Busy week

Haven't been fishing since sunday. It was lights out on the Bitterroot. Last week of summer school compounded by moving right now. I'll get to fish tomorrow down around Yellowstone. Tons of good pictures coming.

Lolo to the bridge

We floated today from Lolo to the hwy 83 bridge south of Missoula. This stretch of the Bitterroot is more of a sleeper stream having some pretty unproductive stretches but right after run-off we've had some stellar fishing with green drakes and caddis imitations. The fish aren't that picky but definitely deserve a drag free drift. Probably my favorite float close to town.

 Bitteroot Rainbow

So, yesterday was a bust- spent most of the day moving furniture. We found a place closer to campus which is going to be clutch during the winter. I didn't have a chance to make it to the Blackfoot yesterday but I did check out the Clark Fork in town and found Logan nymphing a run that in the past has produced some hefty fish. He had a handful of takes downtown on his double beadhead nymph rig but no fish in hand. The Clark Fork downtown is pretty straightforward with some deep holes, (10-20 ft) drops, and ample stream side vegetation. . Best places to check are creek mouths such as the Rattlesnake.

Nymph fishing downtown Missoula

Get out of bed and go fish

Missoula's weather today is looking good for streamers. We've got a pretty extensive weather pattern moving in from Washington and Idaho and its going to rain for the next three days with highs in the upper-60's. Flows are dropping fast on Rock Creek and with this overcast you might get an abundance of green drakes and caddis coming off the water, I hear salmonflys and goldens are still coming off in good numbers but the fish seem to be a little hesitant on taking.  Today's agenda includes chucking streamers on the Blackfoot. I was up the 'foot four days ago before the rain and we had salmonfly activity around Thibodeau rapids catching a few on dries and also had my buddy hooked up with his first fish on a fly-rod. The water up the 'foot is a little high and off color but the fish were eating consistently. We took plenty with a standard black, sz. 8 rubberlegs.

Westslope cutthroat trout taken with a sz. 8 stonefly nymph

So, I've decided to start a blog ..not that anyone cares or should care but it might be nice to come back one day and see what I was up to during my mid-20's. Missoula is filled with it's fair share of hippies, hipsters and cowboys.  I though am neither a hipster or a cowboy, it was to hard of a choice to make so I just started Fly fishing. Right now I'm finishing up a bachelors degree in Forestry at the University of Montana and this blog will follow me throughout my career in Missoula.

A little background on Missoula:

The Hellgate pass that I-90 travels through just east of town used to be a major Blackfeet Indian thoroughfare.  Blackfeet Indians would follow the Clark Fork river until it reached the Blackfoot and would travel the banks of the Blackfoot until they reached what is known today as Great Falls, where they hunted bison. Traveling through Hellgate canyon was dangerous, neighboring Salish (Flathead) Indians would clash with the Blackfeet, competing for passage to the fertile hunting grounds around Great Falls. The first white trapper that came through here noticed that the canyon was littered with human remains thus the name Hellgate was born. 

Hellgate canyon and the University of Montana in the foreground