Return of the West Virginia Six

Like the seasons, like the moon, like clockwork, The West Virginia Six are returning to Montana. I have fished with the infamous WV Six for the past 4 years on the Bitterroot and Missouri Rivers. They are a groups of guys i look forward to seeing every summer, both for their contagious camaraderie,  insatiable desire to be out on the water, and their love of fly fishing and Big Sky Country.

Having begun fishing in Wester MT over 25 years ago now they have a long-view perspective that few of us 'young guns' do. Its always a hoot to soak in some tales of the old days before Montana was known as the fly fishing destination it is today. I can only shake my head and wonder what these rivers must have been like before the armadas of dry fly fishers arrived in the Bitterroot.

Flyfishing has a way of breeding friendships that are year-round, even if the fishing part is only for a few days every season. This year we will get on the West Fork as usual looking to put a few solid Cutties in the net. Might make it down river and try our hand at a big Brownie or low-river Rainbow. Wherever we end up this season it will lead to another chapter of lies fishing stories told around many different and far-flung kitchen tables.

To the Tarral

Fishing In The Slow Lane

Lazy summer days are for the following:

Barbecues
Hammocks
Coolers of Beer
Leisurely Fly Fishing

When i get into a boat i am there to, above all things, relax: Everything should slow down to river speed. River otter speed. Mayfly speed. I can never understand how people can enjoy a day on the water while trying to race every other boat down to the next fishy looking run. Fishing is about catching, but also about learning how to fool specific fish, not just motor-boating until you find a fish willing to eat whatever you happened to have tied on at that moment. When i find a good riser thats when the sneaky sneaky box comes out and the rust is dusted off the reach cast. Maybe not on the first cast, but you know that fish is coming up. . . .

There are plenty of fish out there for the first and last boats of the day, and plenty to look at and enjoy other than the fishing. Wildlife tends to pop up all the time when you're not head-down chasing the bobber. I like wildlife. I like watching Ospreys fish, helicoptering in the air watching for a absentminded trout. My perfect day on the water includes time to grill riverside, completely re-rig and fiddle with fly rods, go swimming on the hot days and watch a sunset afterwards.

Cheers to fishing in the slow lane.

The Smith



Sitting here in the middle of the craziness that we call the our guide season, I am catching myself day-dreaming back to early June and my 2014 smith river adventure. I am going to keep the words short and sweet on this one and let the pictures tell the story.... Enjoy 

 



Going for the Gold(en)

Smoking dry fly fishing anyone? Over-fed free range Cutthroat trout slamming Golden Stones? Old frineds cracking a cold one and spinning a fishing yarn out on the river? I think yes. Oh Yes.

Another great weekend with the ever-growing Utes Alumni Club here in the Bitterroot. We had a bit of everything: Socked in thunderheads ruling the lower valley, spotty sunshine in the upper West Fork, big bright Cutties chasing the streamer in the morning and big blooms of Goldens in the afternoons. Add a throw-down dinner or two to keep the fishermen happy and stoked for tomorrow morning. A winning combo everytime.

                      Thanks to Stuart, Laura, Zach, Jeff, and Jack for making it all happen.

Dry Fly Heaven

Dry fly fishing it where its at. While we all are big fans of the subsurface streamer game there is no denying that an explosive take on a dry fly is about as good as it gets. Mend, Drift, Set all day long.

We have been having plenty of action lately in the Bitterroot thanks to piles of Salmonflies crawling their way through bushes and gravel bars, inevitably falling into the water for waiting trout. This week our old client Jack Krimmer and friends have been hitting the river with us searching for the elusive hatch. These fish all came up for the big bugs over the past week, come rain or shine they have been putting a smile on clients faces and making for awesome days. Add a few streamer eats in along the way and you have the recipe for success.

Special thanks to Jack, Bert, and John for the awesome fish!

Bitterroot Bully

 

    When thinking of big bull trout rivers in Montana, the Bitterroot usually doesn't receive a whole lot of consideration. Although there is a healthy population of these carnivorous guys they mostly stay on the smaller side within the system. This is mostly due to the habitat in the headwaters of the system not offering enough cold clear water to allow them to spawn and grow.

 

    Over the last ten years I haven't seen or heard of many bulls from the root that could stand with this fish my client, Alan Krimmer, landed last week. Stretching to just over 30 inches this big predatory trout didn't eat a large streamer or small cutty we were fighting in. Nope, he ate a #10 stonefly nymph on 3x tippet. Not at all how I envisioned catching a fish like this, but frankly I am just happy to have had an encounter with this old battle scared bull. Right drift, right time, right bug, and it couldn't have happened to a better guy!

Salmonflies on the Bitterroot!

Dry fly fishing is finally happening. After a long spring and high-water season throwing the big heavies  we can once again break out the dry fly boxes. Do i even remember how to set hooks on tippet lighter than 1x? It is a steep re-learning curve for sure. Steady on the trigger, gosh darnit.

Stumbled into the first pile of these big bugs flying around on Friday. Getting some long drifts down seams was all it took to get these beautiful Cutties to come up. More to come tomorrow? We think so. Once we get a taste, well, decisions become much easier and the gardening suffers. Just the way it is. . .

Oh yea summer time, bring it on!