The Mitten/Scissor Clamp

The company was started by an actual Dr. in 1989.  A surgeon, looking to bring precision tools from the operating room to the stream. While they make a huge variety of fly tying and streamside tools, I want to plug my favorite one…..the Mitten/Scissor clamp. I’ve tried virtually every brand of mitten clamps out there and nothing matches the quality and function of the Dr. Slick’s. By the way, the owner of the company is a hellava guy to boot.

This tool is your nippers and hemos in one. It’s the only tool I carry. Oh yeah, need to clear the head cement out of your hook eye? Does that too. One of the biggest (and probably overlooked) benefits to using this tool is that it won’t wreck your fingers or hand after using it on all the fish you’re catching on the Missouri (right?). Hemos hurt.

The other thing I use it for is tying on flies. Problem: tiny, delicately hackled dry flies or tiny midge pupa. Clumsy fingers can crush hackle and make threading the eye of small flies a pain. Solution:clamp the hook at the bend and now you have a stable platform from which to tie your knot. Helps keep constant tension and you can spin your clinch knot wraps without un-clamping. To be fair, this can be done with any clamps, but for some reason I watch people struggle with tying on small flies all the time…..while their hemos hang from their shirt.

Mug Shot.....get it?

I use the 4.5″ ones for most of my fishing but I keep a pair of the 5.5″ ones in my boat bag for streamers or big nymphs.

Come see us in Wolf Creek for your Dr. Slick needs!!

Tight Lines!! Brian

The fishing has been good, NOT EASY, but good. With hot, clear weather the March Browns and BWO’s are waning. Look in the water though……remember, observe!! There’s tons of dead stuff in the water. Spent mayflies everywhere. Fish are eating sunken caddis as well (try the beadhead CDC caddis). We had some luck on a March Brown spinner when floating stuff wouldn’t garner any interest. Best flies on top for our guide’s day off though? None other than the #16-18 MRO Trude and the #16 grey or grey/tan CDC Caddis, two classic Neale Streeks’ patterns. Nymphing down from the dam is still producing with midge pupa stuff (try red too). Caddis pupa are working throughout the river as well. Try letting it swing up at the end of the drift. We picked off a couple like that. One of my home-brews has been getting a lot of eats as a generic caddis pupa…..come see me at the shop in Wolf Creek and I’ll show you one. Be looking for noses right along the bank. Nice fish feed in shallow water but they’re not splashy!

Trude on top, cdc caddis under

These rise forms can be tough to spot from far enough away to get a cast out. The key to these rising fish in this kind of weather is stealth. No easy way to do it. They’re most definitely eating, but the casts must be on the mark the first try. You won’t get a second chance to most of them. Reach casts and loooooong downstream drifts are the status quo. They MUST see the fly first.

OK, enough novella for the day. Go catch some fish.

Tight Lines!! Brian

Now go catch some fish.

Tight Lines! Brian

I rarely approach the river rigged up. One of the toughest but most important skills to develop as a fly-fisherman is that of patient observation. Next time you head out, take 10 or 15 min to simply watch the water before you start casting. Turn over some rocks. Shake bankside bushes. You might just learn something.

To truly understand how they feed, you must get within easy viewing range of a single trout and watch that fish interact with the flies floating by (polarized glasses are essential). This can tell you whether the fish is taking Duns, emerging, or spent insects. When the water is clear enough, you can see every movement and feeding action beneath the surface as well. This is invaluable information for developing educated guesses at which pattern/stage of insect to use and how your fly must be presented.  Tight Lines!! Brian

Until then come visit us on the Missouri, which if fishing great. Bwo’s, March Browns are still here. Caddis are well on the way, though not river-wide yet. With the exception of streamers, there’s not a whole lot that isn’t working right now…….provided your drift is good. Flows dropped again, sitting just over 5,000cfs. How long will it last? Don’t wait to find out!! We have lodging available and will be opening the motel in a few days for even more options. The wind has laid down and the weather is gorgeous. Stop in and check out the sale on TFO and Redington rods, flies, tools…..10 – 35% off!!!!!

Tight Lines! Brian

not yet.....

Fishing is great on the Mo right now and with the flows dropped (5,700 cfs as of now), the guys wading should have a bunch more opportunities. Weather is looking a bit iffy with some stout winds and chance of thunderstorms this afternoon through tomorrow. Best bet  for knowing the weather in the Rocky Mtns. though……just look outside.

Git yer dust out

The weekend, however, is shaping up to be beautiful with temps in the high 60′s – low 70′s.

Tight Lines!! Brian

The White Cliffs

Montana River Outfitters offers scenic float trips through the historic “White Cliffs” section of the Missouri River below Fort Benton.  Trips can last anywhere from two days to a full seven days.

Gear boats emptied and tied off after a long day

I had the pleasure of working as a gear guide last July on one of these trips.  It was a big party, 42 people in all, including the guides.  42 people is a lot of humanity to get down 40 miles of river, but the great crew at Montana River Outfitters did it without a hitch.

Hole-in-the-wall

On the trip, the guides cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for the guests. The guides for the guests navigate the river while giving local history and knowledge about the wildlife and geology seen along the river.

A stunning view of the white cliffs

The gear guides race ahead of the guests to get camp set up.  We had to get 14 tents for the guests set up, a cooking station, two auxillary tents for food and beverages and get dinner started all before the guests arrived back at camp.  It was quite a task to perform with a lot that could go wrong, but once the gear boats arrived at camp everyone is on task to get things set up.

Now that's a gear boat!

The float itself is stunning!  The river slowly makes it’s way through country that not a lot of people get to see.  The bank is lined with very old cottonwood trees and limestone cliffs tower above your head intersected with volcanic dikes offsetting the cream color of the white cliffs.

This is pure Lewis and Clark country.  Except those guys had to pole all the way up river!  This is one of the most relaxing places on earth.  There is no noise from a highway, railroad tracks and seemingly no planes flying overhead.  You really get the sense of what it must have been like for the Corps of Discovery when they came upon this place.

Badlands

Besides a relaxing day on the river, guests also get to do hikes to see some really pretty places off the beaten path, and do hikes to places that the Corp of Discovery visited.  Because of the busy schedule of the gear guide I did not get to participate in all the hikes, but us gear guides got to hike up a coulee the first night we were there.  The entrance to the coulee is the picture posted above.  Higher up the coulee, natural forces have eroded the limestone cliffs into hoodoos, slot canyons, hole in the wall formations and badlands.  Only a few people have ever laid eyes on this place.  It is something I will personally never forget.

The crew hard at work

This is not a fishing trip though.  This is geared more for the family, or someone interested in seeing something new, or just tracing the path of Lewis and Clark.

I would definitly go back, and I think it is something everyone should experience at least once in their life.

For more information contact the Great Falls store at 406-761-1677

Take the trip and enjoy a relaxing river vacation under the Big Sky!—Matt

The Breeze and Cutter

There were midges, bwo’s, march browns and even caddis (the big ones). This river is so fertile. We caught them on dries, droppers and nymphs. It all worked. The dogs kept themselves entertained in the back of the boat and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud each time a fish rose confidently to a size 12  P. Adams.

Tight Lines!! Brian

Georgia’s on guard, protecting our some of our NRS inventory. Rough life we got here in Wolf Creek. Tight Lines. Brian

Dog days