day 2 with the Hoffman gang. It started raining around 3:00 a.m. and was steady when we met in the morning. The tributary streams were coming up and I knew the safest play would be going up to the dam first thing.
We were the first boats in the water but I knew that wouldn’t last long. Today I had Lev and Bill and they both briefly hooked up on our first pass, and then Bill was tight to a big bow that hit the net on our next pass.
The trout were on the feed early as all of the guys were hooking up. We found one spot that was just loaded with big fish. Lev picked up a bright rainbow trout as we floated into it. Once I rowed back up he hooked up again immediately and then Bill got us doubled with a large, leopard spotted rainbow trout.
One more pass through that spot and Bill boated another tank. The action continued at a fast pace all the way to Wolf Creek and down around the corner. There was a side channel that we worked for a while with a bunch of nice fish.
At one point 3 of the 4 anglers were hooked up at the same time. Lev landed one more big male bow just before we pulled in for some hot soup. It was still raining and even a little colder than the morning.
With such a good early session the guys agreed that we would just hit the best spots on our way to the take out. By then the dirty water from Little Prickly Pear was all the way across the river so we made some fly changes.
The action definitely dropped off and we had a couple opportunities that didn’t pan out due to frozen hands, but Bill did stick a bright 19″ hen big rainbow trout that put on a show with some good jumps. Then on our last bank Lev hooked into a substantial fish.
While he was fighting that Bill doubled up with a gorgeous big rainbow trout. We landed the bow and I was hoping to get both fish in the net but when we saw the brown Lev was connected to I knew there might not be room in the net for both of them.
So I let the big rainbow trout slide as Lev finished off an epic battle with a huge fish. It took some time, but eventually, he had a super thick, awesome 21.5″ brown trout in the net. It was a great way to cap off a terrific day of fishing. The weather was not pleasant but the fishing was outstanding.
Big Rainbow Trout
Thursday was the last day with Hoff’s crew. We met earlier this morning but it was still busy up at the dam since the tributaries are still making the lower river very dirty. Today I had Bill and Hunter, and it was the Bill show early on.
He was hooking nice rainbow trouts in all of the runs and even though Hunter was getting great drifts, he could hardly buy a strike. After Bill picked up another 3 or 4 I was getting ready to completely re-rig Hunter when he connected with a bright rainbow trout.
From there his fortunes changed as he went on a hot streak. We had one double in the morning and the fishing was solid all the way to lunch. After that we loaded the boats back on the trailers and headed to the dam again for the afternoon.
There was way less traffic during the second session. The afternoon started like the morning as Bill smoked the first two big fish, but then Hunter got in on the act just around the corner from the put-in. That run had several nice fish in it with a couple that made long, screaming runs.
We had a bit of a rodeo as Bill landed a decent bow and just as that fish hit the net Hunter hooked up with a big bow that went cartwheeling in air. The wind was blowing too so it was a challenge to handle the net, the boat, and try to catch up to Hunter’s fish.
It all worked out and Hunter boated a big male bow. The guys doubled just below that and then Bill tagged another big slab bow. By then the clouds had rolled in and the guys doubled again in the next run. Hunter capped off the trip with another big bow that jumped 5 or 6 times before finally throwing the hook.
That was right across from the take out and we called it a day at that point. It was another solid day of fishing with a pile of big 17-20″ rainbow trouts. This group of guys is always so much fun to fish with.
They love fly fishing, and they get a kick out of giving each other a hard time with lots of laughs and great moments on the water. The crew is already planning a return to the Mo next year.
Big Rainbow Trout
Friday I was able to jump onto the last day with the Fazendin group. We have been fishing with this group for the last several years and they are always a blast on the water. It was windy, sunny, and the tributary streams were still high and muddy.
So we decided to do a double float up at the dam and stay in clean water. In the morning I had Steve and John in my boat. It was tight fishing early on as the first couple spots didn’t even yield a strike and the other boats weren’t hooking up either.
The wind wasn’t making it easy, but we were still getting good enough drifts to find fish, but they didn’t want to play. Finally Steve hooked a few. He had three that got away before we finally closed the deal and put a nice rainbow trout in the net.
He added a couple more to the tally in the next spot, but John couldn’t buy a strike in the back of the boat fishing the same exact flies. While Steve as fighting another one and I was contemplating changing John’s rig out, he came tight and we were doubled up.
It took a little while for the fish to get going this morning, but once they did we starting connecting in the reliable spots and the other guys were hooking up too. We stopped for lunch in Wolf Creek and then loaded the boats and went back to the dam.
In the afternoon I had Dan and Bob in the boat and the fishing started a little quicker with Bob boating a decent fish in the first run. The same problem plagued the back of the boat as in the morning though. Dan didn’t move a fish early on.
Bob was finding them in all of the runs and playing them well, but it was crickets for Dan. Finally he got going and put 3 really nice rainbow trouts in the net in the same run. He doubled up with Bob a couple times in that spot.
We actually finished the day with a double in our boat while Steve was hooked up right across from us in another boat right at the take out. It was a beautiful day, but the wind was downright terrible at times.
It made for a little tougher fishing but everyone caught some nice big rainbow trout and it was all smiles at the end of the day. These guys are an absolute pleasure to fish with and I hope to see them again next year on the Mo.
We dealt with weather and river challenges again this week. When the Dearborn and Little Prickly Pear blew out it threw a kink in the plans and forced everyone to the upper river for clean water.
The fishing was still pretty solid and the etiquette between boats was good. The river is dropping and clearing, and we should be able to spread out in the week ahead. I always look forward to getting back in the canyon just as it is clearing up to chase big rainbow trout! Catch Your own Big Rainbow Trout – Book a trip today!
