toxic from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Foggy morning start on the Bitterroot….

Tags: Fish Stories

Trying to hold to a reasonable standard of optimism, given that July is a couple of days away and that river flow trends had been looking a tiche better over the past few days, yesterday we planned to post this morning a few area river flows that had been improving.

That post was to have been titled The Trend IS Your Friend.

A hot sunny day in southwest Montana (93 in Bozeman yesterday, 90 in Missoula) changed that reality pretty quickly.

Tailwaters are still your friend these days – SOL has the skinny on the Missouri here.

Tags: Weather

Montana TU has weighed in on FWP’s proposed changes in the boating regulations for the Clark Fork, Blackfoot and Bitterroot Rivers. We linked to an article in the Missoulian when the issue surfaced last week; the issue’s drawing a bit more attention this week.

Here’s Montana TU’s spin on the issue -

In recent years the use of jet powered watercraft and personal watercraft has expanded significantly on Missoula-area rivers, significantly increasing safety risks and creating conflicts with other users and landowners. After prodding by TU, riverside landowners and others, Montana FWP has proposed changes to boating regulations on the Blackfoot, Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers near Missoula.

You can contribute to safer, quieter rivers by:

• Attending FWP’s public meeting June 16 in Missoula at FWP Region 2 Headquarters (3201 Spurgin Road) at  6 p.m.
• Writing FWP and telling the agency to adopt improved regulations for motorized use on Missoula-area Rivers.

Comments are due by 5 p.m. June 27, 2011.

Comments can be submitted

• Online via the comment form at the link above
• Via e-mail to: shrose@mt.gov
• Via Mail to:
  • Sharon Rose
  • Attn: Boating Regulation Changes
  • 3201 Spurgin Road
  • Missoula, MT 59804-3101
• or Via Fax: 406-542-5529

In your own words:

Thank FWP for considering reducing motorized use on these rivers.  Remind the agency that as recreational river use increases, SAFETY will be a larger challenge, and the time to protect river users is now. Large, high-powered watercraft moving up and downstream when a majority of use is float traffic moving downstream is a recipe for disaster.  Applaud the agency’s proposal to make the Clark Fork above Kelly Island non-motorized year-round.  Tell the agency not to include personal watercraft (“jet skis”) in any category of small-horsepowered craft.

Tell the agency to adopt these specific regulations:

Bitterroot River

The Bitterroot River is not an appropriate water body for large motorized craft like jet boats and jet skis. Tell FWP to change its proposed regulations to make the full reach of the Bitterroot off limits year-round to engines that exceed 15 hp. FWP is recommending that jet boats and other high-powered craft be allowed on the Bitterroot between Florence and Buckhouse Bridge between May 1 and June 15. Tell the agency to instead make the river non-motorized for its full reach, except allow traditional small motorized craft of 15 horsepower or less, such as those used for duck hunting, between Oct. 1 and Jan. 15.

Clark Fork River

FWP is proposing a confusing, difficult to enforce patchwork of closures restrictions and unrestricted motorized use from the mouth of the Blackfoot to Alberton Gorge. FWP is proposing to sanction the use of jet skis and large motorboats in the small reach just upstream and downstream of Petty Creek fishing access site, thereby creating a loud motorized zone that will conflict with floaters and landowners. Tell FWP to improve public safety by simplifying the rules by closing the Clark Fork to motors from the mouth of the Blackfoot (motors are already prohibited in the upper river above Milltown), through Kelly Island down to St. John’s Fishing Access Site, EXCEPT allow small motorized craft of 15 horsepower or less from Kelly Island to St John’s FAS year-round. This exception accommodates traditional use for waterfowl hunters and some anglers.

Blackfoot River

The current rules allowing motorized use on Milltown Reservoir are out of date. Support FWP’s recommendation to make the old Milltown Reservoir river reach through Missoula and down to Kelly Island off-limits to all motors year-round.

Our spin – from our overtly and admittedly biased fly fishing perspective, it’s particularly important to make the Bitterroot and Blackfoot off-limits to larger motorized rigs year round, as well as the Clark Fork above Kelly. The Clark Fork’s proposed reg changes will be more controversial, though we agree that big motors and jet skis don’t belong from the mouth of the Blackfoot down to St. John’s FAS.

Take note – Montana’s FWP has a useful page up here, with links to the Rule Proposal Notice, the related Environmental Assessment, and a Public Comment Survey (multi-page) that you can use to submit your two cents electronically.

Tags: Access

Tags: Water on the Brain

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

Access.

Simply speaking the word ‘access’ in any Montana fly fishers’ pub these days will quell the conversation in a heartbeat.

Folks are still a bit itchy about HB 309’s attempt to begin to claw back access to much of Montana’s storied waters. Unless you’ve been living under a log buried under a deep winter snowpack this spring you’ve pondered the spilled ink and burned pixels bemoaning the ills of 309.

At first blush one might have been tempted to believe the spin that HB 309 was only about defining what constituted an irrigation system and making sure we dumbass recreationists knew that we couldn’t fish there.

You’d have to actually read the bill and think about it for a second or two to realize that the bill was, if truth be told, attempting to legislate away access to hybrid irrigation systems, which make up mile after mile after mile of river bottom in the state.

Next Friday April 22 marks the end of the currently scheduled legislative session in Montana, though note that days 87-90 haven’t been scheduled yet; Wednesday the 27th should be the day the wooden spike is finally driven into the heart of this session.

So who said something about restricting access?

Well, if you’re inclined to believe the story as she’s written (and for the record we are), Montana’s sportsmen are concerned about an overcrowding window during the optimal floatable water weeks on the West Fork of the Bitterroot.

Read the full article here (Officials consider limited floating access to West Fork) and note that this action is in the ‘call for comments’ phase.

We’re trying to dig up more information as the devil is always in the details.

There’s not been a detailed creel survey done on the fishery in some time and fishery population assessments are apparently showing an increase in brown trout and slightly declining rainbow numbers.

Outfitters and guides are required to permit to use launches on the West Fork now; these obviously interested users have been surveyed recently for their opinions on the fishery’s health and pressure.

Throw your two cents into the mix with a letter to the West Fork Ranger District, 6735 West Fork Road, Darby, Montana 59829.

We’d suggest that delivering the letter in person would be a lot more fun.

Tags: Access

fly skwala fly from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Tags: Fish Stories

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I had the pleasure of spending a little time in the Bitterroot valley last spring, almost a year ago this week.

Knocking around in ‘downtown’ Hamilton after a day’s work we stumbled across what is likely the niftiest eatery in town – the Spice of Life.

Particularly for Montana they offered a courageously innovative menu with probably the best olives we’ve ever enjoyed anywhere; the entire meal was a feast.

As we relished our meal in walked a party with a couple of guys who looked quite familiar;  chance led them to be seated at the table next to ours.

It took a few minutes to put the faces together; it was Yvon Chouinard out with friends.  They animatedly spoke of their day on the Bitterroot and the fish they’d caught.  YC was clearly the most jocular guy at the table;  he was quick to laugh, self depreciating and overtly appreciative of his host’s efforts that day.

Our long time Bitterroot native Al the Pal has commented many times about what a gentleman and enthusiastic fly fisher Chouinard is.

(That’s high praise coming from a guy who’d (figuratively) run over most of his other ‘‘rich and famous’ Bitterroot neighbors in a heartbeat.   You have to wonder if life in the Bitterroot just might come to that as much of the impetus for HB 309 appears to stem from the wrangling over Mitchell Slough.)

You just never know who’s going to wander in and sit down at the table next to you.

Tags: Friday Feast

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