With three long months of cold and snow under our belt in Montana, I'm starting to think about trout fishing. What caught my imagination is the fly fishing trip to Chile that I'm organizing with some clients for February/March of 2010. I had guided in the Patagonia region of Argentina in 1990 and regrettably I haven't been back since. The geography in both Argentina and the estancia in Chile where we'll be staying next winter looks much like the ride from our lodge down to the Beaverhead near Dillon as a matter of fact with big skies and the Charles Russell like vastness in between mountain ranges. I enjoyed my four months behind the oars scanning the heavens for the odd condor riding the thermals as I rowed down the Collon Cura or the Alumine Rivers in search of rising trout. Who could forget the dormant snow-capped volcano named Lanin that overlooked you all day as you fished the enchanting Malleo River at San Huberto Lodge on the Chilean border? There is one pool on the Malleo that I will never forget, the one below the bluff where gauchos on horseback herded long horned cattle, and where the trout consistently outsmarted my clients and sometimes me. I never had the opportunity to fish it myself since I was guiding, but someday I will. As I write, I'm looking at a photo of this famous pool and I can imagine seeing the little sips on the far bank made by 20”+ trout begging you to make one cast so they could scrutinize your offering. Those were smart trout, no less challenging than any trout we have on our spring creeks and limestone streams in the U.S., and accustomed to seeing presentations by some of the best fly fishers in the world. Trout fishing makes one appreciate the beauty of nature and the subtlety of the moment. It is also a great goodwill ambassador for the host country, giving one a sense that this stream or river is a home away from home for the day or week, and all is good with this new and fascinating place. Estancia de los Rios, the lodge we'll fish out of in Chile next winter with its unending landscape and overwhelming beauty on this remote 360,000 ranch, will be such a place. Please let us know if you'd like to join us on this great adventure to the land of the condors.

Last summer was our 25th anniversary at the Big Hole Lodge and one to be remembered. I can't think of another season when dry fly fishing had been so consistently good on the Big Hole. Sure we had some high water in June that was much like the old days, and yes it made things difficult trying to get a drift with your big #4 salmon fly imitation without having the current sweep it away into oblivion. Once the big water subsided around the 22nd of June, dry fly fishing over salmon flies, golden stones, caddis, pale morning duns and little yellow stoneflies was exceptional. As the larger flies were replaced by smaller caddis and pale morning duns, the water level slowly dropped and line management became easier. In late July into early August, the spruce moths appeared on the upper river and revived the dry fly fishing once again. These terrestrial insects make their way to the water and get trapped in the surface film, sometimes struggling to get free and inducing some of the most active rise forms we see all summer. This feeding frenzy lasted three weeks followed by an early blue winged olive hatch that also made for some great dry fly fishing on many of those beautiful fall days we had when very few boats were on the river. It was a fishing season to remember and savor, and it made us feel very grateful that we have a river like the Big Hole to call our home river.

I recently spoke to Montana fisheries biologist Jim Olson, who manages the Big Hole River, and asked him about the general state of the fishery going into the 2009 fishing season. Jim said he hasn't finished tabulating all his data from his surveys but generally speaking, he said the trout in the Big Hole are doing well despite some low water years like 2007. According to Jim, there is a tremendous age class of four year old rainbow and brown trout that should be in the 18" range on average. We saw evidence of that age class last summer when those trout were averaging 14-16" and provided excellent dry fly fishing for our clients. With that said, the scientific data supports the fact that the trout population on the Big Hole, especially rainbows and browns in the 18" class, should be excellent next summer.

The Beaverhead River fished extremely well again last summer. We have private access to the mid-section of the river which offers excellent wading opportunities for our clients. Having guided on this stretch of the river since the eighties, I know it well and really enjoy it. Last summer we found trout holding in lies that have been unoccupied for more than ten years. I spoke with Dick Oswald recently, the state biologist who manages the Beaverhead, and he mentioned that this stretch of water holds more trout in the 18-21" range than any other section of the river. These fish are primarily brown trout, wary and certainly harder to catch. With that said though, catching a wild brown trout on a fly is one of the great challenges of fly fishing in Montana, and the Beaverhead offers many opportunities to do so.

McCoy Spring Creek, a private spring creek that we lease in the area, produced a number of trophy trout in the 21-22" range and a handful caught and released between 23-26". We stalk and sight fish on this beautiful little stream, constantly trying to unlock the secret to the day's fishing by matching the hatch. Many times there will be multiple hatches on the water and the guide must discern which insect the trout have keyed into, and what stage of the insect be it nymphs, emergers, duns or spinners that they prefer. This is trout fishing and when a 4 lb. rainbow raises his head out of the water to take an insect only twenty feet away, its critical to know what fly will work because in many instances, you'll only get one cast to find out if you have the right fly. The stream flows for approximately three miles through a working cattle ranch and the owner allows no more than 4 rods per day on the stream. The views are spectacular with the Pioneer Mountains to the west and the Tobacco Roots to the north. There is bountiful wildlife on the ranch such as sandhill cranes, eagles, hawks, ducks and deer.

We've offered an overnight camping trip on the Big Hole for the past several years, which is the perfect option for a father and son or father and daughter. We have an agreement with several ranchers who will allow us to camp on their property adjacent to the Big Hole River. A staff member will organize the camp and the guide will prepare the riverside dinner for the evening. I did this with one of our clients on a helicopter trip in New Zealand years ago and it made the whole trip. The guide prepared a gourmet dinner for us that night and we celebrated Joe's 8 lb. rainbow caught on a size #10 Royal Wulff in the pool directly downstream of the campsite. What a great way to start your day by waking up on a river, making a cast and catching a trout!

Another option we offer is floating the Bitterroot River, one of the most scenic rivers in Montana, and spending the night in a very special Bed & Breakfast at the foot of the majestic Bitterroot Mountain Range. This is a great way for returning guests to try something that they haven't experienced before during their stay with the Big Hole Lodge. The first day would be a float trip on the West Fork of the Bitterroot, which holds a large population of cutthroat trout. The fishing is less demanding and the trout are easier to catch on this float so it's a great place to take less experienced fly fishers. The next day would find you floating the main stem of the Bitterroot near Darby where there is an even distribution of rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout. Spectacular views of the Bitterroot Mountains can be seen throughout this float with some of the most beautiful pools and riffles in Montana.

There is some great work being accomplished through the Big Hole Watershed Committee and the Big Hole River Foundation benefiting the Big Hole River. One of the most successful programs is called the CCAA Program which is a legal and voluntary agreement made with ranchers on the upper Big Hole and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. If the rancher voluntarily signs up on this program, he agrees to cooperate with state and federal fisheries biologists in improving the habitat on his or her ranch adjacent to the river or one if its tributaries. Credit needs to be given to the ranchers who are involved in this program since they are giving a lot to protect the resource. The program has been a huge success and it will not only insure the survival of the native arctic grayling that inhabit these waters, but more importantly, it will insure the health and well being of the Big Hole River and the ecosystem that depends on it. If anyone is interested in making a tax deductible donation to either of these worthy organizations, please send a check to:

Big Hole Watershed Committee
P.O. Box 931
Butte, MT 59703
www.bhwc.org

Big Hole River Foundation
P.O. Box 3894
Butte, MT 59702
www.bhrf.org

I'll conclude with a fly fishing tip for those of you who like to fish small streams that hold selective trout and we'll assume there is some kind of hatch on the water with rising trout. One mistake I notice all too often when I'm guiding our clients on one of the small, private streams that we fish is that they over cast the trout they are fishing for. Trout on small streams are very alert to anything overhead since they are constantly preyed on by osprey, mink or blue herons. By making an upstream cast that over shoots the target by more than a foot or two, and sometime much more than that, the trout is alerted to the leader and fly line. If you aren't sure of your distance, make a short cast to give yourself a frame of reference as to how much more line is needed. I wouldn't try to make another short cast though, but instead, try to place the next cast so that the fly lands softly no more than three feet above the visible trout or the trout's riseform. More experienced fly fishers will try to place the fly even closer to the trout to avoid allowing the trout to see the tippet. Granted this can be a formidable task, especially if there is a breeze in your face, but it's a goal all fly fishers should have when they approach a rising trout.

If you make a good cast, the presentation is made well, and you are fairly certain that the trout has seen your fly but he refuses it, don't cast again. Wait and watch at this point, and try to determine why the trout didn't take your fly. If the trout continues to feed without any change in behavior, it's possible that he didn't see your fly. Try another cast at this point, maybe to one side or the other of where your last presentation landed. Sometimes trout will have a habit of only taking flies on one side of their holding lie, and it's worth trying to discern that if the trout is still feeding consistently. If the trout refuses your fly on the second cast and stops feeding, then it's very important to retrieve your fly and remain motionless. The trout probably sensed that something is wrong and he's looking for you. Don't move and just wait until he starts to feed again. This might require patiently waiting for up to five or ten minutes. At this point I would change flies and continue to try something different until the trout takes the fly or stops feeding altogether. The point of all this is that the average fly fisher would probably continue to cast after the trout had stopped feeding instead of stopping and observing. By not being more patient and observant, the trout has probably been spooked and will probably spook the other trout in the pool. This scenario is one of the main reasons why some fly fishers catch a few trout and a few catch a lot more.

We still have some great weeks available for our upcoming 2009 season so please email us or give us a call. Thank you.

Tight Lines
Craig Fellin

Craig Fellin Outfitters & Big Hole Lodge
P.O. Box 156
Wise River, MT 59762
(406) 832-3252
www.flyfishinglodge.com
bigholeriver@montana.com