I think we can all agree that a day of fishing is the best cure for cabin fever. After over three weeks straight of pulling 12 hour days at the store, cabin fever had set in pretty badly for me last week. After a proposed Easter Sunday float on the Mighty Mo fell through, we went with our backup: a wade trip to the Ruby.
Every Easter my family always does a really nice meal and just relaxes and has a good day. Since most of the family is 12 hours away, it wasn’t really feasible this year. Next best option? Fishing. The answer is always fishing. This is turning into a tradition, last Easter I went fishing too.
I’ve only been the Ruby once before, about three years ago with Shane. We had a good time and caught some nice fish. This time we were bringing along someone new, coworker and friend Ethan Markie. This is the first time either Shane or I had fished with Ethan, and a full day trip probably isn’t the best option for breaking in a new partner. But, Ethan’s a good guy and he was driving.
We left town early, thinking the rivers would probably be crazy ass busy as the day wore on. Much to our surprise and delight the access point was empty when we arrived. Seeing an empty parking lot always puts a smile on your face.
Ethan hooked into a couple of fish right off the bat, so our hopes were high for a good day. However, there is always that nagging fear that catching fish right away will get your hopes and expectations way up… and then you won’t catch another one all day. I’ve had that happen more than a few times.
The Ruby is known (in our circles at least) as streamer water, full of angry, aggressive browns that will chase down and devour any decent streamer. Shane lives and breathes streamer fishing, and through him I’ve caught the fever too. Watching big fish chase down and chomp your big fly, stripping that line in and then feeling it suddenly go tight, there is nothing like it. I still consider dry flies my favorite, but they just don’t match up to the adrenaline rush of streamers.
The water was low and clear, so clear in fact you could see just about everything taking place in the water. After the first hour or so we had all switched to smaller flies, longer leaders and more delicate casts. The fishing was surprisingly technical all day long. The bright, sunny day certainly didn’t help either. Through several pools we had a spotter on the rocks calling casts out to both guys fishing.
We walked a long ways down, finally figuring out what they wanted to eat. I love how methodically you can work water when you’re wade fishing. Working through the fly box, changing things up, watching and waiting and hoping. Through the course of the day, we all landed some nice fish. I think the smallest one of the day was pushing 15 inches.
During a long day of fishing, it’s the little things that stick out in your mind. Like the image of a big rainbow grabbing Ethan’s Wooly Bugger right at our feet, giving a couple of big head shakes with his mouth open and shaking the fly. Or of Shane running downstream after the biggest brown of the day. There are so many memories of a day like that, but some are so indelibly printed they’ll never be forgotten.
By the time we turned around we had all caught our fair share of fish, and decided to head hunt a little. Everyone tied on streamers, and we wanted a PIG. We may not have gotten the record trout we wanted, but we caught some. Ethan landed four in a row out of the same spot on a fly I had been giving him relentless shit for all day. Goes to show you, the classics work.
As darkness closed in, we made it back to the Jeep. Looking at a watch, we started fishing at around 8:15am and stopped around 8:15pm. A solid day. And we didn’t see a single other fisherman anywhere on the water all day. It was damn near perfect.
Easter dinner for us consisted of madly driving around Ennis trying to find anything open, then heading for Bozeman. There was a bar open in Alder as we drove through, but going in with Patagonia jackets and Connecticut license plates on the car was not a good idea. Our fancy meal of the day was devoured at the Korner Klub in Four Corners: cheeseburgers, buffalo chicken bites, and Coldsmoke. Not a bad way to end the day.
Sunday was just the day I needed. A chance to get away from the stress of work, town, and everything else and just get out with some friends and have a good time. When it comes right down to it, that’s what I love most about fly fishing. It’s better shared.
Photos by Shane Rickert and Jake McGlothlin
