Heeeere We Go!

I've been putting this place off because I didn't want to start at the pinnacle.  I've said it before, there's nowhere to go but down from here.  Now, I did try to fish it at the first of the month. I was actually here, but was immediately summoned home for a family emergency.  Now I'm back, and if first impressions mean anything, I might be here a while.  There ain't nowhere else I can do this!

It's relatively warm, probably warmer than any other great fishery in the Rockies right now. I stopped off at the Ranch yesterday afternoon on my way up and fished a couple hours before frozen hands pulled me back to the warm truck. No such problem here today, with a lot of sunshine and a temperature that probably reaches 60.  The wind is howling just as forecast, gusting 20 to 30.

Wind is common here year-round due to its spot east of the highline, northern Montana's continental divide.  Its just like Livingston; or Casper, Wyoming; or Boulder, Colorado; or most of southwest Wyoming.  Most anyplace just east of a mountain range in the Rockies. Downslope, or "Chinook" winds accellerate and warm the air as it descends. On this river though, one can often find a reasonable spot to cast due to the topography and vegetation along the river.  It's not as wide open as most of the notorious wind corridors. 

So today I take advantage while it blows first from the southeast and then from the southwest.  Finding fishable pools requires a couple of moves, but I fish effectively most of the day.  I drift a leech early with the wind at my back, blowing away from my casting arm.  Safety first ya know. When the change in direction pushes me up river this afternoon, all I need is the Mole.  Does this river even have any fish under 18 inches?   They all look healthy today, and the count is more than just a few. 

I'm on the storm track with a cold front blowing through tonight. Slightly less windy tomorrow they say, with crazy winds to 45 forecast for Sunday.  There may be no escape that day. Its October, and the future is uncertain, but I'm hoping to stay the course and fish the windows. 

She's lit up here too.

My iconic fall color that I usually shoot from across the river at the ladders.  Just seeing this brings back memories decades old.  It has meaning for me.  A sign.

A size 18 mole is the only dry fly I tie on, they're even eating it when they shouldn't.

This seam at the bottom of the barely-flowing caddis side channel is afternoon magic.

Sometimes a gust triggers a brief leaf hatch, but they flow on down and the fish come right back up.  There is no leaf hatch upstream from me here.

I stand here in a 40 or 50 foot zone for several hours casting to fish.

Even as I walk out, there's one or two still doing it.  I don't know for sure what the fish are eating this afternoon. I caught more fish than the number of bugs I see.  I have to be standing in the water to see the rise forms.  They are eating something in the film.

At first glance from a distance, I think this truck/trailer might be someone I know, but the truck isn't dark enough, and he doesn't fish anymore anyway.

Cooler air blowing in. Still not a bad view from camp. I'll go fish that little island some evening too.

The cold Henry's Fork yesterday.

I did get a couple of good eats on the winged beetle after working a couple of good fish eating baetis for quite a while.  The cold beat me, and I had greener pastures to get to.

Clouds-Sun-Rain

That two day forecast?  I'm under the 20 percent part on day one, as the sun pokes through the scattered clouds more often than not.  No rain after the early morning shower.  There are some mahoganies mid-day followed by the bwo's through mid-afternoon.  Both hatches are lighter than in days past.  The next morning also begins with showers, but there's a break and I'm in the creek by 11:00 a.m.  There's no mahoganies to speak of, and only some random rises to baetis.  The clouds roll back overhead and showers begin around 1:00 p.m.  By 1:45, the place is boiling.  It finally gets so rainy that the rises become less numerous, and it gets impossible to see a fly or keep one floating dry.  It remains a soggy afternoon and evening.

Support for the local fly shop.  I can't help myself. They have a good breakfast at their grill too.

Looking up from a favorite corner.  Clear and bright.  The tips and edges of those little islands make fun places to get a take.

I caught this monster on a mahogany only because I could see it first.  There is not a lot of these in this stretch. My Silver Creek Fish of the year right at 20 inches.

Just a sweatshirt, no down jacket and no rain gear.

This little number, a 22, is just a hook shank covered with two layers of 8/0 uni thread, and a single CDC feather tied in parachute style without any hackle.  They ate it as good as any dun I've tried.

That favored spot of mine for decades. (Though, I have several favorites on the preserve!)

Rainy day

She boiled from 1:30-3:00.

Drying it all out overnight in front of the furnace. 

Rain, Not Snow

Back to the southern, lower elevation place while winter takes over Montana.  Its cold here too, so I get one daily shift from late morning through mid-afternoon.  The bugs are sporadic. One day of a very short window. Another that is bugless. Finally  another with a pretty good hatch of mahoganies followed by some baetis that had the place looking like it's "supposed to" on these mythical cloudy days of October.  Ya, it's a myth all right.  The good day has filtered sunshine. Worst one with no bugs is a dark cloudy day with light drizzle. This morning a light shower tingles the roof of the trailer before sunrise.

She is colored up now.

Popeye goes fishing.  Goose down top and bottom. Winter waders. Towels and hand warmers. Frostbitten feet. Voluntarily!  But hey, no snow and no mosquitoes.

Ya, that perfect day with hardly a bug in sight

A good late morning into afternoon hatch of these shows up under a filtered sunshine day.

This is pretty much the size of what's rising.

A nicer one that doesn't get lost in the weeds. The bigger fish either aren't rising or I spook them on the first cast.

Here is what I've got for today and tomorrow, those perfect fall conditions for epic hatches and a river boiling with fish. 🤷‍♂️🎣. 

This little Harrop captive dun in a size . . . 22 . . . works pretty good for the baetis.

Mostly tiny, really tiny.  Going through a lot of gink and powder.  They don't hold much.

Sure Enough

A little chilly and Henry's Fork country now. 32 and partly cloudy on Silver Creek this morning.  No precip.

Last Chance at LC?

I had just made it to the MO 10 days ago when a family emergency pulled me back home. I drove 10 hours on no sleep.  I had been purposely avoiding the place because it's so good and it's hard to go anywhere else afterwards. The crisis is over and I head north once again with two nice warm days remaining in the weekly forecast.  Last Chance it is, in more ways than one.

The afternoon I arrive its blowing and feels a little cool.  I manage a few smaller fish on baetis, but no takers on the winged beetle that they loved a year ago.  Too windy to present it right?  Probably.  There's baetis on the water, but I struggle to turn over the tippet in the wind, even with it cut in half.

The next morning with the sun shining bright and no wind, I tie on the beetle and proceed to feed.  They eat it all day.  Some really nice ones.  It's the day I came for.

Overnight it clouds up a little, and there's even some very early morning showers that stop around sunrise.  The day remains partly cloudy, but the hatch is lighter and there are fewer targets than yesterday.  I manage a couple good eats at the jam, and a couple more down at millionaires in the evening.

My preference is still for the sunny and calm! Apparently the fish and bugs think so too. These last two days might be the last two really warm ones in this neck of the woods until June.  Snow in the forecast starting tomorrow night, so I'm headed to lower elevation and latitude.  The MO once again alludes me.  Maybe I should have gone earlier when I had the chance.

I can't ever remember the outflow this low. The foundation says that with the buffalo, the flow at LC is around 300, but they also say the outflow is 100, not the 53 that is shown.  This is part of a scheme to "save" water for higher winter flows. They will increase the flow in late November or December to try and keep more fish alive through the coldest part of the winter.  Sounds good on paper, but . . . moving on.

She's low, that's for sure.

Really low, and clear too!

Damn low.

Something about it, in a size 10 on 3x no less!  

That crane in the background is an ominous sign of things to come: A brand new 6-lane Sinclair gas station with a big new Ace Hardware on the east side of highway 20 in beautiful downtown Last Chance.  It's between Brad's old Grubstake store and Henry's Fork Anglers.

Livingston

Here I go, back to 6x, the little 3wt., and the small stuff.  These fish are easier than the ones in that Idaho creek though.  Not gimmes by any means, but more user friendly even with the same little baetis. This creek can be really good right now with favorable cloudy weather, but I can't seem to buy that perfect overcast day yet. It's the right change from hucking that streamer for two and a half days though, and the Fork isn't going to get any better anytime soon.  The calendar shows nearly wide open for two days, so its a no-brainer move.  Temperatures are still running around 80, though a slow drop is in the forecast over the next week.  I'm a week early but I'll gladly soak up the last of these warm days standing in a cold creek.  Day two is cloudy but blows all day, so it's just a donation to the Smith foundation for spring creek access.