Time for Trout

For some folks, "Walleye Now, Trout Later" may be the mantra of the day; with a good walleye bite occurring on the state's reservoirs (see MSJ Editor Jay Hanson's recent blog post). But for many anglers, myself included, the time for trout is now. Sure, runoff presents an obstacle, but it's a surmountable one. While freestone rivers like the Yellowstone, Gallatin and Clark Fork may have a ways to go before they clear up, there are plenty of other options right now. The Madison River, both the upper and lower, is very fishable. An afternoon float from Warm Springs to Black's Ford this past weekend found some nice fish rising along the banks and in slack water amidst a great caddis hatch. The Big Hole River and Rock Creek are dropping and clearing, with salmon flies and golden stones hatching. Of course there are always the tailwater options and spring creeks throughout the state that remain fishable throughout runoff. And don't forget about the lakes. The high alpine lakes aren't accessible or ice-free just yet, but anything below about 8,000' is a pretty safe bet. I was up at Hyalite Lake last night and had some good fishing for chunky cutts. Perhaps the true gems at this time of year are the tributary streams running cold and clear. This weekend I was out on a Bozeman area creek which feeds a well known river, I had the stream and it's feisty wild rainbows all to myself. The trout in these feeder streams are generally small, but every once in a while you might be surprised by what turns up. A couple of 14" rainbows took my caddis pupa on this recent outing, but perhaps more surprising was the elk antler I found submerged in the stream (see photo) and while it was broken below the sword tine, it had great mass and good brow tines, a big bull no doubt.

Those of you looking to get out and do a little trout fishing right now have plenty of options throughout Montana...and some good deals can be had on lodging and guiding services. Perhaps the best deal going that I'm aware of is the offer that Russ Kipp at Montana High Country in SW MT has going. Russ is offering free lodging for anyone who books a multiple day guided fly fishing trip. That's a tough deal to pass up, particularly considering that the Beaverhead River, Big Hole River and Clark Canyon Reservoir are nearby.

Walleyes Now, Trout Later

People questioned my sanity and probably my priorities, as I headed over to Fort Peck for the fourth weekend in a row. My only reply was that it was prime time on the sprawling reservoir for big walleyes-and it wouldn't last all summer.
The past few weeks on the water have been good, for both eating-sized 'eyes and trophy fish up to 31". Fortunately, we have seen fish in all sizes, which isn't always the case in this fishery. All of the fish over three pounds were released, except my fishing partner Mike Upgren, kept a pair of brutes that he wanted to mount together-probably fitting since they were caught just minutes apart.
While some fly fishermen wouldn't think of using bait (minnows, leeches, nightcrawlers) and some walleye anglers view fly fishermen as pretentious folks that all dress alike, I guess enjoy both pursuits equally. By mid-July, the walleye fishing on Peck will begin to slow and our rivers and creeks will begin to run clear, offering up some of the country's best trout fishing. For now, the walleye fishing is too good to pass up.

Feels Like Summer

After a long winter of walking on frozen ice, it was finally nice to be driving a boat across the liquid form. There is something ceremonial and refreshing about having the boat on the water for the first time each spring. Granted, there is always the hectic preparation before that first trip: replacing dead boat batteries(they seem to last about two seasons), checking the trailer lights (they are like Christmas lights, there is always one bad bulb) and organizing the terminal tackle.
But, once on the water, all the worries disappear. Spring offers so much in eastern Montana. Seeing newborn antelope fawns that can barely walk, watching sharptail perform on their annual dancing grounds and hearing rooster pheasants crowing in every direction, not only is therapy for the present, it provides hope for the upcoming fall hunting season.
The walleye fishing was not quite as productive as Dad and I had hoped for. But, the reservoir water was only 45 degrees, so the best is yet to come. For now, just being on the water is good enough.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a highly anticipated point on the calendar for Montana anglers...it marks one of the major early season hatches in the state. This year it worked out that we were able to spend Sunday with the women and mothers in our lives, since the hatch arrived in full force a day late. Reports around SW Montana on Monday were of good to great caddis hatches and rivers that were largely fishable (water clarity is day to day). The Yellowstone River above the 89 bridge looked good yesterday with a couple feet of visibility, below that the Shields was dumping in mud, as was the Boulder and several other tributaries. Guys pulling boats out at the 89 bridge were all smiles after a day of fishing caddis and drake imitations. Somewhat surprisingly, a quick stop at the the lower Stillwater yesterday afternoon found the river in fantastic shape with plenty of visibility and of course lots of bugs on the water. Hopefully this pre-runoff window of hatches and fishable rivers will stay open just a little longer.

Hunters Welcome

With the ongoing debate over land access, to both private and public lands, it was refreshing to be wanted. Wanted by ranchers who were seeking hunters to help thin out their turkey flocks. While the problem isn't statewide, there are a number of folks in the southeastern part of the state who are tired of having 50-100 birds on their haystacks all winter.
When Ryan Y. had arranged for us to hunt on a few large "spreads", I was a little pessimistic, assuming we would be directed on where to hunt, probably asked to shoot our birds as they entered the farm yard for their nightly feed. While a bird is a bird, I would rather try to lure the bird in with a call and a decoy.
Fortunately, I was dead wrong. We were set loose on a 20,000-acre ranch, with rolling hills and timbered draws. It was definitely turkey country that was made for the foot hunter wanting to cover some ground. Our only limitation this trip was weather. A bird was tagged each of the first two days and the third day was a "snow day". We had three inches of wet snow and we didn't want to rut up the wet, greasy roads, possibly ruining our good relationship with the rancher. Hopefully, we will be welcome again next year.

Passion Afield

I will always be convinced that my father was the best fly fisherman I’ve had the pleasure to share a river with, and he was no slouch when it came to wing shooting either. I have an image in my mind that fly fishing his favorite spots on the Boulder River, in Yellowstone Park, or on the many lakes in the Cooke City country were his one true passion.

But as he aged I found out that fishing was neither his passion in later life nor in his younger years. He just loved to fish and was very, very good at it.

But when you talk about passion and hunting and fishing you have to look no further than the guys at Montana Sporting Journal. This blog space isn’t designed to sing the praises of the magazine nor to build up those who bring it to you. Still, if I’m a fan of something I like to see all sides of it.

Though there are a number of people who make this publication go around, I’m going to single out two of them: advertising director Will Jordan and editor Jay Hanson. When we talk about a passion for hunting and fishing, it goes beyond for these two guys.

They don’t just live the lifestyle of hunters and fishermen, it truly is their passion. These are the guys who work on their elk bugling in the summer, who tie flies all winter, who hunt and fish every possible opportunity that presents itself, and then spend their work weeks promoting a magazine that promotes such passion.

I’ll always think I’m passable as a fisherman and have been privileged to fish many more spots in this great state than most people you’ll come across. I also consider myself a darn good waterfowler.

But I can only tie a few flies, and my goose calling never gets better.

As readers, you can be grateful that Will and Jay are this passionate because it shows you the dedication that they put into every page of the magazine. When you read through each issue or peruse the advertisements, you are taking in a little of the passion that they are sharing with you.

Business & Pleasure

It's about this time of year, when the rivers in MT become increasingly fishable, that my job as a traveling ad salesman takes on a whole new appeal. As the days lengthen and there is daylight both before and after business hours, it's easy to mix business and pleasure. Here's an example of my work/play schedule the past few days...if I'm lucky the lines between the two really blur.

4/11 - Hit the Stillwater River with Bruce Whittenberg, owner of MT Troutfitters in Bozeman and an advertiser in MSJ. We found the river off color with little more than a foot of visibility, but as Bruce said, "It is what it is" and so we fished. We even managed to catch a few trout on a variety of flashy streamers, nymphs and even dries. Some nice BWO and March brown hatches were coming off, but rises were practically non-existent in the stained water.

4/12 - Got up early, packed my fishing gear and business attire and made the drive north to Lewistown where I met up with Jay for an MSJ photo shoot for the Cooper Rifle review in our upcoming issue...what a beautiful and accurate rifle! Big Spring Creek was high and off, but fortunately there is yet another substantial spring creek nearby, this one flowing clean and clear. We both caught a few rainbows on dries amidst some decent hatches. We were both frustrated by a couple of good size rainbows that eluded us.

4/13 - Had a meeting in the morning in Lewistown and then was on my way to Livingston. Midway, at Harlow, I decided to detour west and fish the Mussellshell...it's always intrigued me. The river was very off color, with less than a foot of visibility. For various reasons I stayed and fished anyway. After working my way through my streamer box I finally found the ticket and landed a couple of nice browns. I'll be interested to check out this stretch of river this summer and see how it fares once irrigation outflows begin. After my "lunch break" on the river I was back on the road with a stop in Livingston and then onto Chico Hot Springs. After business was taken care of I fished the last hour of daylight on the Yellowstone below a brilliantly lit Emigrant Peak, there was nowhere I'd rather have been...except maybe soaking in the hot springs back at the historic lodge.

4/14 - Awoke early to find a couple of inches of snow on the lawn outside Chico and steady snowfall. Knowing that I had to negotiate the pass en route to appointments in Bozeman that morning I quickly got dressed and on the road. I had hoped to wet a line briefly in the morning around the mouths of the PV spring creeks and again on the way home that evening on the Boulder, but the winter weather suggested otherwise. It was all about business today.