Dave Shobe recently sent us these photos. They were taken on the Bitterroot in mid-June when the Keith Oden group was fishing with us. See the slideshow below for all 3 photos.
click here to view all in a new window.
Jeremy and Becky Anderson went to the Bitterroot Trout Unlimited Annual Banquet last September. They had a great time and won the bid on a fishing trip with Wapiti Waters. Today was the day and boy, did they catch fish! Next years BRTU Banquet is Friday, September 25 – 2009 Annual BRTU Banquet, 5:30 pm, our 30th!!! Mark your calendar and plan to attend. Visit BRTU’s site at http://www.brtu.org/
Jeremy sent these terrific photos with this note:
Jack,
Thank you for a great time fishing on Saturday. Becky and I enjoyed it and learned a lot. We will definitely be coming back for more. Here are some pics for your website.
Thanks again,
Jeremy Anderson
Thank you, Jeremy and Becky. Jack really enjoyed his day with both of you.
See the slideshow below for all four photos from the Big Hole River fly fishing day.
Click here to view all in a new window.
Billy Burk is up from Colorado visiting his good friend Jeff. Jeff and Billy fished the Bitterroot yesterday with Jack. See the slideshow below. Tomorrow they will drive to the Big Hole, meet up with Jack (who is guiding there today) and fish another two days. They know how to have a good time. I hope they will be able to take more photos on the Big Hole. Check back to see…
Jack has been guiding a lot recently, but the clients for today decided it was too cold for them. It was a cool morning but about noon we decided we would do a short float together and scout a middle stretch of the river for water level, woody debris and shifting gravel/sand bars. There weren’t many bugs yet the trout came up to our dry flies. It turned out to be a productive and beautiful day, though we did encounter some squalls with rain and wind. I forgot a warm hat so by the time we took-out, around 5:15, I was ready to get warm in the truck.
Check out the slideshow below for more river photos including some birds and fish.
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.
