FISHING MONTANA
Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh maaaaaaaaan, my arms are soooooooo sore. I had to drive all the way to Helena yesterday for a seminar, and then I was FORCED to fish on the way home.
I almost got lost finding the first place, it was really scary, but I got there without too much trouble. The scary part was driving on a rather intimidating one lane dirt road that skirted the edge of a breathtakingly beautiful mountain lake (Hauser Lake on the Missouri River). There was no guardrail to keep me safe. I mean my life hung on the edge of a cheap set of 4-wheel drive tires on several occasions. As much as I hate to say it, I don't think I'm going to risk taking any of you there should you come up here; the road is just too dangerous!
The fishing however, well now, it was something else almost enough to keep me from thinking about the drive back. On my third drift with a pink scud I hooked, fought, and then landed a monster of a rainbow trout. Thinking about it now, it could be the biggest one I've ever caught. In fact, it was so big; I had to grab it by the tail. There wasn't anyone around me to take a picture, and I had no way to set the camera up for a self-portrait, so I snapped a picture of the fish hanging in my hand. The camera must have been angled a bit more than I thought because the picture didn't do the fish much justice, but I think you'll get the idea of how big it was. I caught 2 more fish from that spot before moving downstream to try a few more spots, but I didn't bother to take any more pictures. They were really nice fish too, but not quite as big as the first.
After that....ooooooooooh that drive. I had to drive back the way I came. If it wasn't for that terrifying drive, the scenery would have been spectacular. I managed to make it safely back to the main road, and then to Craig, where the roads along the river are much safer. After checking in at the Headhunters shop to get permission to fish the River (they don't take kindly to foreigners around there), I got some semi-trustworthy information on where to try fishing. I think they still look at me with baited breath because it's only my second time there, so although I'm not a "foreigner," there's still some suspicion. Anyway, I don't want to bore you with semantics...fishing...oh, yes...the first spot I stopped at was not what I was looking for. The lady at the shop said that there should be some good dry fly fishing in and around the "islands." Riiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhtttttttt! I want to know just how she thought I was supposed to get to the "islands?" I think she was trying to drown me, because there was noooooo way I was going to be able to wade across the Missouri to get to those "islands." I contemplated it with the promise of "good dry fly fishing," but after watching a goose almost drown, I decided against it.
I drove upstream for a few miles until I got to the Wolf Creek Bridge. The water there is a little bit slower and shallow compared to where that lady at the shop wanted me to cross! There were two guys, who as it turned out were from Canada, Matt, and the inventor of the "Evil Weevil" fly, Jeremy. What a hoot fishing with them. The sarcasm was almost as deep and cold as the water!
This year, the midge hatch on the Missouri is, what some have termed, maybe the best anyone has ever seen, so on went a size 20 Griffiths Gnat, and I started wading out with my 4wt to see if I could entice any of the rising trout. My two new friends stayed on shore to watch me and drink beer or maybe it was the other way around. There was a small trout that turned out to be a very nice 19 or 25 inch brown trout rising to midge clusters. It seemed to like my fly enough to eat it. You should have seen how quickly rods were readied and the inventor of the "Evil Weevil" was so fast that he was in the water and next to me to net my fish before I even had it ready to land! The inventor of the "Evil Weevil" also took a few pictures after he helped me net it which was very nice of him.
It was then time for the "Mikey Project." As promised, I used it for the first time on a Corona, while standing in the Missouri River, and then I poured a little into the water so that Bob and Donald could each share a sip when it gets down their way (Kansas City) in a week or two. It worked perfectly guys. Thank you soooooooo much.
The "Mikey Project" is a bottle opener made from a Pronghorn Antelope horn that Bob and Donald made me.
We all caught a few fish after that. It was good fun, and I left there with a couple of great memories and two new friends like the ones only fly fishing can bring you. I have an open invite to come and fish around Calgary, an invite I am sure to make good!
I suppose, I should probably cut this short before I get too long winded. Danelle and I are going to go and suffer through another day of trout fishing in the Mountains. We're going to picnic too, man; I can't believe how tough it is out here.