The Best

I held off as long as I could.  After a quick donation to Depuy's Spring Creek, and a nice morning shooting the shit with Buzz while the forecasted 3-7 mph winds howled like a gale, all roads led north.  I did catch one there, and he said the midge fishing had been "as good as he's ever seen it."  That's saying something.  There were some bwo's blowing around, and even a few pmd's too.  But someplace was calling, loud.

The afternoon bwo's have been right on time every day.  Yes, they hatch at sunny and 70-something, and in the low flow and little to no wind, the trout rise.  Even a few nice trout.  By MO standards, its just kinda ok.  By most other standards, its pretty good.  Sure is comfortable to fish in.  The weeds are floating a little, but its way cleaner than the Fork.  

See what they did.  Yahoo!

"Holy shit, look at all those risers!"  First night at the bridge.

"There's a bunch down that way too."  Guess we're staying.

First morning was foggy all over.  Went up top to the Pasture, and the hog wallow.

There were some in there and they were eating.

For the slower flat water

The Lone Tree tradition

Needed the rock to help me prop up this hook-jawed monster.

Made in Sri Lanka, then chewed by trout teeth.  

The Palace run.  Two islands breaking the flow and re-directing the water, small hatch riffles with shallow flats all around them, all converging into a big deep slow pool at the bottom.  All wadeable at this flow.  Just about perfection.

This thing was beautiful.  No rattle or sign of a rattle.

It had that triangular head

A Palace fish

Got our summer campsite back, only with leaves all over and 20 degrees cooler.

Sunsets on Norman's trail

Two islands showing at the 'ole money run.  Fish doin' it the whole time.

The daily hatch is sparse, but there's just enough . . .

The Almost Dun still deadly here

Montana steelhead

There he goes!

Almost Dun went to Former Dun.  Teeth.  It still works great, kind of a hackle stacker, parachute style.

For a cool $779,000, you too can live on a nice pool in beautiful downtown Dearborn, Montana.  Anybody want to put up the $700,000?  I could borrow the other $79,000 and mow the lawn.  I caught a few nice ones right there, right in the front yard.

This Monday morning's forecast.  Its already blowing big time this morning.  Could be one of "those" afternoons tomorrow if it stays cloudy and the wind lays down enough.  

And ending on a positive note, these two assholes thought it appropriate to run their fucking jet-racer, whatever the hell good it is jetboat up and down the river full throttle, zigzagging around and through other boats and wade fishermen.  They weren't going fishing, that's for sure.  Its bad enough with all the drift boats that now have motors going up and down the river.  Sad what the world is coming to.  These two made two passes in about 30 minutes, and were not seen again. Hopefully they lost control and hit something and died.

But otherwise, what a fine three+ days its been so far!