 | $3 parking fee – good riffles and fast pocket water |
| We caught smaller fish consistently |
| CL loses $150 sunglasses in the river, very distraught. AB finds them, CL
very happy. |
| Good path on both sides of River for miles – you can really spread out
here – this section is for wade fishing only and no boats are allowed. |
| We heard reports from others of catching large fish in this section – some
locals we spoke with agreed with the assessment |
| Fished next at West Fork Bridge – only small fish hits – not much
structure – this is an area where drift boats are allowed |
| Moved on towards Ennis and arrived there around 4:35 PM |
| Stayed at El Western Resort PO Box 487 Ennis, MT 59729 John & Kris Hauck
Tel: 406-682-4217 Fax: 406-682-5207 Reservations 1-800-831-2773 |
| Great place to stay – separate cabins (log cabin style with good internal
features) |
| Breakfast at Ennis Café and then off to the Ruby River (around 10:30 am) |
| Arrived at the Ruby just below the Dam at around 11:15 – really hot with
very desert like country |
| Walked down the access paths below the Dam – Told best fishing is within
the first mile of the tailwater fishery |
| The Ruby is a smaller river with great structure although the banks tend to
be steep in this section |
| AB rose a couple of big ones – AM picked up a bunch of little ones and
hooked something large although no visual sighting was made. JR sighted our
first rattlesnake ("as big around as a baseball bat!" – What, no
hat band from the critter?) |
| Found a dead, largely dessicated cow by trailside as we fished the area.
Expected to find a fisherman in same condition |
| Countryside looked something from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western with
scrub brush, cactus, sage, cedar, pine (desert type) – we called this
segment – "A Fistful of Fish" after the movie of similar name |
| Talked to a lady as we were coming out from the river – her husband and
friend had done well in the heat of the day fishing along the banks using a 2
nymph rig with a dropper split shot (Hares ear type nymphs) |
| Moved on down the road and stopped at Dillon at 3:45 PM. Went into Frontier
Anglers to pick up some flies (again!?) and some split shot for droppers! |
| Picked up a Dillon newspaper to read. Found articles about folks from Dillon
who had joined the Army and were undergoing basic training. Fascinating what
people want to read about. Also a bridal registry from a local store listed
the couples who had registered for gifts along with their planned wedding
dates. Interestingly enough the store was a Coast-to-Coast Hardware store! Had
about 8 couples listed. No Nordstrom’s or Bon Marche in Dillon! |
| Onto Wisdom along the Big Hole River. |
| Driving along the Big Hole River we mapped out several spots that friends
had told us were good fishing areaa. The waters in the spots did look pretty
good. |
| Arrived Wisdom and checked into the Nez Perce Motel Box 123 Wisdom, MT 59761
(406-689-3254) Wayne and Barb Challoner |
| Found name of folks who owned land behind the Cemetery outside of town (area
reputed to have good fishing). The owner was Fred Hershey but no one was home
when we called.. Next learned that Dan and Gerri Coon managed the land for the
Hershey’s and could also give us permission to fish there the next day. So
AM called them but their cook said they would not be back until 8pm that
evening and to call back then. |
| Ate dinner at the Big Hole Crossing Restaurant in Wisdom. A wise choice. In
fact, it is the only choice. |
| Off to fish the bridge by town for grayling. Got there about 7:15. We were
surprised that the fish were not lying in exactly the same holds as last
year(Well, duh!). |
| JR hit the fist grayling lying off the far bank – thanks to Mike S. for
use of the rod. |
| Found out that cell phones don’t work anywhere in Wisdom. No antenna for
repeaters out there. Too few people. |
| AM went back to town to call the Coon’s for OK to fish the area behind the
cemetery. Took two tries to get to a public phone in Wisdom – All the public
phones in Wisdom were in use at 8 PM (there are precisely two phones!)
Something surrealistic about that if you think about the size of the town of
Wisdom. When I finally got through, Gerri Coon said "fine" and that
we had their permission. Back to fish. |
| AM drove MS truck into town for the calls. This is a really big truck –
glad to not have to parallel park it anywhere! |
| Fishing below the bridge on Big Hole by town AM got grayling later that
evening. However, mosquitoes were out in force that night. In the fading
twilight, a young moose wandered down to the River where I was fishing –
fortunately the moose was on the other side of the river! Did hear the Mom
Moose calling for the calf – decided to retire back a little. Now we are
about 3 blocks from the edge of town. |
| AB headed back to the truck, walking along the river in the dark with
sunglasses on, (left regular glasses in the truck), finds Mom Moose about 5
feet ahead of him as he spreads willows apart on the trail. They part
peacefully, but both very surprised! |
| Chet and Al picked up a little soda water to go with the scotch as we headed
back to town. Crashed in a reasonable time frame to be ready for the next day. |
