Needless to say it has been a very mild winter, which is being followed by a warm and early spring. The good news is that the Skwala hatch on the Bitterroot River is coming earlier than anyone has ever seen before. The bad news is that we may be left with very little water later in the season (more on that later). We started seeing the first adult Skwala on the water on February 25th. .
Each day we were getting 5-10 eats on Skwala dries. My buddy Rob got the first nice fish with a dry fly on February 27th, a beautiful 18 inch 2 1/2 pound Cutthroat. Since then, the dry fly fishing has been improving exponentially every day
Yesterday, March 4th, was a good friends' birthday so of course we had to get out on the water. The day started off a little slow but as the sun warmed the air and water, that all changed. The magic water temperature for Skwalas to emerge as adults is 40-42 degrees. We have been seeing water temps start to reach 40-42 degrees and yesterday the Bitterroot River temped out at 43 degrees. Accordingly, yesterday we saw alot of adults (25-30) on the water. During Skwala hatch you tend not to see the amount of bugs on the water that you will on other stonefly hatches. For instance, during the Salmonfly or Golden stonefly hatch the water can be blanketed with bugs. However, once the Skwala adults start hitting the water the fish on the Bitterroot turn on eager eye toward this bug.
You will know when the fish are eating them by the amount water that gets displaced when the fish viciously attacks. After eating size 20-24 midges all winter, I think the fish just can't hide their excitement of seeing a size 8 stonefly floating down the river. Fishing the Skwala hatch can produce not only some of the biggest fish you will see all year but some of the most memorable takes. After all was said and done yesterday, we had 32 fish eat a Skwala dry fly. That is some epic fishing for the fourth day of March! 
If you haven't noticed, the snow pack in the Bitterroot and Sapphire Ranges are extremely low. Right now we are sitting at 52% of average in the entire Bitterroot River drainage. This could mean for some interesting conditions come late July and all of August. The only thing I am trying to stay positive about is the fact that it is a heavy El Nino year. This usually means that we have a cooler and wetter than normal summer. Only time will tell. My advise is if you are thinking about fishing the Bitterroot River this year, you need to come early and often!
Hi Sean!!
ReplyDeleteGreat writing!!
You really have some literary talent.
Who is your "editor?"
LOL
Seriously, you're doing a good job of blending the print and photos.
In fact, the photos are amazing.
I ESPECIALLY like the details that you include about the "bugs," water temperature requirements, snow pack concerns etc.
VERY educational.
A question...You mention that the trout have had to suffer feeding on tiny midges for a long time. Haven't they been able to feed heavily on the Skwala nymphs?? You seemed to indicate in your last note that the nymphs were moving actively across the riverbed.
Also, I wanted to tell you about a Western author, C.J. Box. He has a series of books about a Wyoming game warden named Joe Pickett.
Pickett is a kind of Clint Eastwood type character who has to deal with a lot of older AND modern issues in Fish and Game Management.
All of the books are very descriptive of the lands around Wyoming, including The Yellowstone area. Good reading if you like that genre. I recommend that you start with the first book, OPEN SEASON <2001,> since it introduces the main characters and sets the scene for the following titles.
This series is great for anyone like us, who love the out-of-doors.
Let me know what you think!!
Of other interest.....one of my friends told me about an opportunity to take a course on building your own custom bamboo fly rod.
Have you ever built your own rod??
Lastly, you've inspired me to learn more about salt-water fly fishing. We have a nice place near Morehead City, N.C. and there some opportunities for some nice inshore and off-shore fly fishing for a variety of species.
Unfortunately....NO bonefish!!
Keep up the great blogging!!
Chip
Chip,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments. I will definitely pick up those books. I remember you telling me about them last year. Sounds like a good read. Regarding the fish feeding on Skwala nymphs the answer is yes and no. Yes, they have been feeding on them for the last three weeks or so as they have migrated from the middle of the river to the banks. However, since about mid-November till now they have been dining exclusively on midges with a random big nymph that gets dislodged from the bottom.
As far as building a rod I have never tried it. I have heard it is a fun winter project but never made the commitment. I know you have to be pretty meticulous about applying the glue and keep constant rotation. If you try it out be sure to bring it out this summer.
I hope all is well and talk to you soon.
Cheers, Sean