Leaving the Lodge at 7:20 AM with Tim towing one drift boat & GK towing the second. Heading up the Missouri to Holter Dam and the launch ramp.  Now the team is really looking forward to catching some fish near Craig, Montana since the information from Montana Fish & Wildlife would indicate that you might have a hard time drowning if you fell in the river since it would seem you could just step on the fish and walk out!!

GK & MS in one boat, JR & AB in the other. Within a block of the ramp there were several pods of trout rising. AB & JR anchor up and the GK/MS team go down river. Both AB & JR have two rods (4,5, & 6 wts.), one rigged with a Trico dry fly, the other with a double nymph (Prince/Pheasant tail) combo. The water was covered with thousands, maybe millions of tricos. We worked the area for 15 minutes and AB picked up a Rainbow & we moved downriver. Working several more active pods of fish as we floated the river, but the PhD Trout syndrome was still on us.

With JR on the oars & AB on the fly rod, we drifted through a fast chute of water. AB had a pickup & a fat trout went airborne. A couple big jumps and a LDR (long distance release). Gathering up the fly line and making another quick cast with the nymphs into the same chute, another immediate strike and we boated a nice Rainbow.

Then JR took his turn on the rod & picked up a nice rainbow on the Prince also.

We stopped at an island in the river for a lunch of bagels, creamed cheese & AB’s smoked salmon. We do eat well on these trips.

Temps were 104 & spending time wet wading with a wet bandana around your neck or dunking your hat in the water felt pretty good. We worked several more miles of river, pulling into the ramp at Craig at 4:30. Talking to successful fisherman at the ramp, the formula seemed to be Trico’s in the morning, Caddis mid-day, & Hoppers in the afternoon. We could recommend, the Renegade (imitates a cluster of Tricos), Black w/ white wing Trico’s, double wing Tricos, Missouri River Special Tent wing cinnamon hackle Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, & small yellow bodied Hoppers for the Missouri.

We tied up the boats at the bridge & left them for Tim to pick up later and headed for Great Falls, Montana to see the "Great Falls of the Missouri".

There’s a great Lewis & Clark Museum at the uppermost falls of the Missouri. Discovered on June 14^th, 1805, "Black Eagle Falls", was named after an entry in his journals about an eagle nest on an island just below the falls. After viewing the falls & ascending to a high ridge, Lewis wrote, "…in these plains and more particularly in the valley just below me were immence heards of buffaloe…" It took the Corps of Discovery more than a month to portage this series of falls on the Missouri, including many encounters with the "Great White Bear". According to Lewis, "The men labored so hard to portage around the Great Falls, that they dropped on the trail from sheer exhaustion, while others ignored the pain of prickly pear cactus spines in their feet until they could pull them out around the evening camp fire." "Great White Bears constantly loomed at the edges of our campfire light." A tough bunch! It was awesome to be standing at the same place 198 years later, reading Capt. Lewis’s words & looking over the great falls he recorded in his journals.

We asked about a place to have dinner & were told the best place in Great Falls was "Cattleman’s Cut Supper Club". It took a bit to find the place, some 20 miles, including occasional backtracking, out of town. The restaurant was set off the road on a windy plain with the Western Livestock Auction stockyards as a backdrop. We suspected the steaks would be fresh. All had a great meal, steaks all around, salad bar & complimentary shrimp platter & the wait staff was very friendly. Well worth the drive.

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Up early, the YG was looking for a new fishing adventure this morning. We decided to fish Prickly Pear Creek. Saddling up, we drove upstream for some 15 miles surveying the small stream for a fishy looking spot. Spotting a small rutted road heading off toward the stream, JR eased the Jeep into 4WD & proceeded with caution. The road was steep & narrow. Both AB & JR were thinking we’d discovered a little known fishing hole & could hardly wait to give it a try. As we arrived at the stream, we were shocked to discover an old pickup & rickety camp trailer parked in the brush. The encampment looked rather permanent with a generator running, a rifle leaned against the fender & cloths drying in the trees. We were absolutely amazed that this rig could make it down the narrow road to this place as we had struggled to get the Jeep down the hill. Maybe he got it down here, couldn’t get it out & has lived here ever since? With much difficulty we turned the Jeep around and left.

Meanwhile MS & GK had proceeded upstream and found a place they wanted to try. JR &AB found a nearby spot flowing under a railroad bridge. The stream looked pretty good with riffles, pools & overhanging brush.

A couple of hours of flicking little Stimulators along the edges of the brush with a 2 wt. Orvis produced only a couple of strikes. The small trout in the stream were concentrated in the deep pools and were easily spooked. Later we learned that, Prickly Pear creek is used by the Missouri River trout as a spawning area. The low water & high temperatures in July had caused most large fish to move back into the main river. Higher flows & cooler temperatures would be more ideal for fishing this stream.

Being about noon & over 100 degrees, the YG figured it was time to get off the river and look for a place to have lunch. We’d never been to Holter Lake, the reservoir on the Missouri behind Holter Dam, so off we went, across the Wolf Creek bridge & up the east side of the Missouri. Arriving at the lake we spy the Holter Lake Resort & Marina, pull into the restaurant/bar and enjoy the burgers & air conditioning!

Being over 100 degrees outside, it’s hard telling how hot it is inside the parked vehicles, AB & JR are having trouble with their CB radio overheating. The radio is so hot when we enter the parked Jeep, touching it burns your hand. MS & GK sound like they’re talking underwater in a rain barrel when they talk to us. AB has to hold the unit against the air conditioner for 15 minutes to get it to work. CB’s are a great tool & the YG uses them constantly to keep our two vehicles’ wanderings coordinated. It may be time to invest in a new unit & retire the 1980’s Royce unit.

After lunch, we head off for a little more exploration looking for an evening fishing spot. Earlier we’d spotted a sign on the west side of the Wolf Creek bridge over the Missouri that said, "$10 Parking" & decided to check it out.

The road led us through an old ranch property to the confluence of Prickly Pear Creek and the Missouri. A couple fellows were camped in the area & they let us know that the old lady that owned the property expected fisherman using the access would come up to the ranch house and pay the parking fee. JR & AB drove up the road past old barns & farm equipment to the old farmhouse. Knocking on the door, there are yapping dog sounds coming from inside. A frail old woman opens the door. Handing her a 20-dollar bill, she asks, "Are there any other cars down there?" "Yes, two guys camping." "I’ll be down there soon to collect their money." "Thanks for letting us fish on your property, we appreciate it." "Have a nice day boys."

Talking to the campers, we find that they’d been fishing the river together for years & were very successful. Given that we had lots to learn about fishing the Missouri we listened intently to their advice. MS & JR headed downriver to the second railroad bridge, a mile hike. MS had seen the area earlier and was convinced the area held fish. AB & GK fished a riffle at the boat ramp, with AB heading downstream after a half hour.

A half mile downstream AB finds a large pod of fish gulping bugs along the shoreline. MS reports "Fish-on" on the radio, followed shortly by another "Fish-on". AB casts over the shoulder of risers in the feeding pod of large rainbows with tricos & tent wing caddis, but these fish are having nothing to do with bugs on the end of fluorocarbon leaders. Later AB remembers that all fish he’s caught in the Missouri thus far have been with the fly drifting downstream to the fish…but didn’t try that approach…duh! GK reports a "Fish-on" with a bead-head up in the riffles.

Our next-door neighbors from the Missouri River Lodge drift by on pontoon boats & anchor up on a gravel bar in the middle of the river. Using Elk-hair Caddis, while wading the gravel bar, they start catching large trout immediately & regularly. Talking to them the evening before, they reported having 50 fish days on the Missouri! Favorite flies; Missouri River Special Caddis, Cinnamon Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, small Yellow Hoppers, Tricos, Renegade, Caddis Emerges, Prince & Pheasant Tail nymphs & San Juan worms. As we were finding out, they reported that it took them several years of fishing the Missouri before they unraveled all the little details that make for successful fishing. The campers at the mouth of Prickly Pear creek had the same advice…it took time to figure out the Missouri Rainbows. Drifting no-drag flies back to feeding fish seems to be more successful than casting over the shoulder of feeding fish. Using light leaders for stealth is definitely compromised by the size of the trout & the weedy bottom of the river, as large fish tend to dive into the weeds during the fight. The YG is still on the learning curve. Headed home that evening at 11:30 PM the temperature is 83 degrees.