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Tuesday seemed like great opportunity for me to unwind in one of my favorite places to fish.  I called up my good buddy Raymond Bernardo, who is enjoying finally being able to fish during the day after this year’s guiding fiasco.  Fishing at Depuy's Spring Creek is always a good way to spend some hard earned cash (or check).  If you are looking for a good challenge with obvious rewards, I would advise taking a closer look at what the Paradise Valley spring creeks have to offer. 

Nymphing was the way to produce numbers of fish.  Short leashing tiny bugs under tiny indicators, or tight line high sticking was the ticket for a number of healthy browns, bows, and cuts.  Dries in the form of BWOs emerged from the weeds around 12:30 p.m.  It started like most hatches.  Subsurface boils, and flashes of gold, silver, and green became a common site.  The blue wings were certainly on the lighter side of olive, almost a pale yellow.  The duns turned up soon after, some were between a size 16-18. 

I hope this is not the last of the beatis, but it is beginning to become very cold.  The only other dry fly opportunity came around five when the cool air moved in.  Midges.  Throughout the day, Ray and I vacuumed out our runs, which we fished for hours at a time, with big bugs.  We took a lot of nice fish this way.  Stripping quickly across variable fast to slow, or slow to fast water was always good for at least one flash, and many times it produced a fish to hand.  We spent nearly all day upstream from the cascade near the big house.  This kept us from seeing many huge Yellowstone spawners but provided us with frisky, ubber clean, resident fish all day.  My Favorite!  Ray took the size prize with this studly buck on a certain streamer. 

Any day at Depuy's is worth it.  Stop in the fly shop for some spring creek bugs, and techniques on how to fish these extraordinary waters.
























 
Here is a bow from my previous trip to Depuy's last Feb. if you are still not convinced.


 

 

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courtesy of Winston Fly Rods 2011

My dad and I had to make a family trip to South Dakota recently to our family's farmstead near Sisseton, SD.  A long drive, lots of window time, and plenty of great conversation later we found ourselves back across the flat lands of the dakotas where we could finally see mountains again.  In case you haven't driven across eastern Montana and the dakotas before, it's flat... not kind of flat, like between "Great Falls and Havre flat"... it's so flat that there is no analogy to describe it's flatness flat (A person from Montana their whole life would be impressed by how even the ground is, it's a basketball court or soccer field making paradise).  No offense if you lived or live there, I was born there, lived in both North and South Dakota, and proud of it.  I will also say that the Dakotas are responsible for a major portion of our countries farming produce, and the people that live, work, and recreate on the land in the Dakotas are some of the tuffest and hardest working people in the country (...and most stubborn... I would know because I myself, and my Dad, and his Dad, and his Dad, are all from there).  It has changed a lot since I have been there, Bismark and Fargo are very progressive and populations and businesses are growing.  My favorite part about going through the Dakotas, even when I was young, is the badlands on the western side of the state.  There is also great fishing opportunities in the Dakotas, fairly unpopulated, and if solitude and fishing make you happy then you probably should visit (great for Pike, Walleye, Bass, Panfish, and other warmwater fisheries).

Anyways, I now appreciate mountains after living in Montana for a decent amount of time, and it is amazing how morale jumps and the feelings of "home sweet home" fill you up as you get back to the landscape of Rocky Mountains.  I guess they call that a Rocky Mountain "high." 

The first stop on the way back to the Rocky's is Lewistown, MT, and to any trout bum that means Big Spring Creek.  Big Spring Creek is the largest spring creek system in Montana.  Of course water levels are high, and we were eager to get home but I had heard that the Argotti's from the Trout Bum Diaries had a cafe there called Rising Trout.  It didn't take much to convince Dad to stop for lunch. 

The cafe is downtown on main street (217 W. Main St.).  If you are in the Lewistown, MT area fishing or just driving through this was a great little stop.  Lots of great books, live music, great coffee, pastries, and a ham and cheese bagel sandwich is what saved my day. 

Check their Facebook page for upcoming live music, food, pictures, and fishing information (Rising Trout Cafe Facebook Page).
 
Some images from inside the cafe...

Saturdays we have free coffee in the fly shop from 9-12! So if your headed out to the river stop by for a cup of joe and some bugs. $1 a cup any other time and 50 cents to refill your fly shop mug. We also have 1/2 lbs. bags of beans and ground coffee for $5.99. To go with it all, we are now carrying coffee grinders/dubbing mixers from Mr. Coffee.

If you are having a bit of cabin fever this winter with all this cold weather and snow, here is 1 minute of some shots from the Missouri and other Montana rivers from spring of 2010.  Hopefullly this will energize your day and give us all something to look forward to in the coming months and +30 degree weather.  Think green... baetis, scuds, and skwalas... all in the spring and all green!


 

    This summer I attended the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's, Jack Creek Kid's Camp. For two years now I have been asked to teach the fly tying station at the camp. We just got some photos back and thought we would show some of the other things that we do outside the shop throughout the year. 

     This camp exists for kids ages 11-18 (with a few younger kids who like to hang out, Aaryn and Shamus seen to the right!) to learn a little bit about everything that Montana has to offer in the outdoors. It is a great way to learn about conservation and protecting what we have right here in our backyard.

There are many stations that the kids go through. Some of the many include; Archery, Hunting 101, Photography, Maps, Survival, Fly Tying, etc.

 Each kid has his or her favorite station and I have a feeling there are a few who like the fly tying!

     It is an awesome feeling to teach a kid or adult how to tie flies and see that they get it and understand it. Then to see them take what they have learned to the water and catch a fish, it doesn't get much better! 

I have enjoyed being a part of this awesome event and thank the RMEF for inviting me to help out! We hope to continue to teach anyone and everyone who want to learn, and thanks to the kids for such a great expierence! 

Opening day is Sat. for waterfowl on the pacific flyway.  Make sure you have your duck stamp, shotgun, streamer box, and 6 weight in the boat.

The youth shoots the week before gave up limits.  Should be a good season.  Honkers are flying all day.  Pray for some cold weather this weekend (or at least not 80 degrees).

Big R now has Mojo, Drake, Benelli, Beretta, Blackcloud, Quackhead, RNT, Duck Commander, Avery, and more waterfowl products on the shelf to get things started.