It Will Be A Good Bird Year, But.....

For those of  us that are lucky enough to feed bird dogs 12 months a year and hold our breath during every winter blizzard, hoping the wildlife will survive, we feel September 1st creeping up on us.  Yes, we are still enjoying summer, throwing big hopper patterns from a vessel or from shore, but a bird man savors the upland season like a football junkie salivates the opening kickoffs of autumn.
By all accounts (mostly mine), it should be a good fall, markedly improved from 2011. The past winter was a non-event.  In fact, for those of us that enjoy fishing through an eight-inch hole in the ice, there was a very reduced season to be had in most of Montana. Safe ice was in short supply. While the snowpack in the mountains was about average, it was mostly a dry winter across the eastern prairie. If there were major blizzards, I slept through them or just simply don't remember any.
The other major factor, the spring hatch, appeared to also be successful across central and eastern Montana. The spring was mild, without extended rainy and cool periods.  There was ample nesting cover and plenty of insects during the juvenile birds' vulnerable stages. Lastly, damaging hailstorms were also rare across the Treasure State. 
Not everything is in place to make it the stellar season afield that it could be, however.  Thousands of acres of Conservation Reservation Program (CRP) grasses have fallen victim to expiring contracts and high crop prices. In other words, one of your favorite pheasant coverts or sharptail spots, may be black dirt this year. Also, due to this summer's drought, some counties in Montana have been granted emergency grazing or haying of CRP to help ranchers survive the record-setting, scorching summer of 2012. While not as widespread as the overall loss of CRP, it still removes some of the huntable acres from the menu this autumn. 

But, it will still be a fairly good season behind your beloved bird dog.  I have seen good broods of Huns, pheasants, sage grouse and blues this summer.  It appears that hatch was early and the brood sizes are healthy. I am counting down the days.

Fish, Float, Flathead

Trip of a lifetime is a bit cliche'.  However, these opportunities do exist---even for those of us residing in Montana. This past trip for field staffer Dan Peterson was one of his best fly fishing trips to date.
Dan hooked up with Glacier Anglers, a company based out of West Glacier, on a four-day float on the upper Middle Fork of the Flathead River in the Great Bear Wilderness Area.  Glacier Anglers (and parent company Glacier Outdoor Center) is the only entity with commercial permits on this stretch of the river.
Before you start planning your own freelanced adventure, keep in mind this was no weekend trip that started after work Friday evening.   In fact, while the gear was transported by mules six miles into the bush, the fortunate participants hiked ahead of the pack train, not knowing quite what to expect once they reached the Flathead.
Once arriving at the holy grail, the rafts were present, thanks to two young strapping lads who hauled them in on their backs the night before. Between the six mules, the 1,200 pounds of gear (dutch ovens included) were loaded into the three rafts and the trip was on.  Miles from civilization, the likelihood of seeing a bear (black or grizzly) was more likely than another angler.
And the fishing.  In a nutshell, Westslope Cutthroat, over 20", all on large, dry flies.  100-fish-days were the norm.  The fish were healthy, abundant and aggressive.
Fishing was only part of the adventure.  Great meals, well-versed, experienced guides and top-notch gear made the trip enjoyable and trouble-free. Finally, the final day of the trip was exciting whitewater rafting, which was an added bonus during the heat of the day. This was the trip of a lifetime for any angler who enjoys the combination of stellar fly fishing in a truly wilderness setting.

Look for a complete article in the fall issue of Montana Sporting Journal.

To contact Glacier Anglers, visit http://www.glacierraftco.com/

Good Goat Karma

2012 GOAT LICENSE (313-00)

SUCCESSFUL
District 313-00 was your 1^st choice for the ‘2012 Goat License’ Drawing.

I called Dad last night at about 10PM, which is a pretty dark hour in his house.  I had just checked my goat and sheep applications on the FWP website, UNSUCCESSFUL.  I then checked Dad's, Winner, Winner. He had drawn a coveted mountain goat permit in the same area that I had killed a Billy years earlier.

In 2000, I was lucky enough to draw a goat tag in the Crazies, the first year that I had applied.  It was a great hunt, a rewarding hunt and a tiring one. In fact, I recall Dad saying afterward, "I probably won't be able to hunt up there when I do finally draw a goat tag." Well, the time has come and knowing Dad and his above-average fitness for his age, he will be fine. 

Since Dad was with me every step of the way in 2000, helping me get the animal down in one grueling trek downhill, it is only fitting that I return the favor this September.  His good deed then, has earned him his goat tag and my company.  

Summer Conundrum

It started this weekend in typical June fashion; Fort Peck Reservoir was offering up walleyes, teethy northern pike, scrappy bass, and large catfish. How does one decide? Matt and I tried to do it all, catching seven species, which included perch, crappies and drum. It was a nice mixed bag, with fish caught on both fly and spinning gear. Some were released to fight another day and a few came home with us. Meanwhile, freestone rivers are starting to lose their milky appearance and Montana's tailwaters are continuing to fish well. It is shaping up to be a great season on the state's best-known, and little-known, fisheries. So, begins the balancing act of making time for all of the various opportunities across the state, along with, unfortunately, work. All you can do is fish when you can. Yard work can wait.



 

Turkey Troubles

In Montana, there are many cures for spring fever. Along with a variety of fishing opportunities, there are also spring bear and turkey hunting seasons to make time for. While I don't hunt bear, I do manage to fit in an annual trip to southeast Montana to chase gobblers. Turkey hunting requires favorable weather more than any other variable. Wind makes calling impossible and rain in southeast Montana makes the roads greasy and impassable, not allowing us to get to our remote honeyholes. So, after postponing our trip the previous weekend, we juggled our schedules and grabbed our shotguns. We had received reports that turkey numbers were down, but assumed that we would still find plenty of birds. Our first morning was as perfect as forecasted. No wind, clear skies and moderate temperatures. Immediately after stepping out of the truck, we heard a Tom gobble in the distance. Brian, Ryan and I grabbed our decoys, calls and guns, and sneaked into the Custer National Forest woods. After closing the distance between us and the birds, the two Toms were clearly "henned up", seemingly sharing the four hens between the two of them. One hen started to make her way to investigate our calls, giving us the hope that she would lead the Toms are way. But, not the case.

The rest of the weekend would lead to more disappointment. We put many miles on, by both hiking and mountain biking quietly on trails closed to motor vehicles. Turkey droppings and tracks were noticeably absent everywhere we explored. We only had three responses in two and a half days of calling and none of those were fruitful. Even the number of "backyard birds" that we usually see behind ranch houses and feedlots were scarce. While it was great to get out and be in the woods in May, we all were yearning for that magic moment when an interested Tom comes toward the hunter and a clean kill is made. Unfortunately, that may have to wait until next spring.

Eye Time

Spring walleye fishing can be fickle. The window of opportunity from ice-out through the spring spawn can open and close and open again in hours on Montana reservoirs. When water temperatures creep into the mid-forties, walleyes begin their quest to reproduce and point their noses up rivers and creeks. Anglers also become anxious this time of year, looking forward to that first boat ride of the year and with a little luck, the first 'eye of the season.

The first open-water adventure of 2012 was a complete bust. Dad and I never caught a fish in 7 hours of fishing. The Mighty Mo' was running muddy and cold. I had envisioned having the market corned on large, spawning walleyes, but came home with my tail between my legs.

This past weekend, things had changed. The water was clearer and slightly warmer. Good numbers of walleyes were in shallow water, two to 12 feet deep. Our presentation was simple, just pitching jigs and minnow toward shore, keeping the boat just out of the heavier current.

While the majority of the fish were males, we did catch a few larger females that were pushing 25". We practiced a somewhat-selective harvest, keeping mostly smaller males, but a few females around three pounds also became a very appreciated, new culinary success back home. Walleye season is officially underway.

Big Spring Creek

You would think that current fishing reports pertaining to Big Spring Creek would be a staple of this blog, yet such reports are suspiciously scarce. Montana Sporting Journal editor Jay Hanson resides in Lewistown, within walking distance of the creek. His lack of reporting signals to me that he's either taking this great fishery for granted, or that he's trying to keep it quiet. I suspect it's a little of both.

The only reason that you're reading a report about the creek is because I traveled to Lewistown this weekend to meet with Jay. It was the second leg of an ambitious road trip combining business and fishing (read the full report here).

After wrapping up our meeting Jay guided me to one of his honey holes upstream from town. Upon arrival I was surprised to find the creek running a bit high and off color, the result of low-elevation snowmelt during this unseasonably warm spring. Even so, the spring creek was in much better shape than many of the regional freestones, some of which were too turbid for productive fishing over the weekend. From Brewery Flats upstream, the creek had two to three feet of visibility - clearer up near the hatchery, and dirtier further downstream.

Each of my first two drifts through one of Jay's favorite runs resulted in trout, both took a size-16 pink soft hackle fished deep under an indicator. Over the ensuing couple of hours I worked my way upstream, picking up a trout or two in most of the larger pools and runs that I came to. The aforementioned fly, along with a San Juan worm, accounted for most of these fish. I also spent some time methodically working a streamer along banks with structure. A black sex dungeon affixed to a heavy sink-tip line lured two nice browns, one that I landed, and another that charged out from a rock, but wouldn't commit.

Good numbers of baetis were hatching from about 1pm-3pm, most of them were a size 18, with a few that were closer to 16. The dry-fly fishing was non-existent due to relentless high winds all afternoon. Anglers who find themselves on the creek over the next couple of weeks on warm, overcast afternoons with calm winds should come prepared for baetis hatches and rising fish.

Who knows, perhaps Jay will surprise us all and report on the productivity of a simple Adams (#18) and pheasant tail emerger (#18) combination (fished on 5x tippet with a long leader... hint, hint) in the coming weeks. If you make it up to Big Spring Creek yourself, be sure to drop him a line reporting on just how good the fishing was out his back door.
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Look for a feature on central MT trout water, including Big Spring Creek, in the next issue of Montana Sporting Journal.