Suddenly surrounded by boats...

Within five days, my two best fishing buddies both got boats. One got a used raft with a fishing frame - a perfectly adequate floating device - and the other got a pristine, brand new Montana Boat Builders custom Freestone wood driftboat that his brother spent months hand crafting. I guess I can throw my waders away.

Another year older, another inch on the fish story...

Me: Is there a dress code at the Rib and Chop House?
Brady: Yeah.
Me: Cuz all I have are my sweat pants.
Brady: Oh, that's fine.

Myself and two friends spent my birthday fishing Nelson's Spring Creek in Paradise Valley, Montana on Saturday. Fishing was good for the most part; there were slow periods and the incessant wind was bothersome. But the fish were nice and it's always fun to sight fish to big, wild trout.

After fishing, we sneaked a peek at a friend's beautiful almost-ready-to-float wooden drift boat - it's looking awesome should be ready to rock soon.

We capped the night at Montana's Rib and Chop House, and 14 succulent ounces of pork chop rejuvenated my spirit after a full day of challenging fishing.

Soon there will be skwalas, followed by caddis, and many midges mixed in. Fishing is going to be very good, very shortly...

Delight and dismay at Depuy Spring Creek

Forcefully pushing my Bugger across the stream, an epic gale nearly put me in the drink. It's tough to maintain your balance when your feet are a foot into the muck. But, that's just another day fishing one of Paradise Valley's spring creeks in the offseason.

We hit Depuy's yesterday because the forecast was for temps around 40. To our delight, the temps were actually around 45 when we woke up. To our dismay, there were sustained winds of 35 to 50 miles per hour, with gusts to 75. To our casual delight, winds were forecast to "diminish" by mid-day. Plus there's always the chance that the winds will somehow blow over the top of Depuy's property. So we got there at about 11:15 a.m. and to no one's surprise, it was pretty windy.

But the fishing was decent - everyone landed at least a couple fish in the intermittent spots when a cast was possible. By about 3 p.m., a mini-blizzard had plastered snow to our waders and we decided we'd had enough.

Even with all the adversity, it was still worth the off-season rate of $40. It's a place that will get hatches (more than just midges, too), won't be frozen over, and will have fish that are more than slightly awake. And despite the fact that it's often the only option, there's rarely anyone else there. I'm shocked that more locals don't take advantage of these glorious fisheries.

But I won't complain too much - it's nice to have the run of the place to yourself.

Mahogany duns

I am really starting to get skeptical about fly shop fishing reports (one unnamed shop, in particular, which I frequent based on promixity). Some examples:

• "Blue winged olives seem to be the predominant hatch in the late afternoons making for some good dry fly fishing on the overcast days." Wrong. The dominant hatch has unquestionably been the mahogany duns. They're all over, sunny or overcast. There has been sparse bwo hatches on overcast days, but that's it.
  
• A buddy of mine was recently in this same shop, and they told him there aren't actually October caddis on the Gallatin. They said that while these bugs look like October caddis, they're actually something else, a couple sizes smaller. (buzzer sound). While the Gallatin does get these smaller bugs (that are still big, orange caddis, just have lighter-colored wings and are a couple sizes smaller than the 'real' October caddis - the same patterns will work for both), it definitely, without a doubt, gets October caddis. They're size 6 to size 8, have dark wings, and the distinct vein pattern that the 'real' October caddis have.
  
• No shop's fishing report has ever mentioned the October caddis hatch on the Gallatin. If they truly knew the river and what was going on, October caddis would definitely get a mention because Orange stimmies (or any dry caddis pattern tied in a size 8 with an orange body) will get voracious strikes anytime after 6 p.m. in September and early October. If you see even a single October caddis, tie one on, cuz the fish will go bonkers for it.
  
• "The Yellowstone has been fishing well. Cloudy weather will make for thick baetis hatches, and streamer fishing is continuing to improve." Wrong. The baetis have been virtually absent thus far, and the fish are definitely not chasing streamers yet. Ask somebody who's fished it lately. Seriously...
  

I could continue, but ... I just wish the spread of disinformation would cease. If you don't know, say you don't know. Don't just pretend.

October caddis

For those of you who haven't discovered the joy of the October caddis hatch, let me tell ya - it's great. Here on the Gallatin River, it's certainly not a blanket hatch. In fact, I've never seen more than a couple on the water at a time. But it doesn't matter - the fish know they're there and will hammer an orange Stimulator. They've been hatching for a couple/three weeks already, and still going steady. Get out there and enjoy a great and underappreciated hatch.

Mayfly identification?

I need a little help with a few bugs i came across lately ....