Tom, Luong, and I started the day with a plan to go after some native fish before having to leave around noon to get to SLC for my flight home East to the Carolinas. This whole time I did not have a “goal to catch a certain type of fish” except the Grayling in Montana. I love native fish and I love where I have to go to explore for them. From where I went and to catching them, these fish were nothing short of perfect. It ended up taking me to a place that really reminded me of a perfect day of fishing. Around every bend, there was another stretch of water and hole to fish. What more could I ask for? Catching 3 Grayling was one of the highlights of my whole year.
As this was my last day in Montana, I wanted to make the most of it. And MAN did I… I ended up catching the biggest wild, possibly native fish I have ever caught. It was a cutthroat of sorts and maybe someone can tell me which. I will post the terribly filmed video and screenshot pictures from the videos in another blog entry with the tips Brian Richter (my guide from Silver Creek Outfitters) gave me about getting good pictures and such. I am not used to catching fish this large and getting a good picture was hard with the absolute mass, length, and meat this fish had. I have tiny hands and everything on this fish were THICK. This fish deserves its own post. It’ll get it…
Not only did I get my biggest fish to date on tenkara, but I also caught Grayling. I was seeing them swim near the bottom of the water column in the holes mostly. I did not think I could entice them to come up for a kebari and I was fishing mostly beadheads below a sakasa. That was until I saw one take a bite on the surface and dive back with its beautiful iridescent fin down below. I ended up skating and swinging a Cutcliffe style fly in a hole around a bend in the river and that made it launch itself out of the water for the presentation of the kebari. WHAT A RIDE!
I fished this particular spot with Luong and Tom Leeming and ended up driving myself as I was headed South after the morning fishing session. We ended up meeting some people in the parking lot as we ate fried chicken that were interested in tenkara. That was fun.
Oh, and the trip would not have been over without getting ANOTHER flat tire. So, Tom helped me change it ONE more time. Thank you, Tom!!!
I really could not have had a better experience in Montana without my new friends Tom and Lynn opening up their home to me and my friends. What a great way to end this September trip and get me
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