Well it finally happened. The mother’s Day Caddis popped and produced three good to very good days of fishing dries to rising fish. Initially the fish were rather stupid and would eat any decently presented caddis floating in their sight window. By the third day, the fish were so stuffed full of bugs and persnickety, they only seemed interested in pupa caught in the surface tension. Think LaFontaine sparkle pupa which I unfortunately did not have in my possession. It took some serious bank sitting and observations to figure that one out, but what a lovely way to spend an afternoon or three.
And now, that’s done and the water is coming up fast. The Stillwater has gained a foot, Rock Creek has gained almost that much and the Clark’s Fork is up three feet. Can you say mud? Sure, I knew you could. Thus we are entering into the waiting game portion of the season. Not anything we can do to influence the run off, it happens every year, so sit back and enjoy, it cleans out the rivers and carves the hiddy holes we’ll be fishing for the remainder of the year.
Given what I see for snow sitting in the high country, I believe that the last of June or the first of July, as usual, will be the timeframe for reacquainting ourselves with the area streams and rivers and their inhabitants. Time to tend that garden, tie those flies, get your “got to do’s” done.


Stay tuned to this station, as thing progress or opportunities arise, I’ll spill the beans.
Lots of dumb there.