grizzly

It's no secret to those who know me, I am a fly tying nut. Large articulated streamers, spey style flies and size 32 midges are all fair game to my vise, and I probably have about one dozen boxes filled to the brim from my tying. Nonetheless, I often think that I would have just as much success with one small box and some basic flies. When I was a kid, I had one light pole, a bag of Powerworms(Tequila Sunrise), 1/4 ounce bullet weights and some eagle claw hooks. Along with my friend, we would catch plenty of bass all day fishing only one technique, the Texas Rig. I think our largest bass was around 5 pounds, but that isn't too bad for a couple of 10 year olds fishing on a small pond in the middle of Raytown Missouri. The pond was Wildwood Lake(which used to be a swimming destination in Kansas City) and it didn't hurt that we fished the pond about 4 times a week during summer break. The community was friendly to us in allowing us to fish the pond without living there as the pond was private. Nonetheless, we would occasionally switch baits, trying small rattle traps, Rapalas and live bait. Nonetheless, we always returned to the power worm as we knew how to fish that pattern down pat. I often wonder if we over think fishing. After all, we are pursuing an animal with a fairly small brain that probably has one of there things on its mind: food, spawning, protection/territory. Given this limited amount variables, I wonder how many lures/flies one needs. I often think that we try new lures more so for a new "form" of entertainment in fishing rather than for the purpose of catching more fish. I am heading down to the White in three weeks and am planning on taking only one fly box with me with said box containing about 5 patterns: zebra midge, pheasant tail, scud, egg and small midge dry flies. I'll let you know of the results.

It was more than mere orange under the jaw. Fine spots, red on the cheek and fine red lateral line. You could well be correct though that this was just a rainbow. See, this is why I need to take photos

Looking back on my notes, I caught plenty of fish I deemed "cuttbows". Wish I had pictures to share(this is on my list of things to do, pack in a camera to support my fishing lies).

Looks line a cutty in the second picture, but tough to tell. . .

I also want to catch 7 fish per week. There is no way that I can catch a fish a day with my schedule, so this is my alternative.

1. Get my daughter to Dry Run Creek. 2. Catch a slam on the White 3. Catch a Carp on the fly 4. Lose 30 pounds

That's like a person who has never spent a dime on the lottery to only find a ticket on the side of the road which turned out to win the jackpot. Congrats to both her and you!

Al, have you fished the Smith River? I'm not trying to throw this thread off topic but it's a river that has captured my imagination for a while. By the way, Nick, I agree with what Al has said in that Montana has something for every skill level.

Nick, I will give you reports on two trips that I have personally taken and a recommendation on a river that I have always wanted to fish. The first trip was Arrowhead lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. I did this when I was 20 and in good shape, along with my friend who was also in good shape, however none of us had back country camping skills save for those that we had read about(which made it truly an adventure that a wiser and more mature individual would not have taken). It's 6.5 miles of hiking in one way, plus you are gaining about 1200 feet during this hike. It is not for one who is out of shape or has medical conditions. Further, I would suggest a three night camp at a minimum to make it worth while. The payoff is great, Greenback Cutt's that are large in size and not very picky. My personal best Cutty came from this trip, 19 inches! We went in late July, and I would recommend this as a time frame to shoot for from a weather perspective. Pick up this book for more info if you are interested in RMNP http://www.flyfishingrmnp.com Yellowstone is my favorite place to visit. It's like Disneyland for the fly fisher. Sure, there will be crowds at the expected areas, Old Faithful, the Mud Pots, the Grand Canyon, but this does not necessitate that the rivers are over crowded with San Juan shufflers. I've been twice, once in mid July and once in mid August. The trip in July was a delight, nice weather and easy fishing. I mainly targeted the Madison in the Park and hit the Firehole once during in the early morning. I did hire a guide out of Blue Ribbon Fly Shop and landed a 20 inch Whitefish(and this is not a fisherman's story). I was also snapped off on 4x multiple times. The August trip brought record heat to the area, making fishing tough. The Madison and Firehole in the park were respectively closed due to heat, thus we had to explore other waters. We fished Iron Springs(I believe?), saw tons of Firehole monsters in that tributary but no success. The Gallatin was ok, we caught some bows that went to 16', but nothing big. We finally broke down and hired a guide and it was well worth the money. We fished Hebgen Lake and the Madison out of the Park. I landed two large(20 inch plus) Browns and my friend landed two large Bows as well. We then went down to the Madison where the guide worked with my friend more than I as he is less experienced. I caught numerous 12 -14 inch bows and some Whitefish. My friend did manage to land a 19 inch Brown out of the river(and I think he still owes me a few beers for hogging the guide ). We fished 3 dollar bridge the next day and that was about it. Again, timing is everything. If you are hunting the elusive Salmonfly hatch, then June would be a good time to visit. Want a chance at large spawning fish, albeit with the risk of bad weather, October is your time to shine. Otherwise, late June to early July would be a great time to go. The one stream that I have always wanted to fish is the Smith River in Montana. Again, Al might be the better resource on this as he lives in Montana and probably knows some people. The have a lottery system where they issue 700 tickets a year to float this river, and you must float this river. From what I have read, it is a 5 to 6 day float wherein you must pack in what you need. Once you are in, you are in, there is no stopping the trip short as the exodus is the outtake down the river. It sounds like an absolute blast to me, 5 or six days with nothing around you but wildlife, a beautiful river and your best friends. Outside of this, if your budget is unlimited and the political situation is ok, Kamchatka would be a hell of a trip that you will never forget. It is on my bucket list. Large Rainbows that attack mouse patterns large rainbows that attack any fly. I don't know if the situation in Ukraine has affected how the guides in Kamchatka view Americans, thus I would check in with www.theflyshop.com and see what they say. I would think that you would be fine, as it seems that most of the guides there are Americans, but better safe than sorry. IT WILL NOT BE CHEAP. Trips average 7k, and that does not include airfare, but this is something to at least dream about. I see that you have asked Al a question about the success rate of group fishing. I would take Al's word over mine any day but, from my experience, your success will depend on your and your groups skills. I wouldn't want to go in the backwoods of Montana by myself unless I was a highly skilled outdoorsman who has a great life insurance policy. However, I think you should be fine for the most part. I would suggest the "buddy fishing" that I see at Roaring River where people mistake fishing for rubbing elbows, but I would think that there should be enough river for everyone to enjoy without losing sight of one another. Bring bear spray! Don't fall into the mindless thought that .45 will stave off a bear, it will probably just piss it off while it's mauling you.

West, what line/set up are you using?

West, Bull Shoals will blow your mind. I often fish with Tom Smith who is a hell of a guide, and person, out of copper johns resort. We must have counted around 20 "footballs" upstream of Newlands on one evening this August. Heck of a river to swing flies on. PM me.

I bought this reel last spring, and I can easily say that this is the best reel that I have ever used in my life. The large arbor makes it a snap picking up line in a hurry. It's looks are deceiving in that one would think that this reel is heavy, but that is not the case. In fact, this reel is very comparable in weight to a Ross Evolution LT. The big reason I love this reel so much is the drag. The thing is foul proof, and it is incredibly easy to dial in the drag as the knob contains a number system which will show you exactly how much tension you are using. Further, the drag has no start up friction which is great in protecting your tippet. The main drawback is the price, however I would highly suggest this reel if one has the budget.

West, its awesome that you are into two handed rods as well. I started with an Orvis Access Switch 7 wt, but some idiot broke into my car and stole it. Luckily enough, I was able to upgrade to a Sage One spey at an affordable price, 12'6 7wt. I love it, but am still learning the art of it. A good cast for me is around 70 - 75 feet. I am using the rod to fish the White below BSD when generation kicks above 2 units. We should meet up sometime and swing some flies.

You have a lot of options at hand. . . The Driftless Area would be a great option if you were looking for a "shorter" road trip and I am sure that you could find walleye and smallmouth within a reasonable drive. You could also look at the Gunnison River, Yellowstone, Glacier or Banff for an awesome trip. I would take a guide on the first day or two if I were going to Yellowstone, Glacier or Banff. I guess the main thing would be how much you are willing to spend and when you are looking to go. I've heard that October in Montana is when the big fish make their run, i've never been but maybe Al could confirm this.

Nice looking boxes CWF!

I have now fly fished for trout for over 10 years. I have learned so much during that time that I am amazed at my early fishing journals(when I first started at 19, I couldn't tell the difference between a mayfly and caddis). However, I have noticed something of a change in my approach to "rigs" when targeting trout. When I first came around to understanding, albeit I still don't understand this black art of fishing, I was firmly convinced that a proper rig required a small tippet when fishing to heavily pressured trout with small flies. Many of my outings referred to 7x as being the norm, and 6x as being a heavy rig. Please note that I was consistently fishing size 16 - 20 flies at our trout parks, Taney and wild spring creeks during this time. I can point to the exact time that my view changed regarding tippet size when fishing for selective trout. I was 25 and was fishing the Madison River inside Yellowstone for the first time in my life, what an absolute wonder and treat of a stream! I was fishing my typical Ozark set up, a nine foot 5x nylon leader attached to an egg pattern with 3 feet of 6x fluorocarbon attached to a dropper fly. The dropper fly was some size 18 bead head soft hackle that I tied after a few beers that I fished s a nymph(as opposed to swinging it). I had many hits that first day, however I snapped off about 8 fish. The knots were good and the reel was a Ross, unknown to me at that time the problem seemed to lie somewhere in between the fly and the reel. I was heavily educated on one area of fly fishing when I hired a young guide the next day. He was all of 19, about 6'1 and weighed 170 pounds if he was drenched wet. We fished the Gallatin outside the park. Same reel, same rod, but we started with a 9 foot 3x leader(with the tippet cut off with some wicked teeth skills that they must teach in guide school), the leader was nylon and the tippet 4x fluorocarbon. The top fly was a large rubber leg stone fly pattern, the dropper a size 18 mayfly nymph with a bead head which looked like it was tied after a case of beers. We started out in the morning and the fishing was slow. However, after the water warmed up the fish were hitting like mad hatters. I caught numerous 16 inch rainbows, a true delight to me at that time, however the best was yet to come. We went upstream some and on the end of a drift I hit a tug! The leader snapped off in about 30-45 seconds with my guide smiling while stating "he broke you off fair and square, that was for sure." A large trout on 4x tippet? Not in my wildest dream and I shook it off as a fluke. It was not until 2012, when I returned to Yellowstone, that I learned that the tippet was not a fluke. My friend and I hired a guide as we went during the middle of a heatwave and were tired of catching 3 or 4 trout in a day with no fish over 8 inches. The guide asked us if we would rather go after a couple big fish or fish down below Hebgen lake for river trout. This was a no brainer, we didn't drive from Kansas City to West Yellowstone to catch small trout, thus we chose Hebgen Lake. We had a blast, I caught a 23' brown, a 20' brown and my friend caught two rainbows over 20's a piece. The kicker was that we were once again using 4x fluorocarbon tippet on a gin clear lake. This confirmed to me that smaller tippet does not automatically equate to a better presentation, and my personal findings on the White River system, including Taneycomo, have confirmed this theory. In fact, I took a test on this theory. While I consider this to be a marginal scientific test at best, it fortified my belief in this theory. Tom Smith, a guide on the White River at Copper Johns Resort and personal friend of mine, and I went on the water this summer to test it out. He fished 6x tippet and had the first drift while I fished 4x with second drift. The generation was variable, but was only above 3 units for about 2 hours. We caught about the same number of fish with Tom landing maybe 5 fish more than I did over a 6 hour day. Give a heavier fluorocarbon tippet a chance. You'll be glad you did when that fish of a lifetime is on the reel, plus it is easier to cast in the wind and easier for beginners to cast.

I concur with JCW regarding your forward cast beginning too soon. A 5 wt won't make a difference until you properly load the line in your cast.

I would think that it is more presentation than anything. I would start with an egg(whatever color fits your eye) up top, followed by a prince nymph or a caddis larvae as a dropper. Tick the bottom every once in a while and I am sure you will be on them. Best Luck!

Micro jigs in olive, olive/ginger, black, and purple are "flies" that I use for stocked trout in urban ponds.

I believe it is a drone that one can fly from their smartphone. I have one, still working on not crashing it into trees

I don't see foam in there either, but foam is legal to the best of my knowledge. Synthetic hair isn't on their, nor is fur, but these are all legal. I think you should be fine with rubber legs.

Thank you guys so much! I really appreciate the advise and I'm looking forward to trying this out in the near future.

I've fly fished for a number of years now and, for some reason, soft hackles have not been a fly that I use often. Is this a productive fly on Taney on 0 units? If so, is there a particular size that works better than other sizes? I really like the idea of swinging a soft hackle and I just wanted to pick up any info that I can on it. Any input is appreciated.

Any suggestions on flies/rigs?

Getting there on Thursday night, staying through Sunday. I'm bringing the go-pro and I hope to post some videos. Going to throw some big streamers, hope to catch a big one. I was thinking about Rim Shoals, however I have not fished there in years as I have been staying at Copper Johns so much. I'll post pictures throughout the trip. Cheers.