Upper Clark Fork, MT
First 100 yards below settling ponds
Outing Information
- Date
- Start/End Time
- 6:30 to 10:30
- Best Fishing Time
- 7:30 to 9:30
- Rating
- Fair
- Classification
- Public
- Water Temp
- -
- Water Clarity
- Slightly Stained - 3' to 5' visibility
- Water Level
- -
- User
- Derek Blandford
Fish Caught
Brown Trout
| Caught | Avg Size | Pattern | Optional Fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 18" | #16 Olive Blandford Simple Scud |
Notable Fish: 2 @ 20" Fish Depth: 3' - 6' Water Depth: 3' - 6' Kept/Released: / 6 Water Type: edge of back eddy Retrieve: Dead Drift Notes: Used 3 #1 split shot about 18" above fly to sink it |
| 6 | 18" |
Sucker
| Caught | Avg Size | Pattern | Optional Fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 20" | #16 Olive Blandford Simple Scud |
Fish Depth: 3' - 6' Water Depth: 3' - 6' Kept/Released: / 4 Water Type: edge of back eddy Retrieve: dead drift Notes: Big Brutes....probably in the 5-7lb range. Too bad they weren't trout. Always interesting to catch suckers on a fly-rod. |
| 4 | 20" |
Weather
| Skies | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudy | X | X | |
| Precipitation | |||
| Rain - Light | X | X | |
| Wind | |||
| Very Light - <5 knots | X | X |
- Air Temp High/Low
- - / -
- Wind Direction
- -
- Weather Front
- -
- Barometer
- -
- Moon Phase
- 58% Full (Waning gibbous)
Other Patterns Tried
No other pattern information for this outing.
Hatches
- 22 black Midge Diptera
Insect Seining
No seining information for this outing.
Fishing Partners
No fishing partners were saved with this outing.
Waypoints
No waypoints were saved with this outing.
Notes
Got up early thinking I could get to the two holes immediately below the spillway before everyone else since those hold a lot of fish. I arrived at the water by 6:30 A.M. and there were already two guys standing in those holes. Damn. So I went downstream past the pump house to the hole Troy and I had pretty good luck in the previous couple of days.
I ended up catching 10 fish, but 4 of them were suckers. The rest were brown trout, a couple right around 20 inches. I also lost a few others before losing my scud pattern. I was down to my last scud as I had lost the rest of the ones I tied the previous couple of days, and that pretty much did me in as I couldn't get them to take anything else. From stomach pump samples Troy had taken, the fish had been feeding mostly on scuds and midges with an occasional caddis emerger and sow bug. I tried some midge patterns, but couldn't get anything. I'll admit my midge pattern selection pretty much sucks though.
Comments
Jason
Three #1 splitshot is pretty heavy - was the current fast?
Despite the weather and fishermen, it sounds like you were able to get into some nice browns. That's pretty solid.
Derek
Yeah, the hole is a place where the main current runs past a big eddy in which the water flows the opposite direction. The water is pretty swift outside of the eddy and most of the fish were sitting right along that edge. Even with 3 splitshot, I still wasn't catching bottom much.
That place is ridiculous for the number of big browns it has in such a short stretch of water. Fishing is usually pretty good, but being packed in like sardines with a bunch of other fishermen isn't really my thing.
Jason
Those big back eddies cab be tough to fish. The current is tricky and if your line gets too far out, it's taken downstream in a hurry. Too close to shore, and it doesn't move. However, the big back eddies can hold lots of fish, especially in the winter.
That's too bad fishing isn't very good anywhere else on that stretch of river. Maybe when the water lowers it would be better?