March Madness Photo Update!

Over the past three weeks I have spent my time in Missoula fishing with friends.  Here are a few photos from my time spent on the water.  I am in the process of writing a complete trip report that will be posted to Zoo City Aquarium's Blog that is run by my good buddy Billy Pfeiffer.

Disclaimer: All fish were caught on Skwalla patterns.

Until then.

Photographers: Billy Pfeiffer, Matt Musik and Chad DuBose

A day in Glacier. part 1

6:30am my alarm starts vibrating next to my pillow.  It doesn’t startle me because I have been awake for an hour due to the light from the sun pushing through the white walls of my canvas tent.  I reluctantly throw off the covers and sit up.  As I put my feet to the ground I can feel the cold grass between my toes.  It’s the first thing that truly wakes me this morning. 

I search through my clothes looking for a fishing shirt that is not stained from sweat and dirt, I find a winner.  I throw on a pair of shorts, kick on the flip-flops and peer out the tent flap.  To the left I can see straight in the Glacier National Park.  I can tell by the clear sky and stillness in the air that another beautiful day is ahead of me.  As I step outside I feel a slight chill in the air but am comforted knowing that it will be gone within a couple of hours.

Walking up the gravel road I head towards the Barn hoping I am the first to the bathrooms this morning.  Much to my delight I am, as I look in the mirror and can see that my beard is mashed in on one side of my face due to sleeping to on it hard.  I tug and pull a bit to keep my face from looking totally off center.  I wash the crustiness out of my eyes, brush my teeth, floss (because the dentist told me to) and throw on some deodorant to make myself at least smell decent. 

Headed in to the guide kitchen I grab a cooler hanging from the ceiling.  I check to make sure that is was cleaned the night before and set it on the ground to start work on packing lunch.  Lettuce, onions, bread, and cookies…the list goes on.  As I am packing Connor walks in to join.  For just a moment the kitchen sounds busy with the chopping of veggies and the cooler door opening and closing.  We have a two-boat trip today so we will be having lunch together on the river.  We make random jokes but keep the talking to a minimal.  We are both aware that too much talking this early in the morning is just not worth it.  Enough coffee has not been consumed just yet.

Lunch is packed and we head for the boats.  Connor grabs the Excursion and hooks up to one of our raft trailers.  I direct him towards our fleet of fishing rafts and we load the two that we want.  The feel of the cold green raft on your hands is another sharp look into the day ahead.  Large hefty straps are tossed over both boats to secure them once they are positioned correctly on the trailer.  We make sure to grab two anchors while loading our arsenal of gear.  We both hop in the SUV and slowly drive down the hill towards the fly shop.  The sound of the cold rafts material rubbing together is an all to familiar sound.

A Great Video!!!

The HumbleFisherman is a fellow trout-slayer from just over the border in Canada.  Here is a video he put together that captures how great the West-slope Cutthroat Trout is.

ENJOY!

Great write-up on our local trout!

THE WILY WILD WESTSLOPE CUTTHROAT TROUT Two things that separate Glacier Anglers from many of the other outfitters and fisheries in Montana, let alone the rest of the country, is that we’re fishing for native trout on completely unimpeded freestone rivers. You’re hard pressed in many parts of America, even in a state as unpopulated as Montana, to find trout streams devoid of dams, diversions, weirs and other such thumbprints of human development. We are lucky enough to have two such watersheds, the Middle and North Fork of the Flathead Rivers, two of the cleanest rivers in North America, right in our backyard. And in these pure, protected streams swims a species of fish that has made its home for thousands of years. The Westslope Cutthroat Trout, in addition to being an extremely beautiful and lively fish, is a remarkable indicator of water cleanliness and stream health. These fish are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine … if the health of a river begins to degrade they are often the first fish to go. This sensitivity combined with the decline of many western rivers has resulted in a relatively small habitat range, primarily consisting of Western Montana, Idaho and Southeast British Columbia.  Cutthroat fishing on the Flathead can be a special experience for anglers of all ability levels. These fish offer beginners a great opportunity to catch fish, as they are quick to the fly and often aren’t nearly as line shy as the residents of Montana’s more heavily trafficked trout streams. For the experienced fisherman the challenge comes in targeting the largest and wiliest Cutthroat, some measuring 18"-20+”. In the past few years we’ve seen our local Cutthroat population grow in both average size and quantity, observations that bode well for the health of our rivers and your chances of catching many native trout. We hope you’ll plan a visit to Glacier Anglers and let us guide you in search of this special native species.

Iced Guides and Clear Skies

Most people would never want to hang out with their boss outside of work.  I am one of the lucky few that would jump at the opportunity.  So when Marc Evans (Senior Fishing Guide for Glacier Anglers) invited me to fish with him on the Lower Flathead River I had no problem getting up the morning and driving 3 hours to do so.

Once I arrived in West Glacier it was clear that the day was going to be beautiful.  The skies were blue and the wind seemed to not be a factor.  I drove to the Glacier Outdoor Center to check out the new and improved fly shop, which looks great and met up with Marc.  We loaded up the drift boat and set out to find another fisherman.  We stole DJ Stoneman(another guide for Glacier Raft Co.)from a day of work and headed to the river. 

We had been told that the fish in the main stem of the Flathead hold differently than most other fish do in the winter, we found that to be false.  Every fish hooked was right where you would have expected it to be. With the cold weather and slight upstream wind our guides would ice up every now and then but all in all it was a great day to be on the water. 

Fish were mostly taking nymphs throughout the day.  We saw a few rising fish and were able to coax one to the surface.  We spent more time that we wanted to on the upper stretch of the float; which caused us to have to push through the last stretch to the vehicle. 

 Photos by DJ Stoneman

The spring fishing in the Flathead River basin is good and seems to only be getting better with the warmer temperatures coming through.  I plan on heading back up there soon to fish before the season starts and see some more lower river fish in action.

First Float of the Year

Driving down the highway to the put-in we were skeptical as to how the weather would hold up.  The sun was shining and it was relatively warm considering the time of year but a storm front was supposed to roll in at some point during the day so there was some doubt as to whether it would be a suffer fest.

Once we were on the water it turned out that the fishing was going to be very slow.  With heavy winds it was hard to keep the drift boat from being pushed all over the river like a pinball.  Lines were tangled and flies were lost but all in all it was good to just be out on the water with no one else in sight.  A few fish were caught and lost and more than a few jokes were thrown in for good measure.

About a mile from the take out Matt hooked what we thought was another log.  Turned out it was actually a nice sized cutthroat.  after a minute or so of fighting we got him in the boat for a great photo.

We were off the river and ready for a drink so we headed over to the Blacksmith Brewery to quench our thirst and call it a day.  As for being back in Montana after spending the winter down South I am happy to be here.

Fish on!