Got up this morning and headed east for a little exploration on some water I’ve had my eyes on for a while, but haven’t fished before. Cold, cloudy conditions were upon me as I pulled up to the access and waded out into the water. At first I had trouble finding the right water, but once I found the deep, slower slots and runs I was looking for started to get into some browns. The few nice sized fish I hooked managed to spit my flies, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
One thing I was reminded of today was when nymphing not to get hung up on a certain set of standard flies. I started out with a simple rubberlegs/copper john combo, but it was soon apparent that I needed to imploy smaller, more tailwater-type flies to get em to eat. It’s easy to think that fish aren’t too picky in freestone rivers when eating below the surface, but they definitely can be sometimes. Better success was found with a pink lighting bug, firebead ray charles, and scuds, all in about a size 18.
I later moved downstream to a second access and fished for a quick hour. It was a great evening in the valley with ducks, geese, and deer all around the river as the sun set.
Just another awesome day in Montana.
