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3. Bitterroot Monster!

I'd say it was a pretty good day on the bitterroot today! This 2ft monster really took me for a ride, and what a beauty. Even better he was safely returned to be caught by the next lucky angler! Enjoy guys.

Jesse

Jesse,

What a hog! That's a baby duck eater! The weather looks pretty good out there...What did you catch it on?

Take Care!

Spence

That's a beautiful fish! The last brownie I caught was a (comparatively small) 13-incher the Saturday before Christmas. Soon they will be rising to Hendricksons in our neck of the woods, too...

Well done, Jesse.

Jonathon

Damn! That is a nice fish.
Details on the catch please?

Hey thanks guys the comments are much appreciated, and the story, oh man ha... Well i was actually on my way back to the car heading back upstream along the rivers edge. The section of river i was walking along was a very wide section of the river, and close to the edge where i was walking it was more or less 'back' water; very shallow and dirty bottom. The water there was only about a foot at most. I spotted some cutthroats in a little pod close to the bank and told my buddy to cast to them, he spooked them and we kept walking. I stopped when i saw this fish about 25ft up river right on the banks edge, sitting in only maybe 10inches of water. Now with the backdrift of current pushing the oppisite way along the bank, the fish was staring straight down river, right at us. I couldn't tell how big of a fish it was but i figured a solid 18 was a good guess, and once again i told my newly introduced to fly fishing friend to make the cast. He told me he would just spook it so i took full adavtage ahah. I knelt down by the rivers edge and false casted until enough line was out to reach the fish. With a streamer pattern on the end of my line my fly soared and landed about 2ft to the fishes right. One strip...two strips...and the fish turned fast! At that exact moment though my friend and me gasped because i thought that i had spooked it and it was just turning to get away. However as that thought was going on i felt my line surge forward, and without even thinking, just like walking, my right arm flew. I knew instantly the fish was a lot bigger than what he appeared. He made two strong runs to the middle of the river, and on the second run managed to mingle himself around a small limb. That scared the shit out of me and i ran out in the river to set it free, but panicked and wound up just snapping the twig. So i wound up landing the fish with a 10in long and 1in thick stick attached to the end of my fly line. The monster took me just under 20 mins to get in my hands, and after a quick picture or two he was free; just as fast as he was hooked...

I know its a long tale, but one of those tales that im sure like many of you, will never be forgotten. Its moments like this that guys like us live for, and moments like this that make us exactly who we are!

Jesse

Thanks for sharing the story, Jesse - it was obviously worth telling! No worries about the length - just look at Spence's posts!! The man writes a small novel...I used to think that I was long-winded...

Jonathon

Nice fish. Great story. It's nice to hear a story like this after being cooped up all winter.
Bruce

Hey Jon,

You can cut and paste my postings and collect them as a novella...I'll even give you a working title, "Ramblings from the Old School"...How's that?

Great story Jess! If there's a twig in the stream anywhere a hooked trout with somehow find it.

Spence

Just like a brown trout to try the old "wrap-n-snap"...A similar-sized brown did this to me on the Pigeon a couple of years ago - and was, unfortunately, successful...

Jonathon

Jesse,

"With a streamer pattern on the end of my line"...This is pretty generic! I bet you are pretty good at keeping "secret spots" a secret too...He, he!

Whenever I get asked, "What ya catching them on?" or worse yet, "What they biting on?" I always answer a Cornine's Quill...

Take Care!

Spence

Thanks guys for all the complements again. Oh and first off jonathon, haha you make me laugh man that was a good one on spence. And spence man i wasn't lying about the streamer, i just didn't name it off because it's a tie that i made up myself i call it the "Ghost Buggin!" But as you and all of us guys know, we ALL have our own little secret spots ;) Im just a newby to these montana waters though so i just go to what looks good, and get ready to walk miles if i have to ha! Oh and bruce get out there man, unleash that inner fly casting demon!!

Jesse & Jon,

You two young whippersnapper's just don't have any respect for all the trash we old farts have to carry around in our heads after all these years...We will use any chance we get to unload some of it...Some of it may pass as wisdom, some as hard earned experience, or some as just plain old trash.

" Im just a newby to these montana waters though so i just go to what looks good"...Jesse, not much really looks "bad" in Big Sky Country, does it? Where are you originally from? For most of us back east, Montana is what we dream about when Gina Lollobrigida is not in them...I picked her over Pam Anderson for the older guys in this club...

Spence

I ain't THAT young, Spence - my knees, back, shoulders, etc. remind me of that every day when I finally crawl out of bed. I like the way John Gierach puts it: "Some days I wake up feeling half my age, and on other days I wake up feeling TWICE my age." Inadequate exercise during the winter months doesn't help - we live in a SNOW DEAD ZONE here in southeast MI where, in the course of 90+ days of cold, shitty weather I can get on my cross-country skiis only 19 times (and that's a GOOD winter!)...

I have been back on the mountain bike three times now and today I just wanted to puke! Could have been all of the auto exhaust here in Troy...I need to move up north were there ARE real winters and much cleaner air. Not to even mention ACTUAL TROUT STREAMS!!

Jesse, you are living in Paradise...

Jonathon

Spence your right about me being young im only 20 and your also definietly right about all of the water here looking great! Im originally from northeastern PA, up in the pocono's! I moved to TN when i was around 7 and thats actually where i picked up fly fishing! Ever since though, just like most people from the east ive dreamed of coming here to Big Sky. It's actually funny though most people ive met here dream about going to PA to fish. Either way theres something about some of the water in PA, about the small native streams, or the amazing freestones that i still dream about...even being here in Montana. I can't wait to get back out there for half the summer, PA that is!