The weather around here is starting to cool down. But this afternoon, it was pretty hot on the Bitterroot.
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Fished a PSC for one sweep down this run, and followed with a second, rather fast trip down it with a brown over yellow Double Bunny.
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Things started happening pretty quickly as I landed two smaller rainbows in a matter of minutes. A short time later, I picked up this bow.
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This pic was taken at 15:36.
After a couple hits and two fish that hooked up and fought very well before taking their long distance release, this brown ate the PSC and came in for a photo op.
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This pic was taken at 15:45.
Rounded out a Bitterroot Triple with a cutthroat that ate the Double Bunny.
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This pic was taken at 16:08.
The cutthroat was the last fish on for the day. I had a couple pretty solid hits on the Double Bunny before hooking up with the cutt.
That’s the most action on the Bitterroot on streamers I’ve had since I started fishing it just over a year ago. Five in hand, two on and off, and several hits all in under an hour. One of the two LDRs was most likely a brown a bit smaller than the one landed, and the other LDR was probably a cutthroat about the same size as the one shown.
And here I was thinking that with the colder weather setting in it would slow down:confused:
Nice to see you back over here on the reports board John! Great pics. Glad someone is getting out lately. Looks like you pulled off a quick triple play! Gotta love the variety of fishes in the stream.
Beautiful fish, John, guess you figured out the Bitterroot. Do you know if that park at the junction of the east and west fork has ever reopened? I’ve never fished streamers before, because I thought they had to be these one pound things that would break my shoulder in 2 casts, but because of your PSC, I tied some and really did enjoy fishing them just like a nymph, only with a little more weight - did good! Now I’ll have to try double bunnnies. What size hooks do you use for your PSC and DBs?
… when you are having fun. Hard to believe it has been five months since I last posted a fishing report. But I did fish a LOT over the summer, mostly in Idaho, and I did have a lot of fun.
The Bitterroot in the stretch I was fishing could also give up cuttbows, mountain whitefish, and pike minnows to a PSC. Catching all those along with a bow / brown / cutt triple during one outing would be something worth reporting !!
I think that park I’m thinking of is on the east side, called a fishermen’s park - there was a fishing access there, but closed when we were there. The Thunder Creek is something that I’ve heard of quite a bit, gotta look into that. Should be cooling off pretty soon, we are having unseasonably warm weather due to the “La Nina”. Hope that doesn’t translate into drought again.
… what with the snow and all. No flowers down by the Bitterroot these days.
Fished this spot a couple days ago using one of my Tenkara rods. Hooked up with a little rainbow - must have hit him head on just about the time he opened his mouth - that took a small soft hackled chartruese brassie trailed off a Griffith Gnat.
The best part of it was that that makes 95 out of the last 96 months that I have caught trouts. When we had that cold snap last week I was wondering if there would be open water to get on in December. Right now there is quite a bit of water to fish, but the fishing is, understandably, very slow.
Fished to some rising fishies this afternoon on the Bitterroot. Caught this little guy on a size 18 Griffith Gnat.
Had a smaller fish, a Pike Minnow, I think, take the fly but he went bye-bye before I got him in. Would have liked to get a picture of one of those caught on a dry.
John
P.S. Things are pretty slow around here. But this completes the year with a trout caught on a dry fly every month but February.
Regarding Pike Minnows and dry flies - I ran into a pod of them rising on the Bitterroot this summer and treated half a dozen or so to a quick ride on an FEB Hopper. They were all decent sized fish, they hit the fly with gusto, really splashy takes, and their first run was quite impressive. But they give it up pretty quickly, even the bigger ones.
But, gosh, they do make me miss fishing in SE Idaho.
