Dillon, Montana. The boys inaugral trip to MT.

Let me first state that this trip was as good as it gets as far as fishing trips with the boys. Po Po was incredibly gracious for inviting us to fish with him on his “home waters” of south western Montana. This was the boys first trip to Montana and the Big Sky state did not disappoint.

On day 1 we fished the Big Hole and it was slow day overall with smaller fish in the 8 to 13 inch range on golden stone dry flies. More whitefish were caught than trout. Day 2  we decided to take it easy and drove to Virginia City for some site seeing and gold panning. The boys had a wonderful time there and insisted all week in going back. Day 3 and 4 took us to the Ruby River. What a spectacular small trout stream. It was loaded with very hungry brown trout and even one cutthroat. We fished small nymphs and threw PMD’s to the occasional riser. Day 5 we floated the Beaverhead below the dam and it was a terrific float. The guide said we would only land 20% of the fish hooked but the boys managed significantly better than that. The fish in that river were big and powerful especially in that fast current. Because the boys fished 3 and 4 weight rods, very few fish were broken off and not many if any hooks were straightened. Day 6 found us on Wheat’s Ranch. The lake was fishing very slow but the Beaverhead side channel was putting out some great dry fly fishing. Matthew did land a 27 inch fish on the lake and Po Po landed a 23 inch brown in the side channel on a dry fly. Two great catches! Day 7 we took a hike to Agnes Lake for graylings. The hike consisted of 1.8 miles of steep uphill grade and it took just about everything we had in our lungs and leg muscles to make it to the lake! We were told it was a short hike (under a mile) to the lake but I think they were high on some fermented huckleberries. It took us an hour and 15 minutes to reach the lake and it was ALL uphill! Once there the lake was beautiful and teeming with willing graylings. The boys caught fish after fish on dries and it was one of the highlights of the trip. During the week we fished Poindexter Slough 4 or 5 evenings. The fishing was actually pretty good there. The boys caught more than their share of fish on small CDC PMD’s with 15 foot leaders and 6X tippet.

Although I brought 3 rods of mine with me, I never even strung one up. I fished a total of maybe and hour or 2 during the entire 7 days in MT. Po Po fished very little too and we both agree that it was either the best or one of the best trips we have ever had. Watching the boys fly cast and catch fish after fish was truly a pleasure to watch. I will remember this trip for a long time. Thanks big time to Po Po, he made it happen!