Syns, Twins and Fins

I took Michael salmon fishing for a couple hours today and the fishing was slow for us. While back trolling I noticed fish busting bait on the other side of the river. We motored slowly over there and Michael cast his Zara Spook into the area “walked the dog” and WHAM! a 6 pound striper jumped on his spook. What a nice consolation for the slow salmon fishing.

It’s been a few weeks since the boys fished. Lots of honey dos and commitments since the Montana trip but this week we were able to go camping with Mom (Melanie) and Emma included.

What a treat it was to have them along. The trailer was like a little doll house for Emma and she did not want to leave it!

The boys fished a few areas with limited success. They really wanted to catch brook trout and the reports have been heavy plants in Upper Hat Creek. We tried for one morning with no brookies. Small rainbows were caught but that was it.

That evening we fished the local pond at the RV Park and it was a bust there too. We did not see many fish in there and the ones we did see were small. The next morning we fished Hat 2 Powerhouse. Great fun for small fish on dries. Noontime took us to Burney Falls. Melanie and Emma took the 1.3 mile hike down to the falls and back around and the boys fished Burney Creek. I told them that they were not going to get anything because it was midday and it was hot and many people fished it earlier. That was not enough to deter them. After about an hour fishing the creek they came up the path with a nice rainbow! Wow, I was shocked. Leave it to them to get one out of a heavily fished area midday. That evening Matthew and I fished Bidwell Ponds. We arrived after 8pm and it was already getting a little dark. The fish were rising very steadily near the inlet. I tied on a #20 BWO and hooked a fish on the second cast. I gave Matthew the rod and he stuck  5 out of 6 fish before dark! That was a great evening. The next morning Michael joined us back at Bidwell but the fish were not feeding as well. Michael did manage to get a big fish on a #20 micro mayfly but after a long fish on 6X the fish shot through the tunnel and broke him off. Michael was not very happy. On the way out we fished Pond 4 for warm water fish with bait and they got their fill of bluegills and small bass.

It was a short camping trip but it was lots of fun. Can’t wait to go again!

Let me first state that this trip was as good as it gets as far as fishing trips with the boys. Po Po was incredibly gracious for inviting us to fish with him on his “home waters” of south western Montana. This was the boys first trip to Montana and the Big Sky state did not disappoint.

On day 1 we fished the Big Hole and it was slow day overall with smaller fish in the 8 to 13 inch range on golden stone dry flies. More whitefish were caught than trout. Day 2  we decided to take it easy and drove to Virginia City for some site seeing and gold panning. The boys had a wonderful time there and insisted all week in going back. Day 3 and 4 took us to the Ruby River. What a spectacular small trout stream. It was loaded with very hungry brown trout and even one cutthroat. We fished small nymphs and threw PMD’s to the occasional riser. Day 5 we floated the Beaverhead below the dam and it was a terrific float. The guide said we would only land 20% of the fish hooked but the boys managed significantly better than that. The fish in that river were big and powerful especially in that fast current. Because the boys fished 3 and 4 weight rods, very few fish were broken off and not many if any hooks were straightened. Day 6 found us on Wheat’s Ranch. The lake was fishing very slow but the Beaverhead side channel was putting out some great dry fly fishing. Matthew did land a 27 inch fish on the lake and Po Po landed a 23 inch brown in the side channel on a dry fly. Two great catches! Day 7 we took a hike to Agnes Lake for graylings. The hike consisted of 1.8 miles of steep uphill grade and it took just about everything we had in our lungs and leg muscles to make it to the lake! We were told it was a short hike (under a mile) to the lake but I think they were high on some fermented huckleberries. It took us an hour and 15 minutes to reach the lake and it was ALL uphill! Once there the lake was beautiful and teeming with willing graylings. The boys caught fish after fish on dries and it was one of the highlights of the trip. During the week we fished Poindexter Slough 4 or 5 evenings. The fishing was actually pretty good there. The boys caught more than their share of fish on small CDC PMD’s with 15 foot leaders and 6X tippet.

Although I brought 3 rods of mine with me, I never even strung one up. I fished a total of maybe and hour or 2 during the entire 7 days in MT. Po Po fished very little too and we both agree that it was either the best or one of the best trips we have ever had. Watching the boys fly cast and catch fish after fish was truly a pleasure to watch. I will remember this trip for a long time. Thanks big time to Po Po, he made it happen!