Some Time in the Mountains

Fishing Fishing Reports
1

Had a plan this morning. Hike up to Lemhi Divide above Meadow Lake. Then fish Meadow Lake for a while. After that, time permitting, work out the new F.E.B. Hopper on Birch Creek.

The weather altered the plan. As I was approaching the upper end of Birch Creek Valley, the clouds further north were becoming more ominous. With thunderstorms forecast, decided that a hike to the crest of the Lemhi Mountains at over 10,000’ might not be such a great idea.

Okay. Time to pull off to the upper reaches of Birch Creek. Start there, and time permitting, finish up with the hike and fishing the lake.

This is a typical stretch of Birch Creek, with great views of the Lemhi Mountains as a backdrop.

Rigged up with the hopper, walked downstream about half a mile from the truck toward a spot that I knew would hold some trouts. Before I got to the place I had in mind, I came across a little stretch that I just could not not fish.

Got a hit almost as soon as the fly hit the water. Moments later, caught a nice little bow. A couple minutes after that, I got this little brookie.

Fished the original deer hair wing version for about an hour and had all kinds of action with it. Somewhere around fifteen fishies in hand. Fished the CDC wing version for about the same length of time with the same results. This is the deer hair version.

And the CDC wing version.

After fishing the hopper, decided to give Joe’s Foam Back Royal Humpy a go. The humpy matched the hopper patterns for both action and results. Had bunches of fish looking at it as well as eating it, some just bumping it, and a couple that jumped completely out of the water to take it, and missed it !!

By the time I finished up on Birch Creek, I had tallied close to fifty fish in something over three hours of fishing. Usually, I just fish the holes and slots and seams on this creek. Today I fished both the hopper and humpy patterns over fast riffles with good results also.

The weather further north still looked iffy, but decided to take a closer look. By the time I got to Meadow Lake, it looked like rain for sure. But I decided to start the hike and see what happened. About ten minutes up the trail, here comes the forecast thunderstorm. But I still had some time in the trees, and the storm seemed to be moving away from the area I was headed to.

I sat out some of the storm below tree line and then headed up toward the Lemhi Divide. Some of the sights along the way.

And, of course, Meadow Lake as seen from about 600’ higher elevation.

I didn’t complete the hike to the Divide. The weather was just a bit too questionable. No way I was going to get on the ridge when I couldn’t see what was coming.

When I got back down to the lake, I rigged up with a CDC and Elk ( tied with deer hair ) and fished the mouth of the inlet stream. Caught a nice bow with that fly, first time I have ever fished it. A little while later, I took a 13" cutthroat with a Harrop’s Henry’s Fork Caddis at the same spot. Not long after catching the cutthroat, the wind came up really serious. There were three fish at the mouth of the inlet in a little pocket about the size of a serving tray at a fast food joint, and I simply could not get a fly to the area they were holding.

Well, had to revise the plan, but it all worked out great. Today was an incredibly beautiful day in what is one of my 13,000 favorite places - Birch Creek Valley and the Lemhi Range.

John

2

John,

Great report. Awesome pics. It seems whenever you show us pics of your beautiful fishing country, you are the only one out there enjoying the views. The only time I can fish alone like that is mid Fall in parts of the Sierra’s.

3

Brookie…:slight_smile: Nice report, wonderful day it looks and sounds like you had in some very pretty country…:slight_smile:

4

I can only imagine!

5

Nice, John. VEE and I are remembering Birch Creek fondly.

6

Thanks, John. Great report as always. I’ve been hearing some good stuff about Meadow Lake of late, hope I can make it up there this year, but it appears I’ll be getting a new hip within one to two months - really puts a bite into my fishing addiction.

Kelly.

P.S.: I thought you could drive to Meadow Lake?!?

7

John the Lemhi valley is truly a special place. Meadow Lake is one of my favorites. To going through the ghost town, To hiking to the devide then to fishing the lake it is incredible. The views to die for, and uniqe tarrane, its one of a kind. Thanks for the report and all the pics, since im in AK i needed a refresher of the majesty of Idaho. Thanks to you!! :smiley:

8

Hey Guys -

Thanks for the thanks !!

Tyrone -

If I want to fish around other people, there are plenty of well known waters in this neck of the woods where I can do that. Fortunately, there are also plenty of places with great fishing that I can have all to myself. Don’t mean that to sound selfish, but the simple fact is that I like to be on my feet and on the move, and I just like to be able to go where I want without having to dodge other people or cater to their actual or intended movements.

Grubb & crappiecrazy & Ron -

Glad you came along, whether from kinship of the mountains ( Grubb ), imagination ( crappiecrazy ) or fond memories of a special place ( Ron and Vickie ). Stay tuned. I think I will use this report as the start of another continuing thread for my adventures here and in Montana and in Wyoming over the next several months. Reports won’t be as regular as on my previous running threads as I bounce around the Intermountain West and don’t always have access to my computer, but I know you will enjoy a lot of the places I feature.

Kelly & Ryan -

You can drive to Meadow Lake. And the road is in excellent shape this year, much better than the times I’ve been up there in years past. The hike is from the campground, at about elevation 9,000’ to the Lemhi Divide, at something over 10,000’. Good trail all the way, and actually a pretty easy hike.

Going to do it again tomorrow, Ryan. Good weather forecast so there should be no question about making it to the Divide, and maybe a bit higher taking the ridge north or south from the saddle. Should have some pics looking all directions from the crest. West to Sawmill Canyon and the Little Lost River. Can’t wait to feature that river in a future report !!

John

P.S. Kelly - hope all goes well with the hip surgery when it is finally done.

9

John that is some beautiful, area you hike and fish in, I truly enjoy my time in the mountains, they are a place of power and healing…

Hope to see you this August…

10

Amazing photos and and report as always John. I always look forward to your fishing reports. After seeing this one I’ve only got one thing to say , I’ve got to visit your neck of the woods someday.

11

John,

Great report and beautiful pics. Glad to see that new hopper pattern working for you. Montana, Idaho and now Wyoming!!! Good for you. Looking forward to your reports. Have a great time.

Beaver

12

Had a plan this morning. Hike up to Lemhi Divide above Meadow Lake. Then fish Meadow Lake for a while. After that, time permitting, work out the Convertible sent to me by Scottp on Birch Creek. Sound familiar ??

Pretty much followed the plan, except the part about fishing Meadow Lake. Started the hike to the Divide a little after 11:00 and made it to the Divide just after noon. Something over 1,000’ elevation gain in an hour. Not bad for an old guy in lousy shape.

This tree reminded me of a story - about when I was young, fit, and strong ( ahem ). I had camped at Shoshone Campground in the Great Basin National Park in Nevada for a couple nights back in the summer of '97. The second night there was a ferocious windstorm. Really thought some trees were going to crash onto and crush the shell on my pickup.

On the way out the next morning, came upon a tree down across the road. On the other side of the tree was a big black SUV, with a very comely young lady all decked out in designer hiking clothes standing next to it. Watching her big, handsome boyfriend going about moving that tree out of the way. Seems he had cut down a small tree, cut all the branches off it, and was using it as a lever to move the downed tree. He would stick the end of his lever under the downed tree, give a great lunge, and the tree would move a few inches. Quite impressive to see that 6’4" 230 pound fellow working at moving that tree.

Well, I really didn’t want to wait all day to get going. I walked over to where the top end of the tree had fallen diagonally to the far side of the road from the trunk, and asked something like “how heavy is this thing, anyway ?” Bent over, picked up the tree top and backed up a step, and then enough steps to make it to the far side of the road. The tree was pretty heavy, all right, but it was quite simple to pivot it off the lower trunk.

By now, the big dude was glowering at me something fierce. The comely young lady did not at all try to hide her glee. I’ve often wondered at how many cocktail parties the young lady amused her guests with the story of the little old guy who picked up a tree off the road and moved it out of the way. Not to her boyfriend’s liking, for sure !!

Anyway, the weather turned a bit iffy as I headed for the Divide but it never looked like thunder and lightning. Rain or snow, maybe, but nothing serious. Sure enough, I was hiking in some light sleet for a while after I made it to the Divide. But by the time I got back down, it was rain only, and only for a little while. Got some neat views from the Divide and a bit further up along the ridge extending to the north. Did a little ridge walking which is always a delight.

Saw some really beautiful tiny little flowers at about 10,300’ elevation.

And back down the hill, found a nice bench for a rest and a snack.

Hung around Meadow Lake long enough to decide I wasn’t going to try fishing there.

Headed on down to Birch Creek to try out the Convertible fly that Scott had sent. UNBELIEVEABLE. There was a hatch of small mayflies underway when I found the place I wanted to try Scott’s fly. That got the fishies in a feeding frenzy. In less than an hour on a honey hole, I hooked between 25-30 bows and brookies and had that many more looking at the fly, splashing it, jumping over it, missing it.

The next hour was spent fishing several more spots. None like the first one, but cumulatively they gave up another 25 or so fish.

For some more sights from today in the mountains, click on the pic.

John

13

Thanks for the report John. Loved the he-man story. Jim

14

John,

That sure is some pretty country. I am green with envy.

15

I guess 7,200’ elevation qualifies as Mountains.

Drove iinto the Skinner Meadows area from just south of Jackson MT on my way to Missoula this afternoon. Interesting road. From downright nice to downright nasty. Ended up about 18 miles from the pavement in the National Forest.

I had scouted this river through a number of sources. The word is that if you get in the right place on the right day with the right fly you have a shot at the four trouts ( bow, brown, cutt, and brookie ) and grayling. Well, today it was two of the five, and would have been one of five except for the sole cutthroat that fell to Scott’s Convertible along with the 35 or so brookies that ate Joe’s Foam Back Royal Humpy, then the Convertible, and finally the F.E.B. Hopper, in that order of presentation.

Found a nice campsite that was empty and gave good access to a looooonnnng stretch at the lower end of the meadows. Lots of really neat water to explore. Headed downstream first since there were a couple pools, a couple corners, some riffles, a coupe slots, etc.

Didn’t take long before I started getting hits on the humpy as it warmed up to do its thing. Shortly, it started catching fish instead of just attracting them. The downstream presentation probably resulted in fewer hookups than I would have gotten with an upstream presentation. After catching a dozen plus brookies on the humpy, I headed back up past the campsite.

There was a really nice hole just up from where I had started. Decided to give the Convertible a go. WOW. The dozen brookies that took the humpy were all in the 4" to 7" bracket. The first three that hit the Convertible were all in the 9" to 12" bracket. Was it the fly or the hole, which was really pretty deep for such a little creek ( aka River ) ?? The next fishy was the cutthroat. Very different than the cutts I am used to in Idaho. Haven’t seen one with this kind of marking before. Hopefully, the pic will turn out decently to show the very large, dark marking down the lateral line.

Stayed with the Convertible through another hole, a couple corners, and a couple riffles. Not to be outdone, that fly counted another dozen fish, total, in the time I had it on. None of the additional brookies were quite a big as the first three, but most of them were bigger than the ones taken by the humpy.

Came to another nice hole and decided to try the F.E.B. Hopper. First cast got a look and a miss. Second cast - brookie. Third cast - brookie. Fourth cast - brookie. And these three were the big ones in the hole, all going about 9" to 10". Worked on upstream and covered a lot of different kinds of water, and caught fish in most places the hopper was well presented. Not a bunch in any one spot, but one here, one there. About the time I had taken another dozen total fishes with the hopper, I was into a wide open meadow area. Caught a couple very small brookies in some real spring creek water, looked at my watch, decided three dozen fish were enough for the afternoon and that I had some miles to go to get to Missoula, so I wrapped it up.

What a great introduction to the Big Hole. Just a few miles down from its headwater at Skinner Lake ( Reservoir ). Might not have gotten the five varieties that are supposed to be in this water, but the cutt was special for being so different, and while the brookies represented quite a range of sizes, they were uniformly beautiful, with particularly deep coloration.

Next time, and there will be another day in these mountains ( east side of the Beaverhead Range of the Bitterroot Mountains), I think I’ll go all the way to the Lake and start working on downstream. Only about 155 miles before it gets to Twin Bridges.

John

P.S. Took a fair numer of pics. Will put together a slideshow when I get back to Idaho in a week and a half and add it to this post, or maybe a separate post for a number of slideshows that I expect will come out of this trip to Western Montana.

16

John,

Great report, can’t wait to see the pics. Think the cutt might have been a Westslope? Glad to hear the Convertible still has some fish left in it; hope the water around Missoula is kind to you.

Regards,
Scott

17

Great reports John. Looking forward to the photos.

  • Jeff
18

Let’s see. Sapphire Mountains. Rock Creek. Yesterday. ( Pics to come, next week. )

At one of the local fly shops yesterday morning I overheard one of the employees explaining to a pretty young worman - “Caddis, PMDs, yellow sallies, and maybe a few golden stones. Go early or later in the afternoon. The fish pretty much disappear around eleven and don’t get active again until after four.” Good advice for sure. I guess he intended it for the young woman’s boyfriend, too, although he never seemed to notice that customer. He did go on to comment how they had really been doing well on caddis in the evening the past week.

When the opportunity arose, I asked about hoppers. Have only seen a few around and haven’t noticed that they were on the water or that the fish were on them yet.

Well, I wasn’t going to get there before eleven. And I likely wouldn’t stay much after four. And I kind of wanted to try out the hopper and the Convertible on Rock Creek. So get up for the challenge and live with the results.

Started fishing a place that had been very good to me a few weeks ago. The water is lower and the place changed somewhat, but it still looked like pretty good water. Put on the hopper and worked it for a while. One refusal and one hit that didn’t hook up.

Tried a couple other places with about the same results. Saw a couple fish near the fly and saw a couple splashes and that was about it. Finally came to a fairly deep fast riffle. Looked like real good water. Fished over the near edge and the middle of the riffle with nothing happening. Put a long cast across the deeper part of the riffle to where it shallowed up on the far side. Bingo. Nice cutthroat. Caught a couple more using the same approach. Guess I should have been wading on the far side of the creek.

Tried several more places with the hopper. Same kind of water. On the deeper side, riffled, with some pockets. Once in a while a bit of soft water. Here and there, I picked up several more cutthroat. All of them were in the 9" to 12" range. Big enough to see them come to the fly when the depth of the water and the color of the background permitted. Love that sight, for sure.

Got to wondering how the Convertible would do ?? By the time I changed to it, I had tallied seven cutthroat. Not long after I went with the Convertible, I happened along a stretch of water where the creek came right up to the riprap off the side of the road. Fished the softer water near the rock bank switching between upstream and downstream presentations. Picked up two smaller brown trouts in that stretch, one on an upstream presentation and one on a downstream. Had a couple looks out in the deep water, but no takes.

Last spot I fished, a bit after 4:00, I found some softer water surrounded by fast deep riffle that looked promising. After a good number of drifts over that soft water, a beautiful 14" rainbow came up and smashed the fly. Biggest fish of the day, and full of fight. Having hit the triple, I decided to call it a day.

Got to get out to Rock Creek after dinner one of these days soon. I fished an evening caddis hatch there several years ago and know how good it can be. But sometimes it is fun to take on the challenge of the slow part of the day and see what you can do with it. Thought I had a pretty good day yesterday.

John

P,S, Typically, the times I have fished Rock Creek, I just drive along until I spot some water that looks promising and then look for a parking spot. The road, above the paved stretch, is not wide enough for two cars in a lot of places, and while there are a lot of pullouts, there are not a lot of places you can park safely. Sometimes seeing good water and getting to it are two different things, and often involves something of a walk to and from the truck.

19

We went for a ride today just to do some exploring. Since we were headed over Lolo Pass, I stuck the 3 wt and other gear in the truck.

Only got in about an hour of fishing a short stretch of the Lochsa, but much enjoyed it. Saw miles of good looking water with only a handful of people out fishing. Finally came to an irrestistable stretch with no one on it. Fixed that as fast as I could.

Big, deep, slow pool. Deep. Probably ten feet. Crystal clear. Crystal. Absolultely gorgeous setting. I can only hope the pics do it justice when I get the chance to post them next week. Big white water pooring into the top end of the pool. All kinds of submerged, barely submerged, and not completely submerged rocks with tongues of water spilling over them and around them further from the bank and on downstream. Several pockets within easy casting distance over the length of water I fished, maybe a hundred yards. And this is the upper reaches of the river. My recollection, from just driving by it a few years ago, is that it gets better on downstream.

Put on Scott’s Convertiblle. He put on an 11" cutthroat almost immediately. But the fly seemed to be a bit scary to a lot of the fishies in the first pool I fished. Lot of them came up to look at it, laugh at it for all I know, and then swim away. Next pool down, a couple more actually ate it - rainbows, not cutts.

After about half an hour with the Convertible, I switched over to Joe’s Foam Back Royal Humpy. Fished several little pieces of soft water near the bank with it and caught about half a dozen small bows. Threw just downstream behind a big rock and watched a small cutt charge it and eat it. Put it out over some of the faster water and decided that if anything was holding in those places they weren’t going to come up for a size 16 morsel.

Went to the F.E.B. Hopper after trying a caddis pattern for a few minutes. Caught a couple more fish with the hopper and had one really nice fish take a swipe at it but miss it or reject it, whatever.

Nice introduction to a new river. And to think there is something like sixty or sevnty miles of water like that, and better, above the confluence with the Selway ( to form the Clearwater ) !!! The bad news is … Hmmmmm. Don’t think there is any bad news.

John

20

A couple of guys in two of the local fly shops gave this one a pretty good recommendation. I had seen the road yesterday while out scouting west of Missoula but hadn’t gone to take a look at the creek. Asked about it this morning and decided to take a better look.

The creek is pretty enough, and the road is in pretty decent shape. Caught a couple cutts on Scott’s Convertible the first place I fished - a fairly deep, fast riffle. After that it was kind of slow. Moved on upstream looking for places to access the creek. Fished one place with nothing to show for the effort.

Finally got three more cutts in some really nice looking water, with the F.E.B. Hopper. Moved along again, and caught a couple more fishies, one cutt and a rainbow. Turned a bunch of fish at that spot, but only hooked up with the two. Did have the biggest fish I saw today come up from way down to take a look at the fly, but he refused it.

A couple miles further upstream, beyond where the creek forks and in some pretty small water, I caught a number of smaller rainbows and a couple more cutts on Joe’s Foam Back Royal Humpy. Looked at some more water on my way out, but didn’t fish any of it.

The fishing turned out to be pretty decent. Quite a bit of action with somewhere around seven cutts and eight bows in hand, although most of them were rather small, and something less than that looking at the fly. The thing is, though, that I really didn’t enjoy being on that creek. Every time I looked up about all I saw was clear cut hill sides.

I guess the fishing makes up for the “scenery” for a lot of folks. 'Cause there were bunches of people fishing up there. Must have seen twenty plus guys with fly rods on the water and saw a bunch of cars parked in places that suggested others were also out there chasing the trouts. And the incoming traffic, as I made my way out, was unreal. At one point, there were seven or eight oncoming vehicles following closely kicking up the dust.

Thinking I probably won’t go back to this creek even though it is pretty easy to get to and does fish decently. There’s enough water for a lot of people to fish it without feeling crowded, for sure, but I just don’t fish in places I don’t like spending time. Clear cuts and traffic ain’t my thing.

The pics will show the best of Fish Creek as it was today, not the worst.

John