Land of Giants
Tuesday was the first of 3 days with long-time angler, Mick. We have fished with Mick in Missoula and on the Missouri over the years, but this was his first trip at Land of the Giants and he was joined by his good friend John.
We started off in the middle river mainly so the guys could get used to fishing out of the jet boat but the trout were grabby in that run. The trip started with a double and John’s fish was a big, thick rainbow. Then Mick went to work and landed 3 more nice rainbows on that drift.
We ran up and did it again and Mick added a couple more to the tally including a hot rainbow that ran him into his backing. Once I got John on the same flies we had another drift with several more healthy rainbows in the net.
After that we went upriver to show the guys some different water and the fishing was solid up there too with big fish in the net on every drift. After several passes in the fast water with good action we made one drift down at the sunken island and hooked 2 nice fish that came unbuttoned before stopping for lunch.
For the afternoon we went back to the upper river and started off with some big flies. Mick picked up one for the first fish of the afternoon and then had some tough luck with a few fish that came unbuttoned or broke off, but the trout were more interested in mayflies and caddis so we switched back and then it was game on.
John and Mick doubled up a couple more times in the fast water and Mick landed the first ever whitefish I’ve seen at LOG, and it was a big one. Late in the afternoon we dropped down to the sunken island and the guys continued to connect with solid trout.
John had a spot at the top of the run where he hooked up on almost every pass while Mick picked up a good rainbow in a foamy eddy in the middle and then a bright bow at the bottom of the run. On our last pass John stuck a fish in his usual spot and fought it downstream and then Mick hooked a really big slab that was jumping all over the river.
That fish came unbuttoned on a screaming run and we decided to call it a day. Great fishing from start to finish today. Lots of hook ups, plenty of big rainbows in the net, and a few big ones that got away.
Land of Giants
Wednesday I started in the same spot with Mick and John to see if Mick could catch lightning in a bottle again. He got us going with a decent brown trout for our first fish of the day and picked up a rainbow at the bottom of the run.
Mick connected with another fat bow on our next pass but there wasn’t as much action as yesterday so we went upriver a little. We made one pass at the sunken island and Mick added another rainbow to the tally, but it got busy there so we opted for the upper river.
John had some tough luck early. He wasn’t getting as many strikes as Mick, and the fish he did hook either came unbuttoned or broke off. He righted the ship on the upper river with back to back rainbows that were both super fat.
We made a few passes on the upper river and stuck fish on every drift, but I wanted to check out the callibaetis hatch on the lake so we motored out there. We had cloud cover and bugs around which was good, but it was dead calm which can make the lake a little tough.
It only took a couple minutes before John was connected to a leopard spotted rainbow. That was a great fish, but all the action we had for 15 minutes or more so we reeled up and took a scenic cruise down into the Gates of the Mountains for lunch.
For the afternoon we went back up into the river and started off at the sunken island. Mick got run into has backing in that run and we netted a handful of other fish and bent a couple of hooks out. It was decent action but I was looking for better so we went further upriver.
Mick continued to have the hot hand. John had one more bow in the net and a couple early releases, but Mick picked up fish on almost every pass. We finished the day with a couple drifts back at the sunken island and Mick stuck the big fish of the day which was a big buck over 20″.
It was solid fishing today. Not quite as good as yesterday and we gave up a little time to check the lake and Gates of the Mountains but we still caught some great fish in all the spots we worked and had excellent weather all day.
Land of Giants
Thursday was my last day with Mick and Jon at LOG and we went straight to the upper river this morning. On the first drift Jon hooked up to fish that got away and then Mick started getting them. On the next pass Mick was immediately connected to a colored up rainbow, then he stuck a big slab rainbow on the next drift and picked up one more after that.
From there Jon got in on the action with a bright female and things started to even out. The rest of the morning was steady action for both Jon and Mick with someone hooked up almost the whole time.
We had one double with a pair of big rainbows, and Mick and Jon both got run into their backing by hot fish that managed to find rocks and break us off. It was a fantastic morning of fishing and we stopped a little early for lunch to try and get that in and some dark clouds were approaching.
We managed to stay dry for lunch, but by the time we were ready to fish again the wind had kicked up hard. I dropped down to the sunken island to try and dodge the wind. We sort of fished that run, but the wind was ripping. I could barely row the boat and the guys had trouble casting and getting a good drift.
With wind like that I knew our best bet would be to try and find some shelter on the lake. As we ran out to the lake it started raining so we made a quick pit stop at the marina so I could grab my extra rain pants for Mick and then we tucked into a weed edge on the lake. Our fishing started out slow there.
About 10 minutes in and Mick picked up a bright rainbow and then it was crickets for a bit. Just as I was ready to move the boat Jon came tight on a big bow. Then he hooked another in short order and that helped me dial in the flies.
With that set up we stayed in the same spot the rest of the afternoon and Mick and Jon took turns picking off a bunch of big, gorgeous rainbows. The fish in the lake are hot right now and we had a few break us off, but we still put plenty of heavy trout in the net too.
We continued to have some light rain, but the wind laid down and made for a pleasant afternoon. 3 days at LOG and the guys were able to experience a little bit of everything from fishing in the slower middle river, the fast water up high, and a good callibaetis bite out on the lake.
I thoroughly enjoyed fishing with Mick and Jon and certainly hope to see them back again before too long.
Land of Giants
Friday I fished with long-time anglers, Alan, and his friend Celia on an unusually cool August day at LOG. This was Celia’s first time ever fly fishing so we stopped in the middle river for a quick lesson on the basics of casting, mending, setting the hook, and fighting fish.
On the first drift Alan had a strong fish break him off and Celia briefly hooked up to a trout that came unbuttoned. The next pass produced a big rainbow for Alan. He fought it all the way to the boat and into the net.
The hook came out when the fish hit the net and before I could lift it out of the water that rainbow jumped back out of the net. Guide error on my part, but it was a great fish well over 20″. After another pass through there Celia was doing well enough with the basics that we went to the faster water of the upper river.
The trout were active up there and Alan tangled with a bunch of big rainbows. We were up at the dam for a while and Alan hooked up on every drift through there. Celia was getting strikes and hooking up too. LOG is a tough place to learn fly fishing because the trout are big and they fight really hard.
She went through the phases that we all go through when learning to fly fish, but she kept a positive attitude and on our last pass up there she connected with a solid fish and brought it all the way to the net.
The fishing was good enough up there that we ended up with a late lunch as wind and dark clouds came in on us. With the wind up I decided to run out to the lake for the afternoon. It was blowing pretty hard when we got out there and tough to keep the boat in the right position.
Once I got the boat to hold it didn’t take long for Alan to hook up to a big bright fish. We had a couple hours of good action on the lake. Alan landed a number of fat rainbows and Celia hooked up several times and fought one more gorgeous rainbow to the net. It was another good day on the water.
Alan picked off a bunch of big, healthy fish and Celia stuck with all day and did well for her first time ever.
Land of Giants
Sunday I had my sister DJ and her boyfriend, Andrew, on the water at LOG. This winter DJ told me all she wanted for Christmas and her birthday was a day on the water together and we were finally able to make it happen.
Today was the first time at LOG for both DJ and Andrew, and it was Andrew’s first time fishing from a boat. We started at the middle river and made a couple drifts. Andrew hooked up on the first pass and DJ stuck one on the next pass but both fish came unbuttoned.
They were fishing well enough from the boat that I decided to move up to the faster water in the upper river. We went all the way up to the dam and Andrew came tight in that run and fought a big rainbow downstream for our first fish of the day in the net.
It was his personal best rainbow for the moment, but we were just getting started. Andrew continued to find quality rainbows on every drift we made while DJ had some tough luck early on. She had fish that broke her off, others that shook the fly on slack line, and a couple others that simply got away.
After several early releases she put it all together with a pretty rainbow that made it to the net. From there they did a good job on trading off with nice rainbows for a while. On one drift Andrew hooked an absolute tank of a rainbow.
We saw it jump a couple times, and I fired up the motor to chase that fish down and keep Andrew close on his fly line. He did a great job fighting that fish, but late in the game it just came off. I would’ve liked to have that one in the net.
It was in the 24″ range and super fat, but those fish are hard to handle in the fast water and rocks. We hooked at least one fish on every drift in the morning and even had a brief double. Then I decided to run out to the lake for lunch.
The spot I picked for lunch was not great, but as soon as we were done eating I started moving the boat and we were into the fish. We broke several of those fish off, but once the hook set was dialed in Andrew started cranking on some big rainbows.
DJ landed one in the lake too and then we took a cruise down into the Gates of the Mountains for the scenery. We finished the day back on the lake. It wasn’t as active as earlier, but DJ let me throw the rod for a bit and I hooked a hot bow that went well into my backing and Andrew closed out the day with a couple more healthy rainbows.
It was a good day of fishing. We hooked fish in the river in every run that we worked and had some good action out on the lake as well. DJ and Andrew both had a blast in the jet boat and I am sure we will do it again next year.
