Nighthawk Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 Fished the area around Bozeman from the 15th of July through the 19th on a Project Healing Waters trip. We went from the airport to a deli for lunch and then to some private ponds so our host could assess our capabilities and judge which guides to put us with. I probably caught 20 rainbows. On the 16th I fished Willow Creek, a private stream with a great guy named Dave Bowen. I caught a bunch of fish on a double nymph rig and then found a beaver pond with the dam blown out and a big moving flat of water above it. Dave handed me the dry fly rod and I proceeded to hammer the fish on dries. On the last cast of the day I hooked TWO 15" brown trout ON THE SAME CAST!! When Dave got them in I told him I was done for the day. It was only 1 p.m. but I was totally satisfied. We hiked back to the truck and I was spent by the time we got there. We spent the rest of the day touring the area including where the Madison and Jefferson join to form the Missouri, where Lewis and Clark went through. The day was capped off with a big steak dinner. On the 17th we fished O'Dells spring Creek, a beautiful, private, Montana spring meadow creek where only dry flies are allowed. This was fishing I dreamed about for years. We would spot a rising trout, cast to him, hook and land him. All the fish were brown trout. The fishing was followed by a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation BBQ, where I won the veterans drawing and another door prize. My fishing buddies all wanted me to buy them a lottery ticket. Dick Rote was my guide that day. On the 18th I fished the Madison River at three dollar bridge with guide Jim Jones. The action was very slow and I missed 2 rainbows and caught a whitefish. We then jumped over to the Gallatin above Yellowstone Park where I had some rises but broke off one trout and missed several others. On the way over to the Gallatin, we stopped at the site of the famous earthquake of 1959 and visited the earthquake center. Saturday the 19th we fished another private pond and caught a couple more rainbows before heading to the airport. Our host, Bob Frey, could not have been more generous or accommodating. He put us up in his home and his wonderful wife, Pat, cooked breakfast every morning and cooked 2 dinners for us. It was a dream come true for us 4 vets and we became close friends. It was a trip I will never forget and my thanks go out to Project Healing Waters for sending me. The guides took such good care of us, they wouldn't let us tie on a fly, rig a leader, carry our rod, or land a fish. Every expense was taken care of: I spent a total of $4.26 on a hot dog on the way out and that was all. If you are curious about them, go to projecthealingwaters.org to find out more.
Greasy B Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 Great report, His father touches the Claw in spite of Kevin's warnings and breaks two legs just as a thunderstorm tears the house apart. Kevin runs away with the Claw. He becomes captain of the Greasy Bastard, a small ship carrying rubber goods between England and Burma. Michael Palin, Terry Jones, 1974
stlfisher Posted July 25, 2014 Posted July 25, 2014 That's sounds amazing and well deserved for the 4 of you. Great report.
ColdWaterFshr Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Nice report. The healingwaters programs sounds like it is a first class operation. Thank you for your service, you totally deserve a trip like that.
ness Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Dang -- I've heard of Project Healing Waters, but never paid much attention. That's awfully cool stuff they're doing, and your trip just sounds outstanding -- like a fly fisherman's dream trip. I don't know you, but I'm glad you got to go nonetheless. John
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