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Trico’s, Hoppers, and Spruce Moths

I had a chance to go out with Al and Mike yesterday for a little R & D run, looking for trico’s and hoppers.  The good news is that we had both, the bad news is that the river is very low.  The trico’s were fantastic and we caught fish from about 10:00 until 1 on the small bugs.  The rest of the day we spent throwing big ugly hoppers.  The fishing was never great but it was good and Al, Mike, and I missed a few nice fish on a big moorish hopper and landed a handful of them, enough action to keep us interested.  We got off the river around 3:45 and we all agreed we should have been off by 3 when the fishing began to slow way down.  Despite the great fishing and rough company, the best part of the day was watching Al climb out of the boat and use Mikes leg as a wading staff.  Clearly getting a hand is useless but a third leg while wading the Big Hole….priceless!

I went to the H bar J in Wise River last night for dinner.  After stuffing our face with pizza, we drove back down the canyon to the shop.  All we saw the entire ride were spruce moths.  For those of you that don’t know, the spruce moth comes out of the hills above the river and eventually make it down to the water where giant trout are eagerly waiting to suck them down.  So despite the hot weather, hoot owl restrictions, wind, and high pressure, the fishing is going to be fantastic for the next week or two.  Tight lines everyone!

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He didn’t need a hand, but he did need an extra leg to negotiate the Big Hole boulders….thanks Mike!


Its hopper season!

Its hopper season!


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Hunting heads during the Trico hatch


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Cutthroat love purple moorish hoppers!!


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