Fly Fishing the Bitterroot River in October with Jack

Fly Fishing the Bitterroot River in October with Jack

Bitterroot Rainbow

Rainbow on the Bitterroot River
(Photo by Merle Ann Loman)

Fly fishing the Bitterroot River in the fall is fantastic. The weather changes dramatically during the day giving stellar lightshows and the fall hatches mean you will probably see fish noses and fins in select places. As the trout work the hatch, It is definitely a challenge to have targets to throw to. The fun part is trying to pick out which rise form is the biggest trout. By this time of year the trout have seen just about everything but a good presentation. In other words they are very educated but still feeding consistently. The flat smooth water where you find them feeding makes it even more difficult to execute a convincing presentation and drift. Proper selection of dry-flies and tippet are essential.

Give yourself plenty of time to concentrate on certain areas. On the Bitterroot River, there are many pods of feeding fish giving the amateur angler lots of chances to work on technique. If you put the fish down with bad casts, just row back up and wait. Chances are, they will begin feeding in a similar place again. If you don’t want to row up-river, keep going to the next pod. You can see them feeding as you float down the river. Very cool.

Jack with a northern pike

Jack Mauer with a Northern Pike (Photo by Merle Ann Loman)

Want a change of pace? Bring along a 9 weight rod and a box of colorful streamers. As you fish for trout and you come upon a backwater of slow water with significant drop-off next to it, you might consider changing your arsenal to a heavier rod and a very large bright streamer. You have just come into northern pike habitat and they are a HEAVY fish. If you throw the streamer at the drop-off, let it sink and then retrieve it in frequent jerking motions, you will likely tick-off a pike. When a pike hits the fly, you have a fight on your hands. Pike are non-native and predatory so catching them and getting them out of the river is a good thing. The pike in the photo to the right had a whole fish in its stomach. See the slideshow for pictures of the fish. It isn’t pretty.

This pike was about 33 inches long and a tremendous fighter. As Jack caught it, another boat approached from behind. You could hear them cheering Jack on as he worked at bringing the fish into the boat. He thought about getting to shore and landing it there, but it was netted from the boat, barely fitting the net.

Cutthroat Trout from the Bitterroot River

Cutthroat trout (Photo by Merle Ann Loman)

This particular day was about 50 degrees with a slight breeze and overcast. The sun and clouds created unbelievable light shows. Even though this autumn hasn’t produced as many colors and hues as usual, the rainbows and even the gray cast of the aspen have been beautiful. Besides amazing scenery, birds provided entertainment. While looking down the river at pods of fish feeding, beyond and on the curve was an Osprey looking for its dinner. It flew in a tighter circle, dove straight down and made a huge splash. As it came out of the water, there was a sparkle as the sun hit the fish in its talons – probably a whitefish. A few minutes later an eagle soared down the river, passed over the boat and continued downstream. Near the take-out, a Belted Kingfisher played the bank. They are a funny looking bird with a shaggy crest or topknot.

For more info:
Bitterroot RiverWapiti Waters Fly Fishing Montana description
Montana Fish, Wildlife and ParksField guide for Northern Pike
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks – Field guide for Belted Kingfisher

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks – Field guide for Bald Eagle
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks – Field guide for Osprey
Merle’s SmugMug photo site – More Bitterroot River photos in their original format

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Fly Fishing in Oct – Peter and Chris on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork

Fly Fishing in Oct – Peter and Chris on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork

Chris on the Bitterroot Peter and Chris fished two day with Jack on two different rivers. They really lucked out with the weather. It has been cold, but this Saturday and Sunday, the weather warmed and we and the fish were grateful.Peter's trout

The first photo is Chris on the Bitterroot River.

To the right is a close-up of one of Peter’s Trout.

The last photo is Peter on the Clark Fork River.

Peter on the Clark Fork Hopefully, Peter and Chris will send us some of the photos they took, maybe even a short video. Thanks for fishing with us!

A nice fall day fly fishing the Bitterroot with Richard and Jack

A nice fall day fly fishing the Bitterroot with Richard and Jack

Richard on the Bitterroot
After a cold spell, there was this very nice day in October. Richard and Jack fished the middle to lower Bitterroot and the fish were very cooperative. The water is very clear and flat. This means the fishing was technical because your fly presentation and drift must be convincing, no drag in the line.

See the slide show to see some of the fish they caught.

Fall means brilliant colors and brown trout are spawning

Fall means brilliant colors and brown trout are spawning

It is fall in Montana and great fishing, but watch out for redds. Brown trout are spawning.

Brown trout from the Bitterroot in the spring
Brown trout from the Bitterroot in the spring

Fall brings cooler temperatures that cue brilliant foliage, migrating geese and spawning brown trout.

Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) is an exotic species in Montana. It was introduced to North America and Montana in the late 1800’s. Brown trout belong to a different genus than our native trout species. Widely stocked early in this century, they are currently doing well as a self-sustaining population.

The brown trout are golden brown with spots, lots of spots. They have black spots that may be irregular, and often red and orange spots. A distinct characteristic is spots with halos on the gill covers. Their tails are short and square. They commonly grow to 12 to 20 inches, but Montana’s state record is 29 pounds.

Brown trout feed largely on underwater aquatic insects.
And, as a predaceous fish, more so than rainbow or cutthroat, the larger browns often feed at night on other fish, crayfish and other invertebrates. Brown trout have a few advantages over native Montana trout species. Brown trout are better adapted to disturbed habitats, and can live in areas that experience unnatural changes in water level, temperature, and water quality.

Jeff's Brown trout on the Bitterroot River
Brown trout caught by Jeff

Brown trout also lay their eggs in the fall, getting a jump on the native species which spawn in the spring making them subject to irrigation seasons water fluctuations among other things. Spawning occurs for brown trout when water temperatures drop to about 40 degrees F. and lasts usually from October through December in Montana. Female brown trout make redds in gravel or small pebbles in shallow water, usually less than a foot deep. Females deposit the eggs, males fertilize the eggs and they are covered with very small gravel or silt. In the spring, about 50 days later and at 50 degrees F, the surviving eggs hatch.

Some brown trout spawn on their resident rivers, but to find the right (very specific) conditions most migrate, sometimes traveling great distances upriver or into tributaries. During this critical time for brown trout, if you are aware of spawning beds where you are fishing, it is preferable not to disturb them.

Here are some things to think about when fishing during the spawning period:

  • Stay away from the redds, do not walk in them. In general, they will be in clean gravel and it will look like someone dug a hole in the smaller gravel.
  • Fish downstream to the probable pods of trout below the redd, not IN the redd. A clue is fish sitting on top of thecleared off gravel in pairs.
  • If you catch a spawning trout, try not to sap their strength; play them quickly, release them quickly and of course, handle them gently.
  • Last, target fewer fish. Catch a few, and then move on to another area.

Brown trout are usually in the larger, slower and lower gradient streams often where there are logs and other structure available to hide under. They also do well in reservoirs.

Brown trout are a popular game fish and a challenge to catch because they are selective and wary. When an angler catches them, it is exciting as they can be large and put up a good fight, running with the line.

For more info:
Montana Fish, Wildlife and ParksField guide for brown trout

Montana University System Water Center – Brown trout information

Utah on the Fly Article – The Bedroom of the Browns: Acting Responsibly During the Spawning Season, by Jim McGeever

Merle’s SmugMug photo site – Many more brown trout photos in their original format

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Casey, a man of four rivers and at least four pike

Casey, a man of four rivers and at least four pike

Casy and Aaron on the Flathead River
Casey Hackathorn is an Outfitter/Guide out of Missoulian Angler in Missoula, MT. He and Jack have this bond: a fascination for pike, actually BIG pike. So far Casey is the winner but then he has been at it longer. I see a long running competition developing. Fun!


Missoulian Angler Fly Shop
Website
401 S Orange St ·
Missoula
(406) 728-7766

We highly recommend the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop and Casey Hackathorn. Professional, great selection and service and the staff is exceptional. Visit them when you are in Missoula.

All photos were sent to us by Casey Hackathorn.

Northern Pike fishing adventure on the lower Bitterroot River with Jack Mauer

Northern Pike fishing adventure on the lower Bitterroot River with Jack Mauer

Northern Pike caught in the Bitterroot River by Jack Mauer

Jack Mauer fishes for a living, but what does he do on his day off? He gets up early and goes fishing for Northern Pike. His favorite spot is a section in the lower Bitterroot (exact location is undisclosed at this writing). For this short but productive float, he has permission to put in on private land and takes out at the next public access point. I get invited along for many reasons: photography, dog handler for our 6 month old Chesapeake puppy, and last but not least, rower of the boat when we get to pike territory.

Northern Pike, or pike, or northerns, are native to Montana but only in the Saskatchewan River drainage on the east side of Glacier Park. They have been illegally introduced in many areas and are now present in every drainage west of the Divide. A highly piscivorous animal, they feed on fish and also eat other vertebrates such as frogs. Northern pike threaten native game and non game fish in the area and popular sport fish like rainbow and brown trout.

With a long skinny head they have large teeth on the side of their mouth, and rows of many small teeth inside their mouth. They don’t chew their food, they just swallow it whole. Characteristics of the pike are: light markings on a darker green body, lower half of the cheek completely scaled; five or fewer pores on each side of the underside of the jaw; and rounded tail tips.

Pike especially like lakes and reservoirs, but on the Bitterroot River they are found in the warmer, slower water. Weeds are used for camouflage while hiding and waiting for food to float or swim by. They tend to live in water which is less than 15 feet deep, near a backwater area and close to shore. A submerged log in about 7 feet of water is another prime hang out spot for Pike. Because the Bitterroot is Jack’s home river, he has located the buckets of water where the pike are and can row directly to them.

When fishing for northerns, it might be a good idea to use a steel leader (a short piece of steel line). The pike’s sharp teeth will cut easily through most fishing regular fishing line. Jack uses an 85 pound test hard monofilament tippet with a very bright streamer that has 2 hooks.

The idea of the streamer is to try to imitate the features of baitfish and minnows, which are what pike naturally feed upon. Since Pike seek their prey by sight, it is important for the streamer to move, so active artificial movement or live bait movement is very important. Anchor the boat above the holding water so you can cast to the bottom end of the bucket and retrieve your line through it and past the pike. Jack fished both deep (with a streamer that sinks and swims) and more on the surface (with a streamer/fly that didn’t sink as well). In both cases, he casts out about 60 feet or more, hopefully beyond the pikes position. Then he retrieves his line with a subtle jerking motion and some pauses in between twitches. The goal is to attract the attention of the pike and make it think his streamer is injured prey. Sometimes after hooking a pike, he saw other pike chasing it to the boat looking for their own meal.

After hooking and reeling in the pike, Jack uses a huge pair of needle nosed pliers to get his streamer and hook out of that nasty looking mouth.

Unlike fishing for trout, you want a bright day to fish for pike. If the water is smooth, meaning not much wind, and the sun is at an angle instead of right above you, you can see this distinctive fish in the water. This might be obvious, but sighting a pike makes it much easier to cast to.

Small northern pike remain in shallow weedy water through much of the year. In mid-summer, forage reaches peak abundance and the fish remain active. Large northern pike move deeper as summer progresses and water temperatures warm, seeking oxygenated water of 65 degrees or cooler. Large northern pike become lethargic in warm water, eating little and sometimes losing weight. For these reasons northern pike fishing falls off in warmer weather.

Jack has more time to fish for pike, and in addition on the lower Bitterroot River there is often the opportunity for good trico fishing. It makes for a great day with a wide variety of fishing styles, i.e. fishing a No. 18-20 trico dry fly on 6X tippet versus a larger, flashy streamer with 85 test monofilament tippet and a heavier rod.

Northern Pike are exceptionally good to eat, with firm, white flesh. The bigger fish are easier to bone and except for one troublesome Y-shaped bone, the Pike is relatively easy to filet. You can serve it many ways including grilled, fried, and baked using whatever seasonings and sauces you like. Jack isn’t much of a fish eater but he has a number of friends that like to eat the pike so he gives them away. That is a win/win for the trout in the river and his friends.

This aggressive and voracious fish attacks the lures or flies and puts up a great fight making the catching a thrill. Northern pike can grow to nearly 40 pounds in Montana and provide an outstanding sport and food fish in the appropriate waters. Pike are caught not only for sport but also to help get them out of inappropriate waters. Because of their voracious fish-eating habits they can literally eliminate their food supply in only a few years, leaving a population of terminally-stunted “hammerhandles.” This is why widespread illegal pike introductions in western Montana have become a fishery manager’s nightmare. So, go ahead, get out there, harvest a few pike and help Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks with removal of unwanted populations!

To see all the photos in a new window, click Jack’s Trico/Pico fishing day.

Resources and links

Billings, Montana Pike Fishing Club called Pike Masters

Montana, Fish Wildlife and Parks Field Guide for Northern Pike and Northern Pike Education Page
I only found a few articles on strategies for pike fishing. Below is a link to an article from Game & Fish Magazine with useful information on pike and how to fish for them.
Northern Pike Strategies by Jim Barta from Michigan – If you are a northern pike fanatic, the author has a few weapons you should consider adding to your arsenal.

Fly Fishing the LOWER Bitterroot for trout and pike with Bob and Ferguson

Fly Fishing the LOWER Bitterroot for trout and pike with Bob and Ferguson

Bob with  a lower Bitterroot River trout
Jack met Bob and Ferguson at a public access and fished the very LOWER Bitterroot for trout and pike. This is near the confluence of the Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers and is great habitat for both species of fish. Here are 4 different views of one of Bob’s nice cutthroat trout.

Jack brought one pike home to give to a friend who likes to eat them but they didn’t get any photos of pike.

I like showing the river and it’s features, but also to show close up views of the trout. Here is the slideshow of the 4 photos.

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