Montana 2015

As I sit here basking in the glow of another hosted trip to Montana, I feel compelled to share at least some of the high points of the trip and to mention what really appeals to me when fishing out west.

Special time shared with special people in special places: Of course hosted trips take us to beautiful places that feature great fishing. However one aspect of these trips that really appeals to me is the opportunity to hang out with folks in an environment that often puts people in to a passive mind set and one that ultimately has us drop our guards and self imposed barriers. It seems we all have a bit more interest in one another and as a result take the time to listen.

So it starts and ends with the people, connections made and friendships nurtured… and in between and all around we go fishing.

Many factors and elements contribute to the appeal of fishing out west; scenery, wildlife, big fish, lots of fish and the list goes on. Of the many reasons I chose to return to Hubbard’s Lodge in Emigrant MT is it’s unique location as it is central to many different stretches of water including but not limited to the Yellowstone River, Soda Butte, Lamar, Slough Creek, Depuy’s Spring Creek, The Gardiner and Tom’s Miner Creek to name just a few. Central, meaning that you don’t have to drive 2 hours to get on these waters, in fact several of them are within ½ hour which just seems to make everything a bit easier and as a result you are really able to focus on the fishing as the drive home to the lodge each day is short.

This year’s trip provided myself and another guest the opportunity to fish Tom’s Miner Creek which actually runs through Hubbard’s Ranch. I like to say that I love all types of fishing but if I had the choice of swinging streamers on big open water or working a tight mountain stream with a dry for brookies I would probably opt for the big water. I like to cast, I like to strip line and I love enticing fish by moving the fly. So when it came to fishing this small creek, I was excited as it was new water but it was not a stream high on my list. And so what I found was that this water was one of the highlights of my trip. I fished an Orvis H2 6’ 2 wt and with a leader just a bit longer than rod my guide suggested I tie on a big foam hopper and wade up stream, casting upstream and drift my pattern over the fishy depressions. It took two casts before I caught my first fish and the action did not slow for the next two hours (when we were done for the day). While the feeding activity was fantastic what was so unique was that we were catching cutthroats and the average size was about 13”- what a blast!

And on the 10 minute ride back to the lodge we did see some great wildlife while taking in the incredible views. But in no time we were sitting on the deck of Hubbard’s lodge overlooking Paradise Valley sharing our day’s exploits with the other guests and being reminded that while the fishing is what brought us there it is the place and the people that truly make the trip.