Thats right boys and girls, I’m on spring break. Which means it’s time to go fishing. We have a loose plan at this point, we’re going to start on the Missouri for a few days…after that who knows? Sounds like a damn good plan to me.
I rang in spring break with an afternoon float down the Bitterroot. Our new buddy Trevor generously offered to row us down river…who would turn down that offer? Fishing was pretty good. Weather was warm. Some fish on top. My kinda day.
Garret with a nice 'bow right off the bat.
I think trout eat these?
Going for it. Trevor is a badass.
Not a bad way to start the break. Lots more fishing to come.
My buddy DJ flew in from Southern California late last week. He wanted to see what we do out here in Montana. So I gave him a tour of some of Montana’s finest water…on both sides of the divide.
East Side:
We headed out to the missouri bright and early saturday morning. I stopped at The Trout Shop for my interview…GOT IT! After the interview they hooked us up with a brand new Clackacraft to play with for the day. Off we went.
Riding in style.
The day started out a little slow…and I guess it was a little cold for the Californian…
Despite the frustration, it wasn’t to long until Dj found his first Missouri Brownie.
Streamers. Check.
It wasn’t long until the midges showed up…and so did the fish. Dry fly fishing was good.
Dry fly success.
The day proved to be slow, but Dj got to sample the Missouri’s trout fish and a little bit of montana.
Pretty lame view
West Side:
The next day we headed over to Rock Creek for the day. It was awesome to fish some smaller water and spend a little time rock hopping.
It wasn’t long before we got into fish. Lots of fish.
Nothing huge, but there were a few surprises.
Rock Creek Bully.
That was the highlight of my day. My first Bull Trout in Montana!
Chris getting it done.
I had a great weekend fishing and sharing some of Montana’s finest water with a great friend.
The problem being I cant stay the whole weekend. We’re heading up bright and early tomorrow morning for a float on the Missouri. Rumors of apex predators hunting for streamers and even a few fish eating on top. Hot diggity.
The main reason for the trip is a job interview at a Craig, MT flyshop. With any luck i’ll be spending my summer in the bustling metropolitan that is Craig. Wish me luck!
This past weekend was spent basking in the sun at the mighty Missouri. Garret and I hauled ass up to Craig friday afternoon in hopes of some evening dry fly fishing.
Every trip begins at headhunters…
The door is always open...
After checking in at the shop we made our way down to the river to find streamer hungry fish and even a few fish sampling midges on the surface. Not a bad way to start the trip…
Garret's third cast yielded this...
Hatchery fish...a finless friend.
Just as everyday starts at headhunters, everyday ends at headhunters. The afternoon porch scene at headhunters is the best in town. I find myself drawn to that porch every afternoon, sometimes I even learn a thing or two. Of course, the cooler on the porch might have something to do with it as well. The porch always seems to be my favorite part of the Mo’, it is apart of what makes our trips to the Missouri so special…otherwise they’re just fishing trips.
John holding court.
We couldn’t have picked a better weekend to camp. The weather was gorgeous.
Moonrise.
The next morning we were greeted by warm temps and calm winds. Time to go fishing.
Ready.
The streamer fishing was great. The midges however, did not show up.
Just another day on the Missouri.
I apologize for the lack of words in this post, in addition to fish I caught a pretty nasty cold this trip…so the motivation to get this post out has been pretty low. I think the pictures tell the story pretty well, which reminds me…a big thanks to my homie Garret for helping with the pics this trip.
Plans to fish the Missouri this last weekend fell through for a number of reasons, so it was another weekend on the ‘Root. Tough life, but someone’s gotta do it.
Much of our time was spent exploring new water and fishing with new people. The weather was amazing with temps going above the sixty degree mark. You would have been crazy not to fish this weekend.
Saturday was spent high on the river, near Darby, in search of Cutthroat. We found success throughout the day, but Undie seemed to have an affinity for a different kind of fish…
Which one is the sucker?
After a half dozen suckers, we finally found some Cutthroat.
We even found some gold…
Bitterroot Gold
Topped the day off with some dry fly fishing…
Video by Undie and his amazing GoPro Skillz.
On sunday Undie and I met up with Bob, Â a new fishing buddy we met on our last Missouri adventure, we headed down to a new section of river to do a bit of exploring. The weather was incredible, but the fishing was pretty slow…at least the trout fishing. The Whitefish fishing was epic.
Bob doin his thing.
Bob seemed to have the river dialed for most of the morning, while Undie and myself just scraped by. We finally found some fish in the last few runs of the day. Undie was killing it with streamers and I dredged up a few nymphing.
Undie hooked up
See ya!
This was probably one of the best weekends i’ve had all winter. Good fishing. Great company. Amazing weather. Just another weekend in Montana.
I’ve been fishing mostly around town this week, mainly in an effort to save time and money. It’s been pretty cold but we’ve been able to scrape up a few finned friends here and there.
The local.
I’ve been fishing a lot. Tying…not so much. I finally took the time to stock up on some of the essentials. Before class. After class. During class?
Trout crack.
Forecast is good. Looking like a Mo’ kinda weekend.
A cool video on California’s Yuba River Skwala hatch by guide Anthony Carruesco.
I definitely have a soft spot for the Yuba. It’s my home river, and I learned just about everything I know there…thats not saying all that much. The Yuba is an amazing fishery, after bouts with very high water it continues to crank out bugs and big trout. The Yuba River Skwala hatch is by far my favorite hatch to fish…who am I kidding, any time bugs are flying I am a happy camper. But, the Skwala is the first big bug of the year, and the first big meal of the year for fish. The fish seem to get pretty goofy when these little buggers cruise the banks, making the tough life of a Yuba River trout fisherman just a little bit easier.
While I was not able to fish the Skwalas on the Yuba this year, there is a river nearby that hosts one of the most prolific hatches in the country. The Bitterroot. From what i’ve heard the Yuba hatch doesn’t hold a candle to the hatch on the ‘Root. To say the least, I’m a little excited. Pray for warm weather so these little guys can HATCH.
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the Bitterroot…mostly the hate variety. I’m not sure why, I just haven’t been all that amazed. My first few trips left me convinced there were more whitefish than dinky trout. I’ve been fishing the ‘Root a lot more in the past month, slowly figuring out some of the different accesses, and growing to love it.
It’s not that there aren’t any fish, it’s just that the Bitterroot doesn’t give it up as easily as the Blackfoot, Rock Creek, or even the Missouri.
With the only clear water in town, the Bitterroot was the only real option for my birthday fishing trip. Undie and I headed out bright and early to meet up with Anthony over at FCFT. We also met up with Ivan from Yukon Goes Fishing for the first time. Fishing was pretty slow. Didn’t really matter, I spent most of the time goofing around with my new camera. I couldn’t ask for a better birthday.
Hooked up
Undie tossing some line.
Leroy Brown
Undie doing what he does best.
Many thanks to my brotha Undie for helping me capture some of these great shots.
OAKFISH 
