jscheetz

Just got back from a week in Montana. Was a bit chilly at night - but most days hit 50, so as long as you were catching fish it was perfect! Fished the Clarks fork of the Yellowstone, The Stillwater, East Rosebud, West Rosebud lake, Rock Creek, The Bighorn, and The North fork of the Tongue river in WY. All were awesome! Got snowed on while at the Clarks just outside of Cooke City, but the bows were hitting caddis so it was pretty surreal - river very low, I really love that river cause you can just walk for miles and miles when it is low. If you have never done the Clarks it is pretty neat, you can fish it from Cooke City to Yellowstone also - there are some great canyons there. Rock Creek the same -very low, lots of trout in each hole you would come to. But the Bighorn was just crazy. Spent two days there - in spite of one day of incredible wind, the fishing was non-stop action. If you haven't been to the Bighorn, it is a tailwater fishery so it can be fished a lot like Taney - scuds, midges etc - the midges were the hottest last week. It is in the middle of nowhere though, just out of the Bighorn mountains and there are TONS of bugs hatching all the time, so you can get in on dry action, you just have to be ready to switch fast. A couple of times there were so many different kinds of bugs swarming around my head and getting in my ears and eyes that I didn't even know what to grab out of the flybox. Lots of black caddis and some baetis during the overcast day were best. I don't know how many fish I caught - well over 30 a day - and they were all beefy browns from 15 to 19 inches. About 80 percent of these fish would jump like Tarpon once hooked so it was a killer workout for the 5 weight - these guys were strong! Funny thing - at Taney everyone talks about the Browns they catch, and there in the restaurant at night I would hear a couple of guys say "caught a rainbow" like that was the fish to catch there. Funny how different places have different "heroes"! The other place not everyone knows about is the North fork of the Tongue. That is one of my favorite places and this time of year it was perfect. Some years there is a cow problem on this river (like there are on many in the West) - but this year it was good, and the fishing showed it. Water was low - not another soul around - always lots of moose there - and cutthroats stacked up in every little hole! Nymphed for awhile during mid morn, but then the hatch started coming off and it was dry's the rest of the day. Caught many 17 inch cuts from pools so small that I couldn't park my truck in - one pool I caught 6 fish in a row in - just crazy - almost a perfect fishing day for me. So another 30 fish and then some day I would guess - 50 degrees and partly cloudy at 10,000 feet - ahhhhhh - Anyway, had another blessed trip and thought I would share a couple of pics - this cut was a real stout fish from the Tongue - the brown is one of the smaller ones from the Bighorn, but a nice pic - they had really deep color. The moose I didn't actually catch - but there were 4 of them between me and the river for a bit so I just took pics and watched. If anyone has any questions about these areas - I go there a lot so know quite a few places and info etc - happy to share.... JS

Hey, Sorry to post a message and then leave town!!!! But my good excuse is that I was in Montana for the last week fishin - so..... (I'll post a report somewhere - the Bighorn was just silly good) Still trying to get a date set for coming down - just socializing wit da fishes and whatnot Terry - JS

I have too many to go through to find a fav right now - but for starters I like this one - my buddies coming in from a hard day of Pike chasing off of Lake of the Woods - JS

Hey Phil, I just got back from fishing 3 days there over the weekend. Was great fishing even if a bit crowded. The Loch was great - you should really do the stream below the Loch - less crowded and tons of fish. Did good for Brookies on the St. Vrain in the park. And Fern lake was killer as well - my buddy and I caught 40 to 50 fish the afternoon we were at fern, and you can do the Big Thompson on the way up there by a place called the "pool" - good pocket water below that. At fern, they were really digging anything red - quills were hatching so red seemed to work well. Lots of really small bugs out also - so really small dries were working the best. But HEY - I don't need to tell YOU that..... you are the troutmaster! Good luck - let us know how it was - JS

Wrench - sorry dude - didn't mean to inflame you, and while you may be technically right, a guy in possession of a joint is a lot closer to potheadville than one who is not. Now calm down - don't get all inflamed. I think it's just that your comments if you will re-read them seem to be kind of making light of people doing things that are illegal and getting arrested for them. I mean that is what the laws are for - otherwise where do we stop? I don't think anyone is being self righteous - flysmallie said it best - Now hopefully the "both" he did was not the speeding and the murder...... I did plenty of crazy stuff as a youth and was caught at some - but like he said I didn't whine about it not being right - I just knew that I had broken the law, and now had to pay the penalty. And eventually - that helped me become the mostly law abiding citizen that I am today. So I am glad for it! And being a long haired guy my whole life, believe me I have had plenty of run ins with cops who had already been my judge and jury - that is partly why I don't drink or do drugs and try to abide by the law now - because vindication is the best tonic! Others here are more into the law than I, but I found some stuff saying "The minimum blood-alcohol content to be legally drunk while operating a boat is still .10" So I guess "operating a boat" would be with a paddle or a motor. But either way, being drunk and disorderly in public is against the law - it was when I was 15 and it is now - so keeping that off of our streams seems like just as good of an idea to me as keeping it off the street in front of my house. Anyway, we're all just throwing opinions out there - that's what makes for interesting dialog, so thanks for bringing it up, just don't get to upset if we don't all see eye to eye. Terry, please understand that these are just stories I have "heard about" over the years. JS

Guess I'm just old fashioned, but if a cop stops me I have nothing to hide - I don't necessarily like being hassled, but if you are doing nothing wrong then you will most of the time be sent on your way. It seems like the guys who don't want any police presence are usually the guys that are "bending" the rules a bit. Wow - our world has gotten to a point where someone actually posts this and talks about it like it's a bad thing...... Shame those pesky corrupt cops are picking on those fine upstanding potheads and underaged drinkers who are doing so much good for society !! I think the only way to resolve this is pick one river - and give it to the partiers - just like they gave em party cove - then ban alcohol on the other rivers - I'd vote for that. I mean we have bars and stuff where you can go get drunk and take your clothes off - but you can't do it everywhere. So make it one river then everyone would know if you want to do that you go there. Not many people go to party cove to do serious fishing. and btw - it most definitely IS against the law to operate a boat while intoxicated. JS JS

Thanks guys - much appreciated! We do get to play down that way a bit - did the Springfield blues fest a couple of years ago - play down in Fayetteville - Taking some time off the road to do the new record - then Going to Europe in the fall. Drew - I didn't know what to expect at Crane having never fished there - but there were just fish everywhere! Now after I had fished the stretch I must have caught the active ones and scared any others cause it was a one time through deal - but a really cool one! Terry - Yep, The smoke on the water record was a real hoot - I sort of arranged the musical side and the radio station really promoted it - it was a neat day! I'm not sure how many - I think it was 23 but then I found a few more in a closet - it's kind of like fly rods - they just keep following me home - Dude, tele tat - THAT is commitment!!! I'm impressed!! kitgebhardt - Sounds like a nice setup - those old bassmans are groovy. I just did a review for a magazine of an amp called the Chicago blues box - it is a handwired bassman replica of Buddy Guy's personal amp - it sounded awesome in the studio. Hated to have to send it back, but they sell for 5 grand so it is a bit pricey for one good sound!! See that's where you made your mistake - I always make sure I schedule an extra day now and then on the road and get someone to take me fishin!! The Permit in my avatar was caught in the Keys on one such trip - I always try to get in a little fishing in Europe - but they always wanna go catch carp - I tell them we used to just throw those up on the bank back home - usually gets a rise out of them and a few expletive high pitched Monty Python sounding exclamations!!!! Thanks again guys - I will keep you posted if we get to play down there - JS

Well, thanks for reading! As to my musical side - I can send you to a website that has more info than you asked for This will give you music guys lots of stuff to peruse. www.jeffscheetz.com GF - you can see, it's mostly guitar kinda stuff - of various blusey-rocky-fusiony- variety - JS

Being stressed and overloaded with a project (I know that some of you who know me and know that I play music for a living are asking “Just how stressful can that be”??!!) However, having a studio project eating into my river time, I decided I needed to escape. So I started the trip by arriving at Taney at 11am. Pretty good crowd already but managed to find some room below rebar. There were a lot of fish sipping midges or something off the surface so I tried repeatedly drifting a black zebra midge past them. No takers – nobody else was catching many either. I kept trying different things and finally hit on something they would hit on! A cream colored midge, size 18 or so – dead drifted with no indicator right into their feeding line. Bam! Time after time I got bit – caught 8 or so and lost that many. They would not hit the same setup drifted under an indicator. Great lesson to us all – most people tend to get to Taney, tie on a scud and midge, set their indicator up a few feet and then pound – and pound – and pound – and just keep fishing with the same thing even though they are not catching anything. I know – I have caught myself doing it before. You think “There are fish all over here – I just need to drift this past the right one”. But sometimes they are just finicky and need to see something different or presented in a different way. Moved around a bit throughout the day – fishing wasn’t stellar like it sometimes is, but I did manage to catch quite a few fish. Took a break and ate about dark – then went back down for night fishing, and fished until 3am. Mostly below rebar and into the Big hole – but also did a bit up by chute 1. Fishing was about the same as during the day – not on fire, but kept catching some fish – caught them on a black sculpin pattern mostly, stripping it in a slow, pause method. No bigguns. Very foggy – and when I walked past the parking lot at 1:30am there were 12 cars there!! Nighttime is getting to be crowded too! Grabbed a few hours of sleep in the back of the truck and got up at 7 and went back to it. Fishing about the same – but many more people – lots of shufflers and “trout at your feet catchers” – by 10 I had caught another half dozen fish on a black midge but the people were coming in droves – I couldn’t find a place to wade back across the river without walking through someone’s fishing spot!! My plan was to then drive over to Jolly Mill and Capps creek – but since I was going through Crane, and had never fished Crane creek I decided to stop. Was a great time! I know Crane isn't really a secret so telling you how cool it was won't cause traffic jams there - My friend in Montana wears a T-Shirt that says “Montana Sucks – now go home and tell your friends” – so we all like to have “our special places” with less people there. Having said all that – the fishing was great! I am not a big fan of poisonous slithering reptiles, and after a friend telling me stories of all the cottonmouths he saw at Crane, I wasn’t too excited about traipsing too much through the woods. I didn’t have to. I caught most of my fish right in town close to the park. I was using a size 16 elk hair caddis and just drifting it next too the overhanging banks. I caught 8 to 10 small 6 to 8 inch fish. They were brilliantly colored rivaling the finest saltwater aquarium occupants. Then I drifted my dry downstream and just as it was rounding a bend a fat 12 inch fish rose straight up from the hole it was resting in and sucked down my fly. It was one of those awesome takes that you remember forever; a dark shape slowly rising through the sunlight as it penetrates the top layer of water. A fish that size in a stream that small seems like a monster. I always tell my fishing buddy who only wants to catch big fish, that to catch the equivalent of a 12 inch fish from a 6 foot wide stream – he would have to catch a 17 foot long fish from his 100 foot wide river!!! Or some such math! Nevertheless, if you’re somebody like me, who although I love spending a day on the Yellowstone or Stillwater, I always have to sneak away to the high mountains for a few days of chasing little brookies in skinny high mountain streams, then Crane will probably float your boat. The several hours I was there, I was the only fisherman in sight. Then it was on to the Jolly Mill. It is just such a beautiful place in the middle of nowhere that it is a fun time even if the fishing wasn’t great. I did see a local with about a 20 or 21inch bow on a stringer with half the fish dragging the ground (eeeeeeks) – and another couple of guys had 3 or 4 fish strung up right next to the mill, but I only managed to catch a couple of small fish. It really looks like a good place for fish if anyone would want to manage it properly as a fishery instead of just a meat shop. Looks like the eco system would support it, if the water is cold enough (didn’t check). I would recommend checking it out if you get a chance, take the kids and have a picnic; it’s a really unique and neat place. The nooks and crannies of God’s world never cease to amaze me with their beauty and uniqueness. Well, back to strings instead of fly lines for the week. In August I get to go out Colorado to do some “proper” trout bumming – but for a quick fix of chasing fish fairly close to home, this weekend couldn’t be beat. Thanks for letting me share the trip with you. Life is good. JS

Hey Leonard - Congrats! I arrived too late to read what lbt had to say - it was deleted. Can't imagine what could be the problem - I fished with you last fall and you said you were wanting to get the guiding thing up - so you had a plan, practiced it almost every night ) - and have now put it into action! That is the way to do anything!!! You showed me tons of stuff when I fished with you and I am sure you will do awesome!! Maybe lbt was mad cause you stole his idea or something - maybe lbt stood for "Last Best Taneycomonighttimeguide" ????? And you beat him to it - anyway, you deserve it and I'll see you on the water - JS

I have a sign in my studio that reads: "It's better to be on the river fishing, and thinking about God, than sitting in church and thinking about being on the river fishing" JS

Well Tchaser, guess we will agree to disagree on feelings of "hatred" for wolves out west - I believe that is well documented elsewhere for those who wish to research it. Sounds like your brother has a cool place. I can certainly see where wolves killing horses is a problem, and that will have to be dealt with, just like any animal that attacks livestock or domestic animals. Of course as my friend in MT says "Living in paradise has a price". As to your quote I assume that there are bears in his area? And mountain lions? And Meth heads? And yet he still lives there - - interesting. I would think those things would be just as unsettling. What makes him stay? Must be some kind of balance between the fear for his family's life and the reason he is there right? So the wolves tip that balance? Hard for me to believe. Or do you think we need to do something about the bears and lions too? Good thing the local wildlife didn't have a forum to post on when your Brother carved out his little 5 acres of heaven from their homes. I guess some people want to enjoy outdoors on their terms and have it fit into what they percieve to be their point of existence. That is why all the wolves were killed in the first place isn't it?. "Let's see, we want this cute animal, and that animal, but not those over there". So we notched out an area for ourselves playing god all the way and trying control things to our advantage. The trouble is, not everyone agrees on how it should be, so we eradicate, re-introduce, eradicate, re-introduce etc etc ad infinitum. Who knows what the outcome will be. Hopefully we can eventually all come together on a consensus that will preserve everyone's best interest. But with the wild lands getting less and less out west the confrontations with all predators is sure to increase. Of course I always hear, "We can still have what we want and leave enough land for them". Sure - that works great - just ask the Indians. JS

Hey GF, Good to chat with you as always Hope you are well - Do you mean cross breeding dogs and captive wolves - creating hybrids?? I am not sure what you were asking. As to a "problem" of dogs and wolves breeding in the wild it doesn't exist. Wolves usually kill dogs as well as coyotes - they look at them as competition. A wolf pack is a pretty tight knit group so they don't normally allow outsiders to come in - even other wolves let alone another species. JS

Tchaser that is absolutely NOT the issue. That is the issue that gets "put on the table" at public discussions about the issue, but the issue is that there is a deep hatred for the wolf in the west. I have sat in on enough of the wolf re-introduction/ and de-listing debates to say without a doubt that it is not what the wolf is actually doing there, but rather what they represent to many of the people who see them as no more than a nuisance like a rock chuck. Plus, I see many all up in arms about the wolf killing the elk, moose, etc etc - but the numbers of predation of wolves on big "game" animals vs. people's yearly "harvest" is not even in the same ballpark. So the reality is that we just don't want to share. Whether it is ranchers wanting to run their cattle on fed lands for pennies on the dollar (known in most circles as "Welfare Ranching") or whether it is the possible decrease in numbers of animals for hunters - people have a real problem with anyone or anything messing with their own personal wants. And you are right Al, the guys that run their cattle on the fed lands should accept that this is part of the risk, but when our government lets them do it for WAY cheaper than it would cost to "rent" private grazing rights, and then they let the cattle ruin many public mountain trout streams in the process, you really can't blame them for wanting the gov to kill all the animals they don't like. Like any wise little kid, they will just keep asking for more until someone says "NO". JS

Fished below the dam from shore from 5 til just after dark. Hybrids were doing well - I caught 4 that were about 5 pounds each, and a couple smaller ones and a few whites. Looking up and down river just around me I would say I saw 30 hybrids get caught, so they were hitting pretty well, didn't see any monsters get caught, but all were nice. They were hitting big twister tails, and crappie fisherman were even pulling a few in. Was much better when the water came on - when it shut off so did the fish -then the water came back on - and there they were again - JS

I got to sneak out and get on the water yesterday. Fishing was great! Got there at 11am and water was fairly low. So lots of people. Went from rebar down to Big hole and caught fish most of the way. Did the best on a black zebra midge, 2 feet under an indicator. Caught about 15 from one spot while the wind was up. When the wind was blowing it was a fish on every cast - when the wind stopped it was 1 every 10 casts or so. wind = good I stripped some soft hackles and caught quite a few on those - then stripped a big white wooly bugger in the big hole and caught a nice brown. Was catching quite a few bows that way, but after I broke off a couple I realized I still had 6x tippet on and maybe I should switch to something heavier for the big woolies - so I put on some 5x and could not get bit! Went back to 6x and there they were again. I've had that happen a lot when using dries or dead drifting midges, but they never have seemed so particular when stripping woolies - so - good lesson - don't always look to change your fly first, maybe it's your tippet if you are not catching any. If I would have started there with 5x I would have just thought they weren't biting. I did wander down to the flats later and that was fun - as long as the wind was choppng the water a bit I could catch them on dries - mostly a #14 orange stimulator - if they didn't hit it right when it landed I would just move it a bit and that seemed to entice them. All in all another great day at Taney. Caught dozens of trout with several different methods - not a lot of places you can do that! Is it just me or does it seem like there is always a lot more people down there than there was just a few years ago? I've only been a couple of times this year but both times were during the week and both times it was wall to wall fishermen? Maybe you guys who have been fishing it regularly for years could say more accurately if the amount of anglers is really up. Never the less - great fishing! JS

It' s 20 footer. - - - - 25 JS

hehehehe Kickin!! My secret is out! Heck I've never even fished out of state Terry, I think the Britney quote is actually too reasonable to be "that voice". Just seems like sound wisdom to me. JS

Terry, you are right WAY too much software these days! Not really lots of time - but I just got done tracking at the studio, it was midnight, wanted to relax, and I sat down and saw that picture - and it just spoke to me - or someone spoke to me anyway I was sure I heard a voice...... JS

I knew I recognized that "Proud Papa" look on his face. 8.5 pounds of pure joy! See the similarities? JS

Terry you are right - I stand corrected. However.... that hat looks like it could be a NASCAR hat - so that is almost as good as camo! Mallard, don't worry if people get a bit uppity - there is not a lot of room for humor on this board, this is serious fishin stuff - folks are real sensitive around here. JS

twhit - "Release"?????? Are you kidding? He's dressed in camo head to toe - that boy's a meat eater. I really have no idea - just making that up cause it seemed pretty funny - lighten up ya'll - JS

Phil, this is exactly what used to make me such a "no government intervention" kind of guy. I figured who better to take care of things than the people that live there. However, the older I get and the more I see this stuff happening, the more I realize that local people aren't always thinking big picture and there needs to be someone "overseeing" the whole thing to make sure this seemingly common sense stuff gets done. Whether it is chicken farms in MO or wolf killers in MT, I think the country needs to all have a say as to what happens to our natural resources. Because many times the actual people who are putting in the farms etc don't even live in the state! They just take advantage of being able to "outwit" and out finance the local laws and people, which is much more difficult if they have to go through federal hoops. A housing development went in next to where I live and many people from here went to many meetings to try to stop it as the water and waste issues were not adequate. Of course as we sat at the meeting, we noticed several business owners from the area whose approval had been apparently "bought" - However, after many, many stops and starts, the development went in - and the beauty of it?? The ones putting it in are not even from here - so once the houses were all there - they split - so we still have the problems - and all they have is the cash So "local people" can also be taken advantage of without outside help. Anyway - just a voice in the wilderness - JS

I've found that I am always MUCH more adventurous in a rental than my 4x4 And the road runs right along the stream so you can fish most of it without walking too far. Above the stream from the pic you posted is some nice flat sections and I have had lots of luck there. Stood in a foot of water last time I was there with trout rising all around for a big trico hatch. Bugs were floating everywhere and trout sipping them right and left. I put on several Trico spinners and I could not tell the difference between my fly and the real bugs - even up close!! But apparently the trout could. Several times I thought I was watching my fly and when a trout came up and took it I set the hook - only to find it wasn't my fly I was watching and mine came shooting up from the water at my head So I would say these fish are pretty smart - or I am pretty ...... well you get the idea, they get fished a lot and hit pretty hard in the fall - but there are lots there so you should do well. It is indeed a beautiful section of water. And the DreamStream is just a short drive so you could go up and do that for at least a couple of hours. Sounds like a great time either way - JS

Hey Simon, I would echo twhit's advice on the Platte. The "Dream Stream" Section can be great although it gets pounded really hard - I have never caught great numbers there but usually good size. It is more out in the open - however my favorite place there is the Elevenmile canyon section itself. Beautiful mountain type setting and the stream is a bit shallower and acts more like a typical canyon stream with pools, flats etc etc - I have had GREAT fishing there in the canyon. Caught them on everything there - never been this early, but have used dries and nymphs same as any stream with good luck. The only concern is this early in the year the snow runoff may make some of the mountain streams unfishable - just depends on the weather. JS