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.
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
Geoff Fitzgerald fished the Big Hole in mid-August for a few days. He had a great trip and one reason was this year there was a lot of water. He ended up fishing mainly in the faster water. Geoff takes lots of pictures when out fishing. He photos are of anything unusual and occasionally of trout. He shared two photos from his August Big Hole River trip that illustrate both the unusual and trout.
Here are his descriptions of the photos:
"The brown in the pic was right below Jerry Creek Bridge and it was hookedon the first cast using a yellow marabou muddler.
The speckled egg on the algae mat was incredible, yet a little tragic; absolutely untouched and unbroken - must've rolled out of a nest near the bank (meadowlark nest perhaps) or on gravel bar (in that case possibly spotted sandpiper or killdeer)."
Anyone have any firm ideas of the species of bird egg?
Geoff, thanks for sharing. We love getting other "points of view."
This was taken April 9, 2011 west of Missoula, Montana USA on the Clark Fork River. The camera is looking north and east at Montana Snowbowl Ski Area and the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. It was a gorgeous spring day and the fishing was good.
Virga is precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground.
Canon EOS 7D, 1/500s, f/10.0, ISO:200, 39mm
SIGMA 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Aspherical DF Macro SLD Autofocus Lens
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.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Craig with a Bitterroot Trout
Lyle with a Bitterroot Trout
Craig and Lyle are from the Bitterroot but both now live out of state. They like to come back to the valley to visit Craig's father, Terry, attend the annual Trout Unlimited Banquet, and fish, fish, and fish! They enjoy fishing with a number of different guides and outfitters and we all appreciate that. They took most of the photos in the album/slideshow below. Thanks for sharing your photos with us. Jack had a great time fishing with you both.
Hope to see you next year, same time, same place.
For those interested in more about the Bitter Root Chapter of Trout unlimited click BRTU Blog.
We love taking kids fishing, but there are certain clients that we have the most fun with. Connell's are some of our favorite people to fish with and when we can get great client's kids interested in fishing, that is a banner day. Matthew came up to visit Grandma and Grandpa this summer and got to actually catch some fish, not just be in the boat. Thanks to guide Eddie Olwell for these photos of Matthew. Isn't he just the cutest fisherman you have ever seen? I think he might be 'hooked.'
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).
