What can you really say about Rock Creek in Montana? I grew up in Whitefish, and while I would not go so far as to call Rock Creek my home waters, I have fished it often enough to have a good idea of what to do, where to go, and what you can expect to see. Still, I often found myself devoid of all thought while fishing the creek Saturday.
Scott, Coleman and I headed to Spokane to catch the first round of the NCAA tournament. All in all, this would be a banner trip. Along with two good fishing friends, I was set to meet my dad and former high school coach Julio Delgado and his wife Benilda in Spokane. The basketball was great, and watching 6 games with Julio and my dad was a real treat for me. It was great to spend time with them both and cheer and jeer for the coaches and players through 6 great games. Did I mention we got to see the great Kevin Durant play twice?
Thursday, while driving to Spokane Scott, Coleman and I scouted a few carp lakes, and did spot and stalk one nice carp in the shallows. I didn't bring the fish to hand, but it was the prototypical summer stalking experience, and Scott got a great picture of the moment, which I'll post later. We also fished a spring creek outside of Spokane with entertaining results, and in general had a great travel day.
But Rock Creek stole the show. We drove all the way to the creek worried about flows. The Clark Fork and every inch of water we saw while driving was big and brown, but we were greeted with clear water, and sunny skies while pulling up to the creek itself. The details of the day are unimportant, but just to get an idea, here is how the first 4 casts went once I got myself into the position I wanted.
Cast 1: Hook and land a 14 inch cutthroat, my first in quite some time.
Cast 2: Hook and land a 17 inch rainbow, a beautiful leaping creature.
Cast 3: Hook and land a 12 inch brown trout, meeting my hope for the day of landing a brown.
Cast 4: Hook a huge brown, 20 + inches that jumped right in front of me, and broke me off in the sticks on the far side of the creek.
After 3 species in 4 casts, I sat on the bank for a few minutes. It was a nice moment to relax, because the rest of the day was spending playing and releasing fish. What a special place, Rock Creek. Before Saturday I hadn't fished the creek in 7 years...I'll be back much sooner this time.
Scott, Coleman and I headed to Spokane to catch the first round of the NCAA tournament. All in all, this would be a banner trip. Along with two good fishing friends, I was set to meet my dad and former high school coach Julio Delgado and his wife Benilda in Spokane. The basketball was great, and watching 6 games with Julio and my dad was a real treat for me. It was great to spend time with them both and cheer and jeer for the coaches and players through 6 great games. Did I mention we got to see the great Kevin Durant play twice?
Thursday, while driving to Spokane Scott, Coleman and I scouted a few carp lakes, and did spot and stalk one nice carp in the shallows. I didn't bring the fish to hand, but it was the prototypical summer stalking experience, and Scott got a great picture of the moment, which I'll post later. We also fished a spring creek outside of Spokane with entertaining results, and in general had a great travel day.
But Rock Creek stole the show. We drove all the way to the creek worried about flows. The Clark Fork and every inch of water we saw while driving was big and brown, but we were greeted with clear water, and sunny skies while pulling up to the creek itself. The details of the day are unimportant, but just to get an idea, here is how the first 4 casts went once I got myself into the position I wanted.
Cast 1: Hook and land a 14 inch cutthroat, my first in quite some time.
Cast 2: Hook and land a 17 inch rainbow, a beautiful leaping creature.
Cast 3: Hook and land a 12 inch brown trout, meeting my hope for the day of landing a brown.
Cast 4: Hook a huge brown, 20 + inches that jumped right in front of me, and broke me off in the sticks on the far side of the creek.
After 3 species in 4 casts, I sat on the bank for a few minutes. It was a nice moment to relax, because the rest of the day was spending playing and releasing fish. What a special place, Rock Creek. Before Saturday I hadn't fished the creek in 7 years...I'll be back much sooner this time.
1 comment:
Another banner day... great stuff. I love that pic of the fly line heading into the background. I also love that we're to the point where we stop in the middle of something like that to take those goofy but cool shots... seems to say a lot about where a fisherman is at in his career - maybe searching to capture something other than the grip-and-grins that are getting a bit worn out.
I'm really glad you guys had such a great time -wish I could have been there.
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