I came into southwestern Montana thinking that I knew pretty much everything there was to know about flyfishing. However, I found out that trout in the streams around Dillon, Montana, are smarter than your average flyfisherman. This place is the "church of trout" and you better be baptized with knowledge of the bugs that they eat and how to toss 'em!
First thing that I found out was that I swung the flyrod like a caveman's club, so I went through rigorous training in the water as to how to get the fly out there without scaring the fish to the end of the river.
Our fishing friends who told us about this place have been coming here every summer for seven years. Rick and Mickey had a lot of patience teaching me the correct techniques of flycasting. Rick also taught me how to tie the flies that the trout will bite on during different times of the season. These flies match the bugs in the river that the trout feed on. I had to match the hatch. There are different bugs on different days that emerge from the bottom of the river and we had to find the fly that looked like these certain bugs of the day. I am proud to say that I was able to trick the trout into biting my flies that I tied. Rick taught me well. I was able to catch my largest rainbow trout of the month the day before I left which measured at 21 inches. My average catch size was between 18 and 20 inches with some 10 to 12 inchers in between.
I must say that Rick and Mickey are probably glad that I'm gone now because we fished everyday for a month and missed maybe 5 days due to weather or sightseeing/shopping, including one day at a fly fishing seminar.
I finally wore out my old waders and bought a new pair. I also ended up buying a new flyrod because my old one just wasn't up to the job of bringing these large trout into the net.
I lost many more trout than I brought in but I was told that if I brought 1 into the net out of 10, I was doing very well. These trout are "fish of a lifetime" and I am blessed with the fact that I was able to bring many to the net during the month. I'm very glad that I didn't have to pay a fishing guide to do this because it would have cost me thousands!
I want to express my appreciation to Rick and Mickey for their patience in teaching me the art of catching these Montana trout and being there with me daily and for taking pictures of the big ones that didn't get away. You made me a happy fisherman with trophy pictures to remember my time there on the river catching and releasing those fighters for somebody else to enjoy, maybe even me again. Yup, I believe in "catch and release" for conservation of our fine fish. I used to keep every fish that I caught when I was younger, but now I just don't eat as much fish unless it's from the store. I just enjoy tricking them and catching them. This was the longest sustained fishing trip that I ever had and I thank my wonderful wife Jo for having to go without tv, telephone, etc. for a month to let me do it.
I hope you enjoy the slide show with a lot of the fish that I caught.
First thing that I found out was that I swung the flyrod like a caveman's club, so I went through rigorous training in the water as to how to get the fly out there without scaring the fish to the end of the river.
Our fishing friends who told us about this place have been coming here every summer for seven years. Rick and Mickey had a lot of patience teaching me the correct techniques of flycasting. Rick also taught me how to tie the flies that the trout will bite on during different times of the season. These flies match the bugs in the river that the trout feed on. I had to match the hatch. There are different bugs on different days that emerge from the bottom of the river and we had to find the fly that looked like these certain bugs of the day. I am proud to say that I was able to trick the trout into biting my flies that I tied. Rick taught me well. I was able to catch my largest rainbow trout of the month the day before I left which measured at 21 inches. My average catch size was between 18 and 20 inches with some 10 to 12 inchers in between.
I must say that Rick and Mickey are probably glad that I'm gone now because we fished everyday for a month and missed maybe 5 days due to weather or sightseeing/shopping, including one day at a fly fishing seminar.
I finally wore out my old waders and bought a new pair. I also ended up buying a new flyrod because my old one just wasn't up to the job of bringing these large trout into the net.
I lost many more trout than I brought in but I was told that if I brought 1 into the net out of 10, I was doing very well. These trout are "fish of a lifetime" and I am blessed with the fact that I was able to bring many to the net during the month. I'm very glad that I didn't have to pay a fishing guide to do this because it would have cost me thousands!
I want to express my appreciation to Rick and Mickey for their patience in teaching me the art of catching these Montana trout and being there with me daily and for taking pictures of the big ones that didn't get away. You made me a happy fisherman with trophy pictures to remember my time there on the river catching and releasing those fighters for somebody else to enjoy, maybe even me again. Yup, I believe in "catch and release" for conservation of our fine fish. I used to keep every fish that I caught when I was younger, but now I just don't eat as much fish unless it's from the store. I just enjoy tricking them and catching them. This was the longest sustained fishing trip that I ever had and I thank my wonderful wife Jo for having to go without tv, telephone, etc. for a month to let me do it.
I hope you enjoy the slide show with a lot of the fish that I caught.
2 comments:
You are very welcome! Pass it on when you meet someone who wants to learn about fly fishing. We had a good time visiting with you. Rick & Mickey
I bet those tasted GREAT - not as silty tasting as the ones from Western Washington ...
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