| from Deanna Travis September 28, 2009 |
Bits and pieces from our September fishing
My husband Trav and I fished DePuy’s Spring Creek the other morning. Just
on the brink of fall, a beautiful blue sky morning. We had some concern about
lack of hatches as it was a very bright sunny morning, but as we drove across
the creek we were greeted by literally thousands of tiny midges, clouds of
them hovering over the creek. Might not be what we had hoped for, but we sure
had insects. Would have preferred mayflies, but we’ll take what we’ve got.
We fished the lower end of the creek, the gate was locked to keep cattle out,
and so we geared up and climbed the gate, (legally). We hadn’t gone very far
on the path to the creek when we found large, larger, and very large piles
of bear scat. No hiker bells, but lots, really lots of choke cherry pits,
and there were broken limbs on all the choke cherry trees. Somewhere, I bet,
there was a big boar bear with a really big tummy ache. We didn’t come across
the bear; he was probably deep in the brush holed up for the day.
Choke Cherries Anyone?
Once in the creek Trav fished the left side and I fished the right. The creek
is plenty wide enough there for both of us to fish with lots of room left
over. We fished upstream, watching for the flat ahead to show activity. Sure
enough, just as Trav had predicted, we counted eight nice noses, mostly browns,
poking through the surface. They were busy sucking up something; probably
midges since there were at least a million of them.
The Ladyfisher on DePuy Spring Creek
This section of the stream has long weed strands undulating in the current
with plenty of cover and hiding places for fish. Most of the fish we saw that
morning were nice brown trout. The original browns in this region of Montana
were imported from Scotland not Germany. The Scottish browns were known for
feeding/rising during the day, unlike the German browns which mostly fed at
night.
As we watched the trout feed ahead of us I was startled by the sound of brush
breaking on the bank next to me. Was it the bear maybe? Nope, just a young
deer nibbling leaves a few feet from me. It did not spook, it had seen lots
of fisherman in its short life. It followed us for most of the morning.
The last trout fishing I did was last fall at the Idaho Fish-In. The Lochsa
River is rock, huge rocks and very slick. The Selway isn’t as bad, mostly
head-sized rocks. Fishing a spring creek is entirely a different thing. here
are weed beds, the weeds are long, perhaps six feet of entwined masses, floating
but not on the surface so you can’t exactly see where you are wading. I did
use my wading staff, even though the water was not that deep nor was the current
especially heavy current, but I’m just plain unsure of my wading ability.
Trav had a laugh or two, but I didn’t fall in (not that it would have been
a disaster, as my dad use to say, “It’s summer time, she’ll dry.”)
We also shared our fishing with a very determined Osprey. It was fishing a
bend above us, but each time it flew over us the fish disappeared. Eventually
they came back, but it was plain to see the effect. The Osprey did catch its
lunch on our water and after a few passes over us it disappeared.
I had one trout on briefly, and missed several. My timing sure isn’t what
it was. Need to fish more. Trav caught one nice brown for his efforts.
A couple day’s later friend asked Trav if he had noticed the numbers of fish
which are ‘window shopping.’ Not taking well presented flies, in fact beyond
selective. Perhaps it’s because of high water levels in streams and more insects
being available? The fish certainly are fat and not feeding as aggressively.
Another angling trip took us to Yellowstone National Park: Trav’s nephew Tom
(although I’ve called him Tommy for years, and it’s hard to break that habit)
made plans for a day in the Park. Tom is a well-known local guide and outfitter
and yes busmen do take a holiday. We stopped at a local fly shop to get our
license to fish the park. We all remember when it was free, but it now costs
$15 for a 3-Day Special Use Permit. Note the back of the Permit shows the
difference between the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and the Rainbow. Cutthroats
are a native species, and are fully protected by the Park’s catch-and-release
regulations.
Tom his also known as a fine tyer has created many patterns for Orvis and
is an invited guest at the British Fly Faire and others. It was rather an
honor to have him pick out the flies we would be using. I got to tease him
a bit when he gave me a Chernobyl Ant. Good grief. It sure brought the cutts
up.
Yellowstone is always impressive. The late JC, my daughter Lisa and I spent
three months in the Park one summer. He wrote and I painted. e fished a lot
of different places, but did not come close to fishing everything in the Park.
Is it big? You bet.
Driving in the antelope are plentiful – both in Park County and the Park itself.
You can see a variety of wildlife on any given day, this day it was bison
day. We were headed for the Lamar Valley, famous for its open range and big
buffalo herds. The valley is so immense that the buffalo appeared just like
dots in the distance, but trust me when I say they are much bigger standing
next to your car.
There are still lots of folks in the park, but most of them are there either
to see or photograph the animals. A car with a disabled license plate stopped,
the driver asking what the animals in the distance were. When Tom told the
gentleman they were buffalo, he thanked Tom and said, “I’ve already got tons
of images of those,” and drove off.
Although there are deep runs, both Soda Butte and the Lamar River are rather
shallow. They move right along, but the areas we fished are either small stone
or sand with some larger – bowling ball sized rocks. Fortunately they were
not as slick as are many of the western streams, so one isn’t in fear of their
life when wading. Some places wading really isn’t need at all. That’s a nice
break.
Soda Butte – Yellowstone National Park
Tom had guided some folks on these rivers the previous week and Soda Butte
had fished very well. They hit a good afternoon drake hatches, but on this
day Trav saw a couple, I saw one. Everything was midges.
The Ladyfisher on Soda Butte
Yellowstone Cutthroat taken on a #16 Ginger Ant
We had a picnic lunch and then fished the Lamar in the afternoon. A herd of
buffalo shared the plain with us, but they soon wandered off. I stood on one
riffle and if I didn’t look directly behind me, I could not see anything resembling
civilization. One feels very insignificant because of the immenseness of it
all.
Tom Travis on Soda Butte
Trav spent the end of the afternoon with me on the Lamar, ‘guiding’ me. He
helped me to see the fly (Chernobyl Ant), and with fly placement. Frankly
I should have landed fish, since the fly brought them up (Yellowstone Cutthroat)
but I just plain missed them. I got to see them, but catching would have been
nice. Just need to work at it.
I do want to comment, we walk every day, at least a mile, sometimes much more,
but taking a hike at 6,500 feet is considerably different than doing so at
even 4,500. (much less at lower elevations.) Trav lent me his waist-high waders,
and I wore light-weight fishing pants, a light shirt and vest. When we quit
late afternoon, I was wringing wet from the waist down. Actually I was a bit
chilled on the drive home before I dried out.
We hope to get in another bit of fishing before we have to pack up and leave
for Washington, but the handwriting is on the wall, well it’s on the tops
of the mountains in Paradise Valley south of town. The first snow hit September
21st. The first frost in Livingston occurred on September 22nd, with a skim
of ice in the bird bath. Time to get the ducks lined up before snow is on
the ground here.
The first snows of winter
Stay tuned for more insight from Montana.
Originally published September 28, 2009 on Fly Anglers Online by Deanna Travis.