Easy days floating in Western Montana right now. River is coming up with warming daytime temperatures but not too fast to make the fish finicky. Hatches are changing and intensifying by the day. What will tomorrow bring? Skwalas? Moms' Day Caddis? March Browns? All of these bugs plus a few surprising ones are making appearances as weather and flow levels fluctuate. Bring all the flies you have and get out there.
For all us professional fishaholics these are some of the last days of "fun fishing" with good friends before the insanity of guiding season strikes. Our old friend / guide Mark Downey came out fishing with us this past week, bringing a touch of class to the river which he is quick to mention only comes from "time in the barrel". Not sure if this means he has spent time actually inside a charred bourbon barrel or just consumed much of ones' contents (or just an old fisherman speaking in metaphors only he understands). Lazy days floating the river, enjoying a tall can and
lying, exaggerating reminiscing about past fishing trips all sounds like the perfect recipe to me. Strange as it may sound pulling oars for two months straight will kill off that top ten percent of giddy-up for floating. Maybe a lazy afternoon sitting in air-conditioning watching ESPN will sound better at that time. Until that hot August afternoon eventually arrives we will be out there scouring the river for all the carnivorous Browns and feisty Cutthroats you can fit in an oak barrel. I heard that from Mark and he might know a thing or two.
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