Catching Big Trout

Monday was the first of two days at LOG with local anglers, Jeff and Jim. We started off on the upper river with a couple of long drifts and picked up a nice rainbow on each drift. Then we went all the way up to the dam and Jim started sticking some nice fish.

He went 3 for 3 on our first few passes and then I made sure Jeff was rigged the same way. After that we had a triple double with big rainbows running circles around the boat. Several nice fish hit the net up there and when that fishing started to fade we slid downriver some.

The trout were spread out in the morning and we made long drifts on the upper river. Each drift would yield one or two nice fish and every time it was a different spot in the run. We made our way down to the sunken island for a few passes and the bottom of that run held some big rainbows that were fighting hard.

Then we made a pass in the middle river on our way to a shady lunch spot and Jeff tagged a colorful bow in shallow water. For the afternoon we went back upriver and started off with some big flies in the fast water.

Jeff and Jim both hooked a fish on that rig, but I think they were on the small fly so we changed back after one pass. The fishing remained steady, much like the morning with a quality fish or two on each drift. Then some dark clouds started rolling in and most of the other boats cleared out.

The fishing really turned on at that point. Our next pass produced a good double and we started hooking several fish in each run. The only problem was that those black clouds were getting closer and we could hear thunder. As good as the fishing was, we didn’t want to get stuck in lighting so we ran out onto the lake to finish the day.

There wasn’t much happening on the lake. The storm was brewing above us and our first spot was blank. I moved the boat to another spot and it took about 5 minutes before Jeff came tight on a fat fish.

It made a couple of hot runs before coming to that net. At that point the wind was blowing hard and the black clouds were closing in so we called it a day. Solid fishing from start to finish before the weather chased us off the water.

Catching Big Trout

Tuesday we were rigged and ready early and made our way straight up to the dam. There was an unusual amount of wind for first thing in the morning and we didn’t touch a fish on our first drift. We gave it another shot and Jeff was hooked up to a decent rainbow after a couple casts.

Jeff stuck a couple more on the next drift and we stopped to set Jim up with the same flies. They weren’t as grabby up at the dam as yesterday. While we hooked a couple more up there I decided to drop down into some faster water. That piece of water was lights out good over the next few hours.

We hooked three on our first drift, had a number of doubles, and even a triple double. The big fish were eating this morning and Jim did particularly well with a couple of absolute brutes in the net. The fast water and big rocks posed challenges too and it seemed like we had to stop and tie on a new fly or two after every drift because someone would hook a hot fish that would wrap the line.

We had a ton of fun in the morning playing with big rainbows in fast water. Both guys saw their backing in the morning and I even had to fire up the motor to chase fish a couple times. By late morning the action tapered off. We made a couple of long drifts and only hooked one on each pass so we decided to take a break for lunch.

We started up in the afternoon at the sunken island and the fishing was back on. Jeff boated a nice rainbow in the middle of the run and then we doubled up at the bottom and Jim landed a colorful brown trout. That run was kind to Jeff as he hooked solid rainbows on every pass until we went back upriver to try some short leash fishing.

We had seen a few fish suspended so I wanted to try something different. The experiment didn’t really pan out as Jim only hooked one and we didn’t touch another fish. So it was back to the fast water and deep rigs for the rest of the day.

The guys stuck another double and we had a few other big rainbows up there before the wind made rowing tough. We dropped back down to the sunken island for one more pass and Jim finished off the day with another gorgeous rainbow. It was a remarkable day of fishing.

The morning session was just nonstop big fish, some we landed and some we lost. The afternoon wasn’t as crazy as the morning, but it was still very solid fishing for big trout. Jim and Jeff are always a pleasure to have in the boat and the last couple of days were a ton of fun.

Catching Big Trout

Wednesday was the first of two days with local angler, Jim, at LOG. With the upper river fishing well we started off up at the dam and Jim was tight to a rainbow on his first drift. We continued to work that run and Jim was hooking up about once every two passes with hard fighting rainbows from 17-19″.

Once we dropped down into the faster water Jim stuck some bigger specimens. He had a colorful 22″ bow and a few others that were 20″ or just a touch bigger. We were finding a nice fish on each pass, but I knew I wanted some shade for lunch so we started moving downriver to see if we could find even better fishing on our way to lunch.

Jim hooked a couple at the sunken island including a chrome bright specimen that looked like a steelhead. Down at Beaver Creek Jim landed a couple more, the best was another big stud bow just over 21″. After lunch we went back to the upper river and Jim went 3 for 4 in the dam run.

After our last pass up there we took a different line downstream to avoid a guy from the USGS who was taking streamflow measurements from a cable above the river. Just as we floated past him Jim had a strike and came tight. When we got the first glimpse of the fish it was a little puzzling.

Jim thought it was a whitefish, but I knew there aren’t any whitefish at LOG. Once I saw the fish for the second time I knew exactly what it was and where it was going once it hit the net. Jim landed a nice walleye on the fly which is a rare accomplishment.

And it immediately went in my cooler for future fish tacos. I can count the number of walleye on fly caught in my boat on one hand, and this was the first one at LOG. That was a great moment, but then the afternoon got weird. I noticed at lunch that the boat had taken on a bit of water.

It was enough to run the bilge pump for a bit, but not enough for major concern. Then after the walleye we needed to bilge water out again so I pulled over to investigate. Thankfully it was just one of my boat plugs that wasn’t sealing correctly. Once I replaced it with a different plug the problem was solved.

That took some time out of our day, but we were able to get it fixed and hit the water again. Late in the day the action faded out on us. After the walleye Jim picked up a couple more trout, but it wasn’t as consistent as earlier in the day.

Catching Big Trout

Thursday it was much quieter at the marina when I met Jim for day two. We went straight back up to the dam to start off. We didn’t touch a fish on the first pass so we gave it another go and Jim came tight on a bright, fat rainbow on our second drift.

We made a few more passes and changed flies a time or two and that yielded a nice male rainbow before we started working downstream. Jim had a couple of strikes in the faster water, but it wasn’t super consistent until a fellow guide gave me a tip on what he was fishing.

We switched over to that set up and Jim hooked up right away to a big slab rainbow. For the next while Jim was tight to a good fish on every pass that we made and had a few drifts with a couple fish on.

The fly line was stretched almost to the backing during that session and a few of those fish managed to use the rocks and current to their advantage. A small mayfly was doing all the damage and once I added a caddis above it, then Jim started picking up fish on that fly.

We were fishing a slower run with big boulders late in the morning when Jim connected with a heavy fish next to a rock. It was a dogfight trying to keep that fish out of all the rocks, but it worked out and Jim had a gorgeous 22″ brown in the net.

We stopped for lunch after that one and then started working our way downstream so Jim could get off a little early and head home. We had a couple fish on around the sunken island that came unbuttoned before coasting down to the middle river.

Halfway through that run Jim tagged a feisty 17″ rainbow and then near the bottom of the run a fish grabbed the flies and went screaming upstream. That was another big 20+” rainbow and after putting it in the net we decided to call it a day.

We had to work a little harder than earlier in the week, but we still had solid fishing and some big trout in the net each day. Throw in an awesome dinner at Lucca’s in Helena and it was the perfect mid-summer getaway for Jim.

Catching Big Trout

Saturday I had locals, Mark and Maryke, at LOG. We started the day up at the dam. The bite there has been fading a little all week and we didn’t touch a fish on several passes so we moved downstream and Mark hooked up to a nice rainbow that came unbuttoned.

The next pass produced a big rainbow that broke us off in the rocks. Then Mark started to get in the groove and landed a pair of big rainbows.

The fishing on the upper river was solid, but we had a different game plan today so we dropped downriver a little more and Mark picked off a couple more rainbows before we ran out onto the lake for the callibaetis hatch.

This hatch can produce really good fishing on the lake so we spent about 40 minutes fishing the edges of weed beds and Mark netted 1 small rainbow and 2 bright slabs. Then we ran down into the Gates of the Mountains to see the scenery and have lunch.

In the afternoon we stopped on the lake again. The first spot was a bust and we made a quick move. Mark had a couple strikes in the next spot, one break off and brought one more chromer to the boat before we headed back up the river.

We fished around the sunken island and Mark came tight to a heavy fish on our first pass. He did a good job fighting that fish through all the submerged boulders and put a dandy brown trout in the net.

Then we started to focus on the inside edge of the run and Mark connected with nice rainbows on every drift. Toward the end of the day the wind started to blow upstream hard.

That made rowing the boat a challenge, but Mark continued to find hot fish. Eventually it got so bad that I had to start the engine and put it in reverse to help pull the boat downstream against the wind.

The trout didn’t seem to mind the running engine as Mark stuck one more fat rainbow close to the boat. With the wind showing no signs of letting up we decided to call it a day and head in.

The fishing was consistent throughout with a bunch of big fish in the net and Maryke loved the scenery and spending the day in a jet boat. I look forward to seeing this pair again in Missoula come September.