Montana Fall Fishing Fun
Monday was day 2 with Rick and Erin and I decided to take them up to the canyon of the Blackfoot. We met late hoping to avoid the worst of the weather and any traffic that might be up there. I was a little surprised to see a couple of other boats putting in that late but we decided to take our time and let them go.
Rick got us started with a couple of decent cutts in the first run and then Erin landed a bull trout in the next run downstream. Rick added another cutthroat a few runs downstream and we were right on track. Then it got interesting. We started to run into some traffic and the weather caught up to us.
45 degrees and rain wasn’t what we were hoping for today. Despite that, Erin hooked a big fish in a small bucket but it was hard to control the line with frozen fingers and that fish broke off. We got enough of a break in the weather to eat lunch at that point and fortunately the rain tapered off for the rest of the day.
We had gone slow enough that I thought any traffic in front would have cleared out but I was wrong. Everyone must have had the same idea because there was more traffic on the river today than I have seen since June. Out of courtesy we had to give up a number of great runs and that made it tough to get in a rhythm. Erin landed a couple nice cutts at the mouth of the canyon on a dropper.
There were bugs and I tried to fish Rick with dry flies but not much was looking up so it was back to the dry/dropper. When we had space from other boats we would connect with some trout. Otherwise it was tougher when we were mixed up in the traffic. Fortunately the weather broke to give us a beautiful afternoon. Rick and Erin both really enjoyed how stunning the scenery was in the canyon, and we found enough trout to keep it interesting.
Montana Fall Fishing Fun
Tuesday was my last day with Rick and Erin. I wanted to finish strong so we picked a stretch of the Clark Fork that has been good recently. The first run of the day produced spunky rainbows on the dropper for both Erin and Rick. Just downstream Rick bagged another one and Erin hooked up to a strong fish that came unbuttoned on a hard run.
Then we spent some time working a good run. Erin landed a few nice rainbows in that spot including the first big rainbow of the day. Rick picked up a couple as well and we were all excited that he landed one on a fly his son had tied.
Erin added a small brown trout just downstream to complete her trip grand slam with a rainbow, cutthroat, bull trout, brown, and cuttbow on her first trip in Missoula. A couple runs down from that we found some fish stacked up in a fast run. Erin landed a couple solid bows and then Rick doubled up with her with a nice cutthroat to go with Erin’s bright bow.
It was good action all day long. Lots of 14-15″ bows and cuttbows on the dropper with a few fish that went bigger than that. One of the highlights was a big 20″ cuttbow that came up for Erin’s hopper and then she had to fight that fish with some underwater logs and a big overhanging tree. The likely spots continued to produce the rest of the way.
We had one more fast run where Rick hooked up on a few and had another double with Erin. Just around the corner Erin put one more in the net and we decided to reel them in and finish the day with a nice trout on her last cast. After a couple of rough weather days it was nice to have spectacular weather on day 3. It was even better to have the river entirely to ourselves and great fishing from start to finish. I look forward to many more days on the water with Rick and Erin.
Montana Fall Fishing Fun
Thursday was the first of 2 days with the LaMosca crew who we have been fishing with for over 20 years. Fellow guide, John, and I met early for a float through the canyon on the Blackfoot. Today I was paired up with Gregg and Steve and the guys didn’t waste any time getting on the trout.
Gregg stuck a bull trout in the first run of the day and Steve followed that up with a brown in the next run. From there it was a steady diet of fat cutthroat on the dropper in nearly every spot. A few runs produced 2 or 3 fish on our way down to Munchmore.
In that run Steve came tight on a nice fish in the tailout and it turned out to be his first ever bull trout. The dropper fishing remained fairly steady all morning until we all stopped for lunch. In the afternoon I switched the guys over to small single dry flies and Gregg picked off a nice cutthroat immediately.
In the right spots the fish were looking up and there were some quality trout eating dries. It was hard to see the small bug so I put Steve on a hopper and kept Gregg on the small mayfly. The mayfly worked well in the slower water while the hopper brought fish up in faster water. Gregg connected with some big cutts on the mayfly toward the bottom of the canyon with great visual eats.
The guys doubled up with nice fish in cutthroat alley as we continued to net quality trout in every run. At the end of the day I switched Gregg to a small ant that fooled a few while Steve added a couple more on the hopper. It was a really solid day of fishing on the Blackfoot. Both Steve and Gregg landed grand slams, with bull trout, browns, cutts, and rainbows.
The morning was steady dropper action and the afternoon dry fly fishing was a ton of fun.
Montana Fall Fishing Fun
Friday was day 2 with LaMosca and today I fished with David and Steve on a stretch of the middle Bitterroot. We launched early and started the day with dry/dropper rigs. We had tons of action early on, unfortunately the trout weren’t active at all, but the whitefish and squawfish were greedily eating every dropper we tried.
It was almost comical unless you are the guide trying to catch trout. Finally David connected to a hot rainbow in a foam spot on the dropper to get us going for the day. At that point we started to have tricos hitting the water and we focused on rising trout for a while. The first group had a couple of big fish but it was very skinny water and they were spooky.
Steve’s first cast was on the mark and a fish ate the fly but the hook set didn’t connect. From there we settled into a back eddy that had a bunch of fish eating tiny tricos on the surface. Steve had to get the drift just right, and after a few casts he came tight onto a big rainbow. He jumped a mid-sized bow after that and then I moved David into position.
A few drift with the dry and David connected with a big 19.5″ bow that gave us a couple good jumps. That was the end of our rising fish and Steve hooked one more fat bow on a dropper that popped off just before lunch. In the afternoon David wanted to try to raise fish on a dry so I gave him a mahogany while I put Steve on a short leash dropper rig. The dry didn’t do much as David raised only one fish through some good water while the short leash was a little better.
Steve hooked a solid fish right after lunch that came unbuttoned, and then further downstream we had a fast foam eddy where Steve hooked 4 and landed 2 nice fish. I switched different hoppers and nymphs in the afternoon but it just wasn’t very active with only a couple other small trout to the boat and a few whiteys.
Tough in the bright sun on the Bitterroot today. We had fun fishing small dries to rising trout and enjoyed a beautiful fall day on the Root, but the trout could have been a little more cooperative.
Montana Fall Fishing Fun
Saturday was the annual Cast One For Hope which is a fundraiser for Casting for Recovery to support women battling breast cancer. It’s always an important day for me and this year I was paired up with Rita and Jake, a local couple that actually fished with us on the Missouri this spring and around Missoula in the summer.
It was the first day for me to actually have Rita and Jake in my boat. The Cast One has always been a Bitterroot river event, but with the Bitterroot so low we decided to head up the Blackfoot this morning. It was cold when we launched but the fish were active right away. Jake stuck a small bull trout in the first run, and Rita added a couple small cutts in the tailout. Then around the corner Jake hooked up another rainbow and a big bull trout immediately gave chase.
The bull trout grabbed Jake’s fish and wouldn’t let go. A couple minutes later I couldn’t see Jake’s rainbow anymore but he was still tight to the bull trout. That fish was pinned to the bottom and hard to move, but Jake did a great job fighting that fish and eventually slid a 28″ bull in the net.
The tail of the rainbow trout was still sticking out the bull’s mouth. It is always a treat to have those bull trout encounters. Good fish were still eating the dropper after that. Jake picked up a couple quality rainbows while Rita had a pair of brown trout and some good cutts as well. In a rock garden she hooked up to a heavy fish and at first thought she was snagged in the rocks until the fish started moving.
Rita had to fight that trout around a bunch of submerged boulders but eventually netted a thick 17.5″ cutthroat. After lunch Jake came tight on a good cuttbow that ate his big dry fly and Rita tagged a couple dropper fish in the next run. The action was a little spotty in the late afternoon. Fast water, bright sun and wind didn’t help the situation.
We were still finding trout, but the average size was smaller and the action wasn’t as steady as in the morning. Still, Jake managed to land the last rainbow of the day as we pulled the boat into the take out. Rita and Jake were a bunch of fun to fish with and I’m glad they supported a great cause like the Cast One for Hope.
Montana Fall Fishing Fun
Sunday was a day I look forward to each season. I was able to get out with a 4 pack of awesome ladies. I had birthday girl, Jen, and Geri in my boat while fellow guide David fished with Margaret and Kay. The ladies love the Blackfoot so we met early and headed up to the canyon. Jen was hot early as she landed a nice cutthroat in the first run and picked up another one just downstream. Meanwhile, Geri started off on the whitefish train and she landed a monster a couple runs downstream.
Then it was back to trout. Jen got her birthday bull trout on the dropper and both her and Geri did some damage in Munchmore. Geri had a big bull chase one of her rainbows up through a bunch of shallow rocks which was great to see. From there the dropper picked up a couple more before we switched over to single dries.
We found a big cutt rising at the bottom of a run and Jen stuck that trout on a small trico and fought it all the way to the boat before it shook free just before the net. Geri added a nice cutt on the dry at the mouth of the canyon before we stopped for lunch. It was all dry flies in the afternoon and the fishing was solid. Jen started us off right at our lunch spot with a quality cutthroat.
We had a fun encounter with a picky fish that just kept looking at our dries until Geri finally fooled her on a black ant. The ladies had a great double at the bottom of the canyon and then added several more in cutthroat alley. The fishing remained steady for the rest of the day despite a late afternoon wind that kicked up. We picked up fish on small mayflies, ants, and hoppers.
It’s always a lot more than just fishing with these gals. We had a ton of laughs, plenty of sugary snacks, and a great time just catching up from the last year. And judging by the number of times I saw bent rods in Davids boat, I am sure that Margaret and Kay had a solid day on the river as well.
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