Jack C. Mauer has more than a thirty year investment in fishing, floating and wading the waters of western Montana. He is intimately acquainted with the surrounding fisheries and their corresponding ecologies. It is his passion and enthusiasm for the art of fly fishing, a respect and knowledge of trout habitat, and the ability to expertly instruct the technical aspects of fly fishing that clients appreciate as they return to western Montana and Wapiti Waters. Contact Jack at 800-254-5311.
The 2014 Guide Season is officially over having my last personal
guide days the last week of October. Despite the slow fishing, the
radiant fall colors and memories of fast fishing we had through out the
year helped ease in the inevitable - winter coming on!
I want to
say many words of thanks to all who fished with Wapiti Waters during
this glorious season of good flows and good angling. I would also like
to mention a couple of anglers who have passed on to the "Happy Fishing
Ground" namely E. Terrill Nobles (Terry Nobles) and Dave Brandt. These two fishermen
were the reasons we love guiding. Their attitudes were upbeat whether
the fishing was fast or slow and they genuinely loved the waterways and
trout environment. Their desires to share this love will always be with
us. We will forever miss yet forever remember them.
Doc came a little later this fall than usual. He was waiting for the fire smoke to clear. Probably a good strategy. The sky cleared up, temperatures cooled and fishing was good. Great to see both Doc and Liz! Hope they both come back up in the spring.
Marshall and Jack both think pike fishing is a ton of fun. Jack took Marshall to some of his favorite holes today and the success was amazing. Three pike. I think that is a record for Jack's boat on the Bitterroot. Yes, they kept them, yes they will eat them.
As you can see, it was a beautiful fall day on the Bitterroot.
Woody Hayward with a nice trout on the Bitterroot River Oct 20
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Jack with a pike he caught in the Bitterroot River
We love fishing in the late fall because we can find targets to shoot at, both trout and pike. The trout are usually noses and fins feeding on tricos and spinners. The pike are a different story. We look for them in certain slow water spots and try to throw big, gaudy flies. Once in awhile, we can actually see the big lunkers deep in the water. Seeing them doesn't mean they will take the fly, there-in lies the challenge.
Catching a big pike is a thrill. They are much bigger than most trout and are an effort to land. Jack caught this good sized pike October 12. Usually, I ask Jack to give them away, but on this day, our friend and avid pike fisherman, Eric, showed us how he fileted them. We cut up the firm meat into steaks, covered them with fresh, seasoned bread crumbs and baked them. They were delicious. I was pleasantly surprised. I am ready to go pike fishing again soon.
Here are more photos in a slideshow. One is of us releasing a decent sized trout next to the pike. You will see the size comparison.
Jack and our dog, Freda, in the Koffler drift boat
Seven photos from today on the Bitterroot. There were lots of trout, just didn't take fish photos. We were too busy catching...not a bad thing..
Lots of hatches, noses, targets to shoot to, many fish caught. I did well on the small and medium sized trout. As you can see in the photos, there was little to no wind which was helpful for me. Presentation and drift were everything. I was getting much more accurate casting the small bug on this calm day and resetting to get a good drift, but I need practice on bringing in the 20 inchers on 5X. Today I got practice. Only got one of five big fish opportunities in the net. That is why they call it "fishing" and not "catching." I am willing to practice every chance I get!
Four friends visited the valley the first week of October. They rode bikes on the Hiawatha Trail near the Montana/Idaho border one day, hiked a couple of days, and fished a couple of days. The first fishing day was shorts and sandal weather. The second fishing day (the very next day) was rainy and cold. They wore waders, rain gear, hats and gloves. Both days fishing days were great fun, just in different ways.
I didn't go on the fishing/floats but I have some photos from near and at the take out points. I am hoping our friends send me some of their photos when they get back home to Georgia and Arizona (where I am hoping they are much warmer).
The 2010 fishing season for Wapiti Waters was a wonderful one. Current friends and clients fished with us and we made wonderful new friends. We recently received an email from new friends in Alaska. They fished with Jack in late October and caught trout. Jack also caught a darn big pike. They sent photos in the email and here they are. See the featured photo above and then view the rest in the slideshow below.
Thanks to everyone who fished with us in 2010. We wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy new year!
Jack and I went steelhead fishing in Idaho last week on Thursday and Saturday. It seems to be true that you cast 1000 times before you get a fish.
We caught steelhead and trout, but only a few. Those few got us "hooked" as the fight they give you is definitely thrilling. Our steelhead were in the 24 to 30 inch range and they were all beautiful.
The scenery is spectacular. And, the Village at North Fork is a one stop, get it all place. They have gas, rooms, cafe, licenses, gear, supplies, and all important shuttles! Give them a call at 888.432.0240 or visit their website at www.thevillageatnorthfork.com.
I forgot to post this. Jack caught a big pike on the Bitterroot earlier this month. He is still on his mission of removing pike from our local coldwater fisheries.
Now that Milltown Dam is removed and the reservoir gone, maybe we can get the pike numbers down. The reservoir was a major rearing area for pike because it was good habitat for young pike. It had warmer, slow water and lots of smaller trout that young pike could eat.
Pike eat a lot of juvenile trout so we don't mind harvesting these voracious fish.
Jack, Scott and Dennis got an early start, drove about an hour and half and fished the Salmon River in Idaho for steelhead. See photos from their trip below.
You can bet they will be doing more steelhead fishing soon.
Jack and Doug fished the trico hatch and a big surprise was this large bass! They did catch some trout, no pike, and of course this significant bass.
Update!!! Above is only part of the story. When I asked Jack more about how he caught this bass, the whole story came together. They WERE fishing the trico hatch until it was done. When the day got warmer and sunnier, they switched to the 9 wt rod and pike flies. They were fishing for pike in a slow section near a backwater and they caught this bass there. So that is the rest of the story. My apologies for not getting all the info in the first place. (Merle)
Marshall with his pike from the Bitterroot.
Photo courtesy of Marshall Bloom.
All photos are courtesy of Marshall Bloom. They used his camera. This is a day on the lower Bitterroot. They were looking to fish tricos and to catch pike. Looks like a pretty successful and beautiful day. Thanks, Marshall, for the photos! By the way, grilled elk steak was the main course for lunch. Yum.
See all of Marshall's photos of pike and the Bitterroot River below.
Paul's mom and sister live in the Bitterroot That gives him good reason to come visit and, of course, fish. They live in Washington state and Paul works for the state park system. This year he brought his life-long friend, Tom. Jack opted to take them on the Clark Fork this year to show them something they hadn't seen. It was a pretty day and a pretty good day of fishing. Paul sent these photos. Thank you Paul!
Rainbow on the Bitterroot River (Photo by Merle Ann Loman)
Fly fishing the Bitterroot River in the fall is fantastic. The weather changes dramatically during the day giving stellar light shows and the fall hatches mean you will probably see fish noses and fins in select places. As the trout work the hatch, It is definitely a challenge to have targets to throw to. The fun part is trying to pick out which rise form is the biggest trout. By this time of year the trout have seen just about everything but a good presentation. In other words they are very educated but still feeding consistently. The flat smooth water where you find them feeding makes it even more difficult to execute a convincing presentation and drift. Proper selection of dry-flies and tippet are essential.
Give yourself plenty of time to concentrate on certain areas. On the Bitterroot River, there are many pods of feeding fish giving the amateur angler lots of chances to work on technique. If you put the fish down with bad casts, just row back up and wait. Chances are, they will begin feeding in a similar place again. If you don't want to row up-river, keep going to the next pod. You can see them feeding as you float down the river. Very cool.
Jack Mauer with a Northern Pike (Photo by Merle Ann Loman)
Want a change of pace? Bring along a 9 weight rod and a box of colorful streamers. As you fish for trout and you come upon a backwater of slow water with significant drop-off next to it, you might consider changing your arsenal to a heavier rod and a very large bright streamer. You have just come into northern pike habitat and they are a HEAVY fish. If you throw the streamer at the drop-off, let it sink and then retrieve it in frequent jerking motions, you will likely tick-off a pike. When a pike hits the fly, you have a fight on your hands. Pike are non-native and predatory so catching them and getting them out of the river is a good thing. The pike in the photo to the right had a whole fish in its stomach. See the slideshow for pictures of the fish. It isn't pretty.
This pike was about 33 inches long and a tremendous fighter. As Jack caught it, another boat approached from behind. You could hear them cheering Jack on as he worked at bringing the fish into the boat. He thought about getting to shore and landing it there, but it was netted from the boat, barely fitting the net.
Cutthroat trout (Photo by Merle Ann Loman)
This particular day was about 50 degrees with a slight breeze and overcast. The sun and clouds created unbelievable light shows. Even though this autumn hasn't produced as many colors and hues as usual, the rainbows and even the gray cast of the aspen have been beautiful. Besides amazing scenery, birds provided entertainment. While looking down the river at pods of fish feeding, beyond and on the curve was an Osprey looking for its dinner. It flew in a tighter circle, dove straight down and made a huge splash. As it came out of the water, there was a sparkle as the sun hit the fish in its talons - probably a whitefish. A few minutes later an eagle soared down the river, passed over the boat and continued downstream. Near the take-out, a Belted Kingfisher played the bank. They are a funny looking bird with a shaggy crest or topknot.
Peter and Chris fished two day with Jack on two different rivers. They really lucked out with the weather. It has been cold, but this Saturday and Sunday, the weather warmed and we and the fish were grateful.
The first photo is Chris on the Bitterroot River.
To the right is a close-up of one of Peter's Trout.
The last photo is Peter on the Clark Fork River.
Hopefully, Peter and Chris will send us some of the photos they took, maybe even a short video. Thanks for fishing with us!
