High altitude flies and fishing
It's August. The water levels here in Montana are at record highs for this time of year. Which is good. But it doesn't seem to have changed fish habits much, if at all. Lower down on the water sheds--in drift boat country on the state's bigger rivers--the fish seem to be feeding early and late, with not much beyond slow to mediocre fishing in between.
But at high altitude all bets are off. For the higher lakes, alder choked meadows (mosquito condominiums) and pocket water streams, the fishing seems to last all day long. The fish aren't big. But they sure are a lot of fun. I'd forgotten how much fun high altitude fishing is. There's a certain innocence there too, to catching eager fish that have no hooking scars. And even to wacking a few over-populated brookies for the frying pan.
High altitude fish will bite almost anything, including cigarette butts (or so I've heard). But caddis imitations do seem to work best of all for dry flies, and any generic soft-hackle for a wet fly. You can leave your waders and vest at home. All you need is a lanyard, a fishing rod and a single box of flies. And some good bug repellent.
Reply With Quote