TR for the Bighorn Micro Clave and a Trip to Chas's

RW showed up to my house on a Wednesday evening. I threw a=20
couple steaks on the grill and we had a few beers as we made=20
plans to fish the Gallatin on Thursday. Thursday morning came=20
all too early and it was pretty windy. After getting a late=20
start due to a few errands I had to run we headed up into "the=20
Canyon" section to try and get out of some of the wind. We=20
found a decent spot and checked the water temps to make sure=20
we were within the upper optimal limit and then rigged up. RW=20
started off with nymphs while I, being a real fly fisherman,=20
started out with a parachute Adams. I caught a few fish on=20
dries, RW caught a few fish on nymphs and then switched to=20
dries when we found some rising fish. That RW=85=85I think he will=20
make a real fly fisherman someday.

Friday morning at zero dark thirty we headed down to the=20
Bighorn to meet up with Willi, Snoop Spongey Bob, and Snoop's=20
friend Kevin for the Micro Clave. Since there were five of us=20
we qualified for Micro Clave status instead of Nano Clave=20
status, which is 2-4 people versus Pico Clave status, which is=20
wayno fishing for 6" brookies by himself. We did a short float=20
after meeting up and caught some fish. There weren't as many=20
fish as I am used to seeing, but there were plenty of bigger=20
fish than I am used to seeing on my trips to the Horn. When=20
fishing was first opened up on the Bighorn to the public the=20
waters were loaded with big fish and with time was over-
fished. Restrictive limits were put in place to help the=20
fishery and it has since bounced back. The good old days of no=20
holds barred slaughter fishing and a total lack of foresight=20
are sadly over.

I sure do miss the good ol' days though. We saw several river=20
pimp boats that were getting their clients into fish by mainly=20
nymphing. They would drift down a nice run and catch a few=20
fish and then pull off to the slow side of the river and row=20
back upstream to make another pass. It was a very interesting=20
technique and looked very effective. This isn't the only way=20
to fish the Horn however and can actually get sort of annoying=20
at times due to the vast amount of overcrowding. Those three=20
guide boats would keep doing this down and up routine while=20
other boats had to try and avoid potential collisions on the=20
very calm water. I also noticed something that I haven't seen=20
before happen. It seemed like in certain areas flocks of=20
fishermen would congregate on a nice run and fan out for some=20
combat fishing. The water would be totally open upstream and=20
downstream for as far as you could see, but people would still=20
group together like that. We would just keep on going and find=20
a nice place to ourselves. I still don't understand why that=20
was happening since there are fish all over the river.

Here's Snoop Spongey Bob fishing an area that was not crowded=20
and with nobody else in sight. =20
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0876.JPG

A nice shot of the sun setting and "Team Gink."
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0877.JPG

As I said before the wind was bad at times and this continued=20
on into Saturday and Sunday. It would go from dead calm and=20
partly cloudy to downpours with big hail and enough wind to=20
blow boats back upstream. It was a total battle of extremes=20
in terms of weather but thankfully the snow level didn't drop=20
into the valley. We also saw lots of insects during the calm=20
periods. Everything from a few PMDs to BWOs to clouds of black=20
caddis and so we often would find nice pockets of rising fish=20
to fish dries to.=20

Black caddis swarming RW.
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0891.JPG

Willi is another real fly fisherman and caught several nice=20
fish on dries and was the only person to catch fish in our=20
group except for everybody else.=20

Willi with fish:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0896.JPG
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0909.JPG

RW with fish:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0908.JPG

I wish I would have had a camera with me so I could have=20
gotten pics of Kevin and Snoop with fish.....

All fish caught during this trip were caught using mono=20
because it is biodegradable and we wanted to be ethical fly=20
fishermen. The best part of fly fishing is the casting after=20
all and using fluorocarbon would have interfered with our=20
casting since we would have undoubtedly caught all the fish in=20
the river.

I think Bruiser would have enjoyed this place even more than=20
Willi, who seemed to be in total awe at the numbers of big=20
fish rising. The Bighorn can also be highly technical nymph=20
fishing at times with everything from San Juan style midge=20
patterns to scuds and streamers. It can be a problem trying=20
to figure out what the fish are feeding on the most and=20
presentation is a big part of the game. If one fish was=20
feeding only on a certain type of aquatic insect, you could=20
simply move on to another fish and probably catch him or you=20
could change flies and really test your skills against=20
specific fish. Lots of fun. Especially when you can come back=20
to a nice hot meal at the end of the day and listen to Snoop=20
and RW talk about Sponge Bob cartoons....

End of the day on the Bighorn:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...w/DCP_0905.JPG


On Sunday after Willi, Snoop and Kevin left, RW and I=20
continued fishing. We saw something rather disgusting that I=20
thought I would share. I know this topic has come up in the=20
past and so I thought perhaps I would throw another example of=20
a total ****head out there. There was a big concrete block=20
thing that made a really nice eddy. People would climb up on=20
this block and throw spin gear, haul fish out of the water,=20
handle them with dry hands and then throw them back. That=20
wasn't the most disgusting display we saw however. This guy=20
came down to fish up by RW and caught a very nice rainbow in=20
the 20" range. He lands the fish, drops the fish on the rocks=20
several times, lets the fish thrash around in the rocks and=20
dirt while yelling for his girlfriend. Several minutes later=20
the girlfriend arrives and this guy has just left this big=20
rainbow on the bank flopping around so she can see it. She=20
comes and looks at the fish, picks it up, drops it some more=20
and then they finally release the fish like five minutes=20
later. That combined with the trash left from those types of=20
anglers really has me convinced that something needs to be=20
done to educate anglers.

Fly fishermen seem to be heading in the right direction and=20
the bass fishing crowd seems to be doing their part, but there=20
are huge segments of the fishing community that have firmly=20
lodged their heads up their asses. Looking back on it, I=20
should have said something about the way these people were=20
treating the fish but didn't because I didn't witness much of=20
what went on first hand and was just too disgusted after=20
listening to all of the details that RW had witnessed. Later=20
in our trip, Chas asked if signs at public fishing access=20
sites were a good idea. I totally think putting signs up with=20
the regs, handling techniques, etc is a very good idea and may=20
be the only way anglers like these can be educated on proper=20
techniques and river etiquette. Hopefully Chas's fishing club=20
proceeds with the idea and it catches on.

In the end, the fishing on the Bighorn was a little slower=20
than I have had in the past, but the fish seemed to be bigger=20
on average. I had forgotten just how much I liked this river=20
and it was good to get back over there. But like all trips,=20
they come to an end and RW and I headed back over to my house=20
where I was talked into going over to Chas's place for some=20
salmon fishing. This is real salmon fishing, not that lake=20
crap I hear about elsewhere where those fish come in from a=20
lake and you can't tell the difference between the fish other=20
than their geographical location. We arrived at "The Wade=20
Inn" late at night and got a fair amount of camaraderie in=20
before hitting the rack. Chas is an amazing photographer and=20
we had an opportunity to view several of his pictures that=20
were to be in a show later in the week. Now they could never=20
be considered "true art" since they are digital photos, but=20
they are the closest damn approximation of "true art" that I=20
have ever seen. Chas has pictures all over his house that=20
look ever bit as good as, if not better than, those you see in=20
stores for sale. It was a nice touch to the d=E9cor, especially=20
when you learned that he had taken the pics himself. By 2 am=20
we were ready to hit the hay and get up early to go chase=20
salmon.

When you go to bed at two in the morning, seven A.M. comes way=20
too early, especially after a 700 mile drive. I was wore out=20
and I didn't even do any of the driving so I know RW must have=20
been completely exhausted, but we got up and hit the road to=20
go chase some pinks. Chas seemed like he had been preparing=20
for our arrival by scouting out good places to go and had=20
everything in order. After a stop to get licenses, we were=20
headed to the river where Chas had had some luck a day or two
before our arrival. The fishing used to be much better in the=20
old days, but this year has record numbers of pinks ever since=20
they first started keeping records. While rigging up you could=20
see the discoloration in the water where the salmon were. I=20
was the first one rigged up and on the water and within a few=20
casts was into my first humpy. I think that was the best work=20
out that my 6 wt has ever had and I kept getting this nagging=20
feeling that I was going to break my rod, but I landed the=20
fish and several others. Chas and RW were into fish shortly=20
thereafter. It seems that we had followed the storm out west=20
that had plagued us on the Bighorn as it began to rain and=20
then would clear a little only to rain a little more.

Me hooking into my first humpy:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0016.JPG
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0017.JPG
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0023.JPG

RW with his first humpy:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0030.JPG
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0033.JPG
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0028.JPG

RW's 8.5 lb humpy:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0035.JPG

Another shot of RW's biggun' with me way off in the background=20
unhooking another fish:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0037.JPG

A nice shot of the river we were fishing with Chas:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0039.JPG

After catching several fish from this one spot, we decided to=20
drive upriver to another spot that Chas had gotten some info=20
on. We found the area after a brief scouting expedition and=20
hit the river again. You could see several pinks from the=20
bank and so we spread out and began casting. RW and Chas=20
seemed to be having more luck than I was so I went upstream to=20
a nice looking piece of water. I wasn't prepared for what I=20
saw when I got there. The river looked almost black from the=20
vast numbers of pinks there and I realized that this was THE=20
spot to be. I quickly caught 9 fish and then lost track. I=20
eventually got Chas and RW to come up and the three of us had=20
several doubles and triples and each landed at least 50 fish=20
apiece. We fished in this area until dark and then headed back=20
to the Wade Inn completely worn out from what RW and I decided=20
was fof (freakin' obscene fishing). RW and I were completely=20
in awe of this type of fishing and I think we are now hooked,=20
at least I am.

The flies we used:
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt4/tools.html
http://www.geocities.com/troutbum_mt..._good_fly.html

Wednesday found us on another section of the river. Somehow we=20
had forgotten some gear and Chas and his son were without=20
waders. Chas and Glen went down to where we had slayed the=20
fish the day before while RW and I explored a new section of=20
river. Chas let me borrow his 8 wt rod since I still had this=20
nagging feeling that my 6 wt was going to break. RW and I hit=20
the river and started working our way downstream hoping for a=20
day like the day before. The fishing wasn't as good, but I was=20
into fish before we even hit the good spot. On my third fish,=20
Chas's rod broke in two places and I was basically done. It=20
seems that instead of trusting my instinct to switch rods, I=20
should have ignored it and stuck with my 6 wt. Thank God for=20
those marketing ploy/warranties! I did manage to land a couple=20
more fish using the broken rod, but RW was gracious enough to=20
let me take turns using his 9 wt.=20

The fishing was much slower than the day before despite the=20
vast numbers of fish around. Chas had fluorocarbon tippet=20
material rigged up on the reel I was using and so that must=20
have been why I was catching fish while RW wasn't. Or perhaps=20
we were far enough upstream that the fish were more concerned=20
with spawning than eating the tasty morsels that Chas had=20
tied. RW did end up catching a nice Dolly Varden using an=20
orange streamer. Imagine how many he could have caught had he=20
been using fluorocarbon?!?!?! Since we didn't want to be=20
elitist, snob fly fishermen, RW and I decided to keep about 30=20
lbs of salmon since they were going to die after spawning=20
anyway. We made it totally clear by keeping fish that even=20
though our gear said Simms or Sage on it that we were not=20
snobs or asshole C&R fishermen.

Some more fish shots:
http://www.ruralnetwork.net/%7Etrout...s/DSC_0055.JPG

I can't begin to explain how fun this trip was. The Wades are=20
awesome hosts and I am very grateful for their hospitality.=20
The fishing was secondary and only made the trip that much=20
better but I am already thinking about another visit in the=20
near future. Unfortunately now begins the hard part, smoking=20
all this salmon and catching up on all the lost sleep=85=85
--=20
Warren
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