Of Mice and Men

It's something that I've wanted to experience for a while...the rush of hearing your fly being crushed by a large predatory trout, in complete darkness. Little did I know such an event would be so hard to create.

Fly fishing with mouse patterns turned out to be a tough gig. Last night around midnight, Cody, Garret, Chris, Riley and I (yes, that many people), all headed out in hopes of enticing a large brown trout to crush a mouse pattern. All of us had never done the midnight mouse thing, and we were excited just to experience throwing big flies in pitch darkness. We had done some research and talked to some people who are practically pros on the topic. The only thing left to do was try and put it all together.

Greeted by the glowing eyes of many deer, we walked our way carefully to the river. Splitting up was a must. Cody, Garret and I all went downstream, while Chris and Riley started fishing from the top. Even with friends, the darkness was a little creepy. The eeriness began to set in as we turned off our headlamps and began to fish. We ignored the sounds of deer running through the bushes as we fished for a trophy brown.

About an hour into fishing, it happened... I heard the splash of a fish taking my fly. I set the hook only to miss, and re-casted. I heard another splash of a fish but missed again. Then, nothing. It was quite the moment, to hear something hit your fly and not know what it was or how big it was. Could it have been the huge brown I was after? The world will never know.

Fishing in the dark was a whole different world. Despite not being able to see, it felt like I was casting a lot smoother than in the daytime. Eventually as you get used to not seeing where your fly lands, you develop a sort of sixth sense of how much line to cast with and the placement of your fly. It was a very cool experience. A while later we met up with Chris and Riley, just as Chris hooked up with a fish which turned out to be a large pike minnow instead of a brown trout. Still a very cool catch.

Chris with his pikeminnow (Photo by Riley)

The temps were getting colder so we decided to head back. Besides, it was approaching 4 o'clock in the morning. A lot more can be learned about this night fishing deal. I'd like to say that last night I learned a lot, but I know I haven't learned anything until I actually catch some fish. This surely wont be the last time we are out fishing in the middle of the night.

No sleep tonight

Tonight is gonna be a late night....

Big Changes

I have never been in Montana for a full year to see the changes that go on after each springs high water. This morning I really got a sense of how much things changed since last year, when Chris and I fished a section of the Clark Fork that we haven't fished for a long time.

New braids, new pools, new runs...you name it. The river was totally different. Fishing this morning was very enjoyable, simply because it was like fishing a whole new stretch of river. There was a nice hatch of tricos throughout the section and I found a few pods of fish to throw at. Most of the fish I found were small and readily took trico, BWO and midge patterns.

Towards the end of fishing, Chris and I found some nice slow water with plenty of feeding fish. They were pretty easy but there were no large fish that we saw.

Chris hooked up

Dry fly fishing seems to be picking up lately, especially when there's good cloud cover. Shouldn't be too long until mahoganies and Baetis start to show up in numbers on the Bitterroot. 

Bitterroot Pike

This spring I found myself chasing a species that Montana isn't known for; Northern Pike. I had seen many videos and heard many stories about how big these non native fish get in the lower 'root and Clark Fork. However, my efforts this spring did not pay off.

Chris managed to land a very nice pike a few weeks ago and today we decided to go for some pike again. We found some still water on the Bitterroot and spotted a nice fish. It didn't take long before one of the several fish in the area smashed my fly and put up a few drag screaming runs. It was my first pike in Montana.

A little later, Chris hooked into a nice fish that tied him up in some logs. Unfortunately he couldn't get the fish out. We tried at some more lazy pike but they wouldn't play. It was very fun to be able to target these fish in Montana. It makes me miss the pike fishing back home in upstate NY.

Chris working hard to entice a feisty pike

Classes are pretty much in full swing now. I think the Cell and Molecular biology pre-exam we took today scared us for the lectures that are to come later in the year. Hopefully getting out on the water will keep us sane. The weekend is looking beautiful with a lot of sun and temps in the low to mid 80's.

***The Pike is now eagle food, saving at least 100 trout per day***

BC Paradise

On Thursday afternoon, Cody, Trevor, Garret and I embarked on what we hoped would be one of the best fishing trips of the year. Our destination was British Columbia. We had no trouble crossing the border and we arrived in the town of Fernie after dark.

Fernie is a very cool town and mostly known for its skiing and snowboarding opportunities on the slopes that surround it. Despite being a paradise for the winter sports enthusiast, the Fernie area also provides some absolutely amazing fly fishing for big cutthroats and big bull trout.

On Friday morning we decided to split up. Cody and I headed off to a small creek while Garret and Trevor floated the Elk River. Cody and I experienced some amazing dry fly fishing, with the average cutty being about 14 inches. Garret and Trevor had an awesome day as well.

Trevor with a colored up cutt from the Elk

On Friday night we found a place to camp, just as our friend Ben arrived with Trevor's car and drift boat. Our camping spot looked like an armada of cars, boats, and gear...

Too much gear.

What a great view to wake up to

On day two we all floated the Elk River. Streamer fishing proved to be really productive, even more so than dries because of the high winds. We experienced some huge chases from some big bull trout, including one that tried to attack a smaller bully that I had hooked in the first run of the day. Even though none of us caught a huge bull trout, we all had a great day and landed plenty of cutties. The Elk was a beautiful River and I could probably say that it's one of the most scenic rivers I've ever fished.

Trevor and Ben, both at work

Garret's cutty

A small bully for the Elk

Another nice cutt by Garret

On day three we decided to go for more of a wilderness experience into bear country. After driving on some forest service roads for a while, we finally reached the edge of a deep canyon. The river below is well known for its huge bull trout.

Because we didn't know much about how good the cutthroat fishery was in the river, we were all in bull trout mode with our 7wts, full sinking lines, and huge articulated streamers. Ben was the only person (smart person), to bring his dry fly rod. 

After bushwhacking our way down the steep slopes of the canyon, we finally set our eyes on the river. We decided to split up for most of the day and as the morning went on and we found that the bullies were not very active, it became more of a relaxed day on the water. I'm pretty sure all of us took a nap at some point.

Garret ended up landing a nice 20 inch bully, but Ben was the man of the day because he saw consistent action on dries, especially when some big drakes started coming off and the fish went nuts. 

Garret with a colored up bully (photo by Ben)

Ben with a nice Cutty (photo by Garret)

The greatest part of the day was when Garret and I stumbled upon a pool that looked like it belonged in a different world. Deep blue-green water that seemed to be clearer than glass. We began fishing the tail end of the pool when Garret told me to walk over to him. He pointed at a dark orange streak and as we watched it sway in the current, we were overcome with excitement. It was a huge bull trout.

With the sun high and the warmer water temps, the bull trout wouldn't eat a thing. We hiked up on the ledge above and looked down on the beast, as well as several other bullies that were easily over 30 inches. It was an amazing thing to see.

The big guy

We eventually found Trevor and Cody, who had done quite a bit of hiking. They hadn't landed any bullies either but still had a great day. The river was in my opinion, even more beautiful than the Elk, which only made the trip better, even though I didn't land a single fish on the day.

On our final day, we decided to fish a small creek again. The temps were a little bit cooler and we didn't get into as many fish as our first day. Cody did manage to land a very decent cutthroat.

One of the finest cutt's on the trip

Smaller fish did exist

It was tough to say goodbye to such a prestigious landscape and great fishing, but in the end we had to. It was an amazing trip and I think we all feel that it will be difficult to top this one. Maybe the only way to top it is to return in the future, which I'm certain we will. Thanks to the Elk River Guiding Company for all the helpful information. Until next time...Later BC!

On the road to nowhere