Heed the Warnings!

Fourth of July weekend is now upon us and the rivers continue to rage.  The Westfork and the main stem of the Bitterroot River are both flowing over 3 times higher than normal.  There have been 2 fatalities in as many weeks; one yesterday on the Locsha River (here is the newspaper article link) http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1b2815da-a324-11e0-acd8-001cc4c002e0.html and one on the Big Hole.  They still haven't found the body of the guy on the Big Hole.  The forecast is for temps in the mid 80's to low 90's.  There will be a huge temptation to venture out on the river.  BE SMART AND NOT A STATISTIC!!!!!

High Water & Big Decisions

Life is measured by making right or wrong decisions in crucial times. One right decision can lead to a positive turning point in life and vice versa. For me, June has been a month of making some very hard calls. The Bitterroot River has been flowing at unprecedented levels all month. It was past flood stage two weeks ago and has now resurged to flood stage this week. Those of us who spend hundreds of days on this river each year have been predicting a big runoff, but no one thought it would be this prolonged. Even years with higher than normal snow pack, we are usually fishing by now.  It is not just Montana that is shattering records for river flows.  It seems every river in the country is swollen beyond its banks with no end in sight.

Woodside Bridge Parking lot @ flood stage June 2011

I started taking reservations for fishing trips in January. Like most years, they were primarily for the famed salmonfly hatch. I am always very leery of booking reservations anytime before the second week of June. Typically, even on big snow pack years, the third week of June is prime time. Not this year. I, and every other responsible outfitter, have cancelled all the days in June and may have to cancel trips into the first week in July because of high and dangerous river conditions. Many outfitters, including myself, have taken a huge economic hit in the last few weeks, but the cost could be much higher. When the Bitterroot River and the Westfork are flowing this high, not only is there no soft water to fish, but they become a playground for the grim reaper. Any guide/outfitter's NUMBER ONE responsibility is the safety of the client. When I am on the oars on a river I have two other lives in my hands. Getting my clients on fish comes second.  I know an outfitter, who is reckless enough to be taking clients out in the last several weeks. He has placed the value of a few hundred dollars over his client’s life. When the Bitterroot River flows first peaked at flood stage a few weeks ago he had four boats "guiding" (more like surviving) on the water. After being told he had to guide for the day, one of the outfitter's main guides refused to do the trip due to safety concerns.  He was immediately fired.  At least the guide had the balls to make the right judgment call. Once again this week when the flows peaked at flood stage he had clients on the Westfork. That isn't just reckless, it's plain stupid! Call me old fashioned, but I value lives over a few hundred bucks.

Veteran's Bridge (the bridge formally known as Silver Bridge)
@ flood stage June 2011

A few days ago one of my top guides, a good friend who fishes with me a lot, and I test floated the Westfork. At that time the flows were 1,600 C.F.S (Cubic Feet per Second) @ Painted Rocks Dam and approximately 4,000 C.F.S after Nez Perce Creek. All of us are VERY experienced oarsman and spend at least 200-250 days a year on the river. However, we had never been on the Westfork when the flows were that high. To say upper end of the Westfork (above Nez Perce Creek) was challenging is like saying surfing triple overhead waves is a challenge. This part of the Westfork is littered with snags, sweepers and strainers. Any false move here and you are dead for sure. Once we got below Nez Perce Creek the flows jumped to 4,000 C.F.S. or more-then the water gets squeezed into the canyon. Where there were once rocks exposed a few feet, on normal high flows, there were now standing 6 foot waves! We were quickly in survival mode. Ever corner the person on the oars had to set up for at least 300 yards in advance. If your hands slipped off the oar, the oar hit a rock and popped out of the oarlock or the boat hit something underwater that was unseen.......game over!   After the day was over, all three of us agreed that we were scared in the canyon. Not deer in the headlights, panic mode scared, but the feeling you get in your stomach knowing that one tiny mistake would be our last. If someone accidentally fell into the water there would be nothing that could be done. I don't care if you have a life jacket on and could swim like Michael Phelps; death would be inevitable. There would no rescue only body recovery.

The view looking north from Victor Crossing Bridge @ flood
stage June 2011

So here we sit with the water continuing to rage with no end in sight for the near future. I don't like sounding like a Debbie Downer but the threat of a fatality on the Bitterroot River in the upcoming weeks is a grim reality. There has already been a fatality on the Yellowstone River, the Lochsa River in Idaho and just two days ago one on the Big Hole River. July 4th weekend is right around the corner and I'm hoping for snow. At least it will keep everyone off the river. When alcohol, high water and people being on the river that shouldn't be are mixed, it becomes a death cocktail. Please use good judgment out there. The river and fish will still be there in a couple of weeks when it is safe.  DON'T BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC!!!!!

How to Hold a Fish

I see it happen all the time.  A client presents the fly right, sets the hook and lands a trophy fish to perfection.  Then, when they want to memorialize the moment, they botch the hold of the fish and get a lousy photo. It may seem a trivial subject, but doesn't everyone want a great photo of the trophy they spent countless hours trying to catch?  Believe it or not, there is a right and wrong way to hold a fish to get that image.  There are other important factors, such as the fish's health and safety to consider as well.



A 22" Brown held the wrong way

The most common mistake people make holding a fish for a photo is they get their hands in the way.  When they lift the fish up, their hands are covering it and facing the camera.  To capture a good fish image, you want as little of your hands exposed as possible.  This is achieved by a few simple steps.  After the fish is in the net and the hook is removed, let it rest for awhile and get its' breath.  Then, gently turn the fish completely upside down.  This will put the fish into a semi-catatonic state and it will be less likely to go wild when you pick it up.  Now, slide your hands along its side closest to you and put your fingers under its belly and pick the fish up.  Now, the less you squeeze it, the less likely it is to go crazy and the less likely you are to harm it (more on that later).  To get a good photo, you will want to bring the fish up to your chest.  Try not to be tempted to hold the fish as far as you can from your body.  This is an old trick to make the fish look bigger than it really is.  If you are taking a photo of a trophy fish, the photo (as long as it is taken properly) will do the fish justice without any trickery.  I usually try to keep my arms bent and the fish as close to my body as possible.  Also, make sure a net is under the fish while you are taking the photo.  If the fish does flop, it will fall safely back in the net.  This, not only saves the fish from getting away in an untimely fashion, but also prevents it from landing on the ground, rocks or the bottom of the boat.



The same fish held the right way



Now that we have got the logistics of a good photo out of the way, there are some safety concerns that should be addressed before you handle of a fish.  Fish have a slime coating on their skin that protects them from parasites and diseases.  Most guides use rubber nets instead of the old mesh ones.  This is due to the fact that the rubber nets are much less likely to remove the slime coating.  Also, if you are planning on handling a fish you MUST first get your hands wet.  If you handle a fish with dry hands, you will remove some of this slime coating.  The more slime coating the fish loses, the more likely it will contract a skin borne disease or parasite.  Once you have the fish calmed down (in a catatonic state), lightly cradle the fish in your hands and avoid putting a death squeeze on the fish.  Fish live in a very low gravity environment and their body structure cannot handle a lot of outside pressure.  Gently lift the fish up, snap a photo and place it back into the net and water.  I tell my clients that the fish can be out of the water as long as you can hold your breath.  Once you can no longer hold your breath, the fish goes back in the water to catch its breath.  Larger fish are more susceptible to oxygen deprivation, so it is best not to keep them out of the water for long periods.  Once you have your photo, place the fish back in the net and let them recover before releasing.  A fish uses the dissolved oxygen in the water to release the lactic acid out of its muscles that is built up from the fight.  If the water temps are in the upper 60's, it is probably best you do not take the fish out of the water or handle it.  As the water temperature goes up the amount of dissolved oxygen goes down.  During these times, handling and removing the fish from the water could be too much for the fish to recover, especially for the larger fish.  When reviving a fish, simply face the fish upstream so the water flows through its gills.  When it is ready, it will swim off.  DO NOT rock the fish back and forth.  This will force water through the back of its gills and can potentially suffocate the fish.  Everyone, including me, wants a great photo of that one that didn't get away.  If you follow these easy steps you should have that shot and the fish will live to fight another day.   

Big Brown Trout in the Bright Sun

I got a call from a client a few weeks ago wanting to fish out of a hard boat.  That was not a problem since I do own a 16' ClackaCraft drift boat (by the way her name is The Minnow).  I was concerned however that I would be relegated to fishing on the lower portion of the Bitterroot River, in late July, with bright sunny conditions.  Now don't get me wrong, the lower river can fish great, but  usually you need some cloud cover for the nice fish to look up.  I have had my ass handed to me on the lower Bitterroot on bright, sunny days.  So, needless to say, I was not very optimistic about our chances on July 27th.

As we slid Minnow in the water at 8:00 a.m., the temperature of the air was already 70 degrees with nary a cloud in sight.  Uh oh!  Our only saving grace was a couple sneaky springs I knew of in this section that could possibly make our day.  As we drifted down the river we had a few little fish looking at our flies.  We did see one VERY large brown trout go completely airborne about 3 feet.  The only thing I could think of is he was ambushing a small fish from below; much like Air Jaws off Seal Island, South Africa.  My client Ray gave a few futile casts to this behemoth.  I figured the odds of that fish eating a dry fly were slim to none, and slim had just left town.  But you just never know.  Unfortunately, this fish didn't even bother looking at Ray's fly.  After floating a couple hours and only seeing some small fish, we pulled over to hunt one of the springs.  I told Ray that these fish are pretty wary and there was little to no current.  We would need to cast to a likely spot, wait for the fish to cruise by and hopefully Ray's fly would grab the fish's attention.  As we walked into the spring there were three VERY large fish cruising and sipping a variety of PMD's (emergers, spinners & duns).  We tried every PMD in my box, which is a lot, for about 45 minutes with no success.  Every time a fish would start cruising toward his fly, something would divert it off course.  In complete frustration, I decided to unmatch the hatch and tied on a size 12 hopper.  I told Ray to cast it in and after it landed, give it a twitch.  Ray made a great cast and as soon as he twitched the hopper, it was too much for a very large brown trout to resist.  The trout opened his mouth and the hopper disappeared in a large swirl.  I didn't see Ray react at all and I yelled, "There he is, there he is!"  Ray came up with his rod and buried the hook into the fish's mouth.  I will never forget what happened next.  Feeling the pressure Ray was putting him, the fish jumped at least two feet out of the water.  It was then that Ray said, "Holy shit!"  I started laughing and said, "Yep, that is the one were were looking for Ray.  Now remember we are on 5x, so take your time."  Ray battled the large trout like a pro and about five minutes later a beautiful 22 inch brown trout was in the net.  After stealing a bit of his sole, we released him back into the spring where he still resides (see the video below).

I would like to say that the day only got better from there, but it didn't.  We walked into another spring but with no success.  By the afternoon, it was really hot.  I happened to look to the east around 2:30 and it looked like someone had dropped a nuclear bomb in the Sapphire Mountains.  It was the start of the Dominic Point fire.  This fire looked like it was going to be with us until the snow flew.  However, we have been having some unseasonably cool and wet weather, which has aided in getting that fire 90% contained.  We spent most of the afternoon finding good swimming holes to cool off and catching a few more small trout. It really is amazing though how one fish can save and/or change the face of a bad day of fishing.  Actually, there are no bad days of fishing only bad days of catching.