A few weeks ago an extended family member asked me why I waste my time reading fly fishing blog and even more time writing one.

The question was meant to be just what it sounds like (an overt expression of disdain among other things), though if I had to guess, I’d bet my answer wasn’t what they expected to hear.

While I can’t recall exactly what I said in response, my point was this – unencumbered by the constraints of keeping advertisers happy, being politically correct and the other burdens of selling paper fly fishing mags, there are a handful of fly fishing (and outdoor) bloggers out there who can really write, often with a candor that is startlingly refreshing.

I further explained to my taunting kinsman that while readers of fly fishing blogs do indeed have to ‘sift through the chaff’ a bit, there’s more cutting edge, heartfelt, media-rich fly fishing content on the web than ever before.

Finally, I added that, despite said family member being an occasional fisher (as long as a guide is handy to show him where to stand, cast and pee), he probably would never understand the passion that captures some folks in the fly fishing world.

I wish I’d had this post from Wayne over at Will Fish for Work to show him as an example. Wayne’s been doing a bit of digging into the Bitterroot – Mitchell Slough diversion issue that’s shown up on the fflogosphere’s radar lately, and knocked a couple of points out of the park in Another Look at Channeling on the Bitterroot.

False Casts and Flat Tires added more images yesterday on the story they broke a few days back on some man-made channeling work that was diverting water to the head gate of the infamous Mitchell slough. Predictably, a fairly big uproar has ensued and it has become an over night “who done it”, probably more so given it’s proximity to one of the most contentious stream access battlegrounds in recent memory. While reading blog posts, comments and emails (some solicited) from several people; conservation group leaders, guides, and every day fishing folk it got me thinking about our role as watch dogs of our streams and rivers and protecting our access rights.

There’s nothing natural about putting a bulldozer, a track hoe, or an army of pick and shovels in a stream bed, making alterations and diverting water from one place to another. I don’t care what the studies show, anyone says, who mitigates, oversees the permits or whatever; that’s going to have an impact. What is that impact worth, what is gained and what is lost? Who benefits, who does not? Whose water is it and who decides how it’s divided among potential users? My guess is that I am not the only one thinking along these lines and they appear to be the heart of this particular issue.

And this…

“We have met the enemy, and he is us”. Ok, so that’s quotes been beat to death but like it or not, I think it applies. Changing Montana water law and the attitudes behind them is unlikely and may not even be necessary because the open forum instituted in the 301 permit process gives everyone a voice in the matter- if they choose to use it. It’s not enough to have organized entities like Trout Unlimited represent us, we can’t hide behind them and let them do our dirty work. While they are a great organization they can easily be portrayed as having an “agenda”. One voice is an opinion, many voices; a consensus. When you have a big enough consensus, you get the decision you want. Don’t believe me? Look at the pictures at False Casts and Flat Tires or the old Supreme Court chambers in the Montana Capitol during the last battle over stream access.

Great stuff. Work loads and a possible near term move will keep Jake and I sidelined on this issue for a month or so – keep it coming Wayne and the FCFT boys.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

Calling Hogs from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

Zach over at False Casts and Flat Tires has recently put up some additional pics of the gravel work done over on the Bitterroot at the Mitchell Slough headgates.

Sure will be nice to get the rest of the story….

Tags: River - Bitterroot

The guys writing over at False Casts and Flat Tires (Missoula) stumbled across a nothing-short-of-astounding change to the Bitterroot in the vicinity of the infamous Mitchell Slough…

The Bitterroot is one our favorite rivers. Its close proximity to Missoula, a strong trout population and the fact that their are still a few hidden gems where you can find some pretty respectable fish.

One of those gems is gone. Yes the Bitterroot is infamous for completely rearranging itself every year after runoff. However runoff cant do what a bulldozer and concrete barriers can.

The Mitchell Slough debate is a hot topic in the valley. The public’s right to legally recreate on public water vs.  landowners protecting their property and the water that runs through it. It’s been a debate that has gone on for years with some pretty, now infamous, celebrities involved on the landowners side. It’s not limited to fishing access but includes waterfowl hunting and a host of water based recreation activities.

Fences across the waterway making it impossible for fisherman to legally access the water to feeding ducks and geese so no one can legally hunt the “baited” birds along the slough.  These are the tactics that keep the public out of Mitchell slough. All of these efforts to keep the public out and for some “Rockstar” who actually sees this water maybe once or twice a year… Fine, you win. Keep the slough.

But keep your greedy hands off OUR river.

I don’t want to get on a soapbox or a moral high horse, but what I saw last week really upset me as a fly fisherman, a recreation management student and as someone who believes we should protect what resources we have left…

Read the rest of the tale here, view the pics and prepare to be pissed off.

In a day and age when, at least in Montana and around much of the intermountain West, folks are damned antsy about river stewardship and access issues, to (ostensibly) stealthily craft what appears to be a fairly major modification to a river bed like this might seem to be the absolute picture of arrogance and short-sightedness (some might even say stupidity).

Arrogance has defined much of the Mitchell Slough debate over the years. That’s pretty much obvious to anyone willing to spend the time to delve into the history of the tussle.

As to being short-sighted, our friend Al the Pal (AtP), who’s lived in the Bitterroot for his entire life and manages a business there, has laid eyes on the most recent handiwork and agrees that it won’t last the first average or better run-off season.

He’s much more interested in the fact that this appears to be a somewhat unsuspected salvo in a long-standing battle and suggests some in the Valley might just see this as a taunt that demands an answer. AtP claims to have overheard an interesting pub discussion recently in which various alternative methods to rearrange gravel in a river bed were being discussed.

More to come.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

From today’s Missoulian…..

The Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers near Missoula would be closed to high-speed watercraft under a proposal by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Increasing conflicts between homeowners and non-motorized boaters on one side and speedboaters on the other prompted the plan, according to FWP fisheries manager Pat Saffel.

The issue reached a boiling point last summer, when the agency got so many objections to powerboat use on the Clark Fork, it dropped plans for a new concrete boat ramp at the Harper’s Bridge fishing access site west of Missoula.

“It was brought to us largely as a social concern,” Saffel said. “The wildlife and natural resource impacts are plausible, but likely minimal. On other hand, we got lots of input from the public that socially and safety-wise, it’s an issue.”

Greg Munther was one of those who raised both the social and safety questions. A 35-year homeowner along the Bitterroot near Maclay Bridge, he said the jet-powered boats and personal watercraft were both a nuisance and a threat.

“When we first moved here, there were no motors,” said Munther, a retired Forest Service district ranger. “Lately, we’ve seen the conflicts with canoeists, rafters and tubers and the jet boats. We’ve observed close encounters with boats and rafts. And another thing I’ve observed – all the birds, great blue herons, osprey, eagles, geese – have to leave when the boats go by. They’re all displaced.”

More here.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

There’s still some fishing to be done on the Bitterroot this week, and the weather forecast doesn’t look bad at all…..

A couple of friends from Seattle have been trying to put a trip together to make a run over here, and they’ve been stymied at every turn.  I told them that if they really wanted to catch fish they needed to be ready to nymph most of the day.  They were somehow thinking we’re still throwing BWO dries all day long – at the most you’ll see rising fish for an hour or two in the afternoon, and you won’t be seeing them do that up and down the river for sure.

The main issue is that water temps are cooling off – here’s the proof…

Nice job with this issue of Fish Can’t Read, boys; now you’re talking…..

Tags: River - Bitterroot

Pic via DiscountFlies.com

Tags: River - Bitterroot

All things considered, this should be a decent week on the river.

The forecast this morning is calling for a little more sun than I’d like to see, but low 50’s the first week of November makes for a nice afternoon on the water whether your getting much done fishing or not.  Sometimes we just make a late fall float on these bright sunny days without the fishing gear to soak up some of the last real sunshine of the year.

There are still a fair number of olives and a few mahoganies coming off in the afternoons; most of what I’ve seen my last couple of days out has come off no earlier than 130 or 2 and not lasted all that long.

The river is nymphing pretty well and lots of guys are still chucking streamers down low.

Rain and clouds by the weekend will improve fishing and keep the fair weather boys off the water.

Not bad at all.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

The Bitterroot continues to give it up for the dry fly aficionado; the weather has been ideal save for some wind on the day before these storms roll through.  I wasn’t on the water yesterday but heard it got tough (wind) in the afternoon.

The game is still BWO and mahoganies.  Bring a nice assortment of sparkle duns and cripples in particular in small sizes, though my daughter claims on of her favorites, the purple haze, has been working well this week too.  Hell even a small Adams presented well has been catching fish.

My old eyes need a parachute styled dry when rising fish demand an 18 or smaller like they are now.

Nymph and streamer guys and gals are using the standard stuff and doing well.  I’d downsize both a bit this time of year.

The key to success (and comfort) in some respects will be the weather – snow today up higher with rain probably most of the upcoming weekend, but temps don’t look too bad.  This nice late season dry fly weather can’t go on forever, but it sure looks good for the next few days.

These are not days to rush out in the morning and get on the water; it’s been nippy in the mornings and things really don’t get rolling until later.  Enjoy that second cup of coffee.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

The word is ‘yes’.

The Bitterroot is still fishing well.

We’ve had a good week (more or less) since the seasonable weather returned to the Bitterroot valley, though today and Saturday are both forecast to be windy with Saturday forecast (as least as of this morning) to be very windy.

The blue wings and mahoganies have kept things pretty interesting over here for the dry fly guys, and streamers have been fishing decently early and late in particular.   As is the norm the afternoons are when the river wakes back up, but nymphing with the devil worm, small stonefly nymphs and some of the tried and true attractors along drop offs and riffle lines has produced some nice fish.

I’m one of those who will be fishing dries as long as I can; there’s lots of time and cold weather for nymphing to come.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

I’ve got to agree this morning with my friends at the Kingfisher shop in Missoula – when you look at water temps, the Bitterroot has had the advantage over other waters in the area for most of the week.

The warming weather and rain due over the next several days should produce some fine fishing weather, and some long awaited fall dry fly fishing.

Look for Baetis and mahoganies throughout the system, but they should be particularly better on the lower reaches of the river.

‘Nuff said.  Get out there.

Even the Bozeman boys could catch fish over here this weekend.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

There are a few things that Montana is never short on – great fly fishing, big sky, changing weather, and wind.  The transitional weather we’re having has made it seem pretty damned windy lately;  I was on the river yesterday and it was windy as hell.

I can only think of one truly useful thing the wind is good for (hey, I may be old but I’m not dead.)

Just like last week blue wings and mahoganies are stealing the show, and the sections of the river have been fishing very well.  I was down in the Stevensville area yesterday and we had some fun on streamers later in the day as well.

It doesn’t look like we’re going to experience the whack of cold air that the central part of the state is going to have over the next few days.  Lows for Missoula are forecast to be 7 Saturday morning and 6 Sunday morning, though we’ll be back above freezing both days with sun – it will probably be comfortably fishable late in the day, and they’re talking 60 by next Tuesday.  That’s more like it for this time of year.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

We didn’t get the weather that the southwestern and south central part of the state did (I hear there’s snow on the ground this morning in parts of Bozeman for instance), though at my place outside of Hamilton temps struggled to reach 50 yesterday and its 33 right now.

From the looks of things there’s more weather coming over the weekend and into next week, bringing with it some much cooler weather too.

That can mean only one thing for the Bitterroot (and other waters in the area) – fall blue wing and mahogany fishing.  I had business in Missoula yesterday and didn’t fish, but on Sunday we saw a fair number of gray drakes and a few Hecubas on the upper river as well.  Hoppers were still working Sunday and should be for a bit longer.

As the cool settles in streamers will kick in on the lower river first – olive has been the go-to color for the past couple of years at least.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

Days are still pretty warm but cool nights are helping move us closer to the heyday for fall hatches we’re all waiting for.  It’s going to be closer to 80 all week for highs, but lows in the high thirties and low forties feel damn good and are at least a little closer to what we should be experiencing this time of year.

In the right places (mainly higher river) there are olives and mahoganies, drakes, a few hoppers, beetles, and ants with even a caddis or two left over on the warmer late afternoons.

I’ve been fishing pretty high on the forks the past few days and done very well; it will be just damned great over here with some clouds.

It’s good and getting better.

Tags: River - Bitterroot

Before sharing some good news about the Bitterroot, I’d like to add my ‘well done, boys’ to the growing list of people who are saying good things about Fish Can’t Read. What’s been particularly impressive to me is that some of the old school, crusty, I’ve seen it all fly fishing guides and shop folks over in my neck of the woods have looked this over and said it’s the first web based fly fishing Ezine or magazine that has taken a stab at offering some real solid information along with some great images. I’ve already sent Jake, Mark and the gang my ideas for the next issue – make the damn font bigger is one…..

Now back to the river.

Like much of the state we’ve been experiencing lots of sunshine and warm if not hot weather, and it looks like it will continue through Sunday at least. Despite that the Bitterroot has been fishing very well some days and steady on most days. The upper sections of the river have been offering up some really good fishing on terrestrials (ants and beetles in particular), and there’s even been some good mayfly hatches during the middle part of they day. There are still lots of morning Tricos on the lower river, say below Stevensville and closer to Missoula, though you’ll find the fishing a lot easier on terrestrials in the afternoon.

A friend has tied up a bunch of ants that have been deadly over here lately – he called it a headlight ant, though the image I dug up this morning from the Orvis site called it Skilton’s Quick Sight Ant. Whatever the hell it’s called, you might want to whip up a few of these.

Whenever some cool and cloudy weather rolls in the baetis and other fall hatches should really bust out, but don’t stay home now if the sun is blazing…..

Tags: River - Bitterroot