I started fishing Montana over 15 years ago. Wanting to go off the beaten path, that led me to the NW corner to fish The Kootenai river which flows out of British Columbia about 20 miles north. A large river full of Garard Rainbow trout, they grow fast & strong in a place that doesn’t get the pressure most MT streams do, you may see 3 drift boats all day. 30 to 50 fish days are not uncommon,ranging between 12′ -21″. With the occasional 25+ inch Bull trout thrown in. These are a native protected species & are to be released immediately . Just a beautiful part of the world. I ended up guiding with a NH transplant, Tim Linehan of Linehan outfitters. He is an excellent guide & now friend that used to host TU TV.
As time went on the more famous rivers were explored, from the flathead river system in Glacier Ntnl Park , beautiful, wild cutthroat & bulltrout, Rock Creek area ,bitterroot ,Blackfoot rivers down to Bozeman & Livingston area the Yellowstone & into the “Park” for all the famous waters & spring creeks that abound & go on forever.
That is one part of the world you never get tired of fishing.
East Coast Attitude, West Coast Mentality.
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Fall Steelhead on the Klickitat
Great times with Jack & Jennifer Mitchell of The Evening Hatch . Fished the Klickitat River in Southern WA , in early November & caught several fish a day up to 14 pounds. Probably 90% of the fish we caught were wild , & the other anglers were minimal. Strong fish, beautiful country & good friends. What more could you ask for
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Upper Columbia “The best kept secret in the North west”
If you look at a map of Washington State, in the top right hand corner , nestled on the British Columbia border is the Town of Northport. Home to the US section of the Upper Columbia River.This river is large & in charge & not for the faint of heart. It’s like fishing 5 rivers in one.With huge swirls boiling up & twisting your jet boat from side to side. At least that’s the way you have to break it up to fish it effectively, as it is pretty intimidating if you’ve never fished it before. Which most people haven’t. I started going there with Jack Mitchell of the Evening Hatch Guide service about 6 years ago & when he said that the “average ” fish was 20″ & went up from there.I was pretty skeptical, until I cast my huuuuge Green Drake pattern & a snout came up engulfed it & put me into my backing before I knew what was going on. My first fish was a wild 24″ Red Band ” Rainbow that looked more like a steelhead. I have been back every year since & just booked the first week of July. The beginning of the Green Drake mayhem. Fishing for huge trout on a dry fly the size of your thumb is a dream, not to mention, pretty damn exciting. There are also very large wild Cutthroats in the mix. This all being said, as aggressive as these fish are they are not push overs. You will probably get a shot at about 20 fish, but are lucky to land six. When these fish start feeding, the sight of a pod of 50 to 100 heads “gulping” down may flies gets your adrenaline pumping so fast ,you can’t help but start to flock shoot you casts. Instead of picking one fish & casting to it. This happened to me on my last evening there of my first trip, & I got so freaked out I couldn’t land one fish. Jack took me out the following morning & I ended up catching a beautiful 23″ Rainbow. All was good in the world after that.
The bugs on this river are like nothing I’ve ever seen as well. Millions of Caddis flies, Midges so thick that they sound like extra loud power lines buzzing all around. A head buff covering your nose & mouth with sunglasses are a must when you’re flying down the river at 30 Knots.You would be hard pressed to see more than half a dozen boats on the river the whole day as well, making it a very unique experience.This year is also a special year as Jack & Jennifer , his wife, are building Black Bear Lodge. Right on the Banks of the Upper Columbia with a view that spans the whole river. This is slated to open the first week of July coincidentally the week I’ll be arriving.
The evening hatch has been operating since 1988 & has a fly shop & guide service in Ellensburg WA, for the Yakima River,& a steelhead Ranch on the Klickitat river near Goldendale WA. I have fished them both , & will save that post for another time. You have to check out his web site theevening hatch.com to see the testimonials & photo gallery to attest to all I’ve said. It also full of great information,products & some pretty funny stuff. The Fat Fish “header” picture credit on my blog page belongs to Jack Mitchell & oh, by the way that aint no steelhead, It’s an upper Columbia Rainbow. Need I Say more ?
Mexico, Bones & Federales
Mexico is always welcome this time of year after a long hard winter. Casting for bones, permit, & tarpon while someone else is poling my fat ass around is extra special. Especially since I can’t see anything now that my eyesight, & many other issues are starting to be consistant in the over 40 doldrums.
Sending my wife & 2 boys back to the airport in this sketchy part of the world wasn’t easy. But after a text telling me they made it home safely, I was able to relax & take my gringo abuse from the locals like a man.If I can offer any advice on a do it yourself, self guided trip to Mexico it would be , always count your change, get out while they pump your gas,( as they don’t always “clear” the pump from the last fill up) &,when the police pull you over & try to give you a speeding ticket, don’t just give them the money after they threaten to take you to the station. Call their bluff & let them take you.(but they won’t, because they are trying to scam you), & by going to the station, you would find out it’s only about $20 instead of the $200 they took from us, while driving to meet our guide on a deserted road at 4:30 in the AM. These people have no money & are very smooth in the art of putting a few extra $$ in their pockets.
We were fortunate enough to be able to fish North of Cancun for Snook & Tarpon & then down the Yucatan & over the border into Belize ( unofficially). The wind was nuking at about 45 mph the whole time & the locals hadn’t seen wind like this since Hurricane Dean. Lucky us. We also were experimental research guinea pigs for a guide service.A destination at the very bottom of Ascension Bay at a lobster fishing village in Punta Herrero. No Electricity,running water, toilets, & my first experience sleeping in a hammock. Literally the end of the road & fifty miles from no where. Fortunately, this was mostly virgin territory,except for the “mother ships” unloading to smaller faster boats carrying cargo of coke & pot. They left us alone ,thank god. We did catch bones, permit Jacks & on my birthday I was a ham handed trout hook-set away from hooking a tarpon for a grand slam. I just can’t get used to strip setting the hook instead of the trouty raising your rod tip. I guess that’s what keeps you coming back.
Returning from Punta Herrero,and coming out of nowhere, we came across several “federales” while trying to help an ambulance that was stuck in the sand. It was a little concerning when they were all there with M-16′s & looking at my buddy Jack’s wife Jen.All I could understand was Gringo’s, & blah ,blah, Gringa .Fortunately, they had bigger fish to fry & were trying to catch the smugglers. After un- burying our own Jeep from the fine, talc -like sand we ended up driving to Placer,staying at the most beautiful Cottages.The Mayan Beach Garden, run by a couple from Seattle of all places. Amazing views, food , tequila & stars like I have never experienced in our light polluted part of the world.This is located within driving distance to Xcalac & Mahahual, where we would meet our guides & fish for the day. We met other fly-fisherman at dinner as well,who had just come from Cuba & were spending their last few days at The Mayan Beach Garden & fishing the local waters by themselves catching many fish along the deserted beaches & back bays. Where the “sanote’s” which were underground tunnels formed in the limestone , connect the fresh water lagoons to the beaches on the other side of the beach. Truly amazing, as the fish use these as underground highways to navigate between the salt & fresh water. For the adventure aspect alone, I would recommend doing a self guided trip to this part of the world. Just make sure you use your street smarts & don’t go alone.
Red tail
Went to Florida recently & fished with Scott Macalla in the Mosquito Lagoon Area. Caught a few Red -Fish & sea-trout , missed several more. Scott worked his ass off trying to get me into position with wind gusts up to 35 knots,testing my double haul & setting my hook like I was fishing for trout. This area is a beautiful eco-syetem set among a huge lagoon ,with no houses in sight. I could have easily been in Belize Or Mexico if I didn’t know better.
So close I can taste it…
April in New England is a hard time for fly fishers. We don’t have the luxury of a pre run-off Skwala hatch, or numerous tail waters that keep water temps at a constant for happy trout. Instead we find ourselves traveling to far reaching destinations, Mexico, Belize, New Zealand, Chili, or a six hour drive to the Great Lakes for “Eastern” Steelhead. (Most Westerners refuse to acknowledge them as Steelies, but this is another subject for another time ). This is about all we have from November through April. Yes, some of us find ourselves drifting nymphs in bitter temps to try & catch hardy stocked browns & bows in our local trickles. But this somehow pales in comparison to the West, until the bugs start to pop & the stripers make their way up the coast in mid May. I must admit, on my numerous trips to the Northwest , I visualize myself living in Montana or Washington, for the sole purpose of being able to fly fish year round. I will make it happen, and have fished quite extensively in the Northwest corner to know what I’m looking for. I sure hope my wife comes to visit.
