Too Many Choices in June
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It’s that time of the year where the decision where to fish is complicated by too many opportunities. As run-off is subsiding, all the local rivers are in good shape and fishing well. There is dry fly action everywhere and the woolly buggers continue to deliver.
Finally made it back to the Lower Big Hole as flows dropped into the low teens. It’s a bit tougher to paddle the kayak against the flow @ 1300CFS than it is at 500 and there are a few sections where runoff rearranged the trees which took some new maneuvering. That said, the higher flows put good water in the side channels and made for some good brown trout fishing.
Flows in late June are about 2X the April flow and that puts the water level about 1’ higher.
This is a side channel that is nearly stagnant at summer flows ~ 400CFS, but fills up nicely with fish in the spring. Fish are lined up along the banks feeding on caddis and small stones. Saw the occasional hopper in the grass, so hopper season isn’t far off.
For comparison, this was late April on the Big Hole.
And this was in September 2012
Browns outnumber Rainbows 4:1 in this section of the Big Hole but occasionally I tangle with a decent bow.
Strategy without Tactics is a Slow Route to Victory, Tactics without Strategy is the Noise Before Defeat - Sun Tzu
<cite> @eric weller said:</cite>
Jealous Mike, totally jealousEric
Don’t be, you are only 1900 miles away and you have a kayak.
Strategy without Tactics is a Slow Route to Victory, Tactics without Strategy is the Noise Before Defeat - Sun Tzu
<cite> @eric weller said:</cite>
Jealous Mike, totally jealousEric
Don’t be, you are only 1900 miles away and you have a kayak. The rivers will fish well into October. And the Browns will get bigger as the year goes on.
Strategy without Tactics is a Slow Route to Victory, Tactics without Strategy is the Noise Before Defeat - Sun Tzu
I don’t think they will let gate check the kayak. I am loving it though, had it out again last night targeting largemouth bass. It has opened up a whole new world of fishing for me. Don’t know if I’ll make Montana this year, but will definitely be there next year.
Eric
Mike –
The one time I fished the Big Hole I damn near stepped on two different rattlesnakes. You ever run into those in your kayak? I would imagine they avoid swimming, unlike our southeastern cottonmouth.
Zach
The only rattler I’ve ever encountered in the Kayak was on the lower East Gallatin as the river passed through a section of dry sagebrush and rocks. They certainly don’t avoid swimming but they certainly aren’t a menace in most places. That said, there are a few places like Harrison Lake and Willow Creek that are notorious for the numbers of rattlers seen by anglers. But it is definitely not something I fret about.
Strategy without Tactics is a Slow Route to Victory, Tactics without Strategy is the Noise Before Defeat - Sun Tzu
Mike –
I was on the Big Hole very briefly several years back when you guys were in a drought. We had stopped the car by a drainage ditch and I got out to look, flushing one rattlesnake right by the road. I cautiously walked out on the culvert and saw a seriously nice brown sitting in an irrigation channel – probably a 22″ fish.
The channel was all choked with cottonwood saplings on both sides, but I just had to at least try to get a cast to it, so I crossed the culvert-head bridge thing and started bushwhacking down the opposite side from the car to get below the fish. About halfway into those cottonwoods I nearly stepped on a balled up rattler. I got the eff out of there and left that fish alone.
Zach
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