West '05 Trip - Day 9

Posted: 2006-02-14
By: Randy Cochran

I spent the better part of the day at the Blackfoot, checking out access points and the fishing available at each.

Not too much went on early, save for a couple fish lost here or there.

I moved upstream to an amazing looking hole, but only managed a small cutt for my efforts. Walking back up the first run I decided to dredge it with lots of weight. This produced a wealth of whitefish, some with considerable girth and length (maybe 16" or so?)

After a bit of that I worked my way down the bank every few casts when I noticed several small fish holding just under the surface, rising every so often. Casting across and down to them brought a few strikes at a swinging nymph. I hooked and LDR'd 2 like this before I brought one to net.

As I was bringing my line up for the next cast, a trout hit near shore. It kinda startled me but I was able to set the hook and play it to net. Upon getting him close I could see that it was a Bull trout.

I took a quick pic of him in the net/water and then set him free. Immediate release is the rule in most waters on this endangered fish.

My Korkers were in serious disrepair at this point, so I drove on into Missoula to see about a replacement sole set. Nothing doing, so I bought a few flies and leaders and set out for Rock Creek.

Rock is a great stream. As far as I can tell, it holds just about everything you could want in the way of a small stream fishery. Lots of variety in both species of trout and water types.

I fished an access on the lower end for a bit as the afternoon sun continued its journey toward the horizon. After landing one small brown and missing a few more, I knew that darkness was fast approaching and took off upstream to find a campsite.

As I rounded a bend I nearly ran into a porcupine. Spooked, he slowly lumbered off into the roadside grass as I eased by. Almost immediately afterward I came upon a stretch of river that was just begging to be fished, so that's what I did. Boy am I glad I did.

It was nearly dark, yet 45 minutes remained till total black out. I hooked and lost 3 or 4 good sized browns close to 14" or more on a stimulator in short order before the action died down.

I waded up to the next pool, a beauty with a logjam off of one bank. Fish were rising/slurping everywhere. I managed to land 2 there, both browns at a very nice 12". Then it was too dark to see.

OK, time had approached to find a camping spot.

Driving up the canyon, I negotiated a hairpin curve at fair speed and came upon a large, dark form, half in the grass and half in the road. It turned its head as if to walk in front of me. At that point I slammed on my brakes and startled the thing: a small moose, trotting off up the hill. I followed, going slowly till it dashed off the road towards the creek.

Camp turned out to be very close by, and sleep came quickly to end another excellent day.