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Bringing you up-to-date information for fishing around Bozeman Montana. Feel free to Email me anytime at Norbaracer13@gmail.com!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

A Word About the Copper John

generic Copper John fly
           This article is going to be all about the Copper John wet nymph fly. The Copper John is one of the most common nymphs out there to date and for good reasons, it catches a ton of fish! The Copper John went through a period of changes during 1993 when it was first tied and the tier, John Barr, was happy with it by 1996. Most importantly, John found a good pattern of materials that worked exceptionally well any time of the year. This particular fly doesn't resemble any one insect, but instead acts as a number of them. I recently started tying the Copper John myself, as they aren't a beginner fly to start tying, and have had a lot of fun adding my own unique bits and pieces to them.

         The traditional "CJ" comes in one standard color design. Typically, a copper bead is in front of the thorax comprised of peacock hurl, feathers and thin skin. Behind the body of the fly are two biots that sit snugly underneath a layer of copper wire. This is the Copper John! It comes in all sizes from 12 all the way down to a #22 hook, and can be fished as a lead or dropper fly. Some folks incorporate thin lead to help build profile and bring the fly down to the bottom of the river faster. The fun part I must say about tying these, as you see in my photos, is that you can use about any color or type of materials you want to give your CJ a very unique look. I was fiddling around one day and tied a few that look similar but have their small differences. I enjoy using red copper wire along with red biots instead of the standard brown or black biots and copper wire.

       When I fish with these types of nymphs I usually decide between the Copper John, Lightning Bug, or Pheasant Tail. I prefer the Lightning Bug in silver over the other two but all of them are very good choices and catch fish year around. The CJ is best fished in my opinion as the dropper, depending on the size, and drug along with the current right on the bottom of the river or stream. Split shot is probably necessary to get the flies down to the bottom as soon as possible.

       If you are new to fly fishing you may not have purchased or tied a Copper John yet. I recommend every fly fisherman has several of each size in their box. The CJ is a good search pattern to find the fish and will work on the coldest days of winter into the hottest parts of summer. I hope you can learn from this short article and catch a few more trout with this specific fly. If they aren't hitting on the surface, maybe tie on a Copper John and you'll pick off a few trout! Tight lines all!


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Depuy Spring Creek Trip Fall 2013



          Depuy Spring Creek is a special place that I previously blogged about before. It has made a deep impression on my soul that will last my entire life. When I tell people that I have fished or am on my way to fish the creek, their eyes light up with envy and excitement. Depuy's is known for its three mile stretch of gin clear spring water that flows right along side of the mighty Yellowstone river and holds some of the biggest fish in the area. A beautiful back drop of the Absaroka mountains poise just a few miles away. Mountain lions wolves and grizzly bears stroll the perimeter with golden and bald eagles overhead. Since this is private land, only sixteen rods per day are aloud on the property. When full, every fisherman can easily find his or her own hole or stretch to fish in solitude. A day at Depuys has this level of prestige over other bodies of water and every angler that fishes it has their game plan likely anticipated days before their visit.

        Being a spring creek, like I mentioned in my previous article, the fish are exceptionally more difficult to catch than the local rivers. The water is so clear that the wiser fish can see you coming from ten meters away and are very weary and decisive before they accept any given fly. My flies of choice for this trip were the very common egg pattern and blue midge nymph. The brown trouts spawn was finishing up, but most resident trout will likely take an egg pattern any time of the year. I fished the creek two consecutive
Saturdays as the first Saturday was so incredible, I had to go back for more! The weather the second day was much cooler but non the less it very beautiful. Within minutes of stepping into the creek one of my friends hooked into the biggest trout of his life; a brilliant and lavish twenty two inch mighty brown trout. This fish had a grand kype and notable colors of browns and orange hues. Its places and days like these that impact the soul so deeply to the passionate fly fisherman. This allure is what will keep us coming back to the rivers edge for as long as we can walk upright.
         
         The creek has warming huts throughout its property with wood burning stoves to take shelter from the elements. This second particular day was very windy. After Mason hooked into his trophy and a few more fish that we each landed, we retreated to the hut named "Evas" for lunch and discussion. Its important to take a break, whether its on the creek bank, in a car, or in a warming hut to reflect on the days efforts. Theres never a need to rush these waters but to instead let them remain quiet and flow with peace as one is slaying
Eva's Hut
the trout. The fish will remain hungry and need time to, in a sense, forget about the fisherman that are so hastily trying to hook them.

           The first Saturday this fall, and the day that I made the video from, was a phenomenal day. My friend and I caught over thirty fish ranging from fourteen to twenty inches. My hand was cramped and my arm was sore after hauling in fish after fish. The same goes for this second outing. The fish were slamming our flies, sometimes taking off with runs going twenty feet or more in just a few seconds against our drag. The quiet, almost lifeless looking water, would erupt into madness as eighteen inches of trout dances athwart the surface of the water with a life or death attitude. The excitement we had is enough to hoot and holler down to the next guy as he intends to land what could be a personal best. Often times we had two fish being fought
simultaneously and we needed to talk to each other so our trout wouldn't get muddled and twisted together.

          On the second trip the wind was pounding us towards the end of the day. I had caught enough fish, big ones, that I was overly satisfied. We made our way up to the top stretch of the creek near the fly shop. I enjoyed the company of fishing my last few casts with a group of swans. I also enjoyed watching my buddies land their last trout of the day. I'm not sure if we caught more on the second trip or not but it really doesnt matter. I was starting to get spoiled. A lot of hard work was involved so It felt well earned. Catching high numbers of quality fish only fortifies my beliefs that I am getting to be a better fisherman. Everyday we learn something new so when that problem occurs next time we know how to handle it thus landing one more trout.

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE VIDEO FROM THIS ARTICLE IN THE POST ABOVE THIS            -MontanaTroutFishing

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Upper Madison River at Valley Garden Fishing Access, Ennis MT

      October 19th 2013 is a day I wont forget for a long time. My friends and I had sacrificed sleeping in to get up early and hit the water as soon as the sun came up. We werent even 5 minutes from leaving Bozeman when a one hundred and sixty pound white tail buck ran right in front of us. We hit him, and hit him hard, killing the massive buck instantly. My buddy (along with the rest of us) were so shook up that he wanted to get his truck looked at. This was the first time I've ever been in a car that hit a deer.

US 84 outside of Bozeman, Tobacco Root Mountains
      So now its seven in the morning and the other guy and myself still wanted to fish. The destination was Valley Garden fishing access near Ennis, Montana. It was about a forty-five minute drive from Bozeman and the sun was coming up fast. We drove forward hoping not to hit another deer. The drive on US 84 from Bozeman is gorgeous. Just after Four Corners you cross the Gallatin River. Climbing up a few gradual hills gives way to a spectacular view of the Madison and Tobacco Root mountains as you make your way to the Lower Madison River and Bear Trap Canyon, another great destination I previously blogged about. After meandering through tight corners in the canyon, in which you drive among, show off a stunning view of high mountain peaks to monotonous plains You then climb an imperceptibly steep pass that parallels the historical Bozeman Trail. Reaching the top of the pass gives one an incredible view of the Madison Valley. The amount of space viewable seems endless. Ennis lake lies in the distance to the east below the immense Madisons, and the Tobacco Roots smash right up to the foothills a mile away to the west. Passing the small town of Mcallister there is a short drive to the old town of Ennis. Ennis has a lot of character and some great stores, including a fly shop and Shedhorn Sports, for anyone visiting the town. I recommend stopping at the Ennis Cafe for a pre-fishing breakfast or post fishing lunch.

      After leaving Ennis, you drive towards West Yellowstone for about one mile, driving from the main street which is only a few blocks long . You will see a sign for Valley Garden fishing access and take a left hand turn there. The road follows massive benches and the scenery continues. The huge peaks of the Madisons hang over you to your right. You journey through the small one horse town of Jeffers and five more minutes you've reached Valley Garden fishing access site.

       There is sign with a board full of camping information and hunting restrictions. There is a small parking area there with a trail leading to that part of the river. You can instead keep going to what looks like campsites but there is a bigger parking lot and boat launch there. There is an outhouse at this location.

          I like to walk down river from here about a mile or so. I've seen people walk much further down than I have, possibly to get away from what some solitude hunters would call a crowd. I was surprised to see another person fishing between the islands, then on the way back we saw a few more, but nothing crazy. There was definitely plenty of water for everyone. I like to hike down and fish back up, taking my time fishing and walking to all the islands that are scattered throughout the river. The Upper Madison here seems like half a mile wide sometimes. Its huge!! Much of the water in the fall will be ankle to knee deep so finding the fish means finding the deeper holes, pools, and runs. This involves a lot of walking unless you know the good spots. Ill let you figure those out ;) The scenery in the river itself is absolutely outstanding. I havent fished a prettier place in Montana than at Valley Garden. The fishing the day I was there was spectacular. Easily a twenty fish day. My friend, who had hit the deer, had a fifty fish day the weekend before.

Here you can see several islands scattered through this section of the Upper Madison

           The islands attract a lot of the trout along with the side shoots between the islands and the bank. This particular day I was using a double eggy rig. Thats right, I had two of the same flies on my leader. The fall brown trout spawn was underway and the fish go crazy for eggys. Why not use two I figured? Well it paid off. I managed to hook into a very nice brown trout in a micro hole and he lept, and lept again. I kept looking at my buddy with such excitement every time this football sized trout jumped into the air. He ended up burying himself in some very thick moss. When I went to retrieve I made the mistake of grabbing the leader with my hand and he broke right off. I saw him and so did my friend so I felt a lot better about losing him. The amount of fish in this section is very high. Most are small trout ten to twelve inches, and a lot of them, but there surely are trophies to be caught here.


          I will return to Valley Garden, maybe in the spring next year. Its an easy drive and like I said the view alone is enough to leave the skunked angler very satisfied. The long distances between what seems like one shallow riffle requires a lot of leg work but when you do find deep water, the fish are stacked in there. I hope this has encouraged someone who is unfamiliar with the area to give it a try. There are so many great fishing areas in SW Montana that many unknown gems like this will never be fished by some. Happy fishing and tight lines to all!

Back from Elk Hunt

        I'd like to make this post short and sweet as this is a fishing blog. So I am back from spending my first days ever at a Montana elk camp. My dad did a wonderful job scouting and setting up a great place for us to retreat to after each full day of hard work looking for big game.

           I spent four days in the Patosi Canyon in the Tobacco Root Mountains. We worked very hard, some days walking more than ten miles in pursuit of the herd. On the last day I wanted to focus on getting a mule deer so I didn't come back to civilization empty handed. Long story short I shot my five point muley within the last hour of my visit at elk camp. The experience was incredible because not only was it the first deer I've ever taken, but also the amount of work I put into getting him.

           I did bring my four weight fly rod. Okuma 8'6 rod with an Okuma S/4 reel. I caught trout for dinner one night and we enjoyed them after very hard days in tough country. The fishing was wonderful for such a small creek. Patosi creek was the source, you can google it on google earth. I believe this creek is overlooked and under-fished. I was surprised of the size of the rainbows I was pulling out. The morning I went to catch dinner was very cold, probably 26-30 degrees. We were the only ones in the canyon at the time. Like I've mentioned so many times, the solitude of having a body of water to yourself is priceless, and I was catching trout! Big trout! These fish were surprisingly 13-14 inches long. They made for a wonderful, moral boosting, dinner that night!

            So all in all it was a great hunting trip. My friend shot a black bear and I got my mule deer. We were in the presence of several moose and many other types of wildlife. We saw no elk but elk arent easy to hunt!

             


 I am back to MontanaTroutFishing and will provide my service for all of those who wish to seek it. I am however still grouse hunting so If anybody has any questions or would like to share stories or see pictures please, email me at norbaracer13@hotmail.com