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Numerous times, my angling buddies have reminded me that I NEEDED to do a trip to Montana, in order to experience “real” trout fishing. One typically envisions Montana trout fishing as drifting a big, brawling river, the likes of the Yellowstone or the Bighorn. I had my sights set on a much different experience.
Just the sound of it… “Montana spring creeks”, conjured up visions of lazily meandering, weed-choked, crystal clear ribbons of icy spring water, back-dropped by cottonwoods and snow-capped mountains. Bug factories, loaded with brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout, often measured in pounds rather than inches.
Back home in western PA, I prefer wading smaller streams, targeting specific fish, so the western spring creeks seemed to be calling my name, though I’ll admit to being more than a bit intimidated by the mystique surrounding the names… DePuy’s, Nelson’s, O’Hairs.
The perfect opportunity landed in my lap when Franklyn Gorell invited me to join him, Stan Stein and Dan Kubelick on their annual pilgrimage to the Paradise Valley spring creeks, in July 2011. Suffice it to say that my learning curve was drastically cut by accompanying these three gents, each having 30 or so years of experience on these streams. My first trip there couldn’t have gone better. Even though the Yellowstone River was running high and milky from snowmelt after record snowfall in the nearby mountains, the spring creeks were running clear and cool. If you’ve never visited the Paradise Valley of Montana, you need to put it high on your “bucket list.” The fishing is incredible, the scenery spectacular and frequent encounters with local wildlife… deer, eagles, cranes, are welcome distractions.
The spring creeks are famous for dependable insect activity throughout the year. The Pale Morning Dun (PMD) is one of the major mayfly hatches on these streams, though from what I surmised we had arrived near the tail-end of this emergence. Somewhat sporadic, but there were enough bugs to keep the fish working from mid-morning through early afternoon (provided you could dial up the right combination of fly pattern(s), leader/tippet construction and presentation angle).
Mid-day is “T” time. Slowly stalking the grassy banks, casting various terrestrial patterns to likely holding water or sighted fish, is one of my favorite pastimes. One sunny afternoon, following the morning PMD action, Franklyn drove me to a favored section of the stream and suggested I “cricketize” this stretch. “Work your way upstream and I’ll meet you up above” he said. With a knowing smile and a friendly “have fun”, he disappeared up the dusty road.
I can only describe that afternoon’s fishing as “silly.” Numerous trout in the 12” to 20” range seemed unable to help themselves as they destroyed my imitations. With the sun high in the sky, I concentrated on presenting my offerings as close to the streambank vegetation as possible though errant casts, landing the fly 3 to 4 feet from the bank were often rewarded with a “vee-wake” and a gulping “eat.” In short, an afternoon I’ll never forget.
Late afternoons and evenings were spent working the water column, bottom to top with imitations of a tiny sulphur mayfly. The one day we spent on Nelson’s, I witnessed the heaviest mayfly hatch I’ve ever seen though my three mentors reminisced about heavy hatches they’d seen there in the past. This day’s hatch was “OK”, by their standards. Thunderstorms rumbled through periodically that day, chasing us back to the shelter, only to pass and allow us to return to the stream again. As evening progressed, the water became almost blanketed with the little duns. Fish appeared from their hiding places and began rhythmically slurping bugs. Though I managed a handful of fish that day, I had a front row seat to a fishing clinic. Franklyn, Stan and Dan hooked one trout after another, until the action finally slowed. To coin a phrase frequently used during our stay, they “whacked ‘em!”
As I’d anticipated, fishing these spring creek gems posed challenges, forcing me to make adjustments to tackle and technique from my usual routine. I was fortunate to have not just one, but three guides willing to share their experiences with this rookie.
The only problem I see with this whole thing is… now I’ve got to get back there next year, and the next year and…
Best Regards
Jeff Wynn
