AB & GK meet at JR’s in Bellevue. JR has flown to Spokane to meet with MS the night before. JR’s Jeep Cherokee (odometer 6847 miles) was loaded the night before & when GK showed up with his Ford ½ T pickup we hooked up the CB radio and hit I-90 eastward at 12:20 PM.

We seem to have a trip gremlin that always strikes within the first 20 miles of the trip. One year, a wallet left at home, another year a $1000 in cash left on the roof of the van & subsequently found next to a freeway on ramp. This year was no different, but not quite as dramatic.

As AB drove JR’s Jeep on I-90 just past Issaquah, GK called on the radio and asked "Is everything alright, you seem to be dropping back in traffic?" AB "I don’t know what’s wrong, the back window on the Jeep just opened automatically & I can’t close it!" "Pull over & I’ll check it out." Upon inspection, it’s discovered that one of AB’s fly rod cases has shifted and is pressing on the window switch. Normally, this wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but AB has repeatedly been chastised for bringing too many rods on the Yellowstone Gang (YG) trips & during packing, this trip was no exception. I can’t understand why anyone would think that 8 fly rods are too many for a 10 day trip? In my mind, fly rods are like golf clubs; you can play a round of golf with a 2 iron, but the game’s a lot more fun when you take a full set of clubs!

After a 5 hour uneventful cruise down I-90 we arrived at Mike’s beautiful home east of Spokane, near the Idaho boarder and were greeted by his new Irish Setter puppy.

Two years ago, AM had a great new product he used on the trip. LED Hedz, a tiny LED light that clips on the bill of your cap, great for changing flies & even hiking out at night. There are many LED lights available today, but this unit, with the hat clip proved difficult to find. JR, via extensive web research & several phone calls managed to find a source. He presented each member of the YG with a new LED Hedz. The YG gives the LED Hedz a 2 fins up rating, a great streamside tool. Put LED Hedz in Yahoo search to find sources if you’d like one.

Mike & Dianne had a great burger dinner ready for all as we quickly packed MS’s gear into the pickup. After diner and a quick tour of Mike’s great garden (surrounded by an electric fence to keep the deer, bear, elk & moose out) we saddled up & headed out. With the thermometer at 95 degrees, the air conditioning felt great as we pulled out at 6:30 pm headed east to Missoula, Montana.

The CB radios chattered all the way to Missoula with the YG catching up on the latest fishing stories & making plans for the next 10 days of fly-fishing. Arriving at the Hampton Inn in Missoula, AB, JR & MS walked over to the local Casino for a little "deuces wild" action & a nightcap. The poker gods were good to all & we more than paid for the libations while picking up a few extra bucks that would no doubt be spent on a few new flies.

Up early the next morning, we pulled out of Missoula at 9:30 AM, (last year AB got the group up at 4:30 AM, this year he was relieved of "alarm clock" duties….humm…don’t understand that?) MS was also appointed as trip treasurer and collected the ante from all to start the community pot. (AB was also voted as "never to be treasurer again" apparently based on the previous years performance. The group seems to prefer the treasurer to use an accountants ledger rather than a "oh, that’s close enough format" that took us 4 hours to sort out at the end of last year’s trip…..go figure?)

I-90 was having its standard summer beauty treatment, closing traffic down to one lane & 35 MPH progress for miles on end. Fortunately we only had 20 miles to travel to get coffee at Elkstroms’ Station at Rock Creek.

Some members had taken advantage of the free Hampton Inn breakfast that morning, apparently missing JR’s announcement that breakfast would be; fresh side pork & eggs at Elkstrom’s, but no matter, two breakfasts an hour apart worked out just fine.

We picked up Montana fishing licenses, flies & local G2 (good fishing on the Blackfoot, 18" Cutts on every cast after 8 PM) at the Rock Creek Mercantile & Fly Shop. On the Blackfoot use #16 Green Monster & tiny #20 flashbacks. On Rock Creek use Yellow Hungarian Soft Hackles, Hoppers, & large Royal Wolf’s with soft hackle droppers.

Heading toward Helena, MT @ 11:00 the CB chatter consisted of discussions of the availability of food in some of the back country areas we were headed, especially since we tend to stay on the river until 10 PM. Our experience has taught us that many small towns close up at 9, leaving us to forage in the back of the pickup’s for crushed potato chips, trail mix, beef jerky & Gatorade for dinner. MS suggested we buy a small portable gas BBQ unit so we’d be prepared to cook dinner if we ran into difficulties. (Cook trail mix & beef jerky?)

A quick stop at the Helena Safeway produced ice, gas, snacks & a portable gas BBQ unit. Temps were nearing 100 degrees at noon & icing drinks became a priority. AB had purchase a new "5 day" cooler & all were anxious to field test the unit under the extreme Montana heat. The smart money said the unit wouldn’t keep ice for more that a day in the back of a pickup in 105 degree temps.

We emptied the vehicles into our one room cabin and headed down to the fly shop for G2 on evening fishing. Flies for the Missouri consisted of a Caddis Emerger behind a dry fly, Parachute Caddis, double wing Trico, Disco Midge, San Juan Worm & tan Hoppers. For Prickly Pear Creek, the Parachute Adams topped the list & Wolf Creek and the Dearborn were flowing too low to fish.

We headed out to do some reconnaissance to find an evening fishing spot. Crossing the Missouri on the Wolf Creek bridge we headed to Craig, looking over several good looking spots along the way. At Craig, we stop at an old favorite, Cross Currents Fly Shop for a few more hot tips & recommendations on places to eat. Coming off the river after dark presents a problem with finding an establishment open for eats. Cross Currents recommends Hookers, a Tavern/Restaurant next door to the fly shop, open until midnight.

Turning south on Main St. in Craig, not hard to find since Craig is made up of less than ten buildings, then headed down the gravel road paralleling the river to the south for several miles. We parked next to a large rock cliff & geared up. It’s 6:15 PM & the Jeep thermometer was reading 105. Thru the gate in the barbwire fence, and a mile & a half walk down the railroad track (some in waders) we reach an island area of the Missouri that looks pretty fishy. Dozens of large rainbows prowling the shoreline, gulping bugs, I think that meets the definition of "pretty fishy". We’re soon to find out that these fish also have "angler PhD’s" also. MS tries a Caddis & Caddis Emerger, AB works a Hopper & Sparkle Dun dropper, JR a Royal Trude & Flashback and GK a Tent Wing Caddis. Casting to risers is the preferred method, but produced little action.

An hour after sunset, it was quiet enough to hear the mosquito swarms buzzing in the brush along the shoreline so we decided to call it quits. Deer were coming down to the river for an evening drink & beavers were swimming up river with willow branches. Walking out of the water AB spots a movement in the grass along the shoreline. Humm…black & white cat? Noooo! A Skunk!!! As if the mosquito’s weren’t enough incentive to get out of the brush, the black & white cat put AB in high gear climbing the river bank. Back at the car at 10 PM we talked about the fishery & what we planned to do different/better tomorrow. These fish are smart!

Back at Hookers, GK ordered the Hamburger Steak, MS the Chef’s Salad, JR the Chicken-fried Steak (2-1/2 beaks), & AB the Walleye (a 2+ lb. filet!). All was good.

MS struck up a conversation with two anglers at the next table. An older gentleman, a doctor & his fishing partner, a lawyer from Minnesota, both who had been coming to the Missouri for 20 years. They’d each caught 4 nice rainbows that day, all-coming on a green Caddis Emerger that the barrister had tied. He shared one of his flies with GK. We returned to the cabin at 11:30 PM. 85 degrees.