Patterns in Nature

Patterns. You see them everywhere in nature The dots and speckles on a Trout. A pattern. Stripes on a Zebra. A pattern. The barring and spots on a Northern Flicker. A pattern. Some patterns camouflage, some attract. The art and fashion world have long borrowed from these patterns; these consistent arrangements. Here are some patterns.

ring necked pheasant feathers

 

brown trout camo

 

 

Midges Saved the Day

high plains hwy

missouri river rainbow

 

I spent last weekend on the Missouri River. I was on a budget so I slept in my vehicle and brought snacks. The river fished well. November can be a good time on the Missouri. If the wind lays low then some great surface action can be had. On Saturday it didn't blow too hard and the fish were on Olives in the afternoon. I caught several on dries. On Sunday I got an early start, around 9:00 am. The fish were up and already very active on midges, mainly emergers. Fall is considered Baetis(Olive) time (afternoon hatch) for the dry fly angler but experience has taught me that the midge fishing can even be better. The key is that it tends to be very calm in the morning and with the river surface being glass-like, trout are often found actively feeding on midges...a tailwater staple. That is exactly what I experienced on Sunday morning. By noon the wind was full throttle and the Baetis hatch never really developed and therefore I spotted few surface fish. With the morning midge activity I caught nice fish on midge dries but had more success using an emerger pattern fished just inches under a Griffith's Gnat (dry). The rainbows were concentrating on the rising swimming emergers. I had to angle my cast downstream at a bulging fish and skate or wake the tiny dry with dangling emerger in front of the fish to get a response. Often they surged at the emerger and inhaled it. Midges saved the day.

missouri river

The whole river valley was full of  life: Ring-Necked Pheasants, Hawks, a Bald Eagle, many Coots in the side channels, Beaver, Muskrat, Deer and Antelope, and of course bulging and sipping Trout. I saw several good sized brown trout on redds. In mid afternoon the temperature hit mid 50's F. It was a great way to spend an early November weekend.  I caught my first trout of the 2012 season on a dry fly in early April and possibly my last this past weekend: November. The small fly season can truly be a long one. The key is river selection (water type). Here are some pictures of the trip.

 

butte near cascade montana

Sub-Zero Trout

tailwater rainbow caught on midge

Winter arrived in SW Alberta last week. Saturday afternoon the temperature was sub-zero. I had to deal with ice in the rod guides, a frozen reel and of course cold fingertips in spite of gloves. Vibram soles without studs along with snow and ice made for some comical moments. I slid down several steep embankments on my derriere....early season tobogganing. The cold weather made an already weak hatch, weaker. There were still some BWO's around along with midges. I had to cover territory and hunt to find rising fish. Eventually I found several and a couple were quite large. The best one landed was just shy of 20 inches. It took a size 20 midge: black body, a couple of turns of grizzly hackle, clear trailing shuck, and white wing for visibility. Best thing about the hook up was that the fish was found sipping in a relaxed manner just off of the bank in a foot of water or less. I was downstream and watched its behaviour for a short while before casting. It was feeding fairly consistently and most of its head, which was large, poked through the surface. After several casts things came together and I saw it leave the bottom, gently rise and take in the tiny imitation, all kind of in slow motion. Fortunately I didn't react too quickly, as sometimes I do with a very slow riser. I waited for the fish to take the imitation, slowly raised the rod tip and the small hook held. It had been caught before, probably on a large hook and had some damage done to it's mouth. Otherwise it was healthy. Tailwater rivers are amazing: large trout in shallow water, on small flies in sub-zero temperatures!

Lower Oldman River Report

I spent this past Sunday afternoon on the tailwater section of Oldman river. It was cloudy and cool, and it snowed just west of the river. It seemed like good Blue Wing Olive weather. Unfortunately, the hatch of small and large Olives was fairly weak. There were just enough bugs late afternoon when it turned sunny to bring up some fish in collector areas such as in back eddies, etc. Trout were found sipping on the Olives. I caught a few and missed several. Some solid fish were rising.

I haven't been on the river in at least 3 weeks and the water was extremely low. Side channels I had fished not long ago were completely dry. It is the lowest I have ever seen it.

soupy reverse current/eddy

deer fording river

Silver Creek Scenes

Some Spring Creek photos by Rebecca D:



silver creek, east access

 

clear creek water

 

 

 

good creek air

Browns on North Picabo Road

silver creek brown trout

Two weeks ago I fished a section of Silver Creek along North Picabo Road. I had the place almost to myself. That was good. The water there is quite tough as there is, especially at the East Access, few trees or even bushes along the creek. In full sun with the creek surface mirror-like, you are exposed. And trout have great vision. The water has significant weed growth often seemingly solid from one bank to the other. The hatch was weak: some Mahoganies and a few Olives but nothing significant. The Mahoganies did bring up some fish for an hour or two at most in the early afternoon and that was welcomed. Most of the time I simply had to watch the water patiently for signs of life and fish a terrestrial pattern, usually a beetle. I often remained still for 30 minutes or more in a stretch before spotting or hearing some sort of movement (feeding). Often it was a subtle sip or in contrast a quick lunge at some sort of food type before quickly returning to cover and then nothing for a long time. Sometimes I'd hear something, then look and see a surface bubble next to a bank which suggested a rise. With these occasional signs of life there was some hope and opportunity. I spent 3 or 4 days fishing this section of the creek and managed to connect with a few nice Browns. The whole place was silent and completely still. It was so quiet at one point I remember only being conscious of a ringing in my ears. I have not experienced silence like that since being in Patagonia 15 years ago. I'll go back to North Picabo Road.

My best fish, Browns, were landed on:  small black beetle: size 16 Mahogany; and a Damsel fly.

silver creek east




 

Trout Town

 

 

 

The Cross on the other side of Hwy 15 is still glowing. In a few moments dawn will extinguish it. It is 7:30am and anglers in moss green and khaki coloured quick dry pants, fleece tops and ball caps with logos make the walk to the local fly shop to get their morning cup of coffee and a hot breakfast burrito wrapped in tin foil. Their hands are tucked in pockets as it is Fall. Some of the older ones puff on a smoke. They come from everywhere: California; Washington state; New York; Canada; some even from far away places like Germany, Sweden and South Africa. Trucks and SUV's start to come and go. Most are towing drift boats. Their licence plates say: dryfly, fins, nympher; 5X, bamboo...and so on. A few town dogs snoop around and cover the territory. Waders still hang on porches. In a couple of hours all will head for the water. A parade of drift boats will begin the float down the river. It is all part of the morning routine in Trout Town: Craig, Montana, year round population 43.