Trout season in Montana

Twin Bridges has many options for fishing locations.  It sits at the confluence of some of the greatest trout water on earth.

Trout season promises fantastic fishing in Montana

By Desmond Butler ASSOCIATED PRESS

VICTORIA MELE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TWIN BRIDGES, Mont. — Ahead of my fishing trip to Montana in early July, my old fly-casting instructor gave me some troubling advice.

“Cancel your trip,” said Dusty Wissmath, who guides in the region. “Rebook for September; it’s going to be epic.”

It was the end of June and the fabled rivers of southwestern Montana — the Big Hole, the Madison, the Gallatin — were swollen and impenetrably brown from the runoff of huge snowfall that had left them almost unfishable.

The upper section of the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park is a is popular spot for catching trout in Montana

I winced, but I knew better than to listen.    Except for the coldest winter months, there is no bad time for fishing where I was headed.    I was lucky enough to be going fishing during the warmest month of the year in a place so full of beautiful water and big trout that I daydreamed about it for weeks. Floods, storms, grizzly bears and even a warning from a mentor were not going to get in the way.

My plan was to land in Bozeman, drive to our family place near Twin Bridges, fish six days with pauses to sleep and eat, then come back replenished.    Wissmath was right that the snow had limited where I could fish.    Luckily, Twin Bridges has many options for fishing locations. It sits at the confluence of some of the greatest trout water on Earth. In town, the Beaverhead, Big Hole and Ruby rivers join to form the Jefferson, which flows about 80 miles before meeting the Madison and the Gallatin to become the Missouri.   

Aside from these renowned rivers, there are smaller spring-fed creeks, mountain streams, lakes and reservoirs. Plus Yellowstone Park’s lifetime of fishing is only two hours away.    By the time I arrived, a beautiful thing had happened:  The Big Hole had lowered and cleared. It was not just fishable but fantastic. I was a happy man because the river has the greatest combination of beauty and bounty of any I have ever fished.

One day, I fished with Greg Smith, the owner of the Four Rivers fly shop in Twin Bridges. We picked a section lined with red rock canyons, cottonwood groves and ranches that were lush and green from all the water.    Smith, who has fished the Big Hole since the late ’80s, says its landscape and waters are more diverse than any he knows.    “Canyons and meandering meadows, flats, riffles, buckets, pools, drops, fast water, slow water: It’s all here,” he reflected.    Happily, we saw an abundance of the kinds of bugs that trout (and fly fishermen) like. Two kinds of stoneflies were hatching from the river’s depths along with caddis flies and a large mayfly called the brown drake.

VICTORIA MELE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS    Rental cabins are available at the Parade Rest Ranch near West Yellowstone, Montana.

That day, despite all the flying bugs, the fish seemed more interested in what fishermen call nymphs: immature caddis and mayflies yet to emerge from the river. We drifted them under a bobber that dipped at the pull of a fish. Once, my fly seemed to hook on the immovable bottom. Then it moved hard downstream.    “There is something heavy on there,” I told Smith.    But then there wasn’t. Whatever it was (a giant brown?) had bent my hook and gotten away. Those are the ones you remember, more than the other brown and rainbow and mountain whitefish we brought to net. Alas, we didn’t see any of the last remaining native arctic grayling in the lower 48 that swim the Big Hole.

That day was enough to make a great trip, but I had plenty more adventure. Another day was spent on a creek called the Bloody Dick. Its lazy current wound through an open meadow that was a perfect spot for my nephew to practice his cast. It also gave up three dozen brook trout.    We also spent time wading the Beaverhead and hunting wary trout on a tributary called Poindexter Slough.   And because we could, we slipped down to Yellowstone, where the abundant snow offered an unexpected gift: the Firehole River, with its incomparable geysers and steaming banks, was still fishing. Normally, thermal springs make it too warm for trout by July.

In over my waist on the upper Madison one afternoon, I wondered whether I would have to risk deeper, faster water if a bear wandered down the bank. A few days earlier, a mother grizzly had killed a man in the park. Luck gave me a beautiful rainbow trout and no bears, but when we drove past the same section later, two grizzlies bumbled along the opposite bank.    The next day, my mother dropped me off for four hours of fishing on the Gibbon. A half-hour later, a storm came in and I took shelter under a skimpy tree as the temperature dropped 30 degrees, rain and hail pelted down and lightning struck nearby. A kind family that had driven from Maine gave me a ride out of the storm.         Geothermal pools bubble near the Firehole River.

While in the area, we stayed 10 miles outside the touristy bustle of West Yellowstone at the Parade Rest Ranch, nestled in a stunning spot in the foothills of the Gallatin Mountains. We fished a little creek steps from our comfy cabin and rode horses through meadows of wildflowers.

On my last fishing day, I headed back to the Big Hole. I floated in a drift boat with a group of friends until the day’s last light. This time, we caught fish on dry flies while the air was thick with caddis and the big drakes.    My old teacher Wissmath, it turned out, was half-wrong. But all the extra water draining down from the mountains will also make him half-right: The rivers will fish well this year long into the autumn. September will certainly be epic.

If you go

MONTANA FLY-FISHING    The fishing season runs through early November.    Popular spots include Twin Bridges, Dillon and Ennis, with access to the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, Jefferson and Madison rivers.

GETTING THERE The nearest airport is Bozeman. Cheaper flights might be available to Denver, about 500 miles or a day’s drive away. Yellowstone National Park is about two hours by car from Twin Bridges.

STAYING THERE Rates vary depending on type of accommodation, dates and whether meals, fishing and other activities are included.

Accommodations include:  

• Stonefly Inn, Twin Bridges, http://www.thestoneflyinn.com
• Parade Rest Ranch, West Yellowstone, http://www.paraderestranch.com
• Upper Canyon Ranch, Alder, http://www.ucomontana.com
• Rainbow Valley, Ennis, www. rainbowvalley.com

HIRING A GUIDE Guides include:

• Four Rivers Fishing Co., Twin Bridges, http://www.4riversmontana.com  ; guided full-day float trip, $465 for two anglers
• Frontier Anglers, Dillon, www. frontieranglers.com  ; two anglers for full-day float or walk/wade trip, $475

Hanging with Hulda (re: Menses)

(Probably) for  “Women Only”

As I so often do, when following a trail seeking answers to some  physiological illness,  problem or blind spot, reach for the book I can always count on.  .  .  .  .  Hulda Clark’s “Cure for all Disease.”    I never addressed Dr.  Clark as Hulda while she was still among us, but my appreciation for what she was and what she did has made her feel like a trusted friend.

Anyway,  I quickly found what I was after, but as is always the case – I can’t seem to put it down.  Something hooks me in and I wind up re-reading little things or many pages  (remember – its over 600 pages).  Came across an item I was intrigued with when I first read it but had no need for at the time.  It crosses my mind however that this might be welcome information for some to hear.

In my mind I was blessed with a great body,  efficient, healthy and it has served me so well.  That is not to say that I had no problems.   Among those which come to mind is the nightmare of menstruation.  My menses nearly killed me  each time I had a period.  And all those times that there was no period at all.   Was very irregular.  Covered all this recently, so won’t belabor the point. (discussing my own self-sabotage with love of Dairy products and heavy use of throughout my life til discovering Dr.McDougall.)  Anyway there were a few times when I could have used some assurance that my period (dreadful tho it was), was in fact on it way – any day now.  Had I known then what I know now  probably could have rested a little easier.    So here is what I came across and want to share:

Emmenagogue  (Menstrual Period Inducer)

On page 546 we find:   Here are four herbs that can each bring on your period.  They can be started anytime but the most effective time is before your next calculated period time (count days as if you never missed a period).

1 oz sassafras bark
1 oz rue (cut
1 oz marjoram herb
1 oz blue cohash root
4 1/2 Cups boiling water

Add the herbs to the boiling water and turn down to simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.  Do not boil.  Strain and refrigerate in sterile  glass jar.   Pour one cup for yourself in the morning. Let it warm to room temperature, and sip between meals, making it last until supper.

That’s all she wrote on the subject.  She is not around to question so you’d be on your own.  However as principled as she was, there is no way this would be dangerous.  If I had the need – I’d do it.  One can go online to search for the herbs.  But guess you know where I would start  – Mountain Rose Herbs, because I would insist on organic.

Be well (and happy),     Jan