1997 Trip Report

			The Beginning: 1997 Trout Fishing Expedition "Fish all the Best Rivers of the West" aka "Trout Fishing the Lewis & Clark Trail" aka "The Thelma & Louise Trout Fishing Trip" Al Miller & Andy Batcho The 1997 Expeditioners were Andy Batcho and Al Miller - First Time Expeditioners! Rivers fished on the original 1997 expedition: * St. Joe R. (Idaho), Rock Cr.,  Clark Fork R.,  Big Hole R. * Bitterroot R.,  Blackfoot R.,  Flathead R. * McDonald  R.(Glacier Pk.), St. Mary's R. In the Spring of 1997 Al Miller was at Andy Batchos’ house. The two were working on a Miller Creek Stream Restoration Project as President and Stream Restoration Director, respectively, of the Des Moines Chapter of Trout Unlimited. During a break in the planning and strategizing session, Al picked up a copy of a Trout Unlimited Magazine and was leafing through the pages. Looking at a beautiful picture of the Madison, or was it the Yellowstone River, Al said, "One of these days I’d like to fish that river." Andy thought, "One of these days", "One of these days", I’ve seen too many friends leave this earth with "One of these days" on their breath, why not now? Al, here’s a calendar, pick a week and we’ll not only fish that river, but we’ll fish them all! So started the "Fish all the Best Rivers of the West before we’re too old to do so Trout Fishing Expeditions"! A week in mid-August was chosen, Andy’s 1985 Chevy Pickup loaded with gear and we were off. No Plan, just "Fish all the Best Rivers of the West". 2800 miles later we had the following experiences, and started a tradition of Fly Fishing Adventures that have resulted in the memories of a lifetime. The key is "No Plan", just a goal. Significant research (G2) is done each year prior to our trips using the internet, email, conversations with fly shops and friends, and reading. But, as each day unfolds while on the trip, the choice of fishing locations is decided over a cup of French Roast Coffee and a sweet roll at the local coffee shop. This "Thelma & Louise" approach is the essence of our Adventures. After several of these trips we’ve discovered no one that does trips like this, but many who would like to. The only thing holding them back is "doing it".
	The 1997 "the First Trip" Day 1 Al & Andy left Seattle early Saturday morning driving east on I-90. Al had heard several good reports on the St. Joe River of Northern Idaho, so that’s where we headed. Through Spokane & Coeur d’ Alene, to Wallace, Idaho. At Wallace we turned south off the freeway, through town and onto a gravel road into the mountains. The road had previously be an old railroad bed leading over the mountains. Fourteen miles up & fourteen miles down through old railroad tunnels we came to the beautiful St. Joe River surrounded by steep wooded mountains. Al was told that the upper portions of the river were the best, so up river we went on a one lane road. We found the upper road closed by mud slides, preventing access to Spruce Camp, some 11 miles upriver. (Subsequently, in 2000, Andy took a horse back pack trip with Don McAfee as the guests of St. Joe Lodge Outfitters http://www.stjoeoutfitters.com/The_Lodge/the_lodge.html some 2 hours by horse up stream from Spruce camp and discovered a 35 Wild Cutthroat per day paradise. This Lodge had been selected as the Orvis 1998 Expedition of the year. But, that’s a whole other adventure.) After a bit of exploring we settled into a section of the river with a deep slot and steep rock sides. Many small cutthroat couldn’t resist our Stimulator fly. After several hours of catch & release fishing, we moved down river to explore more of the river. We found a deep hole, a very deep hole next to a huge bolder below the St. Joe Lodge and decided if there were big fish in this river at all, this is were they’d be. An hour later had produced no fish, but several heart stopping passes by huge fish. The day was ending and our attention turned to a place to stay for the evening.         We drove back up river to the St. Joe Lodge (not the same as St. Joe Lodge Outfitters). The St. Joe Lodge is a pleasant family oriented facility located on the river. It consists of a Restaurant, Bar, Store and Cabins. We were pleased to find that there was one room left. After a nice meal at the Lodge, we retired to our cabin. Day 2 The next morning we were up early, had breakfast at the Lodge and discussed the plan for the day. Al had heard good things about a stream near Missoula, Mt. called Rock Creek. Touted as a Blue Ribbon Trout Steam. Rock Creek it was. Up 14 miles and down 14 miles over the mountains to St. Regis, Mt. and on to Rock Creek 20 miles east of Missoula. All along the way we speculated about the trout that must be in the Clark Fork River that paralleled I-90 for miles on the way to Missoula. Arriving at Rock Creek, the first thing we sited was a sign erected in a field by the local Trout Unlimited Chapter. Made us feel like we had friends in the area. Our first stop was at the Rock Creek Mercantile and Fly Shop at Rock Creek for G2. Then next door was a Lodge with cabins and a restaurant for lunch. A rustic and pleasant place with good food – Ekstrom’s Stage Station. We also noted another Lodge just north of the fly shop and noted its name, saying this looks like a nice place to stay on future trips. After lunch we headed out to explore the area. Rock Creek produced several fish in the lower stretches, but nothing significant. In the afternoon we fished a couple sections on the Clark Fork river. A few whitefish, but no luck. By now we were in need of a place to stay, so we returned to the cabins etc. down where we started the day on Rock Creek. No luck. Then down to the Rock Creek Lodge that hosts Montana’s Annual Testicle Festival! No Vacancy here either but they placed a call 20 miles down the road to the East. They had a vacancy. We hit the road and found the place. A weekend Rock Concert was just breaking up as we arrived. The bar was crowded but we did get a table for a good dinner after obtaining a room from the bartender.  Now it turns out that not all Montana residents are actually from Montana but many seem to have migrated there.  We heard several stories from the bar denizens that evening that suggested that going "back home" was not a social option or a legal option.  In any event, the fire place smoke in the bar certainly had that characteristic bite of cannabis - must have been some green wood on the fire.   Fortunately we had an excellent room located just below the dance floor of the bar along with the juke box and its heavy bass.  The room was reasonably priced when you factored in the free in-room all night sound entertainment from above.  Day 3 After breakfast we were off to fish Rock Creek. We stopped at the Fly Shop to pickup a little more G2, a few flies, and a map. We were also told that there was construction up high on the road along Rock Creek. Fishing our way up Rock Creek, we found some nice fish. We continued up river and the road got worse, as promised. At one curve we had to pull the mirror in on the truck to clear a rock wall without going over the edge of the road. Just as we rounded the curve, we spotted a Moose along the side of the road, took his picture and kept going. Quite a few miles of muddy road later, we came out onto a highway at the top of the road and drove toward Anaconda and the Big Hole River. At the Big Hole, the road came to a tee. Left or Right? We turned right and headed toward the town of Wisdom. (Wisdom was the name Meriwether Lewis had given the Big Hole River, today only the town bares the original name) Wisdom is a small town at some 7000 feet elevation right next to the Big Hole River. Our first sight as we entered town was the Nez Perce Hotel. We pulled in and secured a room for the night. A great little place, with friendly innkeepers. We then drove into town. Past the restaurant, gas station and pulled up in front of the General store. Back at the St. Joe River, our first fishing stop, Andy discovered that his hip boots had a leak. After two days of fishing in wet boots, we decided to see if the General store had hip boots. The lady in the store said , Sure, they’re in the back corner. Setting on the counter of the store was an old wooden box full of flies. While looking at the flies, Andy asked, "Any fishin’ around here?" The storekeeper said, "Would you like to catch some grayling?" Wow!, are you kidding, you bet! Armed with a new pair of boots, a hand full of recommended flies, and instructions to the grayling hole, we were off. Down the road, across the bridge, left into the Grange Hall picnic area, thru a hole in the barbwire fence, walk up river, "Watch out for the Bulls" were our instructions. Within an hour we had caught several beautiful Grayling and a couple Brown Trout. Wow, what a find! We fished until dark and made it back to town minutes before the restaurant closed.
	Day 4 The next morning I walked out to the truck in the Nez Pierce parking lot. It was covered with ice! Ice, a lot of ice. This was mid-August! At breakfast we asked the waitress if it was normal here to have ice on your vehicle in mid-August. She said, "You boys ought to come back in a couple months, there’s so much snow here the elk are forced to walk on the road because there’s too much snow everywhere else!" We headed out to the second spot recommended by the Lady at the General Store. Eleven miles out of town, on top of the hill, pull into the Cemetery, walk through the headstones to the groundskeepers shed, through the small hole in the fence and down the bluff. Another great fishing spot! Brook Trout & Rainbows. On the way through the Cemetery we looked as some of the headstones. Many were from the 1800’s, one in particular caught our attention. A headstone embellished with a large elk horn and a fishing rod set in concrete. Inscribed, by hand, in a concrete pad was a message from this fellows hunting & fishing buddies wishing him good hunting and fishing in the happy hunting ground. A nice tribute. We headed back to Wisdom and on to the Bitterroot valley. Along the way we stopped at the Big Hole National Battleground. Over the 8000’+ Lost Trail Pass into the Bitterroot Valley. Throughout our trip we talked about the Lewis & Clark Expedition, "The Corps of Discovery", and related our discovery experiences to those of the first explorers of this vast, rugged and beautiful country. We found the Bitterroot River to have good access provided by the State at several locations along the river. We were fishing one of these access points when a guide and client pulled up at the launch to start their drift for the day. A friend had come along to move the boat trailer down to the pick-up point. After the guide left the launch, we talked to the pickup driver. He said the place we were fishing was ok, but there was a much better place down stream. Follow me, he said. Arriving down river, he pointed out several spots we should fish. We caught several trout, and missed a couple big ones using hoppers & droppers. Throughout our travels we commented several times how friendly & helpful the locals were. Andy fished one large, deep pool in the bend of the river. It had to hold fish, it just looked too good. After throwing nearly everything in his fly box in the pool, an old gentleman approached carrying a spinning rod and a can of worms. After a brief chat on "How’s the fishing?" the old man pitched a worm in the pool Andy had been flogging for an hour. The next thing I heard was, "Can you get this hook out of this fish with your pliers?", as the old man came walking toward me with a 2 lb. Cutthroat. Humm, I knew I should have tried that San Juan worm pattern! We fished our way down the Bitterroot to Missoula, and as we traveled Andy asked "What was the river in the movie, A River Runs thru it?" "That was the Blackfoot." "Where is it?" "Just to the north of Missoula." Off we went to the Blackfoot. As we drove down the Bitterroot we talked about the Lewis & Clark Expedition following the same route. At the Lolo Pass cutoff we talked about the Corps of Discovery turning into the rugged Bitterroot Mountains at this place and almost dying before they emerged on the West side. Reduced to eating bear tallow candles and their leather cloths, the Corps was in trouble. Arriving at the Blackfoot, we had a bit of trouble finding access and the few places we fished weren’t very productive. We’ll have to do more G2 on the Blackfoot and come back another time. I asked Al if he’d ever been to Glacier National Park before. He said, "No". Georgia and I had visited Glacier a few years before and it was one of the most beautiful parks I’d ever seen. After describing the Road to the Sun, and the beauty of McDonnell Lake and the McDonnell River, we decided to go. Heading north we drove by Flathead Lake, and shared stories we’d heard about the huge Lake Trout that live in the lake. We arrived in Kalispell late that evening. We found a place to stay and went looking for dinner. As we drove by a Casino, I asked Al if he’d ever been in a Casino before. They usually have pretty good food. We pulled in. After a nice meal, we gave the electronic bandits a try to top off the evening.

Day 5
The next morning we were off to Glacier Park West Entrance. We looked up the Ranger Station to buy a license and pick up a little local knowledge. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a license wasn’t required to fish in the park. One of the Rangers gave us some tips on fishing the Park.
We drove down a little lane to an old bridge where the McDonald River flowed into the Flathead River. The area was beautiful, but the fishing was a little slow. We fished both the McDonald and Flathead and caught a few small trout.

   

We headed up the road past the beautiful McDonnell Lake to an area where the McDonnell river was above the lake. Surrounded by high rugged mountains, the river was gin clear with azure blue and deep purple-black pools. The banks were lined with brush and the river was filled with large downfall trees and root wads. The gravel on the shore was made up of pastel color rocks. Burgundy, yellow, green & tan. Undoubtedly the most beautiful trout stream I’d ever seen.
Drifting a Stimulator under the brush along the shore and sweeping the face of fallen logs produced several nice cutthroat and rainbows.

     

Proceeding thru the park we started up the "Road to the Sun". Barely two lanes wide, the road is carved into the vertical face of a solid rock wall. Large vehicles are not allowed. The road was built in the 30’s and is a marvel of construction. We spent a little time at the top of the pass at the Glacier Park Visitors Center, then down the other side to the East Entrance and the St. Mary’s River.
We stopped at the St. Mary’s and fished up stream of the bridge. Again found several smaller trout.
We drove around the south end of the park back to Kalispell and southwest back toward I-90 on two lane blacktop roads through the mountains. A beautiful drive. As evening came on, the sky filled with thick black clouds and the lightning lit the skies. The lighting was so close, bright & often that you could read by the light in the truck. The skies opened up and it poured buckets of rain.
We made it to I-90, then on to spend the evening in Coeur d’ Alene.
Day 6
The next morning we drove back to Seattle. So ended the First "Fish all the Best Rivers of the West before you get too old to do so" Trip and the beginning of a Tradition of Western Fishing Trips.