1998 Trip Report

The 1998 Montana and Yellowstone Sampler and Expedition

The 1998 Expeditioners were:
Andy Batcho
John Richardson*
Mike Shaunessy*
Chet Leach*
Al Miller

For the 1998 trip, we fished the following waters:

July 25        Rock Creek, Clark Fork River

July 26        Clark Fork River., Boulder River

July 27        Yellowstone River

July 28        Madison River

July 29        Ruby River, Big Hole River

July 30        Big Hole River, Bitterroot River (main stem)

July 31        West Fork of the Bitterroot

August 1    Darrell's Pond (private), West Fork of the Bitterroot, Lochsa River The following pages describe in great detail the exciting places and locations of the 1998 adventure which occurred between July 25, 1998 and August 2, 1998.  Enjoy!

* Rookie Season

Saturday July 25, 1998

	AM Left Sun Valley about 0900 with family in tow after a week at a family reunion; after a long drive through Idaho and into Montana, arrived at the Rock Creek Mercantile at 4:55 PM
	Hotel there had nice rooms, Prime Star TV and Air-conditioning (it is very hot outside!)
	Found AB/CL/JR/MS AT Rock Creek Lodge (home of the famous Testicle Festival) in the bar where they were reviewing a locally produced video about celebrations in that region of the state.

	Had dinner with the boys at Ekstrom’s Stage Station next door – family style place
	All went fishing on the Clark Fork just above the confluence of Rock Creek. AB hit a brown but the water seemed pretty warm
	Rock Creek waters were too warm for good fishing according the locals in the flyshop.

Nice to see you Trout Unlimited working in this area as well.  Check out the TU homepage at www.tu.org on the Web

 

Sunday July 26, 1998

	AM Family headed back home entrusting him to the Fishing Team!
	On this trip we have two rigs: the manly Ford F250 extended bed with the big diesel (MS), and the chic and sophisticated Jeep Grand Cherokee (V8 etc.) (CL) - 2 very nice rigs for such a trip.
	Also we have divvied the work up so that MS is the treasurer (he is an accountant after all); AM does the hotels and G2 for fishing info (he is sneaky after all!)
	We fished Clark Fork above Rock Creek Lodge (why does this place keep reappearing in our travels?) by old abandoned bridge on other side of railroad tracks on a dead end road. Got that? Caught Chubs only – no trout – warm water – lots of algae – moving on. Guide book said this area was crummy for fishing – they were right! Wondered why we chose to read the book after we fished the area?
	Access to Clark Fork River on south side of Rock creek is apparently private property and the owner is alleged have you arrested for trespassing. Didn’t confirm the rumor.
	Moved on down the road at about 0945.
	Lunched at 4B’s in Deer Lodge (home of the old Montana Prison – the new one too I think!)
	Reserved some rooms for the next night (Monday) at Al’s Westward Ho Motel in West Yellowstone using the cell phones as we cruised down the highway. Pretty good use of technology.
	Arrived Livingston about 2:45 PM.
	Found hotel rooms at Country Motor Inn (Steve and Cathy Dempster 814 East Park St., Livingston, MT 59047 406-222-1923 or 1-800-286-1923)
	Visited Dan Bailey’s Fly Shop (World famous!) and got some flies and directions on where to fish in Yellowstone Park and some ideas on where to fish this evening on the Boulder River.

	Looks like Stimulators still the best choice overall.
	Headed out to fish about 6 PM as day was finally starting to cool down
	About a 60 mile drive from Livingston to fish the Boulder River by the Forks
	Water was fairly fast
	Strange (as in "weird") farmer/rancher across the river from where we fished; there was a big No Trespassing sign by bridge which was guarded by killer dogs (at least that was what Chet thought).

 

	Some fish seen – not hot action – used stimulator plus dropper
	AM bumped a couple of fish but no sliming – AB hit some fish
	Heard report (why now?) that West Fork of Boulder was better fishing
	MS thought that the Boulder R. below where the West Fork came in, looked better and had seen some fisherman in that area.
	Quit frothing the water at about 9:30pm – Beautiful Sunset Evening
	Boulder River valley was location of the movie set for The Horse Whisperer according to local newspapers.
	Off to dinner in Boulder – Found Truck Stop in Livingston at about 11 PM – all night place – who could have thought we could get lost in Livingston?
	Huge portions of pancakes, coffee, etc. for $3.35.

Monday July 27, 1998

	Found really good coffee in am at the Java Bean in Livingston.
	Read Billings and Bozeman newspapers for Montana view of the world.
	Papers were sensitive to water quality degradation and to terrorist stuff like in DC where some folks got shot up.
	PowerBall Lottery up to $250M; bought two tickets and chose cash up front option. If successful, this kind of trip could become a lifestyle!
	Left Livingston for Northwest entrance to Yellowstone at about 0915.
	Arrived at Park’s Fly Shop at about noon (Park’s Fly Shop, PO Box 196, Gardiner, MT 59030 1-406-848-7314)
	Bought some flies and hats from Phillip Herne (Licensed Guide) at the shop
	Into Yellowstone at about 1230.
	Picked up shirt and stuff from Hamilton Store at Mammoth Hot Springs lodge area in the Park. Lots of folks milling around in this area.
	Headed for Tower Falls and the Yellowstone River (following a "hot tip" from the fly shops) "Go past the Bridge and work both sides of the River"
	Found the Yellowstone River to be very fast in a very deep canyon with minimal bank area. A very slot oriented fishery.
	Got out of the rigs into our hip boots. Very hot day – oppressively so!
	As we hike into the area, we find dead elk hides and bones – winter kill? Any grizzlies around? Felt strange to be hiking in country where you are not the top of the food chain.
	No fish but sensational scenery – many blue rocks along river banks—many big Salmon fly hulls on the rocks.
	Moved on down the road seeing a variety of animals and the occasional fender bender of automobiles.
	Yellowstone River closer to the Lake is much slower, like a huge Spring Creek
	Saw bison by side of road; watched a big one wade (swim?) across the Yellowstone River. Guess that is why it is called Buffalo Ford?
	Large, very visible, and very smart cutthroat were slowly working the water for very small flies
	We worked a fish by shore fairly hard with no success – most others were having the same result
	Headed onward to West Yellowstone; we ended up seeing in total: Elk (herd + bull), bear, bison, trout (not caught), muskrat, pelicans, and turkey vultures along with an amazing display of traffic management inexpertness by Park Rangers following a gentle rear-end collision several cars in front of us (we were not involved)
	Rained hard on us as we headed for West Yellowstone
	Checked into Al’s Westward Ho late evening just before 9 PM
	Dinner at local place around the corner – a bar filled with slot machines, smoke, stale brews – it was perfect for the group!

	7/28/98 – Tuesday AM found good coffee in morning at Cappy’s Bistro and Bakery in Bookstore in West Yellowstone – Town does not start before 7 am; trust me on this. We also found good Italian coffee and excellent scones in another bakery where we had breakfast Extensive shopping and discussions at Bud Lilly’s fly shop, Madison River Outfitters, and RJ Cain Outfitters – decided on heading toward the Madison River to wade fish and head toward Ennis Fish at bridge over Madison (Is there a movie theme here?) at Cliff Lk. and Wade Lk. access road – this is the place where the picture on the cover of the Madison River Outfitters catalog was taken – pretty cool view of the river and the mountains   $3 parking fee – good riffles and fast pocket water We caught smaller fish consistently CL loses $150 sunglasses in the river, very distraught. AB finds them, CL very happy. Good path on both sides of River for miles – you can really spread out here – this section is for wade fishing only and no boats are allowed. We heard reports from others of catching large fish in this section – some locals we spoke with agreed with the assessment Fished next at West Fork Bridge – only small fish hits – not much structure – this is an area where drift boats are allowed Moved on towards Ennis and arrived there around 4:35 PM Stayed at El Western Resort PO Box 487 Ennis, MT 59729 John & Kris Hauck Tel: 406-682-4217 Fax: 406-682-5207 Reservations 1-800-831-2773 Great place to stay – separate cabins (log cabin style with good internal features) Dinner in town at Longbranch Bar & Restaurant Team ordered up 3 18oz. T-Bones, 1 huge New York steak, 1 pasta veggie dish No doggie bags tonight! Fished at Valley Garden access on Madison (just down the road from the El Western) River has braided channels; lots of pockets to find fish; fish good for strikes AM hit bigger whitefish; AB hit a mess of browns late when light was almost all gone and the bugs really emerged Got off river well after dark 7/29/98 - Wednesday Nice to have coffee maker in room – made some Arabia Mocha Java from Starbucks – like being back in Seattle! (brought the coffee from home!) 2 amigos with AM still zzzz’ing like Sleeping Beauty – delivered a cup of coffee to see if they were ready to rise – no takers Other cabin is now arising (0745) Met some folks over at the motel office: one family is moving to DC from Tacoma (Air Force) the other is retired in California (living in Sonoma) with property on the Bitterroot (they’re returning to Calif.) Played with owners’ one year old golden retriever – great fun! Headed into town to pick up flies (what a surprise!) and advice – no good shirts to acquire Breakfast at Ennis Café and then off to the Ruby River (around 10:30 am) Arrived at the Ruby just below the Dam at around 11:15 – really hot with very desert like country Walked down the access paths below the Dam – Told best fishing is within the first mile of the tailwater fishery The Ruby is a smaller river with great structure although the banks tend to be steep in this section AB rose a couple of big ones – AM picked up a bunch of little ones and hooked something large although no visual sighting was made. JR sighted our first rattlesnake ("as big around as a baseball bat!" – What, no hat band from the critter?) Found a dead, largely dessicated cow by trailside as we fished the area. Expected to find a fisherman in same condition Countryside looked something from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western with scrub brush, cactus, sage, cedar, pine (desert type) – we called this segment – "A Fistful of Fish" after the movie of similar name Talked to a lady as we were coming out from the river – her husband and friend had done well in the heat of the day fishing along the banks using a 2 nymph rig with a dropper split shot (Hares ear type nymphs) Moved on down the road and stopped at Dillon at 3:45 PM. Went into Frontier Anglers to pick up some flies (again!?) and some split shot for droppers! Picked up a Dillon newspaper to read. Found articles about folks from Dillon who had joined the Army and were undergoing basic training. Fascinating what people want to read about. Also a bridal registry from a local store listed the couples who had registered for gifts along with their planned wedding dates. Interestingly enough the store was a Coast-to-Coast Hardware store! Had about 8 couples listed. No Nordstrom’s or Bon Marche in Dillon! Onto Wisdom along the Big Hole River. Driving along the Big Hole River we mapped out several spots that friends had told us were good fishing areaa. The waters in the spots did look pretty good. Arrived Wisdom and checked into the Nez Perce Motel Box 123 Wisdom, MT 59761 (406-689-3254) Wayne and Barb Challoner Found name of folks who owned land behind the Cemetery outside of town (area reputed to have good fishing). The owner was Fred Hershey but no one was home when we called.. Next learned that Dan and Gerri Coon managed the land for the Hershey’s and could also give us permission to fish there the next day. So AM called them but their cook said they would not be back until 8pm that evening and to call back then. Ate dinner at the Big Hole Crossing Restaurant in Wisdom. A wise choice. In fact, it is the only choice. Off to fish the bridge by town for grayling. Got there about 7:15. We were surprised that the fish were not lying in exactly the same holds as last year(Well, duh!). JR hit the fist grayling lying off the far bank – thanks to Mike S. for use of the rod. Found out that cell phones don’t work anywhere in Wisdom. No antenna for repeaters out there. Too few people. AM went back to town to call the Coon’s for OK to fish the area behind the cemetery. Took two tries to get to a public phone in Wisdom – All the public phones in Wisdom were in use at 8 PM (there are precisely two phones!) Something surrealistic about that if you think about the size of the town of Wisdom. When I finally got through, Gerri Coon said "fine" and that we had their permission. Back to fish. AM drove MS truck into town for the calls. This is a really big truck – glad to not have to parallel park it anywhere! Fishing below the bridge on Big Hole by town AM got grayling later that evening. However, mosquitoes were out in force that night. In the fading twilight, a young moose wandered down to the River where I was fishing – fortunately the moose was on the other side of the river! Did hear the Mom Moose calling for the calf – decided to retire back a little. Now we are about 3 blocks from the edge of town. AB headed back to the truck, walking along the river in the dark with sunglasses on, (left regular glasses in the truck), finds Mom Moose about 5 feet ahead of him as he spreads willows apart on the trail. They part peacefully, but both very surprised! Chet and Al picked up a little soda water to go with the scotch as we headed back to town. Crashed in a reasonable time frame to be ready for the next day.
	7/30/98 – Thursday Breakfast at the Big Hole Crossing Rest. (since this is the only option in town, it seemed like the right one to take!) Split into two groups with AB/JR/MS heading for the river section behind the Cemetery while AM/CL head farther down river to check out the water we had logged in on the way to Wisdom (just love saying "on the way to Wisdom" – sounds so kewl!) AM/CL fish area by Jerry Creek Access. Chet hits a big fish and gets another strike. AM catches a small grayling. Guides were working the river with clients as they floated through this section. Water looked pretty good even though we didn’t really dial it in. Met up with the other 3 a little after 1 PM. MS/JR had caught a ton of brook trout plus a couple of grayling. Red was the color – fly pattern was irrelevant that day. AB caught fish in a different area as well. Area was very muddy, very brushy, heavy with mosquitoes (bring your quinine), some moose sign, and no other sign of anyone ever fishing down there (although we suspect locals fish there since we were told about it by them). Consensus was that area was worth repeating some time in the future.     Packed up gear and headed on over Chief Joseph Pass (past the Nez Perce Battlefield) and down into the Bitterroot Valley. Stopped by Hannon Access on the Bitterroot to dabble at fishing there. Found a small dead bull trout with hook/line in it attached to yellow plastic casting weight. No other action noted although temps were pretty warm. Moved on up to Hamilton Found a Super 8 Motel in Hamilton and got rooms for the night. Dinner at 4B’s Rest. next door. There was a well used Lil’s Casino attached to the Hotel which got a fair amount of use. Heck, even Bud Lilly used the Casino when we were there. There was a convenience store and gas station also part of the complex. Pretty much all of the essentials a traveler could want. 7/31/98 – Friday AM up early and off to the Riverbend Athletic Club for an early morning workout. Worked out on exercise bike, showered, and walked back to Hotel (about 1 ½ miles each way). Arrived back in time for rest of the team to just be getting ready. Found bakery in Hamilton with really good coffee. Took team back there for breakfast. Bakery and Coffee House 162 South 2nd Street Hamilton, MT 59840 406-363-0080 Korly & Vicky, Owners. Vicky said her son had done well recently fishing down by Tucker Crossing Fishing Access on the Bitterroot down by the community of Victor. Learned that someone else had won the Powerball Lottery this time. Probably can’t afford to make this trip a life style quite yet. We headed upstream on the Bitterroot into the West Fork region. Stopped by the Ranger Station – no really useful info except that they had heard of fish being caught up on Blue Joint Creek (or something like that). Went on up the gravel access road above Painted Rocks Reservoir (road ends up by the Wilderness Area in Idaho) and fished above Alta campsite which is about 8 miles from the Ranger Station. Everyone caught lots of little fish include the largest of about 14 inches. Other guys we met up there had kept 12-13 inchers of which they felt good about. This section of the river, however, is Catch & Release. Hmmmmm. Stopped and talked to the Folks at West Fork Meadows Ranch (52 Coal Creek Road Darby, MT 59829 406-349-2468). They had beautiful grounds, lots of cabins, a lodge, office, etc. but not one was staying there! Looked a like a scene for an Alfred Hitchcock murder mystery vis a vis Pyscho! Didn’t get a straight story on what was going on there. Found out later that the cabins were going for $195 per night – may explain why no one was there! What is the business basis here for such a place? Folks suggested we fish up and downstream along the river from the bridge on the way into the Ranch. Probably private property but "everyone does it" – sounded like a prescription for a problem. Time prevented us from pursuing this path to disaster. 2 guys from Walla Walla we met said that fishing at S. End of Reservoir was pretty good but marshy and muddy. [Also would have been crossing private lands according to the map]. They caught fish including a couple in the 12-13 inch range. Putting the usual time and story telling dilation factor into the equation, we can safely assume that they were catching fish in the 8 inch range. About 2:30 PM we decided we needed to do something about lodging for the evening since we knew that Hamilton was going to be full this evening due to a Montana State Legion A Baseball tournament. Off to Darby. Darby full. But they found us a room back up on the West Fork of the Bitterroot at a place called the West Fork Lodge (WFL). Had rooms, inexpensive, and available. Sounds good, we said, without asking the key question – Why is this place available but no where else???? Arrived at the WFL and took the rooms which were rustic, largely clean, no TV, etc. Big rain and wind storm blew in after we were at the WFL which had the effect of clearing the surrounding forests of a large number of locals who apparently were working in those same woods. The WFL was the centralized watering hole for the local region. Like watering holes in Africa, a strange but fascinating group of animals assemble around the water in the evening. Game Warden is changing the tire on his Bear Trap in the parking lot. Shouldn’t have left my sandwich laying on that tire! We assist. Caught several in the area & moved them out. More to go. CL talks with young fellow with a truckload of goats.  Turns out he patrols area of the backwoods and uses the goats for beasts of burden for his supplies.  Maybe they are also for entertainment.  One can only speculate. CL puts $20 in a poker machine, wins $200+ and buys drinks for the bar. AB brings in smoked salmon for all and the crowd gets friendlier. Suggested fishing locations are flying. CL met a fellow (Darrell) at the bar who said he would show us a number of good local holes on the West Fork to fish that evening. [Images from the movie Deliverance came to my mind!…. but Hey! This is an adventure – go with the flow] Darrell took us to two spots on the river where he had some luck fishing previously. We split into two groups for the two holes (MS/JR and AB/AM while CL continued to search out key information for the future back at the WFL waterhole. Fishing was slow at both holes although we did catch some small ones. The water structure look more conducive to bait or spinner fishing than to fly fishing. However, the evening hatch may have been off since it got quite cold that evening due to the front moving through. Bats start grabbing our flies on the back cast. AB/AM fished until 10:20 (it was very dark!) before calling it a night and heading back to the WFL. Told Darrell about our inept lack of success. He and CL had hatched another scheme for us to catch fish by hitting a private pond full of big fish that Darrell and his brother had at a place just down the road. Well,…….why not? Party time at the WFL. Some of us went to bed early, some not. New personal consumption records established by some players in several categories. JR met the guy from the bookstore with AM/AB had visited the year before. Small world and a very interesting slice of Montana culture.
	8/1/98 – Saturday AM up at 8 for breakfast – not joined by everyone. Later, CL talks to a local with a truck full of goats about local fishing hot spots. Met Darrell at 10 am to see his place and to catch the big ones (even if they are essentially domesticated pets in a pool!) Onto Darrell’s place first. Pretty impressive place in the wilds of Montana. Big home with attached garage. Darrell built it himself. Has stream running through property – it’s the source of water! Also home furnishings and furniture were very nice. Must be a prototypical Montana bachelor pad with all of the dead animal heads on the walls. There are a lot!!! Elk, goat, sheep, deer, moose, grouse, mountain lion, etc. And not just one head per animal type but several deer, elk, and moose. Also a huge bear skin rug. Darrell shot the bear in his driveway after it threatened him a few times! He told us that the animals were essentially all shot within 4 miles of his place. We are in the wilds (and not just the WFL!). Darrell Twite West Fork Road Darby, MT 59829. Onto Darrell’s brother’s place which is actually a vacation cabin alongside the West Fork. The pond was dug in the yard and I think it is less than ¼ acre. Full of big fish 15-20 inches. They can be caught with worms and spinners. I also show they can be caught with a chironomid pattern. Kind of nice to know where the fish are and that they will bite. Relaxing and confidence building. Darrell wants to watch a car race on TV that afternoon so we wrap up and head on down the road. Darrell keeps a fish – we do not. Stopped by Conner Bridge over the W. Fork. Fished unsuccessfully just at the bridge. This is the start of a 3 mile fishing hike down the river to the Hannon Access. Good fishing we are told. Need to keep in the river since some of the neighbors are cranky about trespassing. Stopped in Hamilton to gas up and head over to Lolo Pass and Hot Springs. Will fish the Lochsa River in Idaho. Drove by another good access point to the Bitterroot at Blodgett Park just north of Hamilton. Stopped for lunch at Lolo Hot Springs – Busy little touristy place. Idaho. Stopped at motel over the pass to pick up one day Idaho fishing licenses. Couple of guys told us they had done well flyfishing by mile post 131. Store recommended big stimulators and tarantulas patterns with rubber legs – we didn’t have any so we had to buy them. Funny, they asked if we had any of those patterns before saying that the fish were really keying in those rubber legs. Three guys drive up to the Gas Pump with fly rods secured to the hood with a magnetic carrier. AB observers that all rods have large Madam X flies attached. AB returns to the store and secures the last two in the box. Doesn’t tell team of findings. Drove by a lot of good looking fishy water on the Lochsa. Stopped by Colgate Lick trailhead. Fishing good both ways from trailhead along the river. Wondered if fishing here would reduce the number of cavities on might have? Stopped by Wilderness Gateway campground. AB found a sweetspot in a current seam where fish were holding.; 15 to 18" Cutts on nearly every cast. (Using the secret Madam X) Three locals fishing below were observing the action, but not catching. Everyone from our Team who fished the spot hauled out fish! Locals not happy, but silently fish on. Pretty cool location. Imagine if we hit that river and knew what we were doing! Onto Lewiston – arrived about 11pm. Found rooms in Super 8 motel. Dinner at Shari’s – the only place open in Lewiston after 11 PM? Pulp plant opposite motel put a pervasive pungent odor in the air – like the "aroma of Tacoma". 8/2/98 – Sunday AM up early, showered and got coffee at front desk. Already warm out. Odor from pulp mill still in the air. Left at 8:25 after gassing up. Headed up Highway 195 and on toward Spokane though the Palouse. Breakfast stop in Spangle at the Harvest Rest. (MS recommended). Good price, good portions, and good food. Locals come in after church. Must be good in their opinion as well. (Trivia Question: If you lived in Spangle, would the school mascot be a "banner" ….e.g. star spangled banner?) Arrived in Spokane at MS at 11:23 am Met his wonderful bride. Unpacked trucks, repacked trucks Onto I-90 at noon. Arrive JR’s at 4:22 PM and AM’s at 5:00; AB heads homeward down I405. End of a wild and crazy but unforgettable week!!