The Ultimate

Big Hole River 280 cfs — Maidenrock

A couple nice rain showers yesterday bumped the river up just a bit and it all helps. Also water temps have been running from 58 to 68 which is great.

I must have scared off fisherman from the Big Hole with my last report and the drought management plan possibly going into effect. Actually the fishing has been great and there is nobody on the river. Also I don’t think we have to worry about any restrictions.

On Monday my old client and friend Dave was with me on the boat. He reminded me that he has been with me for 21 years. When he first came to this river he was a spin fisherman. I told him back then he needed to try fly fishing. On his second  trip with me he still had the spinning rod. There happened to be a baetis hatch and I persuaded him to try the fly rod. He picked it up, laid the fly  out pretty fair and a 14 inch rainbow gobbled it–that changed his life forever. He is now one of the best fly fishers to get in my boat. On Monday there were lots of sippers and when I tell Dave to present the fly in super shallow water with a forty foot cast he gets it there. He did comment that he thought they were  little white fish with just that little dimple. I told him to catch one and lets find out. The fly drifted no more than 4 feet and a fat, hot, 18 inch brown trout exploded out of that 6 to 8 inch water. He just looked at me and smiled and I smiled back and said ” pretty nice little whitey huh”. To me this is the ultimate in fly fishing. Locating these sippers in water most fisherman would ignore and then putting on the stalk and  presentation. And after 21 years Dave is still coachable.