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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.

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Susquehanna River with Jim Wellendorf and Dick Lentine (Pennsylvania)

Yesterday, Jim Wellendorf sent us this message and photos. I am including the photos in a slide show. Jim, no photo of you? You must be holding the camera. Jim and Dick, thanks for sharing!

My friend, Dick Lentine, took me bass fishing this morning on the Susquehanna River. Sun rise was beautiful! Hope you enjoy it. The weather was nice to begin with but got very nasty. High winds and waves just when we were about to stop. If you ever have to land a bass boat in high winds don't call me. Dick did a great job in very tough conditions.

The fishing was not so good, probably because of the front that was approaching. Dick caught 2 bass and I caught one. All about 12 inches long. In spite of the bass and the weather we had a good time.
The last picture is a duck hunting blind on the western side of the River.
Jim

Another link to a PA-DCNR website for the Susquehanna River.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

New Heathens in New York

A bit of a side...we met Nate online and are emailing about fishing, Montana, family, and his band in New York. Check out the latest New Heathen Blog.

As for Jack and I, we are getting ready for our annual antelope hunt near Zortman in eastern Montana.
Antelope
Here is Nate's comment about that. Wish we had a photo of Junction Pool.

Good luck hunting (man, I don't even know where Zortman, MT is!). I had to work in upstate New York today and when I finished I had about an hour and a half of daylight to fish the famous Junction Pool in Roscoe, NY. The trout were rising to MIDGES, and I hooked only one, when it rose to a knot on my tippet.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Nate Schweber - our friend from New York - or Missoula

Nate Schweber on Soda Creek in Yellowstone Park
Above is a photo of Nate. Nate is originally from Missoula, Montana and is now in New York City in a band called New Heathens.

About the New Heathens! They have a great sound, you can check it out on their website http://www.newheathens.com/. Some of the reviews call them American Roots Rock or Rootsy Rock and Roll. I think their sound is more complex than that! Tell us what you think...
The New Heathens from New York!Members: Nate Schweber, Singer, Guitar, Harmonica; Butch Phelps, Guitar; Dominic Tiziano, Guitar; Eric Seftel, Drums; Brandy Wood, Bass
Genre: Rock n Roll Hometown: New York City

You can see by this slide show that Nate still spends time in Montana and fishing. We have quite a bit in common, including a love of music!

A Note from Nate: Thanks for digging the band. I'm working on trying to come up with the songs and, more importantly, money to finish a second record. We're working with a producer named Eric "Roscoe" Ambel who played with Steve Earle and produced a bunch of cool bands that I dig including the Bottle Rockets and the Yayhoos. Making records is almost as expensive a hobby as flyfishing.

I tried my luck on Connecticut's Housatonic River this past weekend. Beautiful fall colors. I hooked one brown trout on a nymph but lost him. Fish were rising all around but I couldn't get them to take anything I was offering. I tried big nymphs, little nymphs, big dries, little dries, streamers and everything in between. Nothin'. To be honest, it reminded me of a few times I've fished the Bitterroot when the same thing has happened: fish rising everywhere, but not to any of my flies.

Well, Nate, we know what you mean. The fishing in western Montana this fall is amazing. The days are calm and beautiful; the water is like glass. That means the fishing is technical and even though the fish are rising, it takes a lot of effort to find out which of our flies and what size they will be interested in. At least you have targets to throw to. When you do hook up, though, the rewards are fantastic!

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Bitterroot - Hot Fishing, Warm colors, Fishing was great ALL DAY

Click on photo to see larger version in a new window.
Trico are thick in the air! That isn't blur from the camera, they are lots of little bugsTrico Spinner Fall (hatch)As our new friend, Nate, says, "Hot Damn!" The fishing was amazing today. I met Jack on the Bitterroot about noon. IT FISHED ALL DAY!
Jack Mauer on the Bitterroot
When we got on the river, the trico spinner fall lasted about 3 hours. It seemed every cutthroat and rainbow in the river were up. You had targets to cast to, too many. Using a fly with flatter wings and 5x tippet, it was difficult to see/follow your fly. We had some challenging places to put the fly so it would float drag free. We shot for fish hanging right on the seam -- you needed to put the fly right in their mouth, as Jack said, "force feed them." They didn't know what fly to eat, but if they took yours, you had better lift the rod carefully, keep the tip high, and let them run for a while. Wow, it was fun. Needless to say, my finesse was lacking and I learned some lessons in line management and tension while I broke some nice fish off.

Late afternoon they seemed to switch to Blue Winged Olives and we could get away with a slightly bigger upright winged fly. You still needed to cast a long distance. When you raise the rod smoothly on a take, be ready to let them run. We were still on a small, 6x tippet. It was great practice for me as I learned to bring in the bigger fish.

When I post the slide show (later today), you will see amazing fall colors and reflections along with a deer crossing the river and a grebe (duck) diving.

For now, I will post a photo trying to show the trico spinner fall and a couple of fish.Merle on the BitterrootLower Bitterroot River with Wapiti Waters
Not a bad day. Start with office work at home, meet on the river at noon, get out by 6:00. Jack attends a Fish, Wildlife, and Parks RRAFT board meeting while I do some chores with my daughters in Missoula. Get home and run through the football game we taped. Life is good.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Bitterroot River and Doc Bolton


Again, one of our favorite fisherman, Doc Bolton, floated with Jack. The day really turned on in the afternoon much to the liking of Doctor John. Here is one of his fish and it shows how beautiful the day was.
Liz and John are driving back to California in a few days. We wish them a safe trip home.


This trip is an example of tailoring a trip to the client. Doc wanted an afternoon/evening float as a single. Jack picked a "sneaky" stretch of river and they avoided flotillas. The result was a flexible, relaxing day and great fishing. There are still a lot of fall days to fish. Give us a call if you want to get in on the fun. 800-254-5311