It’s a cold and snowy day here in Western Montana, which is as it should be. December was a rainy mess with a major spike in our rivers, no snow in the valleys, and a muddy brown Christmas. But now, it seems to be back to normal. The ski hills are open, the valley is…
A Christmas Fly
A Christmas Perdigon Welcome to winter! As I’m writing this, we in Western Montana are having our first major snow storm. Most of the birds that are going to leave have left. The ones that stay sit puffily in the mornings waiting for the late rising sun and a few more degrees before they get…
A Most Unusual Catch
Day four of a seven day backpacking / car camping / fishing trip found me exhausted. On day one, after a car camp at Lola Creek Campground near Stanley, Idaho, we packed down Marsh Creek to the confluence that forms the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, fished our way up Bear Valley Creek, discovering…
Pig Bait
November is a great month to be fishing. Browns and Brookies are spawning and if you fish the right waters, the rainbows are as fat as they’ll be all year, feasting on eggs of the aforementioned spawners. Until the weather really turns, the fish will feed aggressively for at least a few hours every day….
October Caddis
October Caddis Well, it’s been a long time since I posted any flies. Summer came and I admit I got busier and lazier at the same time. But now we are in to Fall, and I am stoked to get back to tying and posting some cool patterns. As summer wanes and the grasshoppers die…
Woolly Worm
Last month I mentioned fishing a Woolly Worm as part of a duo of flies that I consistently use when fishing lakes. I realized that there are a number of younger fly tiers and some older ones that have never tied or used a Woolly Worm. Almost everyone has heard of this fly’s modified cousin…
Mini Leech
Spring is here in Western Montana. The Glacier lilies are blooming, Bitterroots and Arrowleaf Balsamroots are popping up. The geese can’t shut up and fight the Redwing blackbirds for the title of noisiest birds around. Of course, it still snows and blows and when it rains the temps are in the 40’s and it’s pretty…
March Brown Spinner
March Brown Spinner If you live anywhere near the Bitterroot River then every March you listen for the whispers and rumors of the first Squwala sighting and even though you know it will be packed with every guide west of the Missouri you still head out there for the chance to throw a big dry…
Fishing Journal
March 26th, Tuesday. 60+ degrees. CFS doubled from 250 to 500 overnight. Tea colored water with loads of debris floating down. Never a great sign for fishing. Began with a skwala but had no takers. Nymphing wasn’t effective either. Coaxed two and missed two on a streamer. The highlight of the day was watching two…
Parachute Squwala
Just in case you don’t have enough Squwala patterns to tie, here’s another one. This pattern is based on Schroeder’s parachute hopper, which I think doesn’t get the credit it deserves for being one of the best. The fly checks off the key features of a Squwala: it’s low floating, segmented body, and lots of…