I am sharing photos of the Bitterroot valley, river and mountains in December. View the slide show or click on it to view the web album.
We had rain, then snow, then FREEZING COLD, then rain, more snow…a very unusual early winter. There is a lot of moisture, much beauty, and I need to mention the avalanche danger again. We will all be eager to get out to ski the backcountry. Please check the avalanche site for western Montana before you go. Be safe.
Bear Creek is on the west side of the Bitteroot Valley near Victor. This week temperatures were about zero during the day and minus 16 during the night. We have plenty of water from the previous rains and now it is turning to ice. It is beautiful, but where are all the fish to go?
Click here to read a paper titled Role of Stream Ice on Fall and Winter Movements and Habitat Use by Bull Trout and Cutthroat Trout in Montana Headwater Streams.
An excerpt from the Conclusion: Complex mixes of habitat are needed to maintain suitable fall and winter habitat for stream resident bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout populations. Beaver ponds, deep pools, and submerged cover of large woody debris (LWD), boulders, and undercut banks are important components of this mix. Bull trout appear particularly susceptible to loss of habitat complexity. In the Bitterroot River drainage, bull trout are rare in watersheds with a high degree of disturbance (Clancy 1993) and without LWD or pools (Rich 1996). Shallow, wide streams not only lack suitable winter cover, but also promote subsurface ice formation (Chisholm et al. 1987; Brown et al. 1994). In degraded areas, activities that moderate fluctuations in winter stream temperature (i.e., riparian vegetation restoration) and that create deep water habitats (i.e., beaver reintroduction) may help alleviate poor winter habitat conditions.
It is a scientific paper, a dry read, but if you are interested in trout habitat, you will find it very informative, yet there is still much to learn about ice and trout survival.
After I created this post, I remembered a photo I had taken on Sweathouse Creek in November. This is from the property that butts against Forest Service near the trailhead for Sweathouse Creek.
There is a county bridge (actually culverts topped with road gravel) across Sweathouse right here. These people just bought the chunk of land that is on both sides of the creek. They can access all of their land by the county bridge, but they wanted their own bridge. They got permission to build it. In the process, they are reaming out an area of the creek where they will are building a winding road and footings and a bridge.
You are seeing some of the woody debris and plant material that they have removed. I find it horrific that they did this. After reading the paper above, I am more disturbed about it. Just my opinion.
Jeff Rogers lives in Victor, Montana and fishes with us regularly.
Note from Billy:
Hey Merle!
I told my great buddy Jeff Rogers I would send these to you. They are shots of him at a secret spot in Canada this past Sept. fishing for steelhead with his dad. Looks like I have probably been “bested” by him, for life, in the flyrod category. Please tell Jack “hi” and Merry Christmas to you and yours! ………Billy Burk
Billy, thanks for sending these photos in.
Yesterday, Jim Wellendorf sent us this message and photos. I am including the photos in a slide show. Jim, no photo of you? You must be holding the camera. Jim and Dick, thanks for sharing!
My friend, Dick Lentine, took me bass fishing this morning on the Susquehanna River. Sun rise was beautiful! Hope you enjoy it. The weather was nice to begin with but got very nasty. High winds and waves just when we were about to stop. If you ever have to land a bass boat in high winds don’t call me. Dick did a great job in very tough conditions.
The fishing was not so good, probably because of the front that was approaching. Dick caught 2 bass and I caught one. All about 12 inches long. In spite of the bass and the weather we had a good time.
The last picture is a duck hunting blind on the western side of the River.
JimAnother link to a PA-DCNR website for the Susquehanna River.
Click on photo to see larger version in a new window.
As our new friend, Nate, says, “Hot Damn!” The fishing was amazing today. I met Jack on the Bitterroot about noon. IT FISHED ALL DAY!
When we got on the river, the trico spinner fall lasted about 3 hours. It seemed every cutthroat and rainbow in the river were up. You had targets to cast to, too many. Using a fly with flatter wings and 5x tippet, it was difficult to see/follow your fly. We had some challenging places to put the fly so it would float drag free. We shot for fish hanging right on the seam — you needed to put the fly right in their mouth, as Jack said, “force feed them.” They didn’t know what fly to eat, but if they took yours, you had better lift the rod carefully, keep the tip high, and let them run for a while. Wow, it was fun. Needless to say, my finesse was lacking and I learned some lessons in line management and tension while I broke some nice fish off.
Late afternoon they seemed to switch to Blue Winged Olives and we could get away with a slightly bigger upright winged fly. You still needed to cast a long distance. When you raise the rod smoothly on a take, be ready to let them run. We were still on a small, 6x tippet. It was great practice for me as I learned to bring in the bigger fish.
When I post the slide show (later today), you will see amazing fall colors and reflections along with a deer crossing the river and a grebe (duck) diving.
For now, I will post a photo trying to show the trico spinner fall and a couple of fish.
Not a bad day. Start with office work at home, meet on the river at noon, get out by 6:00. Jack attends a Fish, Wildlife, and Parks RRAFT board meeting while I do some chores with my daughters in Missoula. Get home and run through the football game we taped. Life is good.
This trip is an example of tailoring a trip to the client. Doc wanted an afternoon/evening float as a single. Jack picked a “sneaky” stretch of river and they avoided flotillas. The result was a flexible, relaxing day and great fishing. There are still a lot of fall days to fish. Give us a call if you want to get in on the fun. 800-254-5311
