55 on the fly

My good friend Bruce and I hiked into the second meadow of Slough Creek yesterday. We had good early action on Caddis flies and Spruce Moths. Bruce caught his first Cutthroat Trout and missed a few other fish. I had a good day, picking up several big Cutthroats. I fished an old Orvis Graphite Spring Creek 9' 5wt. a favorite dry fly rod. Of course the scenery was fantastic and the company was great.

Friends, Bruce and Laurie with Michelle and I in the high country...Just "casting the time away" having fun... catching a few. It was Laurie's first time fly fishing and see did great.

I found a little blue line of water at 7000' of elevation to play with here in Montana... What a great morning. I got out early trying to beat the predicted 98 degree heat. Lots of bugs, mostly caddis flies and spruce moths among the brush and spruce trees. I caught lots of fish. Cutthroats, Cutt-bows, Browns and some Rainbows... There were some big fish in this tight, boulder ridden little stream. I landed 3 fish over 12 inches and about 20 or so overall.... Fun stuff.

Fly Rod - Shane Grey 6' 10" 3wt. & Hardy reel
Flies - UK Bomber and Elk Hair Caddis

My very good friend Ben and I floated the Yellowstone River today. What a glorious trip it was, great fellowship, scenery and fishing. Ben is a local guide and he and I guided together for Parks Fly Shop. Ben rowed today and I did all the fishing, what a deal. The last time we floated together was in 2016. We also had Wilson along with us then. A great friend and fellow guide. I had fished with Wilson for a couple years and then he took my guide spot when I left the shop. In 2016 he was sick with cancer and it was the last time we fished together. We lost him last year. This trip was in memory of Wilson Eich.

I had wonderful day... thanks Ben, for everything.

I fished with some good Montana friends today, Jordan and Tito. They came up to the RV park and Michelle and I made them breakfast, my famous fried egg sandwiches. We got the map out and decided to fish the canyon section of Slough Creek from the Lamar River upstream to the lower meadow, a section none of us had ever fished before. We all caught a bunch of willing Rainbows and I caught one Cutt-bow... It was awesome to see the guys again. We had a great time and learned some new water.

Very sad to report that my rebuilt Kingfisher bamboo fly rod tip section broke today. I had caught a nice size Cutthroat for the first catch with rod tip #2. I had used my shorter rod tip #1 last time out with no problems. I hooked into a nice Brown and he got some current and snap, the tip section breaks right at the ferrule. Heartbreaking after all the work I had put into rebuilding this old fly rod. Well at least the old girl had died in battle as we still managed to land the Brown Trout. I hope to repair it when I get back home.

I almost always carry a spare rod with me and today was no exception. An Orvis Hydros 9' 6wt. So, I strung it up and kept on fishing. I caught several more Browns, Cutthroats and a Cutt-bow. After a nice stream side lunch I caught one more Brown trout and then headed for home with a dark rain storm brewing in the Southwest.