Spring Break Mo Madness

On Saturday we headed off to the Mo for spring break. Not the usual college style of partying. For the next few days we aimed to live like hobos and fish all that we could. And that is exactly what we did.

We arrived to the prestigious Mo on Saturday afternoon and went out to fish a few hours. The streamer fishing was alright but the fish were picky for dries. I managed a decent sized bow and 2 other smaller fish.

On Sunday we woke early to fish. Chris and I headed to one of our favorite runs on the river. We were not disappointed. It was a crazy hour and a half of fishing. I streamer fished and landed close to 20 on black streamers. The fishing was unbelievable.

Fighting

Monday we floated. The Trout Shop was super generous and let us borrow a brand new clackacraft for the day! The fishing was unusually slow but we still had a great time. Having the drift boat for the day was a luxury.
Tuesday the fishing was back to being great. Cody and I headed out early and found a pretty awesome little run that produced some nice fish, including my nicest Bow of the trip.

Melch with a nice bow

It was a great afternoon to fish due to the fact that there was literally NO WIND. That's right.......no wind. Such a rare afternoon and evening for the Mo could not be passed up. We fished all afternoon and then went back out later to fish the evening.

Chris Choosing wisely

Paradise

Walking back through the fields of the Mo while the sun went down, I realized that I would rather be fishing than doing anything else in the world. I felt as though I was in paradise and for me it was. The fishing had been tough that evening, the trout being picky. I only managed one fish but I was still happy as one can be. I returned to find Chris and Cody still chasing some picky rising fish. Chris had missed a big fish and Cody had found a pattern that the fish really seemed to key in on.

Wednesday, we decided, would be our last day on the Mo. We were tired, hungry and were now running out of food. We definitely needed to get back to Missoula to recharge.

My Home

We all woke early to calm winds. We headed out for our last few hours of fishing. I went it alone while Cody and Chris fished a section downstream of where I was. The fishing was good, as expected.

How now brown trout

Despite fishing our asses off for 5 days, we had plenty of time to act stupid.....

"I like fish slime"

"I'm so cool because I wear a Buff"

"There's a midge on my apple"

It was a spring break to be remembered! Operation MOBITE was a huge success. The weather was beautiful and the fishing was awesome. A big thanks to the Mike, Jerry and Chris at The Trout Shop for letting us take out the Clacka. If you are ever fishing the Mo, be sure to stop by at The Trout Shop. These guys are some of the nicest guys I've met and run a beautiful shop. I'd also like to thank Cody and Chris for being such awesome friends. I couldn't of asked for a better spring break!

It was tough to say goodbye to the Mo but we are now living a healthy lifestyle back in Missoula (for now). Today is a chill day and we are all relaxing and recovering from the trip. The effects of the trip are shown on our faces as I ate breakfast with Chris and Cody this morning. We look like zombies. The next few days we will be fishing again. Stay tuned for more reports.