A dry, hot summer is upon us here in the Rocky Mountain West. It is only July and fires rage throughout the Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Fish in the Fire Hole River ( Yellowstone National Park) are dieing by the hundreds due to higher then normal water temperatures. The Big Hole, Madison, Bitterroot and Beaverhead rivers are all under restricted fishing hours. If you pray, please pray for rain.
Where did I leave off last time?
I believe I was on my way to the Wyoming 2 Fly Tournament held on the North Platte River near Casper, Wyoming. To label this event as a “contest” is stretching it a bit, it truly is a charitable fund raising affair with the proceeds going to a developmental school in Casper and to conservation efforts on the North Platte River. Over the course of two days over $200,000.00 was raised, mostly via cash donations from the contestants, many sponsors (such as Clacka) and many local, regional and national businesses. Tom Swanson was the Chair of the 2-Fly this year and I can’t commend or thank Tom and the 2-Fly board enough. Everything was first class, from the food to the accommodations. Tom and the other members of the board made it a point to ensure that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We even had the opportunity to meet former Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan, current Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal and several V.I.P.’s attending the event. The fishing was great, and our “guide” ClackaCraft Drift Boat Pro Staff member Mark Boname (see Picture) from Platte River Fly Shop www.wyomingflyfishing.com spend two leisurely days rowing a couple of slackers down the river.
John Stenersen and Mark Boname with a Platte River Rainbow
Another nice Platte Rive Rainbow that I landed
Lunch break during the Wyoming 2-Fly….
Guide Greg Mueller in his Clacka HeadHunter Skiff
My travels continued into the month of June; after a family wedding in Northern Idaho where I chanced upon Ned Hobson from Sage www.sageflyfish.com. We swapped a few fishing stories over lunch then I headed towards Libby, Montana to see an old friend and Clacka Pro Staff member Tim Linehan of Linehan Outfitting. www.fishmontana.com I was a little early to fish the Kootenai or Yaak rivers, but being the gentleman that he is Tim invited me to visit this fall for a day or two of fishing. There are few people in or out of the fly fishing industry that are as conscientious about the balances of utilizing and improving the health of our the environment as Tim.
From Libby I then drove down to Missoula and visited with Matt and Jim at the Kingfisher Fly Shop www.kingfisherflyshop.com , on to Florence to see Chris and Robert from the River Otter Fly Shop www.riverotterflyfishing.com on the Bitterroot River. From Florence I traveled up HWY 93 through Hamilton, up Lost Trail Pass and took the cut off road to Wisdom, Montana and the Upper Big Hole River. There are few places on earth that truly awe me as this valley, a big open, grass filled land that is surrounded by jagged peaks with a world class trout stream running through it. Add in a few cranky cows, knee deep bogs, a few mosquitoes and it seems like heaven.
After my “side trip” I landed in Twin Bridges, MT. Home of Winston Fly Rods, Four Rivers Fly Shop and a man named “Rooster”. Clacka Pro Staff member Dan “Rooster” Leavens and Greg Smith own the aforementioned fly shop www.4 riversmontana.com which is located on the main drag of Twin Bridges, you can’t miss it. There is a huge wall size mural of Lewis and Clark fishing out of a Drift Boat…
After the morning chaos of getting the guides and clients out of the shop Rooster and I fished a local river that holds fat and scrappy Brown and Rainbow trout. On the 5 th cast of the day I hooked a very large Brown that was easily over 20”. Unfortunately as my “guide” was netting the fish, the hooked pulled out of the corner its mouth and that was it, gone. Alas my quest for a new business card photo continues... We both hooked (and missed) several nice fish during that day and I must thank Mr. Leavens for a great day on the water. Besides the big brown the other hi-light of the day was taking out Rooster’s 15LP. Being in the drift boat business I’ve seen and heard it all, but I must admit that this particular take out was a bit “sketchy”.
Picture a 60’ vertical dirt bank full of boulders, rocks and stinging nettles, 100’ of hi-strength tinsel rope tied to the trailer then hooked to the boat, I’m in Rooster’s four door diesel pickup and he’s standing at the back of the boat yelling Gun It!. Fear No Rock Indeed.
The following day found me working an open house at Tim Tollet’s Frontier Angler’s in Dillon, MTwww.frontieranglers.com . Tim and I have been friends for years and it was a pleasure helping him out. The Dillon area is somewhat my backyard so spending time talking to folks who live and work the area was great, especially swapping fishing stories with folks who fished waters (like myself) that are now locked up and unavailable to the public. During the open house I booked a day of fishing for my wife Melinda and I on the Beaverhead River with one of Tim’s up and coming guides Matt Bryn. We floated from Buffalo to Henneberry fishing mostly nymphs and the occasional PMD, this was Melinda’s first experience on the Beaverhead and she had a great time.
On June 12 th Bruce Belles and I attended the “Gathering of the Guides” in Twin Bridges, Montana. Guides from the Four Rivers Fishing Company, Crane Meadow Lodge, Frontier Anglers as well as many others attend the event. Rooster Leavens was the BBQ Master, his “Magic Elk burgers” are absolutely delightful and everyone left with a full and satisfied feeling. Rooster also turned his Clacka 15LP into a gigantic Ice Cooler and filled it with beverages for everyone to enjoy. A four course (course as in golf) casting competition with $1,000.00 top prize was also held along with reps from Clacka, Simms Fishing Productswww.simmsfishing.com (John Yousko and Colleen Trayser) and R.L. Winton Rods www.winstonrods.com (Chris and Amy Hart) where on hand to answer questions and pass out swag. We all had a great time and look forward to next years event.
The following Saturday the 14 th found me in Missoula, Montana attending the River City Rendezvous sponsored by the King Fisher Fly Shop www.kingfisherflyshop.com. Chris and Matt the owners of the shop invited Clacka, along with several other companies to showcase our products at the event. Zackary Dalton from Rio Fly Lines www.rioproducts.com , Mike and Diane Atwell who rep Sage, www.sageflyfish.com Cloudveil and Smith Optics, Chris and Amy Hart (Winston Rods and Ross Reels) and John Yousko from Simms all made the trip up to Missoula. Despite the 100+ degree temperatures a nice crowd of folks turned out for the event.
Needless to say I’ve done a bit of traveling this summer, and I’m looking forward to a bit of fishing time….
Locations
