Finishin' Fishin'

We're counting down our departure from Montana. Only a couple more days. We're getting ready to start the motorhome, pull up the leveling jacks, pull in the slides, and head out again on the adventure highway. We've been here for about 100 days and we've fished spring, summer and fall, almost everyday. It has been fabulous fishing and we've made some fantastic new friends!

Rick says I'm going to go through withdrawals and hopes I've had enough fishin'. Never!

There are so many photos and short stories I want to post about our summer, so don't think the fishing blog has ended. There are motorhome and travel adventures waiting for us and I know I'll have some good stuff to share with you. We've made a couple minor modifications to our Mobile Fishing Lodge and we've already made plans for events in December and January. In fact, I've got plans and locations set for next March and April. And I know when we want to be back here on the river in 2009. My goodness, I think I'm living in the future, already in May of next year.

I better learn to slow down and enjoy the peace and quiet of the river instead of being so excited to catch the next fish. Maybe next year will be more kick-back and relaxed. Maybe I'll bring a lounge chair or blanket with me to the river and take some time off from catching fish. Maybe read a book on the river bank. I could sit back and watch while others hook the big rainbows and land the big browns. Nah! Don't think for a minute that it will be like that!

Fishing Fall Tricos & Baetis

Prior to the water being lowered, the fishing was good and since the water has been low, at 33 cfs, it continues to be good, but very challenging. I was a little surprised that the lower water brought more people to the river. We would have probably left here if we had not committed to oversee the campground while the owners were gone. The weather has turned to fall temps and we like it warm. We love that we've wet waded the entire time (from June through September) and haven't gotten the waders out one time. We loved being able to stand in the cool (cold!) water, but be warm enough to be comfortable. Thinking about our summers spent sweltering in Phoenix made the cold water feel all the better.

(The photo above of the rainbow trout next to my Steffen Brothers fly rod shows that the fish is about 3" beyond the 20" mark. My rod has a thread rap at the 16" and 20" marks. Not sure if you can see the detail.)

In the last couple days here I achieved the triple crown, the trifecta, the grand slam! On the same day I caught rainbow trout, brown trout, and white fish! It took me 100 days to get it done, but I did. And in the last couple days I caught a brown trout on a crane fly! A gigantic size 6 crane fly tied by Rick! They're smaller than a dragon fly, but still huge compared to the size 22 tricos that are so common now. It reminded me of throwing big flies on the South Fork of the Snake! We'd seen crane flies for the last couple weeks, but hadn't really seen the fish on them. When I saw a real crane fly get jumped by a fish yesterday I quickly tied one on and had a fish strike at it. I missed hooking it and threw the fly back in the same spot. This time I hooked it and had it on for a nano-second. I couldn't fool it a third time so I started walking the river, tossing to the bank, and it wasn't long before I hooked and landed a brown that had made the mistake of thinking it was a crane fly snack.

The crane fly was a fluke because 99.9% of the insects are a size 20 or smaller. And they are everywhere! I mean in your ears, in your hair, all over your arms and legs, on your glasses, down your shirt, up your shorts, in your mouth and in your nose! Everywhere! I've sniffed a couple and today Rick had me laughing so hard! He was covering his face, saying "Don't breath!" (I think I have some video of him trying to cast and swatting at the bugs that I'll try to share with you.) I've never seen trico hatches like this. Or are they baetis? I just know they are tiny tiny bugs that the fish love! Actually I've never been where they've been. We've fished mostly larger insects, and I have to admit this is as much fun! But definitely more difficult. The flies are more delicate, the tippet is more delicate, and the fish don't make mistakes. They are looking for the perfect drift and a close resemblance to the real bug. This is not the time or place to learn to fly fish and is a challenge for the most experienced angler.

How this campground is different from others

This isn't about membership camping, but about the amenities and offerings at the campgrounds and RV parks we visit, and you might visit. And how our current campground compares to other parks.

Being members of Thousand Trails for about 30 years we are used to a number of amenities and accommodations at the campgrounds we visit. There are many good points to a membership campground as long as you use the parks you pay for. Once you buy into a membership system you usually also have yearly dues. The more you visit the parks in your system, the more you make up the cost of the membership.

At a typical Thousand Trails park you will have the opportunity to participate in many organized activities, enjoy modern facilities, scheduled dining opportunities, social gatherings, and more. Here is a list of what may be offered at a TT park and what we have here at Armstead Campground. Keep in mind that we are thoroughly happy and content here at Armstead! This is a fisherman's campground with no frills. Campers who wander in, who do not fish, have asked us "Doesn't it bother you being so close to the highway?" "Don't you wish you had trees for shade?" "There's no grass, it's so dry!" "What's there to do besides fish?"



There are about 45 sites here, with maybe 7 full hook up sites, about 25 with water & electric, and about 20 tent sites. We have good cell phone coverage with our Verizon phone, but AT&T users have a lot of trouble getting a signal.

There are 3 dogs that happily roam the campground without supervision, one being Clover the wonder dog, our temporary pet while we're here. We will miss him when we leave.

The owners also have a tan and black shepard-mix named Ritzy, who gets around very well on 3 legs. She gets around so well she catches a ground squirrel or rabbit almost every week. Ritzy and Clover sleep under our motorhome each night, protecting our campsite.

The fly shop manager has a husky-type dog named Chunk and she is one big dog. I've seen her defend her territory more than once. Small dogs and cats beware! Although the owners would like campers to pick up after their pets, almost no one does. There are no lease laws here, and truthfully, not enough campers to care. Most of the campers also let their dogs run free.

Different, that's for sure!

The water is much lower, the fish are abundant, and there are lots of people visiting because they've heard the water is lower. Lots of pressure on the hungry fish. It looks like a fish hatchery, but it is a challenge. The fish are picky and they know what they want. If you don't have what they are keyed on, you don't stand much of a chance of hooking one. Tiny flies, size 20, 22, and 24. And some are resorting to 8x tippet. Accurate casting and a natural drift are essential.

All the photos in the prior posting show gravel, rocks and exposed shoreline. This is all new and a result of the drastic reduction in the flow. I'm going to post some comparison photos showing the change in water and shoreline. This has been a wonderful experience and I keep marveling at the changes this river has gone through and hopefully will continue to go through for many years.

Trip to the Big Hole River

Although we're counting down our last days here, we took time out today for a fun trip to Melrose, Montana and the Big Hole River.

Well, actually, we made the trip for world famous hamburgers at the Melrose Bar & Cafe with Steve and Marilyn and not for fishing. We didn't take our fly rods!

It was a beautiful trip! We saw antelope and 2 different types of deer - white tail and mule deer. We were on the lookout for moose, but alas, no moose on this trip. Marilyn is determined to see a moose and she has a tight network of friends and accomplices who are also on the lookout and call her when there is a reported sighting.

The hamburgers were very good, as were the fresh real-potato fries. It was the delicious Montana beef - so tasty and totally opposite of fast food burger "meat". The company was fantastic also!

We visited the 2 fly shops in the immediate area before heading over to the river. The cottonwood trees line the river and the leaves have just started to show the bright yellow, gold, orange and red fall colors. The sound of the river flowing over the rocks was like Mother Nature's music. I can see us spending time next year on the Big Hole River, exploring this beautiful area.

Any water in the river?

Back on September 13 or so we read in the local newspaper that the water flow on the river was going to be stopped. Stopped! Nothing coming out! Zip, nada, zero! It was only going to be for 3 hours, from 1 PM to 4 PM, but nothing coming out the pipe! How can they do that, we wondered, without some harm to the fish?

The authorities had a plan to start reducing the water flow on September 15 and on the 18th it would be shut off for 3 hours to perform a much needed inspection of the dam's water release gates. We read that there had only been 3 inspections since the completion of the dam back in the 1960's. I don't know if this had been scheduled or was a result of the terrible problems at Hebgen Dam.

We were so curious and apprehensive about the affects of the lower water on the fish. In the few days leading up the 18th the water did recede. It went from about 180 cfs to nothing. We were fishing on the morning of the 18th with some new friends from Idaho (Jerry, Dan, and Ray) and the fishing had been fantastic despite the major change that was occurring. Right at 1 PM Rick and I stopped fishing and drove the short distance to the dam and the spillway. There were a couple guys, the inspectors, in a row boat who went into the dark spillway/release gate area where the water had been coming from. The inspectors were only in there a few minutes and out they rowed. There were a couple other bystanders on shore watching, wondering, and talking about the possibilities of what would happen to the water flow. Someone said it was going back to normal (160 cfs?) and someone else said the BLM authorities were planning to take it to a winter level of 25 cfs. Oh my! We didn't think it would go that low until December! Fishing season runs to the end of November, unless they shut down fishing earlier, which they could do.

There were more rumors swirling around than there was water. After a few minutes of looking at nothing coming out of the dam we went back to the campground and started to walk the river. So easy to walk with no water flowing. We took some photos of the natural springs that were still flowing and providing some water to the fish population. We crossed the river in places we never had before, with the water just barely up to our ankles. We saw fish stacked up in any little pool of water, anywhere they could find some depth and shelter. And they were super spooky. Just walking on the new shoreline sent them zooming through the water like torpedoes.





Right at 4 PM we noticed an increase in the water flow and for the next couple hours it continued to increase and rose to more than 100 cfs. On Friday the 19th we thought our remaining time here would be good fishing, with a substantial water flow. We were hoping it would stay around 100 cfs or more. We fished for a little while on Friday, but the river was so different, so changed. A strange mood had started with me on Thursday and it hadn't been lifted away on Friday. I started to think I was depressed. I felt sad that our river was so changed. Perhaps the next day would be better -- for the river and me.

Saturday was cold and windy and the water flow was down to 56 cfs. My mood was still down and I didn't want to see the river. I felt like the life had been sucked out of the river. I started thinking I'd rather it was back to the high of 850 cfs than this low.

On Sunday the dark weather and my dark mood continued. Rick and I walked down with the dogs and the camera on Sunday afternoon and we talked with our friend Stan from Chicago. He'd been fishing the river each day in different places and we talked about the changes. He fishes dry flies and we discussed how spooky the fish had become. We didn't fish and hadn't fished since Friday. Stan encouraged us to get our rods and fish with him.




Having been here for 100 days and having fished most of those days in the same stretch of river, I have come to think of this as my home, in fact, my river. I know it's not my river, but this is what we've done all summer. This has become our life for the past few months. This has been our focus and I've started to feel protective of the river.

Actually, the water has been this low before in the fall, in past years, and it is fishable. Although the fish seem to be concentrated like in a hatchery now, it is still open to fishing. Most people are fishing with flies and releasing their fish, but I've become even more protective. Always was to some degree, but more protective now. I love it when the game warden comes around to check licenses and see if people are keeping fish.

Our friend Steve said he's felt different and a little grouchy since the drop in water. He hasn't fished since Wednesday and told us last night he's going to fish today. We're also going to walk down with our fly rods and check out the river. I know there are people in my favorite places so we'll walk upriver. Walking upriver is usually difficult with higher water so we'll have the opportunity to explore. I'll take the camera and share some photos with you. I also plan to be in a better mood when the day is over.

Success at Hebgen!

We heard today that the problems with the water release gates on Hebgen Dam have been solved and the flow of water is under control once again! Word is they were able to band together enough of the stoplogs so they didn't warp and they remained in place. For 3 weeks the release has been more than 3000 cfs (cubic feet per second) and today it is around 2200 cfs, and going lower in the upcoming days. The rumor is that they will reduce the flow 400 cfs each day until it is where they want it. (back to 800 cfs?) There is hope that rain and snow will replenish Hebgen Lake to what it was with little affect on the river system.

Rick and I have many special memories of the Madison River Valley, West Yellowstone, and Henry's Fork of the Snake in Last Chance, Idaho. For many years Rick and I fished the Henry's Fork and on Hebgen Lake in our float tubes, chasing the sippers. And we spent many vacations on the Madison River. The Yellowstone area was, and is, a fabulous place to fish and a spectacular place to visit. If you've never been to Yellowstone National Park you should put it on your list of must-see places.

The fly shops who frequent the Madison River and make their living from it's plentiful and famous waters have been reporting good fishing, even with the high water. Yipeee! Here's hoping for continued good fishing and a healthy river next year!

Being Campground Hosts

For the past couple weeks we've been the campground hosts here. The owners wanted to visit their daughter who is serving in the US Air Force in Japan so we happily agreed to watch over the dogs, their elderly mother who lives on site, and the campground for 3+ weeks. We figured it was end of season and the campground had not been too busy throughout the summer, so it would be fairly trouble-free.

And it has been - until today!

The weather turned a little cold today so we were not fishing. We'd been down to the "river" (what's left of it) and there were a number of people fishing, but with the promise of moisture in the air we were sticking close to the motorhome. A couple of big motorhomes had pulled in yesterday and had stayed one night. They were parked in our row, just a couple sites away from us. They had been camped at Clark Canyon reservoir, but it seemed they wanted to do laundry and have full-hookups for a night.

We were snug as bugs in our warm motorhome watching a DVD when the power went out. I had heard the neighbors in the motorhomes start up, getting ready to leave. Rick and I looked at each other and I said "Our electricity is off and I bet the neighbor took it out." I went to the rear window and could see the electric pedestal laying over and water rushing out the bent faucet.

As they were driving off, one of the motorhomes, a large Country Coach, ran over the entire connection. I thought maybe he hadn't disconnected and drove off with it still plugged in! He apologized a couple times and said he didn't realize he was running over everything. I looked at his motorhome and there were scratches running along the storage bay compartments between the front and rear wheels. He had gotten too close, rubbed against the water and electric and then ran directly over the whole thing with the rear tires. I wanted to ask how it could happen when there were 2 other adult people with him who could have, should have, been helping to spot him driving away. He just cut the corner to tight, or rather, didn't pull forward enough to miss it. I didn't ask, but wanted to.

Anyway, Rick knew where the main water shut-off was for our row and turned the water off within a few minutes. (About this time the neighbors had apologized a few more times and they left.) Rick and I checked the main electrical breaker box for the campground and houses and all was well after resetting the breakers. We tested the electrical on the surrounding rows and it was on. Rick carefully pulled the electrical box upright and I taped a large plastic bag over it. We had electricity once again in our motorhome. I went to the pump house by the river to look for pipe wrenches and any faucet parts I could find. Rick was able to find all the plumbing replacement parts we needed and soon we were able to replace the faucet and the broken water pipes. Rick turned the main water back on and all was well once again and we put away the tools. Within about an hour we were back in our motorhome, finishing the DVD.

We have another 8 days of being campground hosts. This was probably the one problem, the biggest problem, that we could imagine happening and we were able to handle it just fine. It was just electrical and plumbing; nothing we haven't done before. Just routine stuff! Simple! Piece of cake! Bring it on!

Madison River & Hebgen Dam problem

It's not easy to find the latest news in a small town. Heck, we're not really in town. But thank goodness for the Internet and the rumor grapevine.

I'm going to include parts of a river report from the Madison River Fishing Company here so you can get some of the updates on the problems plaguing Hebgen Dam. I've tried, but cannot find the older reports on their website. By pasting them here on our blog we'll be able to see the progress without losing the older updates.

Bad News (9/19/2008)

September 19th, 2008

The news is not good. The crew working on the dam was able to remove the damaged I-beam. They then tried to place more new stoplogs. It didn't work. The ones they tried to place were sucked through the intake tower. This means that there is damage to the concrete "guide" on the inside face of the tower. Plan B is now dead in the water. The flow is still at 3030 cfs out of the dam.

Right now there are 11 trucks en route here from Seattle with peices of a very large barge. There is a huge crane on site right now. It will take them at least several days to assemble the barge and get the crane mounted on it. They will then implement one of two contingency plans neither of which are complete. Bottom line; getting the flow back under control is very likely 3-4 or more days away. I think that PP&L is doing what they can. I also know they are freaking out. The 11th hour is fast approaching.

We'll keep updating this page as often as we get new information.

Here’s what else we know; the water level here, although high, has been stable now for two weeks. This flow level is nothing more than what we see here in the spring. The difference is, it’s not coming from small creeks and streams. The water is clear or at least relatively so. There are two feet of visibility in the river from about Lyons Bridge down through Ennis. Above that, in the Slide area, Reynolds and 3 Dollar it’s crystal. Despite what looks and feels like disbelief on the part of most of the angling public, the fishing here has been good and has, in fact even improved over the past few days. We’re getting our Indian summer at the moment so the weather is gorgeous. It’s supposed to hit 80 today and be there for the next few. There are lots of hoppers in places along the river. We’ve had guys out there every day both guiding and fishing for themselves and the reports have been eye opening. A deserted river, happy, healthy fish and dry fly fishing. No, it’s not what you may be used to if you come out here at this time every fall but we’ve sent some folks out and most, if not all have come back to the shop raving. The fish are eating streamers and nymphs very well and the hopper fishing along the banks has turned on here in the past couple days. The fish are, for the most part pushed out of the middle water and are stacked along the more sheltered banks. They don’t want to be out there in those heavy flows either. They are there and they are hungry. This high water also tends to make the larger fish more comfortable. Whether you believe me or not just think about what you COULD be missing.

There may be news updates on other websites, but the Madison River Fishing Company has been consistently providing lots of detail in their reports. Thank you to them! If you want to visit their website here is a link http://www.mrfc.com/MadisonRiverMontanaFishing/Default.aspx

Hebgen Dam problems & the Madison River

On September 1st (18 days ago), a fisherman heard an unusual noise while fishing the Madison River below Hebgen Dam. So unusual that he alerted authorities to investigate. Soon after there was a significant rise in the flow of water! I believe the flow was somewhere near 800 cfs and it increased to about 3400 cfs (4 times more!). Although authorities had completed an annual inspection just days before and found no problems, it was determined that one of the dam's gates was broken and allowing more water to be released than they (PP&L) wanted. I've read that 3400 cfs is like a good spring runoff. Not actually flood stage, but they did evacuate the campgrounds downriver, closed sections to fishing, and notified local residents of the possibility of flood conditions. It's also caused a slow down in the number of fishing trips for the local fly shops in the area who usually book lots of end-of-summer and fall float trips. I read today that the fishing is still good, although the water is muddy and the fisherpeople are hesitant to get on the river in these uncertain conditions.

The Madison River flows into Hebgen Lake, then into Quake Lake, and eventually into Ennis Lake. Both Quake and Ennis Lakes are being adjusted to handle the increased inflow of water.

The PPL has been trying to replace broken timbers in the release gates of the dam, but with little success. I read that some of the new timbers had warped during the repair process and had to be replaced. And there were 17 more timbers to be replaced. In the beginning of the process there was talk of installing a new steel gate to stop the water, but now I'm reading about using wood timbers. There is also talk, as a last resort, that they will have to lower Hebgen Lake to an extreme low level to repair the gate. I read that if the lake is lowered to that level, it will take years for the lake and the Madison River to recover from the effects. The local fly shops are hoping that doesn't happen.

For the past couple weeks, since the first of September, since the Madison River has been flowing so high, a lot of fishing guides have been looking for a good river for their fishing clients. Many of them are travelling to the other local rivers in this area. The Big Hole, Ruby, Bitterroot, Jefferson rivers, and local lakes have been good choices. I've heard most of the waters in Yellowstone National Park area have been very productive all summer and still are fishing well. Some people I've spoken with are staying in the Last Chance and Ashton areas, fishing the historic Henry's Fork of the Snake and the South Fork of the Snake River.

In my next posting I'll let you know why this river may not be the best choice to fish from now on. How do you fish a river that has been turned off at the faucet?

Tale of two dams

One dam has been letting out way too much water for 17 days and another dam has been shut off. Which one are we at?

I'll fill in the details as soon as possible. Check back later.

Never had a video camera

We've never had a video camera, a camera made solely for taking videos. But the small point-and-shoot digital cameras usually have the capability to capture short spurts of live action. And ever since our nephew Josh was born I've been using the digital camera to take short videos. Yesterday I wasn't fishing and had my camera close by when Rick hooked a fish. He never knows when I have it on 'video' and I'm never sure how to signal to him that he's being filmed. I usually just say it and then it becomes part of the movie's audio. I've started reading about video editing and tweaking (a highly technical term) and who knows, this may lead to the purchase of a new camera - one dedicated to videos. Well, maybe after we get a water-proof digital camera. These videos are not professional. Ha! Far from it! I'm walking with the camera while filming so it's a little wiggly, but it is of us fishing. It shows how stress-free, laid-back, and relaxed we are when we fish.


The second one is of Rick releasing the fish and a little chit-chat between us.


I've also included a couple still shots. Hope you enjoy! We'll try to get caught up on a lot more of the fishy photos we've taken in the last few days.

Happy Birthday to my dear Rick!

CLICK ON THE SMALL SPEAKER IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF THE SLIDE SHOW TO ENJOY THE MUSIC.

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to YOU!

Since it's Rick's birthday, it's his choice of what to do today. Of course we are camped on the banks of the river and the fishing was great yesterday! So I know we're going to spend the day on the river. Then he will grill a ribeye steak for dinner, with baked potato and a glass of wine.

View from the 45th Parallel

The Dillon area, at least where we are staying, is a very arid and dry place. The surrounding hills are brown with little vegetation. There's cactus growing in places you wouldn't expect and we have to watch our step when walking the perimeter of the campground. Reminds me of Arizona, but our high temperatures are no where near Arizona. We've had very little rain this summer and the campground owners have to water the sites to keep the grass somewhat green.

We can see the dam and spillway from the campground and we fish the river all the way to Dillon. The reservoir sits on the 45th parallel north, halfway between the North Pole and the equator. It is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane.

The flow of water

The reservoir is designated by the Bureau of Reclamation as Fish & Wildlife, Flood Control, and Irrigation use. The reservoir serves as a water storage and supply facility, serving the irrigation needs of area farmers and ranchers. If all is well with Mother Nature, water levels increase during the winter and spring snowmelt, and is then released for irrigation diversion during the crop growing season.



The amount of water flow on the river is controlled by the irrigation needs of the farmers and ranchers in the area. We've found that irrigation needs are the primary reason for the release or non-release of water. There is usually little worry of too much water in the reservoir, and from what we experienced, drought conditions are the norm. However, the fields still get the needed water to grow the crops.


In the winter the flow of the river is often below 50 cfs, cut back extrememly low, so the reservoir is hopefully replenished. Come the spring, when the ranchers and farmers need water for new planting, it can flow above 1000 cfs - up to 1500 cfs. We've found there are usually 2 hay harvests, sometimes 3, so the water is often high. When the water is high it is difficult to float, let alone wade. When it is low it is impossible to float and wade fishing can also be difficult.

What's a narwhal?

Leave it to our friend Nan to suggest that I had caught a narwhal!! I guess being from Hawaii she knows what a narwhal is and could see the resemblance of a narwhal in my rainbow trout - with the fly rod appearing to protrude as a tooth from it's mouth! (I give her credit for knowing a lot of odd facts because she's from Hawaii.)

When she left us the comment a couple days ago I said, "What the heck is a narwhal? Anyone should know by now that this is a rainbow?" And Rick had the biggest out-loud laugh because he knew what a narwhal was and said "She's right you know!" And he said good thing I didn't post the first photos he took. Read on...

A narwhal is a small whale weighing 2000 to 3000 pounds with a 3 to 10 foot long tooth that grows on the left side of it's mouth. Sometimes they have 2 of these unicorn-like tusks. Narwhals live in the northern most Arctic waters. (This photo is from the National Geographic website with credit given to Paul Nicklen)

When I caught this fish I took it to shallow water to release it. It was a good size, about 22", and Rick was close by to snap a photo with his Sony camera. I didn't want to lay my rod down in the muddy muck of river bank that is drying up, so I put my fly rod in my teeth. I have to give credit to Eric for teaching me that manly trick, although it is a favorite pose for many fishermen. I was feeling quite clumsy with the rod-in-teeth and the fish-in-hand. I didn't want to drop the fish nor the rod.

I managed to get the rod under my arm for another photo, one I posted a couple days ago, resulting in the rod appearing to protrude from the fish's mouth. I thought that was better than it protruding from my mouth.

This just reinforces a lesson of photography! Pay attention to what is in the background for fear that a tree might be growing out of the top of your subject's head. Or a long-stick-like tooth might appear to be growing from the mouth.