Another year at the Double 'R' in Montana - 2006

The noise behind me makes me jump.  I’m always slightly nervous being in the wilds of Montana, only natural being a city boy, I suppose.  I turn around and realise it was just a wind-blown branch falling to the ground but just as I turn to look, another fish hits the fly and is hooked. They don’t come easily but would you want them to?  The noise behind me now forgotten but you’ve got to look, bears eh?

The Blackfoot River

Fishing the Blackfoot again is what I have planned, talked and dreamed about since last time (2004) and here I am again, waist deep in a pool by the old bridge for those who remember it.  Another 20” full-tailed brown trout – my first day’s fishing and what a difference from last time.  Full on, all day action with above average cutthroats, brown and wild rainbows.

The killing fly was a red Copper John and I found out about it from the notice board at the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Missoula.  Information of all the state waters, what’s catching and what time of day etc – is there for all, no secrets here!

My family and I flew out with Ralph and his family in early August and I managed to stay for a month.  After a couple of days rest and relaxation, Wendy, the boys and I set off on a road trip down to Jackson Hole in Wyoming.  This is a great drive with spectacular scenery and plenty of places to stop at on the way.

I managed to get to the Big Hole River, Yellowstone, Gallatin, Madison, Lewis and Snake rivers.  So many rivers, so little time to fish! Fantastic views over the Grand Tetons and the geysers in Yellowstone Park.  It’s worth doing!  After a week’s touring, we came back to the Double R in Greenough, Montana and went straight into the fishing, BBQ and beer fever that I catch every time.

Geyser in the Yellowstone Park                  The Grand Tetons                                                                              Lewis River - Yellowstone Park

Ralph and I managed to fish the Blackfoot, The Bitterroot, The Clarkfork, Rock Creek and The Clearwater – catching prime fish on each river, every day.

Fishing tactics are the same as at home, only fish across and down with Adams, Humpies, Hoppers, Attractors, Copper Johns etc.  They all catch but the Copper John was the winner this year.  River levels were low and the water warm, so wet wading was easy and comfortable and you could criss-cross most rivers.  Beware though, low water pushes through at a rate of knots and if you lose your footing, well, you know what happens!

It is very rare to see other anglers on the river banks as most do not stray far from the fishing access points.  Some guided drift boats are seen, but most anglers on board seem to lack proficiency and it is rare to see fish taken by them.  I suppose it must work well for good anglers.  You may find yourself totally alone in a wild and unspoilt landscape, hence my occasional nervous reaction to sudden noises.  Bears and mountain lions roam these parts of Montana as well as elk, moose, deer, eagles, ospreys and a whole bunch of other wildlife.  Not the place to go if you don’t like your own company!

The Blackfoot near The 'Double R'

After three weeks, Ralph and I said goodbye to our families at Missoula Airport and waved them on their way home – a bit of a sad moment and it subdued us for a while - so we went to the Clark Fork near Clinton and reluctantly fished.  I fished here in 2004 and did not do well at all so was surprised to find my mate ‘Copper John’ was pulling fish all day long.  Browns, cuts, rainbows and large whitefish – what a change.  In the evening, I met up with Ralph at a pool and we stood a yard apart and caught trout after trout.  What a good day – it got better.

Howard was joining us for my last week of fishing and would arrive late at night so Ralph and I decided to go down the Bitterroot and fish around Bell Crossing before coming back via the airport to pick him up.

Now this is a strange landscape and in the summer can only be described as a scene from the battlefields of the war.  Huge shingle banks tower over you in places and large tracts of desolate dry river bed can be seen all around.  It must roar through here in the run off – it must be a frightening amount of water.

Fishing the Bitterroot was not easy, no fooling these fish, not as easy as the free rising fish of the Blackfoot, oh no!  Nevertheless, what was lacking in quantity was made up for in quality.  My God, the size of some of these rainbows!  Forget my soppy hand net, get the fish to your hand, free the barbless hook and let it swim away and when you can stop trembling with excitement, try and cast again.  It got better.

We came off the river late in the afternoon and bumped into a group of people relaxing by the river, we exchanged 'howdies' and they instantly realised that we were New Zealanders or Australians but became slightly confused when we told them we were English.  Within a couple of moments we were treated to beer and jerky and became firm friends with promises of hunting and fishing trips next time out.  People in Montana are genuine, friendly and polite.

Later on at the airport bar, Ralph and I reflected on the day and felt slightly sorry for Howard who was about to arrive – once bitten, forever smitten, that’s Montana – he’s going to love it.

Howard soon settled in and before long was fishing the Blackfoot.  We allowed him a couple of days to acclimatise and had fairly good sport on the river again.  I took Ralph’s skeeter boat down from Scotty Brown Bridge to his place which is a drift of a few miles and had excellent cutthroat catches but only a few browns and rainbows.  What a great day and would recommend it.  And it got better.

Howard relaxes in the Scapegoat Wilderness                                 Ralph enjoying the scenery

Eric fishing on the Blackfoot                                                        Eric into another fish!

We decided on a hike up the Hobnail Tom trail which runs up the north fork of the Blackfoot River.  Now this is at least a three and a half mile walk to the point at which you meet the river and it is then up to you how much further up you wish to go in the Scapegoat Wilderness and fish.  It is a landscape of burnt trees, new growth and land slips, all caused by forest fires over many years.  Have a look on Google Earth.

I walked up about another mile or so and fished a series of pools, undercut banks, flows and log jams.  Absolutely brilliant!  Plump cutthroats all over the waters and large bull trout (seen but not fished for.  What a fantastic sight – ice blue water and red gilled ‘cuts’ up to a pound and a half - true wilderness fishing.

Cutthroat trout caught near The 'Double R'

We had beer and dinner in Trixi's Bar that night and as we came out to our car, we could see the flames on the mountains from the wild fires and they were not far from where we had been fishing earlier.

My last real trip was, for all of us, an eye opener.  We rose early and drove to the Missouri river just below the Holter Dam.  We stopped at the tackle shop and asked for advice on what, where, how and gleaned loads of information.  But to me, the strangest thing was the size of the flies, only 16’s, 18’s, 20’s.  A bit small for me as I would have trouble tying them on!  After breakfast, we drove down to the river which was huge.  How do you fish it?  How to start? And those tiny flies!  What good will they be – well let me tell you – TINY FLIES = BIG FISH.  The Missouri is a long story but suffice to say it concluded my holiday with a bang.  Large wild, rainbow trout, small by some standards but big to me. 

As I left Montana in September, it snowed.  I flew out over a wintry scene and thought of how hot it had been when we landed in early August, 90°; oh well, maybe, just maybe, next year.

Western Montana is very friendly, the people are polite, the restaurants and bars and shops are all good value.  The cost of a year’s fishing is less than a day ticket on some English waters.  The mountains and plains are spectacular but it does get very hot.

NB:  I went fishing on New Year’s Day 2007 (thank you Mike for organising) and did not have much luck for the first couple of hours, so I put on my size 18 Missouri disco sparkle emerger and started taking fish.  Unfortunately, I did not catch any grayling, only browns and rainbows from the lake but they work here as well, great eh??

For more information on the Double R, have a look at their web site: www.sperrygrade.co.uk

Alternatively, contact Ralph Ryan direct on: +44 1932 247476.

Holland Lake looking towards the Mission mountains

PS:  sorry, I have obviously missed out a great deal but I cannot fully put into words, what a month’s fishing in Montana – the last, best place in the world, was like!  Please feel free to contact me if you require further enlightenment!

Eric Bradley, March 2007