Our friend and fellow outfitter, Josh Lauer, just sent these photos in. He was near a town called Kooskia (no McDonald’s restaurant there) located at the confluence of the Middlefork and Southfork of the Clearwater River, along Lewis Clark US Highway 12 in North Central Idaho.
Fly Fishing for steelhead is exciting! He said these two fish are in the smoker right now. What a pair of bookends they would make.
Join us to hear updates on the Milltown Dam Removal and River Restoration project. Speakers include David Schmetterling, FWP; Russ Forba, EPA; and Doug Martin, NRDP.
UPDATE ON:
After plugging the Clark Fork-Blackfoor confluence for 100 years, the dam is a part of history.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 5:30-7:30PM, the Clark Fork Coalition and Montana Trout Unlimited will co-host Guiding Without the Dam, an update for guides on the Milltown cleanup project, at the Coalition offices at 140 S. 4th St. W. Free pizza and beer will be served.
Please RSVP to info@clarkfork.org or 406-542-0539.
UPDATE January 26: I found that the Billings Gazette published this story January 8. It is much more complete. See it here: Buck floatsdown Yellowstone River on ice chunks By BRETT FRENCH of The Gazette Staff.
Original Wapiti Post text:
A friend sent us these photos today. Brrrr….
An unidentified photographer took these pictures in Miles City Montana where the Tongue River flows into the Yellowstone River. The buck made it to shore. The photographer saw him jump to safety when the ice jammed close to shore.
The skwalla draws attention to the largest trout in the river and the beauty of it all is that it is top water fishing. In my mind anyone can (and frequently does) put on a bobber with a nymph pattern and fish to the large trout — even using skwalla nymph patterns. But to fool large trout on the surface in the right conditions is what our spring fishing is all about.
Knowledgeable, observant anglers pay attention to the natural world around them. The phenological events of spring are indicators for the fisherman. We watch for the appearance of buttercups, biscuitroot, pasque flowers, and glacier lilies on the hillsides. The robins, western meadowlarks, and western bluebirds are giving us a reminder that it is time to fish.
1. Phenological: the relationship between a regularly recurring biological phenomenon and climatic or environmental factors that may influence it.
Here are photos of a few of my favorite fly patterns that have evolved over three decades of spring fishing on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork.
For those who are interested in spring fly fishing on the Bitterroot River in Montana, I am posting a series of slideshows for March, April and May.
This blog entry is for March since we begin our new year of boat fly fishing in this month. The earliest photo I have is on March 13. On any given day, you can have sun, snow, sleet, rain or a mixture of all of it. When you are floating, it is important to know the river and your boat – understanding the type of water and the distance between put-ins and take-outs. We always take a thermos of hot coffee (or cocoa) and/or soup along, and we dress in layers. It can be exhilarating to experience weather changes, the related hatches and trout feeding responses, so hold on to your hat! Remember in this season, if today is not great fishing, tomorrow probably will be. The message here is be patient and plan for at least a few days. It will be worth it.
Note: one of the photos of Jack is from the Clark Fork. We also fish the Blackfoot, Big Hole and Missouri, depending on the weather.
These photos are varied in quality. To view the slideshow in full screen mode, click View Album and choose “Slide Show.”
A future entry will show the river in April. Besides featuring fish, it will have more photos of scenes including wildlife and birds. The river bottom is a “happening place” in the spring.
Dusty Bernard has been coming to the Bitterroot for years. Some of the regulars are Don Young, Jim Shultz, Jim Ogle, Peter Zouvas, Gary Spradling, Dusty and his son Tim.
I am posting a slideshow of select photos through the years. We wish you all a Happy New Year. It would be great to see you in 2009.
To view in full screen, click on “View Album” then select “Slide Show.” You might need to slow it down a bit (+).
