Maybe my next fishing trip will be an idyllic experience but this last one to the Clark Fork was a bit of a challenge. Tent camping in the Bitterroots in April is no doubt a sketchy situation and being that Dave and I are living the second half of our 40?s it was a stretch. I?m not sure if that was because our bodies are too worn for such shenanigans or because our minds our too wise to see the advantage of a campground over a motel and restaurant at 24 degrees. But the truth is living next to the river for several days can?t be beat and my life will be less when I absolutely can?t do it anymore.

I hoped to have a lot of pictures to share but the weather wasn?t electronics friendly for the first few days so the cameras didn?t come out much. It rained and then it rained hard while we floated out of Tarkio and then it rained until it just had to snow a little (and this was just the first 36 hours). We caught fish that first day and they were very respectable and the hatch of March Browns (locally called Grey Drakes) was impressive, but waking up with wet fishing clothes and Dave?s Sleeping Bags (yes we were doubling up our bags) on day two sent us into town to eat a hot dry meal and find a Laundromat while reassessing how important it was to keep with the plan or head back to E. WA. A little sun peaking out, warm dry clothes a nice breakfast and a second tarp for the camp kitchen buoyed our sprits enough to stay put.

The weather did get progressively better as it is in Murphy?s world of flyfishing the fishing didn?t. We picked up our fair share of fish the rest of the week but ultimately the prize was learning a section of the river well enough to come back and directly access some great water. I?m tiered of driving by the Clark Fork wishing I could stop and add a few hours to my trip but not really knowing where to pull off the interstate?I now have a few good spots for just that. Ultimately we did not find it a better river for boating than wading, even at these higher flows. I?m not so na?ve as to think that is always the case but it did shatter a myth I had developed.

The highlight was certainly Saturday when Bascoe from Westfly and John Mundinger from VFS joined us at breakfast for our final day of fishing. I planned this trip from advice and resources on the Internet and now I was gathering friends together out of cyberspace to share in the experience. I also got to show off my nephew to my geezer fishing buddies as Thomas came down for the day as well. We almost included the mysterious Benjo of bulletin board fame but the nasty weather seemed to keep him away. A local Deputy Sheriff came by the camp a couple times to both garner and share fishing information and even brought us some of his special Skwalla flies; earning him (and his fly) the name Deputy Skwalla. We missed Benjo who opted to fish elsewhere inthe snow.

With enough gear even two middle age guys can camp in the Bitterroots in April...but they'll complain about it.


What a guy my fishing buddy Dave is! Trust me he looks much better when he isn't addressing me with some sardonic observation...or so I'm told since this the expression I'm usually treated to.


Floating away from camp on Friday the weather is improving (naturally since we added a tarp) and we have high hopes for fishing our way down to Superior.



Fine dinning dejour for the trouts of the Clark Fork.



The fish are as big and deep as the river they live in our average fish was probably 16 inches.


(front to back) Thomas (my nephew), Tim (aka Bascoe) and John Mundinger lead the way down from Takio on sunny saturday...great weather and company, lousy fishing.


I'm gonna have a lot of these shots as time goes on, the back seat of the kickboat and truck are Jack's domain and it's a comfort to have him there.

The Deputy Skwalla


One from Dave's camera
I think that's the mouth of Cedar Creek


Have fun
Paul