There's a nice coffee shop attached to the shop where they serve many different kinds of coffee. I tried their cappuccino. During the ride I passed the Clark Fork river many times. It looked great, but haven't seen much boats coming down.
This trip's schedule has been changing since the moment it started and it was no exception this time. My old time Montana buddy Don had to undergo a new eye surgery just a couple of days before I left for the trip. So it looked like we won't be doing much fishing.Talking about old times sake is fun too! But as his recovery went so well, Don was told by his doctor that he could do anything besides driving. Heck, how did that happen so fast?!
Well, it was time to reschedule again: Don and Rosi had to leave for a memorial of an old high school friend down to Oregon on friday. That meant we only had two days of fishing rather than the planned five days... This time we decided not go down to the Park.
The fishing in the Yellowstone Park hasn't been very good the past couple of times I've been there. I was looking forward to check out the Winston rod factory in Twin Bridges at last. But they were closed due to a big manufacturers show in Denver. Well, why not check out Pelican Point at the Missouri again?
On September 7th, we left early for the Missouri. We had an excellent, according to Don a bit on the expensive side, breakfast at the lodge in Craig. After checking out the fly shops (yes two: Chris Strainer of CrossCurrents opened a little shop in Craig too) and getting the fishing license we were off to our good old Pelican Point. This part of the Missouri river is where I first tasted the fun fishing with hoppers. Always look out for rattlers though!The weather looked perfect for hopper fishing: sunny, hot and a bit of a wind. I tied some new hoppers at my friend's fly shop in Calgary before I left. I always hated the many steps of most hopper patterns like Dave's Hopper: losing one made me feel really moody. This easy to tie pattern called the Alien Bug looked like it was going to make it's first appearance in Montana! I decided to tie a bead head Prince as a dropper on my hopper and in no time had had two nice fish on. Well, that looks promising!
After the first two fish we fished down stream back to our car. Although the conditions looked just right, the fish weren't really looking up (or down on my dropper). We did manage to catch a few but the fishing was real slow. The couple of boats we saw drift by weren't really hot on the action either.Back at the car Don just looked at me and said "boy, this is really not like it used to be". But he was really excited about the Alien Bug! This foam hopper with an elk hair wing and a tuff of strike indicator on top floated all day long. And the scenery of the Missouri was still enchanting as ever with it's rocky hilltops at the background.
The next day we decided to do a more backcountry style fishing. The morning we would fish the private lake in the hills near Avon, about an hour drive west of Helena. The setting of this private lake is simply awe-inspiring. Floating the lake with a float tube is a very enjoyable and relaxing way to enjoy a nice sunny September morning. This lake used to host quite some nice sized fish, but the last couple of years the smaller fish are abundant averaging 12-16 inches. Don says fish stay small because nobody ever fishes and takes fish out of the lake, the fish have to compete with each other for food.
While floating in my float tube and enjoying the view, I suddenly saw an unfamiliar sight. A black bear ran uphill from the shore, less than a hundred yards from the spot where my friend was floating. Good thing I had my digital camera handy! According to Don, it isn't a rare sighting, but certainly not a regular either. In fact, he hasn't seen a bear here as long as he fished this lake. Click on the picture to check out Yogi getting ready for the US trials.That afternoon we fished the Little Blackfoot river. This small stream is very much the opposite of the Missouri. Meandering through the lower part of the western continental divide, it's a nice change from the big Mo. The stream looks a bit lower than last time. I decided to use the same rig again: a hopper with a prince as a dropper.
Although the size 6 hopper seems to be a bit big for the fish here, averaging 10-14 inch, these browns weren't shy to try to take a bite at it. Often as not did I just pull the hopper right out of their mouth. Don did manage to catch a couple of fish on the hopper. It's funny to see the hopper-strike indicator pulled down by a brown as it grabbed the nymph. They sure aren't non-decisive about their hunger! I came across the small bridge where I caught some nice white fish. The water was running low, but along the deeper bank of the curve I did manage to catch a few nice white fish. I like the erratic way these underrated fish fight.
After 4 hours we decided to head back home as Rosi wanted us back a bit earlier than the day before. After a fast shower we went for a burger together at the local grill house to talk about the old times, the different ways of eating habits at home vs the US, Italy and enjoy a huge burger. Just good to be back in Montana!So I've been visiting Montana and fishing the Missouri about 6 times now. The first time way back in 1992 undoubtedly still brings back the best fishing memories. Since then the fishing seems to have declined over a period of 10 - 12 years. Don't know what's causing this. Too much fishing pressure? Changing climate? Low water conditions? Just bad luck? Dunno though, but I've never had a better experience than the summer of 1992. Any other experiences out there?
