dcabarle
Administrator
It sux to be back but then again, I have my Beaverkill and Delaware River systems!
We arrived in Missoula on September 10th. The view from the plane on the way in was a bit awkward as we crossed over hundreds of miles of desolate land. Missoula appears to be an oasis in a Rocky Mountain Valley. The towns that border Missoula get considerably smaller as you move away. Missoula however has everything we have here from Home Depots to Linens N Things to Wendy's, Outback Steakhouse, so on and so forth... The views of the Mountains are breathtaking even while in Missoula (the Mountains at a distance, not the ones in Missoula). Just so you see where I'm coming from, Missoula is by no means a vacation town. It's clean, but it's certainly no home away from home. The Mountainside is filled with Sprawl and is on its way to looking like the NJ x-Mountain Landscape. It's not until you veer out of Missoula where you'll start finding the Montana we see in the photos.
Our first stop while on our 35 mile commute to the Outfitters was to a large Sporting goods store. We made it over to the fly-fishing section, and we picked up some flies. At 79 cents each, we didn’t skimp as this was an unbeatable price; there are no state taxes and no shipping (I’ll be sure to report this on my income tax return)! The majority of the flies are tied pretty damned good. The next stop,… the licensing department. A 10 day license cost $50.00. I guess that makes up for the lack of state tax? I also picked up a few Scientific Anglers boxes (4 to be exact). Next stop... something to eat. We stopped in this place adjacent to the Sporting goods store, I can't remember the name but the buns on this ???Hamburger??? I purchased felt like a dried up sponge and probably not much difference in taste either. That should be a good indication of what the actual ?meat? tasted like. No points for this place!
We arrived at the Backdoor Outfitter’s, and were immediately greeted by the proprietor and guide, John Cook. John showed us our room and we started unloading. After unloading, I dressed up and had the old man taxi me over to the Bitterroot. I fished a deep hole under a bridge and caught a few whitefish, then worked my way upstream into a set of riffles approximately 1/2 foot deep. This is where I caught my first Montana rainbow! Ok, so it was only 6" at best but who cares, the colors on this thing were pretty nice.
The First day out, my father and I hit the river with our guide, Bob. Just so I don’t have to repeat this, the guides are Bob, Kurt, and John. These guys really know the rivers. It’s almost as if they had a map of where each and every fish would be hiding. We fished the Bitterroot and caught Rainbow’s and Cutthroat trout. Sizes varied from 9” – 17”. Both species of fish on this river fight like hell. Head shakes, jumping, taking line out, you name it. Quite honestly, and I hate to say it, these fish fight better than any Beaverkill fish I’ve ever caught. The colors on the Bows are outstanding. I also managed my 1 and only Brown Trout. At 17”, I was very disappointed with this fish as he had no energy in him at all however, the colors on this fish were great. I think we saw only 1 other floater on the river through-out the day.
While fishing the Bitterroot, we rescued a beautiful St. Bernard puppy from certain death. I hope he finds a good home.
The second day I was coupled up with my uncle, Roger and river guide, Kurt. We fished the Blackfoot river and caught a few more fish than the previous day, but still no 20” trout? What gives? I just flew 1700 miles and no 20” trout? Overall, the fishing was slow but we did catch our share.
The third day, my Uncle Felix and guide Kurt fished a different section of the Bitterroot. We had another slow day, but did catch our share of trout in the 10” – 16” range. I guess I can’t complain too much. Still no 20” trout though, what gives?
The fourth and fifth day’s, My father and I along with John the river guide / proprietor, fished the Clarkfork. Here is where we scored nicely. We both caught our share of beautiful Bows and Cutthroats. Both species were very acrobatic. Some places on the river required us to get on our hands and knees to sneak up on rising trout. I’m a clutz when it comes to this type of stuff but did manage to hook into a few nice trout including 1 18” bow. I didn’t land him because he broke off as did numerous other trout. My father on the other hand hooked a beauty that took him right to his backing not once, but multiple times. He thought for sure he had a 20”, but it turned out to be 17” or so. In some portions of this river along foam lines, you would see trout tails the size of mans hand. Umph… This was a nice site!
Throughout the trip, John and his wife made us feel as if their house were our house. We had free reign over just about anything. If we asked for something, they went out of their way to make sure we had it. John and Pat run the business extremely professional while still making sure that you’re considered not only a customer, but a life long friend. I would recommend the Backdoor Outfitters to anyone. Just to clarify, I just met John and Pat last week. They didn’t pay me to say these nice things. I say them because they are true. Should you be planning a trip to Montana, I highly recommend at least checking out the Backdoor Outfitters! Here is their web site: Backdoor Outfitters Here you can see everything they have to offer. If you don’t see it on the site, just give them a ring and ask, I’m sure they’ll bend over backwards to help you.
Finally, there is a fly shop onsite. When I say fly shop, I mean fly shop. They don’t sell anything other than fly’s, and they are very fairly priced at about 1.00 each. They have every fly you’ll need while fishing with them.
Click here for Montana Flyfishing Photo's taken on our trip.
Dennis
We arrived in Missoula on September 10th. The view from the plane on the way in was a bit awkward as we crossed over hundreds of miles of desolate land. Missoula appears to be an oasis in a Rocky Mountain Valley. The towns that border Missoula get considerably smaller as you move away. Missoula however has everything we have here from Home Depots to Linens N Things to Wendy's, Outback Steakhouse, so on and so forth... The views of the Mountains are breathtaking even while in Missoula (the Mountains at a distance, not the ones in Missoula). Just so you see where I'm coming from, Missoula is by no means a vacation town. It's clean, but it's certainly no home away from home. The Mountainside is filled with Sprawl and is on its way to looking like the NJ x-Mountain Landscape. It's not until you veer out of Missoula where you'll start finding the Montana we see in the photos.
Our first stop while on our 35 mile commute to the Outfitters was to a large Sporting goods store. We made it over to the fly-fishing section, and we picked up some flies. At 79 cents each, we didn’t skimp as this was an unbeatable price; there are no state taxes and no shipping (I’ll be sure to report this on my income tax return)! The majority of the flies are tied pretty damned good. The next stop,… the licensing department. A 10 day license cost $50.00. I guess that makes up for the lack of state tax? I also picked up a few Scientific Anglers boxes (4 to be exact). Next stop... something to eat. We stopped in this place adjacent to the Sporting goods store, I can't remember the name but the buns on this ???Hamburger??? I purchased felt like a dried up sponge and probably not much difference in taste either. That should be a good indication of what the actual ?meat? tasted like. No points for this place!
We arrived at the Backdoor Outfitter’s, and were immediately greeted by the proprietor and guide, John Cook. John showed us our room and we started unloading. After unloading, I dressed up and had the old man taxi me over to the Bitterroot. I fished a deep hole under a bridge and caught a few whitefish, then worked my way upstream into a set of riffles approximately 1/2 foot deep. This is where I caught my first Montana rainbow! Ok, so it was only 6" at best but who cares, the colors on this thing were pretty nice.
The First day out, my father and I hit the river with our guide, Bob. Just so I don’t have to repeat this, the guides are Bob, Kurt, and John. These guys really know the rivers. It’s almost as if they had a map of where each and every fish would be hiding. We fished the Bitterroot and caught Rainbow’s and Cutthroat trout. Sizes varied from 9” – 17”. Both species of fish on this river fight like hell. Head shakes, jumping, taking line out, you name it. Quite honestly, and I hate to say it, these fish fight better than any Beaverkill fish I’ve ever caught. The colors on the Bows are outstanding. I also managed my 1 and only Brown Trout. At 17”, I was very disappointed with this fish as he had no energy in him at all however, the colors on this fish were great. I think we saw only 1 other floater on the river through-out the day.
While fishing the Bitterroot, we rescued a beautiful St. Bernard puppy from certain death. I hope he finds a good home.
The second day I was coupled up with my uncle, Roger and river guide, Kurt. We fished the Blackfoot river and caught a few more fish than the previous day, but still no 20” trout? What gives? I just flew 1700 miles and no 20” trout? Overall, the fishing was slow but we did catch our share.
The third day, my Uncle Felix and guide Kurt fished a different section of the Bitterroot. We had another slow day, but did catch our share of trout in the 10” – 16” range. I guess I can’t complain too much. Still no 20” trout though, what gives?
The fourth and fifth day’s, My father and I along with John the river guide / proprietor, fished the Clarkfork. Here is where we scored nicely. We both caught our share of beautiful Bows and Cutthroats. Both species were very acrobatic. Some places on the river required us to get on our hands and knees to sneak up on rising trout. I’m a clutz when it comes to this type of stuff but did manage to hook into a few nice trout including 1 18” bow. I didn’t land him because he broke off as did numerous other trout. My father on the other hand hooked a beauty that took him right to his backing not once, but multiple times. He thought for sure he had a 20”, but it turned out to be 17” or so. In some portions of this river along foam lines, you would see trout tails the size of mans hand. Umph… This was a nice site!
Throughout the trip, John and his wife made us feel as if their house were our house. We had free reign over just about anything. If we asked for something, they went out of their way to make sure we had it. John and Pat run the business extremely professional while still making sure that you’re considered not only a customer, but a life long friend. I would recommend the Backdoor Outfitters to anyone. Just to clarify, I just met John and Pat last week. They didn’t pay me to say these nice things. I say them because they are true. Should you be planning a trip to Montana, I highly recommend at least checking out the Backdoor Outfitters! Here is their web site: Backdoor Outfitters Here you can see everything they have to offer. If you don’t see it on the site, just give them a ring and ask, I’m sure they’ll bend over backwards to help you.
Finally, there is a fly shop onsite. When I say fly shop, I mean fly shop. They don’t sell anything other than fly’s, and they are very fairly priced at about 1.00 each. They have every fly you’ll need while fishing with them.
Click here for Montana Flyfishing Photo's taken on our trip.
Dennis
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