Mike and Dale on the Bitterroot in early October

Thanks for coming up to fish with Jack at the Casting for Recovery One Cast for Hope event. He had a very fun day with you two!

Nice brown Mike

Dale with a pretty Rainbow Trout

Mid-September on the Bitterroot with Paul

Still some smoke in mid-September but the fishing is holding in there. Paul and Jack had a very good day on the middle Bitterroot.

Doc Bolton on the Bitterroot in April

cropped version so you can see the trout better

Beautiful day on the river

Doc is up again spending some time in his cabin on the river. He loves winding down, reading, exploring and of course fishing. And, he always get fish. Here he is with a nice trout on a day he fished with Jack.

"Fascination" by amontanaview | RedBubble

da"Fascination" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Freda is pretty darn interested in this beautiful cutbow (hybrid cutthroat/rainbow) trout. Maybe the trout is more than a little nervous. The trout was caught and released in the Bitterroot River north of Florence, Montana USA.
Canon EOS 7D, 1/500s, f/5.0, ISO:200, 160 mm
SIGMA 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Aspherical DF Macro SLD Autofocus Lens

Woody Hayward with a nice trout on the Bitterroot River Oct 20

Shields on the Big Hole and the Blackfoot Rivers in August

Brown trout caught by Jim

Jim and Naomi fished with Jack a few weeks in July. Now these photos are from August when they came back to fish the Big Hole and the Blackfoot rivers. What is great about the Shields is that they have fun no matter what the weather or the fishing have to offer. But, as you can see here, they always catch really nice trout. I have to say either Naomi catches more trout, or Jim takes more photos...not sure which. Jack sure had a good time fishing with them.

See more photos in the slideshow below.

View all in a new browser window

Rainbow trout - an entirely synthetic fish. Learn more Feb 7 in Missoula, MT

Written by Merle Loman for Bitterroot Trout Unlimited.

Join Missoula and the author for a reading and signing of Anders Halverson's An Entirely Synthetic Fish. The event will be at Fact & Fiction, 220 N. Higgins Ave, Missoula, Montana on February 10^th from 7 pm to 8:20 pm. For more information call the book store at (406) 721-2881. Click here for directions to Fact and Fiction downtown.
About the Book

An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World (Hardcover)

By Anders Halverson
$26.00 - ISBN-13: 9780300140873
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Yale University Press, 3/2010
Anders Halverson provides an in-depth account of the rainbow trout and why it has become the most commonly stocked and controversial freshwater fish in the United States. Rainbow trout have been proudly dubbed “an entirely synthetic fish” by fisheries managers. According to Halverson, his book examines the paradoxes and reveals a range of characters, from nineteenth-century boosters who believed rainbows could be the saviors of democracy to twenty-first-century biologists who now seek to eradicate them from waters around the globe. He discusses how the story of the rainbow trout is the story of our relationship with the natural world—how it has changed and how it startlingly has not.

Anders Halverson is an award winning journalist with a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology from Yale University. With support from the National Science Foundation, he wrote this book as a research associate at the University of Colorado’s Center of the American West.
A lifelong fisherman, he currently lives in Boulder, CO.

• Anders Halverson’s An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World just won the National Outdoor Book Award. You can get a copy for yourself if you donate $25 to Trout Unlimited.
  
• Click here for excerpts of reviews.

Other Montana events for this book are:
Book Signing at Country Bookshelf Bookstore, Bozeman, MT on Monday, February 7, 2011 at 4:00pm. Click here for more information about the Country Bookshelf Bookstore.
Book Discussion at Montana State Univ., Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT Monday, February 7, 2011 at 6:00pm. Click here for the website for Museum of the Rockies
Plenary Address at the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Great Falls, MT, Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 9:00am. Click here for AFS information http://www.fisheries.org/units/AFSmontana/

For fun, he posted this quiz on GoFishn.com. The winner received his book.
The Rainbow Trout Quiz: Question #1 - GoFISHn on GoFISHn
In 1996, IdahoDepartment of Fish and Game hatchery managers routinely taught their fish one thing before releasing them into the wild. What was it?

The answer: worms. Candy Craig got it right, and she's the winner of a copy of the book. The reason the fisheries officials put the fish on a worm diet was to prepare them for the wild. They feared the fish would swim around looking for pellets  when they were released, which is their normal fare in the hatchery.

Fly Fishing the Bitterroot River with Jim and Phil

Phil and his Bitterroot rainbow trout

Jim and Phil from Washington, DC came to Montana and fished with Jack on Sept 17 and 18. The Bitterroot was their river of choice and it paid off. There wasn't a lot of time for fishing photos, but here are a few taken from the boat. I am including a few more that I (Merle) took on the morning of first day as they were getting ready to start the day.
Click here to see all the photos in a new window.

See all the photos online with this link Pinegrass at Break Espresso on First Night Missoula

Fall fly fishing on the Bitterroot River with Dar

Dar with a beautiful rainbow trout.

Fall is almost here officially, but it feels like fall now. Cooler temperatures and changing colors are the clues for us and the fish. Dar Soder and his wife, LaRonda, are visiting from Missouri. Dar loves to fish and he and Jack were on the mid to lower Bitterroot one day this week. The fishing was a bit technical for some of the time with tricos coming off, but Dar did used a variety of Jack's flies and definitely caught some beautiful trout. They had a lot of fun fishing and visiting while floating the gorgeous Bitterroot River.
Here are more photos.

View all photos in a new window

We recommend Smith Optics Sunglasses for fly fishing in Montana.

Fly fishing the Bitterroot with clients from Arizona

Rainbow trout from the Bitterroot River

Jack guided clients from Arizona on the Bitterroot and Big Hole River. The photos are only from the Bitterroot. They didn't get photos from the Big Hole. Sometimes they are having too much fun to take photos. These clients were a referral from a good friend and outfitter on the Big Horn River, Matt McMeans. Thank you Matt! Great people. Jack had a good time with them and appreciated your sending them his way.

See more photos below:

Click here to view all photos in a new window

Fly Fishing the Big Hole River with Richard Steed and his daughter, Polly

Polly and her brown trout

Another Father/Daughter team with Wapiti Waters. Take your kids fishing and you will enjoy showing them the beauty and excitement of the outdoors. Introduce them to an activity that you can all enjoy for a lifetime. Polly and Richard went to the Big Hole with Jack in late August and it turned into a stellar day for scenery and for fishing. The few photos were wonderful showing Polly with her large brown trout she caught early in the day, Richard's stout rainbow trout and the spectacular scenery. I think Polly snapped the landscape shots (thank you Polly!).
See the slideshow below for more photos

View all photos in a new window

Fly Fishing the Bitterroot with Florence Dentist, Carl Shepp

Jack's dentist is Carl Shepp from Florence. Carl is also a friend, a husband and wonderful father of two. We love getting together with the Shepp family for fun and for fishing. This day was all about Carl getting to fish. Jack took on a stretch in the middle Bitterroot. You can see by the photos, they had a great day.

The Bitterroot has many good dentists, but Carl is our recommendation. You know he knows how to have fun. Along with being a hard working, skilled dentist, he loves to spend time with his family, fly fish and snow ski.



You can find Carl's office at:
5460 U.S. 93, Florence, MT 59833-6852
(406) 273-2015

View Larger Map

See the slideshow below for a few more photos.

Click here to view all photos in a new window

Fly Fishing Montana - the Big Hole River in July with Peter Rein

Peter has been to Montana many times but we first met Peter in the late 1990's when he came to fish with his sister and her family. Peter finished school, began his career in Texas and we didn't see him for awhile. Now Peter lives in northern CA, his career is established and the lure and memories of fishing in Montana have brought him back. He has spent more time in Montana than many because he loves the outdoors and fishing. Peter had been to the Big Hole, but this was his first time float-fishing it. It was a great day.

We are fortunate to have Peter as a friend and as a client. He is smart, fun to be with, passionate about life, dogs and about fishing. Take a trip down the Big Hole River with Peter and with us through the photos in the slideshow below.

From San Diego to Montana, again

Dusty, Don, Jim, and Peter are from San Diego. They (and a few others of the group that didn't make it this year) have been fishing with Wapiti Waters for many years. Spring is when they come, braving what ever weather the year brings for them. They are fun, great sports and always catch fish. Day one, on the Clark Fork, was nice weather. Day two and three were on the Bitterroot and it rained. We were thrilled to get the moisture and I think the catching was good.

Click here to view all the photos in a new window

This group stays at the Bitterroot River Lodge

Bitterroot River Lodge

www.bitterrootriverlodge.com

Contact Linda Trescott at information@bitterrootriverlodge.com
If you contact Linda, please tell her you found the info at Wapiti Waters' site!

1182 U.S. 93
Hamilton, MT 59840-9751
(406) 363-0708

Get directionsThis address, phone number, map or business info is not accurate. Confirm CancelThank you for the feedback.

Write a review
More info about Bitterroot River Lodge

Fly Fishing the Clark Fork River with Chris and Peter - Nick Stipech guiding

Chris and Peter fished with Wapiti Waters guide, Nick Stipech, and had a super day on the Clark Fork River.
Here is a note from Chris:

Hello Jack,
Thanks for setting us up with Fly Fishing Guide, Nick Stipech. He and I and my friend Peter had a great day on the Clark Fork a few days ago - a sample attached. Lots of fish and great company. Very memorable, and we put in a FULL day.

Peter and I did pretty good on our own on the Blackfoot, Bitterroot and Rock Creek, but the day on the boat on the Clark Fork was probably the highlight.

Chris Dakan

The photo was sent to us by Chris. The first photo is the same, I just zoomed in to the fish so you could see it closer. ML

See the slideshow below for more photos that Peter sent us today.

Click here to view all photos in a new window.

I love the message Peter sent - about Nick!

Merle,
Here are the best pics, from our trip with Nick, I think he knew each fish by name or at least knew their address, phone number, food preference and SSS number. He dialed us into so many fish!! It was a great day, I never expected to catch so many fish on a hot bright summer day.( well Chris did anyway). It was all fun, and being “over the hill”, it was nice to have a pair of fresh eyes to untangle Chris and I when we both cast at the same time. He was always positive, supportive and instructive. I ‘d go again as soon as I’m back to grab daughter from MU. –More reasons to visit!!

One pics shows Nick with the fish in mid air. It flopped and he caught it again for the backup pic.

Hoppers and droppers

Peter

Fly Fishing the confluence of the Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers with Joe

Jack and Joe fished the Bitterroot and Clark Fork Rivers near the confluence. They scouted for northern pike and caught some nice rainbow trout, too.

Click here to view all in a new window

The Lower Bitterroot on a Hot August Day

The lower Bitterroot is wider, flatter, slower, and shallower then the upper or middle Bitterroot. We were actually looking for Pike on a bright August day, yet in the morning, we had trico fishing, later we had hopper fishing. We did throw to some pike, too, and though they chased the flashy wet flies, we never pulled a pike into the boat.

We did see floaters (meaning warm water), birds, and we caught rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout. I rowed for Jack quite a bit, so my camera was put away. I didn't take as many photos as I usually do. These photos give you the drift of our trip on Friday.

Click here to view all the photos in a new window

Fly Fishing the Blackfoot and Bitterroot Rivers with Ray Gillette

I am catching up on blogposts after my trip/native camp with the Me-Wuk tribe and others in northern CA. In this post Ray Gillette is fishing with Jack. Jack grew up in Chicago and Ray lives there. They fished together some years ago and were able to hook up again July 11 and 12 on the Blackfoot and Bitterroot Rivers. It was a great time.

Click here to see all 6 fly fishing photos in a new window.

Fly Fishing Montana on the Bitterroot River in June

Dave Shobe recently sent us these photos. They were taken on the Bitterroot in mid-June when the Keith Oden group was fishing with us. See the slideshow below for all 3 photos.

click here to view all in a new window.

West Fork of the Bitterroot with Billy and Jeff

This was the last day of Billy's trip. He just sent me photos. They caught some hogs!! I mean big trout.

I just updated the slideshow below with photos from Jack's camera.

Click here to view all the fishing photos in a new window.