outdoors

Since I have been attending the University of Montana this year, I have been very busy with school, hunting and fishing. I've gotten behind in blogging, so heres a few pictures to chronicle my adventures over the past year.

Bitterroot River

Doubled up on the Missouri

My friend Ben with a nice 'bow

Bitterroot Rainbow

Grilling ducks on campus, look good?

The scenery is usually pretty good

 I first fished the Missouri a couple years back. My dad, brother and I had meet a family friend of ours near Craig, Montana. For the next couple days we waded the banks of this large tailwater and experienced some of the best big trout fishing you will find. Before that, I had never experienced an average of 18-21 inch rainbows with some browns of the same size mixed in. So last week while I was looking at fishing reports from up on the river, it was said to be fishing spectacularly. 

I am now a freshman at the University of Montana-Missoula, and knowing the potential of how good the Missouri could be, I quickly packed up my car and made the 2 hour drive to Craig. This small town consists of four fly shops, a bar, and a restaurant; life basically revolves around flyfishing here. I stopped in and got a few flies and headed up the river around 2 p.m. A cloudy, dreary sky combined with the classic Montana wind made it feel more like fall then summer. So I threw on my jacket, gear and started walking.

It was a little late in the day to catch the trico hatch that was happening at the time, so I started with a short leash nymph rig. Soon I started casting into the wind, and hooked the first fish of the trip. The rainbows here more resemble steelhead than trout, and was soon palming my reel to prevent the fish getting into my backing. After a resilient fight, I brought the fish to the net. The fish looked to be around twenty inches, and I slipped it back into the clear, cold water. As the afternoon faded into evening, I caught and released a few more fish of similar size, and retreated to the back of my SUV where I would spend the night.

After not much sleep and a lot of anticipation to get back to the river, I arose to a chilly morning. A quick stop into town where I picked up a cinnamon roll and a water and headed back out. I started fishing in the same area I had the day before and the fishing was even better. It seemed a size 18 black zebra midge was perfectly imitating the trico's that were emerging, and the action was fast and furious. After a few hours, I soon got a little tired of nymphing, even though it was keeping the rod bent with often. So I moved downstream into some back channels. I tied on a hopper with a small mayfly imitation on the back and sight fished to trout holding in skinny water. As I looked at some geese flying by, I heard an eruption downstream where my fly was, and instinctively set the hook into an angry rainbow.

One of the things that makes the Missouri so fun to fish is that there are so many fish willing to take so many different flies. Even though while I was fishing, the dry fly action was lacking, this river throughout the summer offers some of the best dry fly fishing anywhere with many different hatches.  The area around Craig is generally known to be the best, but it is also good in other stretches. Using a drift boat is the most common method of working the river, but for anglers willing to walk, it is also easily waded. So next time your in flyfishing in Montana, you owe it to yourself to experience the Missouri. You won't regret it.

All summer long, Americas's most famous National Park attracts visitors from across the nation and even the world. Many of these people are flyfisherman drawn to the famous waters of the park and the trout they hold.  Rivers such as the Madison, Firehole, Soda Butte creek, or the Yellowstone itself. Earlier this summer, in mid-July, I was out fishing in the park on some of the lesser known rivers due to excessive runoff this year. After fishing the smaller creeks and streams around home this year, it was great to get out to the large, rapid rivers in big sky country. 

As we drove through the park, we saw a variety of wildlife, including grizzly and black bears, wolves, elk, and bison. The first river I set foot in was the Gardner, a turbulent body of water that flows to its confluence with the Yellowstone in a hurry. Rivers like this offer a lot of pocket water; or small "pockets" of slack or slower water behind boulders or logs. Using stonefly imitations trailed by smaller beadhead nymphs, we caught small to medium sized cutthroats and rainbows, putting up acrobatic fights in fast water. This is a great river for anyone who wants to fish with great scenery, as it winds through a spectacular canyon. And with good dry fly action and quality numbers of fish, you can't go wrong fishing here.

We spent a lot of time fishing Slough Creek, a slower, more technical river with bigger fish. Here, bison roamed a little to close for comfort. But the fishing was good, especially when clouds would roll over causing green and grey drake hatches to start coming off. Pods of cutthroats and rainbows would rise to the surface to slurp up these large flies. Fishing with large dry flies in one of the reasons so many flyfisherman go out west every year, as there is nothing like watching a hook-jaw cutthroat come up to take your fly. When these hatches came off and a good drift was had, the action was fast and furious. Nice rainbows and cutthroats were brought to hand and released back into the water.

The fishing in the park is no secret though. Fortunately when I was there, it was a little early in the season so the rivers were not crowded, but they usually are this time of year. To beat these crowds, try getting up early before everyone enters the park, or hike up to more unpressured waters. When your out west traveling and fishing, go up to the park for a day or two, and you'll find great fishing and scenery.

 Whether casting a fly to rising trout, tossing jerkbaits to muskies, or taking advantage of other great fishing opportunities, June arguably is the best month for fishing in our neck of the woods.

On Friday evening, I found myself on a trout stream in western Wisconsin, the evening too perfect not to be on the river. As I entered the stream, many flies, including Caddis and Sulphurs, were emerging from the water's surface. Cautiously, I walked alongside the river to a slow run I had fished before. As the sun started to fade behind the trees, the hatch intensified. Using a sulphur dun, I started to catch nice browns that were rising with regularity. 

Before I knew it, there was little light left, and the only indication of when to set my hook was the sound of a fish breaking the surface. Finished for the night, I headed backed to the car and drove home to prepare for the Metro Muskie Tournament the next day.

The Metro Muskie Tournament is a muskie tournament held on 16 metro lakes in early June. At stake are $11,000 in cash and prizes, including multiple trips to different resorts. Close to 400 people annually enter in the tournament.

I met a friend of mine who was fishing with me for the day at the landing of a popular metro lake early Saturday morning. We were joined by a dozen other rigs fishing the tournament. The weather was fairly cold, windy and cloudy — not ideal, considering we were on the back end of a cold front. But it could have been worse. We made our first cast at 6, when the tournament began, at a spot we had seen fish earlier in the week. Our plan was to cast the first hour or so, then to troll open water looking for baitfish.

After coming up empty casting, we switched over to trolling. There were plenty of other boats in the lake basin with our same mindset. After a couple of hours trolling in the open water, I adjusted and started to position the boat off deep weed lines in 25-30 feet of water. Not soon after,  my reel clicker buzzed and my rod doubled over.

In the panic of the situation, I went straight for the rod, and forgot to put the motor in neutral. Not realizing I was dragging the fish at 4.5 mph, the battle was soon over, and we were left thinking bout what might have been. We fished until the end of the tournament in mid-afternoon without contacting any more fish before leaving for the awards ceremony.

Unofficially, close to 40 muskies were caught by the tournament field, and many took home lures and equipment packages with or without catching a muskie. If you want to check out the tournament next year, the website is www.metromuskietournament.com. 

Either way,  get out fishing now, in June, one of the best for multi-species fishing.

 It had been a long hiatus from fly fishing since late last summer. Looking out into the cold barren landscape over the past few months had me exited to step into moving water again. So Saturday morning I went over to Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop in Lake Elmo and after picking up some nymphs, was off to the river. I pulled up to the access around 1 pm and a couple other vehicles were there. As i walked down to the river, I was exited to hear the soft ripple of the moving water again. I walked upstream a hundred yards or so and started fishing. I was nymphing with a 9 foot leader and a tandem nymph rig. Soon my line shot back upstream, and I set the hook on the first trout of the season. I brought it to hand, unhooked the winter midge nymph it had taken, and slipped it back into the icy water. After catching a few more fish, I was starting to put together a pattern of where they were holding. It seemed like the trout were positioning themselves right at the point where the riffle drops off into a deeper pool. Trout commonly sit on the deep side of the drop off where the current can flow above them so they conserve energy. From that spot, they can see all the food that drifts above them, go up and grab it, and then go back down out of the current.

I later moved upstream and fished a few other spots but the action was starting to slow. Early in the year when the water is so cold, often your window of opportunity is when the day is warmest, and therefore the fish's activity level is highest. When the sun starts to set that window can close pretty quickly. So just prior to 4 pm I started to walk back to the car and call it a day. It had been a good afternoon of winter fly fishing, catching some nice trout, enjoying winter, and getting back on the water.

 There are many times throughout the archery and firearms deer season that are good to kill a big buck. But if you want to put the odds in your favor, the rut is your best option.

The rut is the whitetail breeding season, and this is the time when the deer woods really go crazy.

Stand Placement

This is probably the most important factor in bagging a big buck anytime all season. First, it is important that there is a healthy population of mature does in your hunting area. Even if you do not see many bucks year-round, bucks will cruise from all over the place — -out of their usual hangouts — to find estrus does. Funnels and bottlenecks are a great place to intercept a buck cruising for a doe, as deer will often take the path of least resistance and least effort. This is a popular stand choice for bowhunters, who need a close shot. Ridges are also ideal in some situations; bucks will travel these to scan the area for does. You will often find rubs and scrapes on these ridges as well. Ridges are a great choice while hunting with a gun, as you can scan a lot of ground with the foliage off the trees.

Calling

When using the right calls at the right time, calling white-tails can be very effective. The most popular calls are grunt calls, bleat calls, and rattling. Grunting and bleating are useful tools for the bowhunter. They are often used when a buck is not in range, but not that far away-say less than 100 yards.  A grunt resembles another buck; usually bucks grunt while tending a doe. A bleat is an imitation of a doe in estrus. I have also heard fawns bleating when they have been lost from their mother.

Rattling is a great long-range calling technique. It imitates two bucks fighting for dominance.  I have found it to be most effective just before the peak of the rut, when bucks are looking to assert their dominance to others. When things are really happening, this can be deadly. A few years ago, my Dad and I were setting up a stand midday in early November. While trying to put up the aluminum ladder sections to my stand, they banged together. A couple short minutes later, a wide-racked 8 pointer was standing 40 yards from us, appearing out of nowhere.

Timing

When the peak of the rut hits — usually anywhere from November 6-12 in Minnesota — it is important to hunt as much as you can. Morning is generally the best time, but midday and anytime within legal shooting hours can be equally productive.

Scents

Scents can also be very effective during the rut. Buying bottles of fresh estrus and dispersing it in reasonable portions — preferably in scent containers hanging from trees — around your stand can do wonders if a buck gets hold of the smell.

Decoys

While i generally do not hunt with a decoy, many people prefer them in the rut. A buck decoy combined with rattling is a popular choice, and some choose a doe with estrus scent on it.

In the next week or so, pending local weather, the whitetail rut should peak. Bucks will be searching, chasing, and tending does. Take advantage of that big buck putting down his guard for a little while.

A Wisconsin 9-pointer I took during the rut last year.