right place ~ right time

(this is a continuation of the previous post)



This was one fish that I wanted to land! I thought of how big the fish was when it jumped out of the water and that I had a truly barbless hook, but a big hook and I kept the line tight. Thank goodness I'd gone to 4X tippet. The fish ran and I was able to reel it in, then it ran again, and again. I wanted to get this one to the net so I took my time. But I don't like to keep a fish on the line for too long so I gently brought it in as quick as I could. I was so thankful Rick was the one netting it. I trust him more than anyone. I brought the fish close to the shoreline and he kept the net in the water inching closer to the fish from the tail. He quietly crept up on the fish and scooped it up! My adrenalin was racing! This was a huge fish! A fat fish! A beautiful brown trout!

The fisherman with the big camera was there and had photographed me while I was fighting the fish. And he'd gotten a couple shots of Rick netting the fish. He introduced himself as Phil Savoie and said he was a photographer. What? Thoughts were running through my head about getting some photos of this fish on our point and shoot Olympus and here was a photographer! What are the odds? Were the stars aligned? I'd finally hit a jackpot.

Phil the photographer 'set the stage' and encouraged me on how to hold onto the big fish. And it took me a while to get a grip on it. Usually I can get my hands around the fish, but this one was big and I didn't want to miss a few photos like this. Phil had said a couple times "What a hog! And you got it on a dry fly!" which seemed to increase my stress of getting the photos. I was anxious to get some good photos. Phil said to use one hand to hold the tail and the other hand to lift the front of the fish, but I couldn't get my left hand around the tail section of the fish! We all wanted to quickly get the fish back to the water so I tried and tried and finally we got some photos. Phil's camera was one of those powerful DSLR, a Canon I believe, and it took multiple shots at a time. Click, click, click, click, over and over. Unbelievable I kept thinking. What are the chances that a professional photographer would be fishing next to me when I landed such an amazing fish?!?! And such a nice guy!

We finished with the "photo session" and made sure the fish was healthy and ready to return to the currents. After we released the fish we started talking with Phil and asked how we could get copies of the photos he'd taken. He told us he would return in a few days and bring us a disc with the images. I'm still thinking "UNBELIEVABLE!" I asked how we could every repay him and he said "How about 3 PMD's, 3 crane flies and we'll call it even?" I opened my fly box and gladly gave him flies. Phil gave us a business card and told us he'd worked with National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Planet Earth, and many other networks and organizations. I had my Droid phone with me and as I was 'recovering' I looked him up on the Internet. He has an amazing website at http://www.philsavoie.com/ where you can see many of the projects and films that he's accomplished. The next day he emailed me a few of the photos and said he'd return to fish with us in a couple days.

Phil had come from Bozeman to fish the river and although he wasn't working he'd brought along some of his photo equipment. In between fishing he was busy taking photos of bugs. Phil is also a biologist and was as interested in the bugs as he was in fishing. In fact, I think the bugs held his attention more than the fish. Rick volunteered to collect insects as Phil fished. As Phil packed up his equipment he gave me a preview of the 380 photos he'd taken of me and the big brown. I couldn't stop thinking "Amazing luck!"

When Phil returned a few days later he brought the disc with about 60 photos and we gave him a small box of more flies. He asked that if I post his photos on the blog that I give him photo credit since that's how he makes his living. I'm more than happy to do so. He told us about a huge fish he'd caught years ago while in England and that someone had taken photos of the record-breaking fish for him. He even showed us a photo of his very large trout. He said I was a nice lady and he was happy to help me. I guess all the years of me giving away flies, helping others to fish, and taking other people's picture was coming full-circle. For the rest of the morning Phil fished and I spotted rising fish for him. Rick again collected insects and Phil told us about some of his on-going projects and future plans. I'm still thanking my lucky stars that he decided to fish next to me.

It's what some would call the fish of a lifetime. I like to think I have a lot of lifetime left and more memorable fish to catch. Tight lines Phil! Hope to see you on the river again.

(all photos in this blog post are courtesy of Phil Savoie, © 2010 Phil Savoie  www.philsavoie.com)

big flies ~ big fish

We'd gotten to the river around 10 AM and Rick waded upstream. I stayed in my usual spot since there were a couple others on the river. Soon another fisherman came in downstream from me, not close, but a good distance away so as not to crowd. He was close enough that I heard him say to me, "the crane flies look like hummingbirds!" and I thought that was a good observation. I hadn't really seen many fish in the hour we'd been there, but I kept after it, hoping for a fish to smack the fly. I was fishing with a crane fly on a truly barbless hook, not a hook that had been crimped. Totally smooth, giving the fish a good chance to get off if I hooked one.

I moved upriver a few feet and kept looking for a rising fish, but saw nothing. Tossing the big crane fly causes my tippet to get twisted into knots. Every few minutes I have to stop to unwind the line and make sure the line is not knotted. I had finished out my tippet section with 5X, but decided to remove it and re-attach the fly to the 4X.

Although I didn't see fish rising on the surface, I knew where the fish should be holding. Not to be a know-it-all, but I've seen the river at low water (no water) and I know where the rocks are, where the deep holes are and the unseen snags. I've fished the river for years now and I can read this short section of the river. I was scanning left and right for a fish, but all I saw were crane flies - acting like hummingbirds.

Out of the corner of my eye, just upstream, I saw the smooth water swirl from underneath. There was no splash, it didn't disturb the surface. I knew it wasn't a swirl caused by an underwater snag. I knew it was a fish. It was in the current or feeding lane, a foam line and I turned slightly towards the swirl. There is a huge snag there, a natural place for fish to hang out and catch bugs floating by. I needed to cast upstream of the fish and avoid getting hung up on the snag. I gently tossed the big crane fly upstream of the swirl and to the near side of the current and let it float. Nothing. As it ended the drift I retrieved it and cast again, this time letting it float in the middle of the current. No false casting, just picked it up and laid it down. The big fly floated over the area and again nothing. I carefully gathered the line at the end of the drift and for a third time placed the fly at the far side of the current, getting it upstream of where I thought the swirl was, but not on the overhanging branches. Immediately the fly was gone, taken in a big slurp by a fish. No big cannonball splash, it just disappeared and my line flew to the right. I tightened up the slack by hand, getting the line on the reel and the line streaked off to the left. Then it stopped. I knew the fish had run underneath the big underwater snag. Then the fish came out of the water, jumped into the air giving me a view of it's broad side and I could see how big it was!!! And there was no further movement. The line was hung or twisted on the branches underwater.

What to do? I had the line tight on the reel and could feel the fish was still on the hook. I looked upstream and saw that Rick was watching me. He was quite a distance away and I motioned for him to bring our big boat net. In the meantime (this all happened within seconds, but seemed like many minutes) I was wondering if I should take a chance and give it slack or pull it tighter. I knew how big the fish was, or so I thought, and knew I couldn't give it slack. This sometimes works, but I thought not this time. I gently pulled the line tighter, just a little, and the fish was un-snagged and swimming downstream like a mad fish!

I think it was as I hooked the fish that the guy next to me asked, "Madam, may I take your picture?" What? Yeah, I guess so. You want to what? I was too busy trying to keep the fish on the hook that I thought "What? Where's he from? Is seeing a woman fish something new?" But he was a nice guy, very polite, and I said "yes" concentrating on my fish and he went off somewhere. I was concerned about this fish and as Rick arrived I said "It's big and this may be a fish that I have to chase downstream." I made my way to shore, backing in from the middle of the river and the other fisherman returned with a camera. The fisherman with the camera said to Rick "I asked your wife if I could take her photo. Is that alright with you?" Rick said yes. I wondered who this guy was because he was so polite and when I glanced at him I could see he was serious. His camera was big, with a very big lens. This guy was really wanting to take some serious photos. Now I just needed to bring the fish to the net.

(continued)

Crane Flies Flyin'

We'd seen the crane flies skittering on the water for the past week or so. And I'd played around with them for a couple years so I knew they would attract the fish. I'd caught a few fish last year with them and enjoyed throwing the big flies. Sort of like big grasshoppers or foam chernobyl ants. A size 10 fly is much larger than a size 20 fly. (I prefer casting 20's.) The fish smack 'em with a lot of gusto, usually making big splashes and lots of noise. Like devouring an entire meal compared to a bite of food . Even when not seeing them you can hear the take from across the river. I was looking forward to trying the big crane flies again this year.

Most serious fishers get on the river early to toss crane flies, but we'd seen them all day long flittering about. They can be twitched, drug across the water or floated with a dead drift. The fish like them all different ways.

Story behind the photo?

You better believe there's a story behind this photo!

Montana traffic jam

Happy September everyone! Can you believe we are nearing the end of summer!?!?

While on our travels through the Big Hole River valley, we had to wait for the local traffic to clear at the intersection.

This is enjoyable gridlock traffic. The kind I could spend hours in, watching the world go by.

These are truly hardworking people with hardworking dogs and horses, moving their cattle to another pasture.

Legendary Big Hole River Valley

Not too long ago we decided to take a road trip to see and try our luck on another river.

World famous and one of the most popular rivers in the area is the Big Hole River and since it is so near we thought we'd spend the day exploring.

 The drive through the Big Hole valley was a beautiful drive and my photos don't do the area justice. It took us all day to make the loop, about 160 miles.


 We stopped at most of the river access points to look around and fish of course. Most access points have large parking areas, boat access, picnic tables and restrooms.

The Big Hole River is legendary, a fabulous fishery, in a scenic valley. We ended the day with dinner in Melrose and then returned to Maiden Rock to fish out the evening.

Good results for a cold morning

After we three walked to the river and the guys found their spots, I backtracked to the corner and watched downstream with hopes to see a rising fish. Maybe two if I was lucky. Tom had fish around him, but it was very difficult to see with all the white foam and the morning glare. He could see the water rings, but not his fly. I told him to change from a sallie to a PMD since that was what I saw floating by.

Rick went upstream and hooked a couple I found out later. He got cold and soon went to watch and help Tom. Tom got his sleeves wet when he had to reach for his dropped glasses, and then he got cold. They both wanted to quit when it started to sprinkle.

I had quickly spotted a riser when we arrived and after a few casts I hooked and landed it, a nice brownie with vibrant spots and a touch of blue on the gill plate. I had to change flies a couple times, but the old standby sparkle dun #18 did the trick. It might have been cold, but this warmed me up.

Cool & drizzly wet

We're having a little bit of a cool spell with temps dropping down into the low 30's at night and the highs barely getting up to 60 during the day. This is the NOAA Hazardous Weather Warning just posted =

WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA TONIGHT AND INTO SUNDAY. AS COLDER AIR ARRIVES...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR SNOW OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...MAINLY ABOVE 7500 FEET SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. HIGH TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY WILL BE AROUND 20 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE.

We all know how wrong the weather forecasts can be. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to tell Rick or he might start packing up to head south. Way too soon to leave. The fishing is just getting started, even if we do have to put on long underwear under our waders and break out the winter jackets. What's a little snow as long as it doesn't stick around too long.

I did joke with the guys this morning that if it rained it would be snow. Oh well, lets go fishing!

Underwater video of 5 pounder

As Logan and I released the nice 5 pound rainbow, it stayed right between his boots and I was able to get a couple photos and a short video.

(click on the play arrow if you want to see the video)

It was good fishing with you Logan and we hope you are doing well.

first time I've weighed a trout

I think this might be the first time I've weighed a trout. We sometimes will measure the length and on rare occasion we've measured the girth, but we don't bring a weight scale to the river. Our friend Logan has a fancy net with a scale built into the handle and when I landed this one he said "Good-on-ya! Let's give it a go." It weighed in at just 5 pounds and took a tiny size 20 nymph.

More and more people are asking about the weight of a fish as opposed to how long it was. We might have to get one of those nets from Australia, but it was a little pricey. Years ago it used to be that landing a 20" fish on a #20 fly was a big accomplishment. It still is.

Now I'm eating fish bugs!

I took an unplanned swim a month ago and saw what the fish see.
Today I ate what the fish eat.

Not the first time a fisherperson has eaten a bug, but this was not my intention. I've read about fishermen who've eaten large golden stoneflies, the big juicy ones, for fun, and probably after having a couple cold beers. This morning I was just walking along the river minding my own business, obviously talking, mouth open and a mayfly flew in and I swallowed it. It sort of stuck on my throat and made me cough and I didn't taste it, so don't ask. I don't think it was the medium size sallie stonefly either, thank goodness.

The mayflies are such a small, delicate fly. At times there are so many of them in the air, like clouds. So light and delicate, dare I say pretty?  It makes me wonder why the fish are not overly excited to eat them this summer. I did.

Where did the dry flies go this summer?

And where did summer go? It's already approaching the end of August and this summer was very different than past summers in Montana. Almost unrecognizable. The weather has been warm and sunny, but just recently. The river has been high and cold, it seems all summer. The PMD's have been few and far between. The dry flies have been almost non-existent. But anyone who knows me knows that I like a challenge.

On my fingers is an example of a real bug and a fly tied to imitate it. I've taken more of an interest in the bugs this year because the usual hatches  have not happened as we expected them to.

For the past few weeks, the few rising fish have been on the far side of the cold, high river, causing me to wade out farther than I should. The guides in the drift boats float past me and ask "Are there fish rising over there?" I'm obviously throwing dry flies yet still they ask. Sometimes I say "no, just practicing for when they do start rising." Not having the masses of dry flies has caused us to resort to nymphs when nothing else is happening on the surface, but that's been OK. The few days we've had clouds roll in the mayflies and sallies hatch and the fish rise to the top, sometimes just for 20 minutes or so.

While I might be chucking nymphs, I'm looking for ripples or noses, any indication that a trout is near the surface. Still hoping to have some serious dry fly action.

Mending works!

Ok! Enough about mending! But I had to show what a little practice will do for improving your game.

Mending 101 course given by Mike Bias

How fortunate am I to have a friend like Mike Bias? I've been lucky to float with him and his daughter twice this summer and I've thoroughly enjoyed it each time. I love to see Mike on the river with his clients because I can imagine how much fun they must be having. And I love that his daughter likes to fish also. Today she even took the oars for a short distance and did a great job putting us on fish!

Mike wears many different hats - and what a hat it is! Really, he is the Executive Director of the Big Hole River Foundation, a biologist and hard working fishing guide. If you ever need a knowledgeable guide to help you catch fish, give Mike a call or send him an email. He provides helpful advice on fly casting and setting the hook = thus his website http://setsetset.com/

Rick and I have known Mike for years, since our days in Last Chance, Idaho where Mike was head guide for Hyde's Last Chance Outfitters. I remember we floated with him years ago at the Chester Backwater and he tried and tried to teach me how to mend. Mend, mend. Mend the line. He was so persistent and so patient at the same time. I've tried over the years to be a good mender so my fly drifts naturally and yet it still is a skill to be worked on.

Today I reminded him of that trip and I asked him to help me. He watched and gave me some exact pointers that should help me with floating my nymphs. I need to point my rod tip at the indicator and give it a good twitch. I'll be the one practicing my mending - cast, point, twitch. Cast, point, twitch. Cast, point... set set set!

Mending and more mending

Wow! It's been a month since my last blog post! Where has the summer gone and what have we been doing? A couple of you have asked where we've gone to and I'm way over due to write something. Anything.

After my "trip" into the water on July 15 and floating a short distance doing a vigorous backstroke for my life, my arm froze up and forced me to visit a local doctor. I was OK for about 3 days and then Yammo! my arm did not want to be a part of any command my brain tried to send it. It hurt like nothing I'd ever felt and after checking the Internet for a diagnosis, quickly got into a local doctor. (When we've needed to see a doctor while on the road it's always such a good experience! More on that later for those of you with trepidation about traveling and needing medical help.) I saw the doctor the next morning and she thought it was rotator cuff! Oh my! Not what I wanted to hear. Withing minutes I had x-rays that came back normal (yipeee!) and within the hour I was in physical therapy! Unbelievable medical service in such a small town! Love it and wish "they" could be my primary physician care all the time. Oh well, back to the physical therapist who worked her magic on my shoulder that wouldn't move. Pain scale of 1-10 and I kept thinking 20! What a pain it was! I went home to the motorhome and did my homework exercises and when I returned a couple days later I was doing a little better. I completed 2 weeks of physical therapy and I think I'm about 95% back to normal. Oh yeah = thank goodness it was my left shoulder so I could continue to cautiously cast my fly rod. I did my exercises on the river with our long handled fish net and reached and stretched and hopefully the tiny bit of lingering tenderness will go away.

When you cast a fly with a fly rod you want a natural drift so the fish see your presentation as a real bug floating downstream. When you throw your line out there on the river, with all the currents wanting to pull it here and there, you need to "mend" the line upriver so the fly doesn't start water skiing. So while I was mending my shoulder, I was also mending my fly line and catching fish during my healing. What a great way to re-cooperate.

Thanks to those of you who sent emails and messages asking about us during our silence. I'm hoping to get back into the routine of blogging in between fishing and enjoying life.

Now I know what the fish see!

It's been years, but given the odds, it was bound to happen.

Lessons of the day:

Why you should wear a wading belt.
How much water can YOU get in your waders?
Really - how cold is 54 degree water?
Float trip without a boat is not as much fun.
Why I carry a waterproof camera.
Taking a face-first dive from a bowling ball size rock.
Why I should fish upstream of Rick.
The view from under the water is quite different than from the shoreline.
Now I know what the fish see.
I always wondered if Rick would hear me yell. Yes. And he would have caught up to me. Eventually.
Didn't panic.
I realize I float really well.
Learned how much water a chest pack will hold.
Quite refreshing on a hot day. Glad it wasn't May.
Water rescue by Kelly, the Park City, Utah Fire Chief. Later he tells me he's never had water rescue training!
Will I get sick if I swallowed the river water?
First words I said to Kelly & Stacy as I float by, "Save my rod!" Then Stacy said "Spoken like a true fly fisher."
Need to dry out the flies or the hooks will rust.
New way to wash my shirt.

I think the river is warm enough to wet-wade, sans waders. Tomorrow freedom!
This wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't wearing rubber pants that hold water. And boots that became as heavy as cement shoes. But I do float well.

Team PaddleFish in the Texas Water Safari Race

The Fly Fish Chick, aka Christine Johnson, is participating in the 260 mile paddle race in Texas. She's not in the race for the fame and glory of finishing in first place! She is in the multi-day race to raise money and awareness for Rett Syndrome. Christine has been training for the race for more than a year, only to have the June event date delayed by heavy rains and flooding. She didn't let the postponement deter her determination even though it meant rearranging schedules and vacation trips for many people.

The race must go on and today the race has started! The Fly Fish Chick and her new race partner have cleared the first 3 portages and are well on their way to surviving this 100 hour race. Clearing the dams and rapids will be the tricky part of the race. It will finish on Wednesday I believe.

flyfishchick blog
Fly-Fish-Chick on FaceBook
Track the progress of Team PaddleFish on the map
Team PaddleFish on FaceBook
Austin TV interview with Christine
Even on Twitter http://twitter.com/TheFlyFishChick

Christine is an avid fly fisher as is her boyfriend, the Professor. More on how we met them later.
Go Team PaddleFish!

Fish Firecracker

The 4th of July night time fireworks show was spectacular, but earlier in the day we had gone fishing and I'd caught a rainbow trout that had such brilliant pink color I said to Rick, "This is my fireworks!"

A bit corny maybe, but the colors on this fish were so bright and distinct.

2 kids & 3 cameras on the 4th

While the families with the boys put on a great display of fireworks, I had 3 cameras ready to capture the nighttime festivities. I had the Droid phone with the camera, the Olympus SW1050 and the Nikon Coolpix P80. The 2 boys along with the 3 men kept the sparks flying and I had a challenge to keep up with each fountain, torch, spinner, and bottle rocket being lit. But what fun I had watching them and trying to get a few shots in focus. It's not often that I get to try out the fireworks setting of the cameras.


These 2 are from the Droid phone camera

These are from the Olympus

And these are from the Nikon

We had a yummy BBQ. Eric, the camp chef, made homemade jalapeno poppers wrapped with bacon and dinner was shish kabobs, rice, corn on the cob, fruit and all the trimmings. Good food and great friends. Even though we had to fight the ferocious mosquitoes for a while (the worst yet), it was still a fantastic 4th of July.

Small Potatoes & Dandelions

As the weather warmed up the wildflowers started to bloom. Here in the campground the dandelions looked like a pretty carpet of bright yellow flowers. And I love the large puff balls of white seeds that they become. As a kid I liked to pick them and blow the seeds into the wind. Now I like to photograph them.

But when you're an adult you see dandelions as an intrusion into your lawn. And so the owner of the campground sprays the dandelions to keep them in check. And as an offer to help the campground owners with some of their yard maintenance, Rick volunteered to spray the intrusive pretty yellow flowers that become seeds spreading in the wind if left to their natural cycle.

Visitors from Idaho brought the campground owners boxes of fresh potatoes and they shared them with everyone. I wondered if they would taste different from the store-bought potatoes and they did. They were fantastic! Not only fresher tasting, but they are huge! Which reminded me of the saying "small potatoes." I wondered where the saying came from so I had to look it up.

small, insignificant; small or insignificant in quantity comes from the Irish potato famine from 1845 - 1849, as potatoes was the main food source in Ireland. Used to describe the small surviving potatoes that were picked.

I told Rick that for spraying the weeds he wasn't working for small potatoes. He was working for big potatoes!