I'm sad to say we skipped the 2013 fishing thread but I can tell you that I sure didn't skip the season as I fished, hiked and camped between 75 - 100 days last year. A great start has been had to the 2014 season but more about that at another time.
In 2012, SoSH stud Wibi, bought a fishing trip during the SoSH Aids Truck fundraiser and this past weekend he and his buddy came to Montana for some fishing.
We did a half day on Friday afternoon. It was 60F, overcast and a little drizzly. Perfect conditions. We started out nymphing and it was a little slow. After a while Wibi picked up a spin rod and caught the 2 pictured below, Both nice fish fersure.
Meanwhile his buddy, Andy, had an absolute piggie Rainbow on that came out of the water and spit the fly about 3 feet back at him. That one will haunt him.
Overall it was a nice get to know ya' evening fishing trip which we followed up with a couple drinks and burgers at the local watering hole. That was the "you're a SoSH member half day trip". Saturday was their full day.
Saturday we floated my favorite stretch of the Missouri river, Wolf Creek to Craig. An early start got us out there before guides from around the state began to show up. The Missouri is a dam controlled river with 3 big reservoirs/filters upstream that keep the water pretty clear even during runoff. The Missouri is fishing pretty well at a time when 90% of the rest of the rivers in the state are all but unfishable due to snowmelt.
Our gear was all set up so we made a quick launch and started back out tossing nymphs. We had a few hits but no fish on the first long bank. We crossed the river and as we were pulling into a likely spot Andy's line got a bit tangled. I anchored up to re-rig his rod and handed him a spin to get a few casts while I worked on the line. He caught his first fish in about 3 minutes and I stopped working on the rig and assisted with the net.
While this was happening Wibi got tangled up and his rod and line needed some work. I had brought 2 spinrods and handed him one as well while I went back to work. It took me about an hour to get the rods re-setup because every time I sat down and got to work tying a knot, one of them had one on. We fished that hole for a while and watched a number of driftboats and rafts float on by. Meanwhile, Wibi added to his photo collection with this 3 pound Brown Trout. A very nice fish that he got in by the hair of its chinny, chin, chin.
Eventually, I lit a cigar as they had both already caught fish and we pushed on down river. We relaxed and fished our way down then stopped at an island, had lunch and fished some more.
We took off after lunch and almost immediately Andy had a very strong fat rainbow on that I was praying he would get in. Unfortunately there's a reason the bigger fish get away. They're bigger, stronger and fight harder. He got it close enough to the boat that we both saw it, a 3+ pound Ranbow Trout, but it got off. He got a few nice fish including the only two Whitefish of the trip but Wibi will have to post pictures of his fish.
These guys are really good friends and were a pleasure to hang around with for a few days. They each were most pleased to see their friend catch fish and have fun.
Sox talk, cigars, whiskey and a couple days of fishing? Yes, I'm in!
Wibi topped off our day by hooking another nice Bown which is pictured below. He'd caught enough fish by that time that another picture wasn't needed but this was a chance to show his colors off as it was about 70F and we were down to t-shirts.
Hope some others post about their fishing adventures this season. I made my first fishing trip to Florida this past March (more on that later) and would love to read anything about fishing in the gulf.
In 2012, SoSH stud Wibi, bought a fishing trip during the SoSH Aids Truck fundraiser and this past weekend he and his buddy came to Montana for some fishing.
We did a half day on Friday afternoon. It was 60F, overcast and a little drizzly. Perfect conditions. We started out nymphing and it was a little slow. After a while Wibi picked up a spin rod and caught the 2 pictured below, Both nice fish fersure.
Meanwhile his buddy, Andy, had an absolute piggie Rainbow on that came out of the water and spit the fly about 3 feet back at him. That one will haunt him.
Overall it was a nice get to know ya' evening fishing trip which we followed up with a couple drinks and burgers at the local watering hole. That was the "you're a SoSH member half day trip". Saturday was their full day.
Saturday we floated my favorite stretch of the Missouri river, Wolf Creek to Craig. An early start got us out there before guides from around the state began to show up. The Missouri is a dam controlled river with 3 big reservoirs/filters upstream that keep the water pretty clear even during runoff. The Missouri is fishing pretty well at a time when 90% of the rest of the rivers in the state are all but unfishable due to snowmelt.
Our gear was all set up so we made a quick launch and started back out tossing nymphs. We had a few hits but no fish on the first long bank. We crossed the river and as we were pulling into a likely spot Andy's line got a bit tangled. I anchored up to re-rig his rod and handed him a spin to get a few casts while I worked on the line. He caught his first fish in about 3 minutes and I stopped working on the rig and assisted with the net.
While this was happening Wibi got tangled up and his rod and line needed some work. I had brought 2 spinrods and handed him one as well while I went back to work. It took me about an hour to get the rods re-setup because every time I sat down and got to work tying a knot, one of them had one on. We fished that hole for a while and watched a number of driftboats and rafts float on by. Meanwhile, Wibi added to his photo collection with this 3 pound Brown Trout. A very nice fish that he got in by the hair of its chinny, chin, chin.
Eventually, I lit a cigar as they had both already caught fish and we pushed on down river. We relaxed and fished our way down then stopped at an island, had lunch and fished some more.
We took off after lunch and almost immediately Andy had a very strong fat rainbow on that I was praying he would get in. Unfortunately there's a reason the bigger fish get away. They're bigger, stronger and fight harder. He got it close enough to the boat that we both saw it, a 3+ pound Ranbow Trout, but it got off. He got a few nice fish including the only two Whitefish of the trip but Wibi will have to post pictures of his fish.
These guys are really good friends and were a pleasure to hang around with for a few days. They each were most pleased to see their friend catch fish and have fun.
Sox talk, cigars, whiskey and a couple days of fishing? Yes, I'm in!
Wibi topped off our day by hooking another nice Bown which is pictured below. He'd caught enough fish by that time that another picture wasn't needed but this was a chance to show his colors off as it was about 70F and we were down to t-shirts.
Hope some others post about their fishing adventures this season. I made my first fishing trip to Florida this past March (more on that later) and would love to read anything about fishing in the gulf.
