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So the plan was, never a good start, to strike out on an adventure into one the most remote wildernesses in North America; enjoy some hiking, camping and a lot of fishing. As things normally go for this crew we may have bit off more than we could chew…
A friend, Damien, my brother Brian and myself arrived in Glacier National Airport at about 3pm after having flown for 8 hours with a 3 hour layover in Seattle. After spending so much time just getting to Montana we were eager to get started. We met up with my other brother Eric and his girlfriend Andrea and went shopping for last minute supplies, the whole time in view of the mountain boarder of the Bob Marshall wilderness “The Bob”.
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Getting on the road we traveled NW to Hungry Horse, MT and then spent the next 3 hours skirting the outside boarder of Hungry Horse Reservoir to the Meadow Brook trail head. We spent the first night at the trail head and sent of the next morning to the Blackbear Ranger Station.
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What appeared to be approx 8 miles on the map turned out to be closer to 12 miles. With frequent changes in altitude of 100+ feet this was certainly a hard day. During our hike we ran across two guys from Morristown, NJ, who gave us some great advice for fishing the black bear ranger station area. We arrived at Black Bear Ranger station late that day at about 7pm. The water on the river was high and fast, but clear. After a long day no one had the energy to fish so we set up camp and hit the sack. The next day we hit the water which was a cool 54 degrees. With the water being high and fast, finding slower dry fly water was a challenge, but a little bit of exploring paid off. Eric and Damien did rather well with hopper patterns 10-12 where Hungry Creek met the South Fork. Brian and Andrea fished the est side bank around the bridge and picked up a few. I went down river to check out the grass area on the side of the river. From a distance this grass/bushy area didn’t look promising, but it held a little treasure within.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ANZErYKI8qafPFKtAhfiPg?feat=embedwebsite"]
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In the middle of this vegetation was a 6-8 foot deep pool that has a nice slow current flowing threw it. Throwing some large size 8 Hopper patterns (4x leader) got a few fingerlings to rise, but nothing substantial. I switched to a Tan Caddis in a size 12 that was very productive. It got a nice 14-16 inch west slope cut to rise and subsequently lead me all over the pool. At this point I will say that I have had 20+ bows not fight this hard.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x3BKYo_FDd0SVK87uowuWw?feat=embedwebsite"]
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I continued fishing down river next to a log jam that produced some smaller 10-12 trout that yes, became dinner. Combined with 3 more trout, it was a nice protein rich meal after a long day on the trails.
The next day we packed up and hiked 4-6 miles further up stream to Little Salmon Park in search of better fishing and to put us closer to our original final destination of Big Salmon Lake. After completing this smaller hike everyone was pretty sure that it was about as far into the Bob as we wanted to go. After setting up camp and another Bear Line, we looked the water over. This section of river broke up into multiple smaller water ways that we all 3-5 deep and pretty fast. It became clear to us that this point that we are not likely to find easy fishing this trip. After spending a few hours fishing the obvious areas on the river a few fingerlings where caught and let go.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tlzD2LjQWeh_5NjzqkVUqw?feat=embedwebsite"]
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The next day Brian decided that he was going to see Big Salmon Lake before we left the Bob. Tired and a bit beaten up, Brian, Damien and I only packing the basic fishing gear, water, water purification and bear protection, headed out for another 3-4 mile (each way) day hike up to Big Salmon Lake. It was on the hike up to the lake that we came across the only Park Rangers we would see on this trip. Overall they where polite and courteous, but all business. We where checked for fishing IDs and quizzed on the rules for both camping and fishing in the Bob. After being satisfied with our answers, the Rangers made a little casual talk. As it turns out one of the Rangers parents lived Blairstown, NJ. You just can get away from us Jersey folk I guess Continuing on to the lake we came across Little Salmon Creek that looked it would be very productive if we had more time to explore it.
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We finally reached Little Salmon Lake to be met by a strong cold wind off the lake. Walking up to the lake you could feel the air get 5 degrees colder. I spent some time admiring the view before making some failed attempts casting into the wind. Brian and Damien continued to work the area where the Big Salmon Lake dumped into Big Salmon Creek with hopper and golden stone fly patterns. I walked down the creek a little bit to find some slow water where I hooked a few small bows and fingerling cuts on a size 12 coffin fly. After drying off we left the lake for some warmer air back at camp.
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Arriving at camp with a few more hours of sunlight and stomachs growling for some more grilled trout, we hit the river. Eric, Damien, Brian and Andrea fished up river on the edge of the bank where the water was at least 3 feet deep no matter where you went. I went off down river to try my luck at another log jam. This log jam slowed the water down nicely, however the only way to reach the slow water was to stand on the log jam. This proved to not only be a test of my balance, but also a test of my patience. Between the snags/tangles on logs and branches and the failed attempts at navigating the 3 hooked trout threw the maze of drift wood, I was at wits end. My last hook-up was with a trout that pulled a horse and ran like a sprinter. I fought to get it to the surface to see what it was. All I saw of it was a 1 second flash of it side, before it ran under the log jam rapping my line up with ever branch. After breaking my leader to get it free, I was done for the day. Back at camp everyone else caught a few hassle fee fish with one for the grill. That night we were prepping ourselves for the hike back to Black Bear Ranger station when we where treated to a light show. A violent lighting storm blew over the mountains to the west striking ground many miles North of us. They don’t call it big sky country for nothing.
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The next morning we packed up again and hiked back to the Black bear ranger station. This hike being a bit easier than the first time, we has camp set up quickly and we where back on the river. This time the same spots up river as few days ago (bridge bank and Hungry Creek) didn’t produce that well, so everyone traveled down river. Eric, Damien and Andrea went don river to the bend and Brian came over to me fishing hole to give it a try. He hooked into a nice 15-18” bow. We then walked down to the bend on the other side of the river and fished the edge of the fast water with a mixture of Caddis, Hopper, Coffin fly and BWO. A few more cutthroats where caught and they where all to big to keep for dinner. I didn’t think the day would come that I would wish to catch smaller fish, but it did. A few more fish for dinner and this day was over.
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The crack of dawn we pack up our camp site, for the last time as it would turn out, we got ready for the hike out. We planed to spend the next night at Mid Creek, but after arrive at Mid creek we decided to push on for two main reasons. The first being that everyone was pretty tired and this point and where desperately wanting real food. The second was a 200lb black bear that happened upon Andrea while she was answering the call of nature. Her scream scared it off, but everyone thought we might be pushing our luck to camp there. We pressed on to the trailhead, only stopping for breaks and some photos/videos. We spent that night camped at the trailhead, a day early, talking about the 10 tons fast food we where going to order the next day in town.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H3WeBwLsFNBO2-L2DrYE4Q?feat=embedwebsite"]
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The next day we had a huge breakfast at the gas station/dinner in town. We made arrangements for the night at a local camp ground and set off to get a little more fishing in on the South Fork, bellow Hungry Horse Dam. As it turns out this section off river has a nice coating of Didymo on it and the fishing was pretty bare to.
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Another day and a new destination. We where Kalispell bound with a nice Holiday Inn Express in our sights. Sitting in our room watching the news on an LCD TV, drinking my White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks, I did miss the Bob a little. It was a tough trip. A trip that really does test your wil and determination. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. An Adventure is what we asked for and an adventure is what we got.
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Everyone's pictures and some videos here:
https://profiles.google.com/108118264311825954341/photos
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A friend, Damien, my brother Brian and myself arrived in Glacier National Airport at about 3pm after having flown for 8 hours with a 3 hour layover in Seattle. After spending so much time just getting to Montana we were eager to get started. We met up with my other brother Eric and his girlfriend Andrea and went shopping for last minute supplies, the whole time in view of the mountain boarder of the Bob Marshall wilderness “The Bob”.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wne7l95RRzNTvusJlF_25A?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]Getting on the road we traveled NW to Hungry Horse, MT and then spent the next 3 hours skirting the outside boarder of Hungry Horse Reservoir to the Meadow Brook trail head. We spent the first night at the trail head and sent of the next morning to the Blackbear Ranger Station.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WNrQkI7X0Sg9axSkbYmzFA?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]What appeared to be approx 8 miles on the map turned out to be closer to 12 miles. With frequent changes in altitude of 100+ feet this was certainly a hard day. During our hike we ran across two guys from Morristown, NJ, who gave us some great advice for fishing the black bear ranger station area. We arrived at Black Bear Ranger station late that day at about 7pm. The water on the river was high and fast, but clear. After a long day no one had the energy to fish so we set up camp and hit the sack. The next day we hit the water which was a cool 54 degrees. With the water being high and fast, finding slower dry fly water was a challenge, but a little bit of exploring paid off. Eric and Damien did rather well with hopper patterns 10-12 where Hungry Creek met the South Fork. Brian and Andrea fished the est side bank around the bridge and picked up a few. I went down river to check out the grass area on the side of the river. From a distance this grass/bushy area didn’t look promising, but it held a little treasure within.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ANZErYKI8qafPFKtAhfiPg?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From</td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M787kz3Pwxg_nro_tdjaBw?feat=embedwebsite"]</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]In the middle of this vegetation was a 6-8 foot deep pool that has a nice slow current flowing threw it. Throwing some large size 8 Hopper patterns (4x leader) got a few fingerlings to rise, but nothing substantial. I switched to a Tan Caddis in a size 12 that was very productive. It got a nice 14-16 inch west slope cut to rise and subsequently lead me all over the pool. At this point I will say that I have had 20+ bows not fight this hard.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x3BKYo_FDd0SVK87uowuWw?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sTXEbqKlVWb2M8vgMir91g?feat=embedwebsite"]</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]I continued fishing down river next to a log jam that produced some smaller 10-12 trout that yes, became dinner. Combined with 3 more trout, it was a nice protein rich meal after a long day on the trails.
The next day we packed up and hiked 4-6 miles further up stream to Little Salmon Park in search of better fishing and to put us closer to our original final destination of Big Salmon Lake. After completing this smaller hike everyone was pretty sure that it was about as far into the Bob as we wanted to go. After setting up camp and another Bear Line, we looked the water over. This section of river broke up into multiple smaller water ways that we all 3-5 deep and pretty fast. It became clear to us that this point that we are not likely to find easy fishing this trip. After spending a few hours fishing the obvious areas on the river a few fingerlings where caught and let go.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tlzD2LjQWeh_5NjzqkVUqw?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZIz-eH1VeHbhxFz-cRrPJw?feat=embedwebsite"]</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gaM8q5CAOqBSGmjV83323g?feat=embedwebsite"]</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]The next day Brian decided that he was going to see Big Salmon Lake before we left the Bob. Tired and a bit beaten up, Brian, Damien and I only packing the basic fishing gear, water, water purification and bear protection, headed out for another 3-4 mile (each way) day hike up to Big Salmon Lake. It was on the hike up to the lake that we came across the only Park Rangers we would see on this trip. Overall they where polite and courteous, but all business. We where checked for fishing IDs and quizzed on the rules for both camping and fishing in the Bob. After being satisfied with our answers, the Rangers made a little casual talk. As it turns out one of the Rangers parents lived Blairstown, NJ. You just can get away from us Jersey folk I guess
Continuing on to the lake we came across Little Salmon Creek that looked it would be very productive if we had more time to explore it. <table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/I0vVQ1flbrlATn9160-Ifg?feat=embedwebsite"]
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</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>We finally reached Little Salmon Lake to be met by a strong cold wind off the lake. Walking up to the lake you could feel the air get 5 degrees colder. I spent some time admiring the view before making some failed attempts casting into the wind. Brian and Damien continued to work the area where the Big Salmon Lake dumped into Big Salmon Creek with hopper and golden stone fly patterns. I walked down the creek a little bit to find some slow water where I hooked a few small bows and fingerling cuts on a size 12 coffin fly. After drying off we left the lake for some warmer air back at camp.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KhiZIf2cXExy6RSl8Jv6uQ?feat=embedwebsite"]
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</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>Arriving at camp with a few more hours of sunlight and stomachs growling for some more grilled trout, we hit the river. Eric, Damien, Brian and Andrea fished up river on the edge of the bank where the water was at least 3 feet deep no matter where you went. I went off down river to try my luck at another log jam. This log jam slowed the water down nicely, however the only way to reach the slow water was to stand on the log jam. This proved to not only be a test of my balance, but also a test of my patience. Between the snags/tangles on logs and branches and the failed attempts at navigating the 3 hooked trout threw the maze of drift wood, I was at wits end. My last hook-up was with a trout that pulled a horse and ran like a sprinter. I fought to get it to the surface to see what it was. All I saw of it was a 1 second flash of it side, before it ran under the log jam rapping my line up with ever branch. After breaking my leader to get it free, I was done for the day. Back at camp everyone else caught a few hassle fee fish with one for the grill. That night we were prepping ourselves for the hike back to Black Bear Ranger station when we where treated to a light show. A violent lighting storm blew over the mountains to the west striking ground many miles North of us. They don’t call it big sky country for nothing.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5Hi_-edNDhVsojHIqwvBWQ?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]The next morning we packed up again and hiked back to the Black bear ranger station. This hike being a bit easier than the first time, we has camp set up quickly and we where back on the river. This time the same spots up river as few days ago (bridge bank and Hungry Creek) didn’t produce that well, so everyone traveled down river. Eric, Damien and Andrea went don river to the bend and Brian came over to me fishing hole to give it a try. He hooked into a nice 15-18” bow. We then walked down to the bend on the other side of the river and fished the edge of the fast water with a mixture of Caddis, Hopper, Coffin fly and BWO. A few more cutthroats where caught and they where all to big to keep for dinner. I didn’t think the day would come that I would wish to catch smaller fish, but it did. A few more fish for dinner and this day was over.
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</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>
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The crack of dawn we pack up our camp site, for the last time as it would turn out, we got ready for the hike out. We planed to spend the next night at Mid Creek, but after arrive at Mid creek we decided to push on for two main reasons. The first being that everyone was pretty tired and this point and where desperately wanting real food. The second was a 200lb black bear that happened upon Andrea while she was answering the call of nature. Her scream scared it off, but everyone thought we might be pushing our luck to camp there. We pressed on to the trailhead, only stopping for breaks and some photos/videos. We spent that night camped at the trailhead, a day early, talking about the 10 tons fast food we where going to order the next day in town.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H3WeBwLsFNBO2-L2DrYE4Q?feat=embedwebsite"]
</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/j5JZUlBKMU4aq7ZYmhHGbQ?feat=embedwebsite"]</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>[/URL]<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>The next day we had a huge breakfast at the gas station/dinner in town. We made arrangements for the night at a local camp ground and set off to get a little more fishing in on the South Fork, bellow Hungry Horse Dam. As it turns out this section off river has a nice coating of Didymo on it and the fishing was pretty bare to.
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</td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From </td></tr></tbody></table>Another day and a new destination. We where Kalispell bound with a nice Holiday Inn Express in our sights. Sitting in our room watching the news on an LCD TV, drinking my White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks, I did miss the Bob a little. It was a tough trip. A trip that really does test your wil and determination. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. An Adventure is what we asked for and an adventure is what we got.
<table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td>[URL="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eQQjT1c8NZsaMwmjDeEflA?feat=embedwebsite"]
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Everyone's pictures and some videos here:
https://profiles.google.com/108118264311825954341/photos
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