Winter Season Newsletter
of
Classic Journey Outfitters Guide Service
of Missoula, Montana
Lessons Learned in 2006 by Joe Cummings
Probably the greatest aspect to the fly fishing
game is its ever changing equation. Pursuit of those slippery
answers pushes an angler to refine and re-evaluate what tactics
will continue to work on the water. On easy days we see repetitions
of situations in which we have succeeded before where past solutions
work again - the fish are where you expect them eating what they
should. For
veteran guides on their home water, most days follow that trend. In
contrast, there is a decent chunk of the season where a new set of
environmental or human factors combine to create challenges to the
guiding game.
Although I wish every one of our guide days was
easy and expected, it is the head scratching and fly box digging
that makes the trout game so addicting and rewarding. An
old football coach of mine says - "Every day you take the practice
field you either get better or worse. There is no staying the same." I
believe that is true with fishing as well. Rivers will
give a new piece of the puzzle to an observant
mind each float. Don't
expect them to fit right away, but an A-HA! will eventually show as
their place
unfolds. When you stop looking for the new jigsaws, the already
laid puzzle loses clarity.
2006 pushed our staff out
of our
comfort zone more than any other year, so I thought I
would share some of the new lessons we learned and have given us
some new options for 2007.
Upper, Upper Clark Fork - The '06 Spring Bitterroot
rains pushed us off the standard issue Skwala stonefly water and
deep into the the upper Clark Fork. I am born and raised
in this area and there are still sections of the Upper Clark Fork drainage that
I have never seen. We have been slowly working upstream from
Missoula developing a program for the upper river and have seen
quite a bit of success, but that still left over 40 miles untouched
above the little Blackfoot. That upper 40 is what we explored in
2006. It is a small piece of water following the classic High Country
meander through willow mazes. Mainly we saw large and medium
brown trout. At
times a great deal of them ate the fly and other stretches seemed
almost vacant. As you would expect with a brown trout dominated
fishery the dark and the undercut were the driving environs that
held fish. In
the future I think we are going to use this as a float-get out
and wade-float to a new spot - style fishery. Literally
no one is fishing it and it is quietly beautiful. For the angler
that likes to explore small water and go outside the box with a
guide that is doing the same thing this is a cool option. Also
this gives us another high quality bail out if rising water
messes with the March through May Skwala game. O'Dark Thirty Floats -
We have always leaned towards the Night Owl routine in July. The
caddis swarms and spinner fall in the evening are spectacular and
utterly consistent - nothing new there. In the evening you
have the river completely to yourself; most boats pull out and
head home for dinner. To
maximize what we saw as the best time to be on the water we have
started to offer the evening float - we pick you up 1:00 p.m. and
fish into the dark. Our long Northern nights mean you
can see your fly at 10 p.m. That last hour can be a fish a
cast fever pitch feed for chunky rainbows that have lost their
shyness. Darkness
and excitement can have that affect on all of us! Don't
worry about dinner, as we do a full cook-up on the river. The
lesson here for us wasn't what the river was doing, that was
a known, it was how to match up a guiding schedule that flexibly
marries up to river conditions. I thought it was a big success
and you get to sleep in!
Bluffs on the Missouri - Of
all the rivers we guide on this one can fool you the most. It
can make you over think and strategize. It has a well deserved
reputation for a super sophisticated trout. If your CDC post is
just a little too tall you can mistakenly convince yourself that
you are out of the game. You
hear such things at the boat ramp from head shaking anglers - "If
I just had one extra turn of hackle on my size 18 knock down spinner
I would have slayed them." I have been a victim of that intimidation
in the past, but this year I think the core lesson was - the
Missouri has lots of big fish, and they eat big. I
started to put more big
flies (Hoppers, Streamers) in only dominant feeding positions
over and over again and then stuck with it even if it meant a dry
spell or two. Invariably I found pockets that you could
mine trout out of. This season I saw the most trophy
trout come to the boat off this river in my career, and at times
when the little fly guys were getting killed. This isn't
to say we didn't feed many a rising trout a little dry, but it
wasn't absolutely necessary. The courage
to go "all in" with the big bug can call the Missouri little fly
bluff. The
Missouri is definitely a different animal than the water in Missoula
with its own pros and cons, but a multi-day trip on her while staying
in Craig or Cascade is a cool trip and we are doing more and
more each year.
Bookings Notes - Spring Special
(March 15 - May 15) - This will be the 5th year of this popular package for the
Skwala stonefly fishing in March, April, May.
Package Includes
- 4 nights lodging / 3 days guided float trips, all flies, gear
rental, shuttles, breakfast and lunches, and airport pickup and
drop-off. Not Included - MT fishing License, evening meals, gratuities.
Price is $625 per angler. Two anglers per room/ guide boat.
Give us a Call Toll Free - 1-877-327-7878 to put together a
great Montana vacation in 2007.
Tight Lines and Bent
Rods,
Joe Cummings
 Montana
Deer Hunting Trips Fall 2007
Both myself and Brooks Jessen will guide
again for the same outfitter in 2007. The Outfitter we worked
for has one of the premier hunting permits in the State of
Montana and his operation is well appointed and organized. The
quality of the hunting is exceptional; an average day a hunter
will see 5 - 20 bucks with half being 3 1/2 year old 4X4s or older
and 100 or more does. All hunting is spot and stalk, so this
is an extremely visual hunt where from sight to shot can be
hours of strategy and sneaking. Probably the best part of
the hunt is that it is a true fair chase hunt, where you are on
equal terms with animals and you get to play the Mule Deer game
in its purest arena. Prices are modest as far as high quality
hunts go -
starting at $2695 for a five night/fourday hunt. There is
a lot that goes into planning a hunt, so if you would like to chase
some great deer around the Montana prairies after the fishing
season please
give us a call for more details.
Montana is a lottery draw state for non-resident big game licenses. When
booking a hunt with an Outfitter your draw is guaranteed successful.
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Five Great Reasons to try Montana Fly
Fishing with Classic Journey Outfitters:
- float or wade day trips on five world-class
rivers: Blackfoot, Clark Fork, Rock Creek, Bitterroot, and Missouri
River
- the finest dry fly fishing in Montana
- MIssoula's best professional guide service with
70 combined years of experience
- fun, friendly and courteous guides that enjoy
their work and Montana rivers
- lodging and gourmet meals can be arranged by
request
 Outfitter
Joe Cummings #9438
We will be attending three Fly
Fishing shows in 2007
Please
visit www.flyfishingshow.com for
more information. If you can make to one of them, please stop by and
share a fish story.
- Somerset New Jersey, Garden State Exhibit Center- Jan. 26, 27, 28
- Seattle Washington, Meydenbauer Center- Feb. 9,10,11
- Pasadena California, Pasadena Center - Mar. 4,5
Missoula is the world's
best rising fishing complex. No where else can you push a dry fly with
utter confidence starting in March and never have to go beneath the
surface again until November.
Look in our guide boats. You won't see
strike indicators and double beaded nymph rigs rigged up in the rod holsters
ready to be handed off to our guests. You WILL see many concoctions of
different dry fly patterns that fool trout, such as: parachutes of all
shades, CDC on scud hooks, spinners, snowshoe emergers, Wulffs, Trudes,
Big Foamies, Little Foamies, Feth Hoppers, Half Down Stoneflies, Low
Pro Stones, and some secret guide flies that just seem to make them eat
it. So if you want to SEE trout come to your fly, then Missoula Fly Fishing
is for YOU!
A Classic Journey Outfitters
4034 O'Shaughnesy Street
Missoula, MT, 59808
joe@classicjourneyoutfitters.com
Phone Toll Free (888) 327-7878
In Montana (406) 327-7818
Montana Mule Deer in the Snow
The deadline
for application for Montana big game tags is March 1st! |
