,

Smith River, Montana – Part 3

smith river, fishing, flag, montana, america

If you missed Part 2 you can read it here > Smith River, Montana – Part 2

Part 3 – The Trip Days 4&5 and Our Thoughts

The last two days of our trip were blessed with more sun and gradually warmer weather.  The only decent fishing we saw the last two days was mid-afternoon on Day 4 when a gray drake hatch came off for a few hours.  Fish were stacked in pods along a few banks and in some foam lines where a dropped anchor and a few casts through the right zone resulted in fish.  Again the views were stellar to finish out the trip.  Enjoy the photos from the last two days and I’ll wrap up below with my thoughts on the current state of the Smith River.

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Each morning brought about a battle with frozen gear but slowly warmed with a good meal and sun finally peaking over the horizon.

smith river, fishing, copper mine, black butte, tintina, conservation, fishing

Hey guys, it’s another sick cliff wall. Weird.

smith river, rainbow, trout, fishing, camping

Brandon with a nice rainbow caught along an overhanging rock wall.

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Solitude? The eddy to hike to the main pictograph cave was a zoo!

smith river, montana, pictographs, cave, fishing, skull, film, video, 2016

Moments from Day 4.

smith river, mine, montana, copper, rainbow, trout, fishing, maddie sieler

Maddie with another parachute sipping rainbow. This one caught inches off a rock face after a dozen casts to get the right drift.

smith river, fishing, montana, mine, copper, save the smith, tintina

Fishing hard despite the tough water conditions.

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‘Merica

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Awesome to see the ladies crushing it with the fly rod!

camping, smith river, montana, wild, film, video, fishing

Final night on the Smith River.

smith river, camp, cooking, trout, whiskey, steak, wild, elk

Keeping things fresh on the last night.

Thoughts on the current State of the Smith

First off I strongly feel that the Smith River Drainage is a resource and area that we need to preserve for generations to come.  Whether it’s fisherman, campers, recreational floaters, mountain bikers, hunters, ranchers, etc we need to make sure this valley continues to thrive naturally as it has since it was settled by early cattle and sheep ranchers.  I have my own personal thoughts on the proposed mine and those are constantly evolving as the process and situation continues to progress.  I think right now given what I’ve read and seen that the mine is a bad deal for Montanan’s and the Smith River Valley.  Our historic track record with mines has only resulted in mine companies making their money extracting resources and then the waste and damage is left with the people of Montana and public taxpayers.  Mining is a subject that is a double edged sword in my head though.  Our society relies on mining in almost all aspects of our lives.  Is it right to be ok with mines in South America and Asia that tarnish their environments because we never have to live with the consequences or eye sores of those mines?  Do we really care about conservation and the environment or do we only care when it’s in our own backyard and effects our happiness? I think there are ways to responsibly mine and have minimal impacts on the surrounding areas.  We just need to be active in making sure all parties are accountable and that we have good forward vision with each project that comes up.  Most importantly though, we all need to be involved in these subjects and do our own research.  Don’t believe what Trout Unlimited or Tintina Resources tells you just because they sent you an email or postcard with some fancy facts and info on it.  Don’t let a social media post sway your opinion.  Go read, talk to people about it, experience it first hand, dig a little deeper, gain an understanding and most importantly BE ENGAGED!!!  That process is so, so important on so many issues we currently face as sportsmen and as people who love wild places and public lands and waters.

-Written by Zack Boughton

-Photos by Travis Boughton, Zack Boughton, Calvin Connor

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Smith River, Montana – Part 2

smith river, montana, copper mine, fishing, trout

If you missed Part 1 you can read it here > Smith River, Montana – Part 1

Part 2 – The Trip Days 1-3

Day 1 broke under a fresh couple inches of snow.  A light snow filtered through a soft glow steadily growing over the eastern horizon.  The diesel turned over and we pulled the boats over towards the launch.  After a few minutes of playful jabbing about the weather we took it upon ourselves to unload the snowy boats and begin our day.

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And the adventure begins…

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The fleet for the week.

A little over an hour later and we had our three rafts in the water and loaded with our gear for the next 5 days.  Despite the frozen hands and a bitter edge on the day the overall moral was high and everyone was eager to start our push downriver.  One thing we had been concerned with over the past week was the condition of the river.  A long week of warm and sunny weather had sent a push of water downriver from the mountains and had bumped the river.  The water clarity wasn’t ideal but from all reports it seemed that the river would give up fish in all but the dirtiest of flows.  After the group shotgunned a beer we split up and pushed off.  The next few hours went off without a hitch and the weather had yet to unleash more than a light snow and a gentle breeze.

montana, smith river, fishing, snow

Beautiful although cold.

Montana quickly showed her teeth though.  A brutal wind out of the West whipped up the canyon and fired the wet snow in a horizontal pattern that had us wishing we had brought ski goggles.  The fishing was slow for those willing to freeze their hands working a streamer or nymphs along the fishy water which was hard to find with clarity that was all but nonexistent.  As we pushed into the afternoon we switched gears from fishing to just making it to camp so we could attempt to build a fire.

smith river, montana, fishing, floating, camping, snow, spring

Battling the elements on Day 1.

fly fishing, smith, river, montana, spring, snow, trout

Sam hooking up during a warm-up break.

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The snow breaks as we finally make camp on Day 1.

After finding some wet wood along the float we finally rounded our last bend of the day and anchored up to set up our first camp of the trip.  Everyone was feeling cold and wet despite plenty of Gore-Tex and warm layers.  The first order of business was to build a fire.  A strong group effort resulted in a fire finally gaining some strength and we began the process of piecing together camp and a warm meal.  (Tip #1 – although you can find wood along the float, I’d recommend bringing fire wood with you for each night.  Wet wood sucks and most campsites have very little in terms of firewood near camp)

smith river, montana, camping, fishing, cooking

A sick view, fishable water, a hot meal, and a fire. Life is good.

dinner, elk steaks, elk, montana, fishing, camping

Elk steak and potatoes for dinner.

With a belly full of elk meat and potatoes we all huddled tight to the fire until the urge to sleep overcame any warmth the dwindling fire could provide.  With calculated promptness we all found our ways into our sleeping bags and tents hoping the next morning would break with clear skies and a touch of Montana sun.  A quick peek from the tent in the morning revealed blue skies.  That short moment of happiness was quickly humbled by taking one look at the frozen waders and boots littered around camp.  A team effort set in motion a small fire and a breakfast of bacon and eggs and a warm cup of coffee.  As the sun finally rose high enough to throw it’s warm rays on our camp Sam hooked into the first fish of the day, a nice golden brown who wanted a red worm breakfast.

smith river, brown, trout, montana, spring, copper mine

Always good to hook a good one before you even push off for the day.

With the storm gone and the sun out we finally could enjoy some warmth and some of the most stunning river views found in Montana.  With each bend of the river a new view seared it’s spot in our memories as we casually rowed and fished our way downriver.

smith river, montana, wild, floating, fishing, camping

A favorite headwall along Day 2.

smith river, filming, fishing, montana

Sam hooks another with Travis capturing the action.

smith river, whiskey, pendelton, fishing, camping

Smith River whiskey warm-up.

smith river, montana, fishing, floating, rafting, camping, 2016

A view worth saving.

fishing, smith river, montana, filming, trout, spring, 2016

A short wade session resulted in a few fish and few shots on film.

A few things were apparent by the end of Day 2.  The fishing was tough.  Our best fishing came when we pulled in and worked inside bends hard with nymphs.  It seemed a guys could pull a half dozen fish out of each good run if he wanted to put in the time.  Unfortunately with a good chunk of water to cover each day we couldn’t spend time in all the spots we wanted.  We also found good fishing at the low ends of the tributaries which were all open this year due to a new regulation change.  Again with little time to spare these moments were kept short and sweet but kept everyone in the game and catching fish.  The more obvious take-away from the day was that the Smith River is easy on the eyes.  The grandeur of the mighty rock walls and faces almost lose a bit of meaning since each bend reveals a new epic view.  As we floated beneath these towering giants I was surprised no one has died from falling rock.  With some cliff walls easily pushing a hundred feet or more, even a small rock would be life-threatening if it dislodged and found you at the bottom of its fall.  After a long day we pushed into camp and began the process of unloading the rafts and assembling camp.  With the forecast calling for more sun we hit the hay and got some much needed rest in anticipation of another long day starting early in the morning.

camping, smith river, montana, spring, hunting, rifles, camp, 2016

Pancakes and a couple rifles set on seeing a bear.

fishing, smith river, montana, trout, spring, floating, raft

Streamer fishing under savage towers of limestone.

fishing, smith river, montana, epic, landscape, tintina, mine

Montana proving again that it’s “The Last Best Place”.

Our goal for the afternoon was to go bear hunt on some public land near our camp.  A moderate hike put us up on a ridge we hoped held good grass.  Unfortunately the snow from our first day had stacked up and covered the hillside and ridge we were hunting.  We saw one set of bear tracks and a bunch of elk and deer tracks as we slowly climbed up above the Smith River canyon.  With little for options given the snow, we sat down and glassed the hill across the canyon to the north.  A few minutes in and Sam spotted a nice black bear traveling across the opposite hill.  The bear fed his way down into the timber as he dropped out of sight into the canyon looking for anything green.  With a precarious snow covered canyon below the decision was made to work back to camp and cook up dinner for the evening.

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The beauty of the area extends far beyond the Smith River Canyon.

black bear, track, print, snow, montana, wild, smith river

There be bears in them hills!

To read about the rest of our trip and hear our thoughts on the current state of the Smith River read Part 3 which will be live on our site tomorrow!

-Written by Zack Boughton

-Photos by Travis Boughton, Zack Boughton, Calvin Connor

 

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Smith River, Montana – Part 1

SMITH RIVER, MONTANA

To protect a place or thing, you must appreciate and understand the value of it.  The greater the number of individuals that have that appreciation and value residing in their souls, the more support you have and the stronger the voice when a call to action is needed.  Although the Smith River is the only permitted recreational river in Montana and is enjoyed by thousands of outdoor enthusiasts each year, it continues to seemingly fly under the radar as a Montana destination in comparison to some of our other wildly famous resources.  That all has slowly been changing over the last year as a proposed copper mine has brought the beloved Smith River front and center.  Some cringe at the idea of more people knowing of their beloved spots and diluting their chances at drawing a permit yearly, but others see the necessity of a wider awareness and hope more people can become personally acquainted and educated on this beautiful river system and the overall majesty of the larger landscape of which the Smith River calls home.

smith river, montana, copper, mine, fly fishing, tintina

A classic look at Montana’s Smith River.

The Smith River is what I would call the Grand Canyon of Montana.  Flowing north out of the Big Belt, Little Belt and Castle Mountains it picks up size as it winds its way through windswept cattle country near White Sulfur Springs, Montana.  As it passes Camp Baker, where floaters put in on their 59 mile float, it dives into a deep limestone canyon that provides some of the most stunning river vistas Montana has to offer.  Cliff walls soar over corner after corner of this epic river and the beauty often distracts the fisherman from an eat of their fly by a hungry brown or rainbow trout.

fly, fishing, smith, river, montana, copper, mine, tintina, conservation, wild

This dynamic river is considered a red-ribbon trout fishery with trout densities back in 2011 averaging about 250 brown trout and 250 rainbow per mile in the upper stretches.  Angler-days averaged about 14,200 between 1982 and 2009.  The primary species to be hooked under these limestone walls are brown trout and rainbow trout, but cutthroat and brook trout do exist in lesser numbers as well.  Given the nature of the upper 100 miles of river it often runs a varying hue of brown for much of the first half of the float season.  Fishing a nymph will produce your best numbers but the Smith offers some exceptional dry fly fishing and great structure and pockets for the streamer junkie to target the larger fish in the river.

smith river, montana, brown, trout, wild, copper, mine, fishing

A nice Smith River brown trout.

Why the Smith is the #4 most Endangered River in America for 2015

Currently Tintina Resources is going through the permit process with Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality for an underground copper and related minerals mine in the Sheep Creek area.  Sheep Creek is a tributary to the Smith River and prime spawning habitat for native fish populations from as far away as the Missouri River hundreds of miles downstream.  The proposed mine has many worried.  A few of the concerns revolve around acid mine drainage and it’s potential effect on fish and other aquatic life, the potential for a lowered water table that could effect adjacent stream flows in a river system that already has to deal with low flows during the summer months, as well as groundwater contamination issues.  (More about the risks of the mine can be found in the links at the end of this post).  Now it’s a fact that our society and most all of us rely on mining in our daily lives.  I’m surely not anti-mining, but given Montana’s poor history with mines heavily polluting waterways it’s hard to not be highly concerned that we eventually will see many negative environmental effects from a mine such as this.  The Upper Clark Fork basin is currently one of the largest Super Fund sites in the nation due to a flood in 1908 that caused an open-pit copper mine in Butte to spill millions of tons of contaminated sediment downstream along the river for hundreds of miles (https://www.hcn.org/articles/clarkfork_superfund).

smith river, montana, wild, fishing, landscape, epic, conservation

Over hanging cliffs line a large portion of the Smith River.

With the debate raging on it was easy to see how both sides had valid points regarding their stance on the project.  One side wanted to protect the environment and recreational value of the resource and the other wanted to mine a valuable raw material our society demands while providing jobs to the local economy which currently has few to offer.  I figured the best way to feel out the subject was to actually get a first hand experience on the river.  Both my brother Travis and I had drawn permits for mid-April, and we knew that after 5 days on the river we’d have a much stronger opinion on the matter at hand.  As we spent time researching more about the river, I found that there was not much to be read or seen about the fishing on the river or the experience in general.  A quick Google search of “fly fishing the Smith River” led to the first page being dominated by outfitters and fly shops offering guided trips.  A read through these pages did provide some insight into the river but left more questions than it could answer.  A quick look at Youtube revealed an assortment of poor quality, handicam style videos that didn’t seem to showcase the grandeur of a place that was seemingly so epic and suddenly so threatened.  With little high quality content it seemed it would be hard for someone to understand the amazing value the resource had to offer without going on a trip firsthand.  Given the nature of our work we felt documenting our trip would be a great way to raise awareness for a resource that seemed to desperately need it.  It seemed that if thousands enjoyed the trip each year and our state was comprised of tens of thousands who enjoy fishing we could do better than only 8,022 signatures on a petition that needed 10,000 as of writing this.

smith river, montana, fly fishing, wild, copper mine, conservation

Looking for risers in the foam.

filming, smith river, montana, wild, video

Filming a nice cuttbow.

After a few weeks of quick planning we had arrived at Camp Baker with rafts, camping gear and a handful of cameras in tow.  Our group totaled only six people and only Sam had been here before.  Our goal was to see this resource firsthand and capture the trip through photo and video.  We had no big production crew, no big sponsors, no shot lists or scripts and no expectations, just a group of good friends, a beautiful river and five days of wild experience before us.  (Part 2 is now up on the site.  You can read it HERE > Part 2)

camp baker, smith river, montana, wild, gnar

Launch Day

To learn more about the Smith River Mine please see the following links:

Save Our Smith – (www.saveoursmith.com)

Tintina Resources – (www.tintinaresources.com)

Montana Environmental Information Center (www.meic.org/issues/smithriver)

Black Butte Copper – (www.blackbuttecopper.com)

Smith River Watch – (www.smithriverwatch.org)

Tintina’s mine proposal – (deq.mt.gov/Land/hardrock/tintinamines)

News Articles:

NY Times – (www.nytimes.com/smithriver)

Montana Kaimin – (www.montanakaimin.com/news/smith-river-mine)

Bozeman Chronicle 10/17/15 – (http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/why-gamble-on-the-future-of-montana-s-smith-river)

Helena News 2/11/16 – (http://www.ktvh.com/2016/02/black-butte-copper-project-tintinas-technologies-part-3/)

 

-Written by Zack Boughton

-Photos by Travis Boughton, Zack Boughton, Calvin Connor, Maddie Sieler

 

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Spring Is King

fly fishing, montana, rainbow trout

A lot of people ask us when our favorite time to fish is and while summer may provide warmer weather and more options to fish, spring is king in our book.

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We simply mark spring as the time when the rivers lose their ice and temperatures start hitting the low 40s. The fish take note and if you can handle cold feet and hands, you’ll most likely land some of your biggest fish of the year.

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Spring fishing is a tough bet if you’re not a local considering weather patterns this time of year can vary a ton! Those weather patterns also have a big impact on flows and river temps. If you live here though you’re in luck. Watching the weather will pay off and many beautiful days can be found in February, March and April. Having a flexible work schedule helps a lot as well.

fly, fishing, montana, spring, casting, back lit

Nymphing is going to be your big producer from February through mid March. If you’re not a purist throw on a worm and another nymph matching a local food source and you’ll be in business. It’s not flashy but it plain works. If you’re feeling a bit bolder, a streamer will pay off big time if you can push through the slow days that exist this early in the year.

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Anytime of day, any water type and any retrieve can and will pick up fish but a slow twitch or swing through slow 3-6’ of water tend to pick up the most fish this time of year. As the river temperature starts to tick upward the streamer bite can be off the charts and other than fall this is our favorite time to streamer fish.

streamer, brown trout, montana, spring, wild

Once we get into the last couple weeks of March we start to see the skwala stonefly emerge. This hatch brings the big boys out of hiding and fishing big dries this early in the year is very hard to beat. Expect crowds once the word is out, but if you know where to look you can still have some banner days under the Big Sky tossing a dry and getting some vicious eats.

spring, fishing, montana, sunny, trout, missoula

As we move into April we see some absolutely great fishing across the board and the weather is typically much nicer between spring storms.

rainbow, trout, fly fishing, montana, spring, simms, skwala

Typically runoff starts showing up in late April and early May and from then on we wait until things shape up in June. This spring has already shaped up to be one that we won’t quickly forget and we’re only half way through it. Expect to see more from this spring in the future!

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brown trout, fly fishing, montana, spring

-Zack

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The Value of Power

generator, hunting, 2000 watt, bowhunting, elk, rack

Now to start, I love the solitude of a remote hunt or a backcountry fishing trip, but the truth of the matter is that with my occupation, leaving all the electronics behind is not a regular occurrence. This past Fall we had the dire need for a generator while shooting our latest and most extensive elk hunting project. The need to charge camera gear, batteries, and general gear was a must. It just so happened that the stars aligned and we had the chance to try out a new portable inverter generator, the Generac IQ2000.

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Upon first impression, the generator is fairly lightweight and compact. The weather resistant finish was a nice touch, and everything seemed very well put together. The setup instructions were extremely easy to follow. The one small fumble I had was putting oil in the generator. They provide you with (oil name here) oil to put in the generator before starting, but they do not tell you how much to put in. You either have to pour extremely slow until you see oil about to overflow or continusely check with a dipstick your oil level. I managed to have a little overflow, but a few sheets of paper towels fixed the problem.

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Starting the machine is extremely easy; turn the knob to CHOKE, pull the start cable and then move the knob to RUN position and your generator is up and running. The front gauges are all very easy to read. You have watt usage, gas level (1-gal tank), run time, generator status indicator, and a three power mode switch easily visible. The overall design is simple, energy effecient, and dummy proof.

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For us we were using the generator at elk camp to charge our computers and camera batteries at night and during the downtime in the middle of the day. This generator was the perfect tool for this, on top of being very quiet and low vibration. I could actually communicate with the rest of the hunters in camp over the hum of the generator. We were able to run the generator on the ‘economy’ (most gas efficient setting) while charging 1 computer, 1 Nikon battery, 1 Sony FS7 battery, 1 Sony A7s, and 4 AA batteries for about 10-11hrs on 1-gallon of gas.

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We tested the generator in 90F weather in Eastern Montana and in 10F in Idaho, and it performed flawlessly. Regardless of conditions it started with a couple pulls.

2000 watt, generac, generator, block, charging, batteries

Overall I was extremely impressed with the Generac IQ2000. It is the perfect size/weight/function I need as a hunter/filmer/photographer on the road. Not to mention it is the best value for its price that I have found. Other reviews online back this same opinion. If you are in need of a 2000watt generator, we highly recommend taking a look at the Generac IQ2000 generator. Quiet, simple, and reliable.

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For more information on their products visit: www.generac.com

-Travis Boughton

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Now Hiring

montana, wild

We are adding another key piece to the puzzle here at Montana Wild.  Below is a job description for the position we are looking to fill.  This is an outline and simply that.  If you feel you have a skill-set that will add to our brand PLEASE apply. This job is not for the faint of heart. This is WORK and most do not understand what we do here at Montana Wild. Long days and late nights are frequently a part of this job.  Strong work ethic is absolutely neccessary! We are computer nerds and camera pack mules 90% of the time. If fame and fortune in the hunting/fly fishing industry is your goal, DO NOT apply. If you want the job to get a short term of experience, DO NOT apply. If you can’t see yourself living in Montana happily for a long term, DO NOT apply. We want level headed, positive & creative people who have a passion for the outdoors that want this job to potentially be their career.  We don’t want an ’employee’, we want another person dedicated to the Montana Wild brand, lifestyle, and family.

Digital Content Manager

First and foremost we are looking for a creative talent that is outgoing and passionate who can manage the digital content, social media streams, and build web content here at Montana Wild.  We are also looking for people with experience in video/photo editing, graphic design, website design, and journalism. This person may also be active in participating in planning and producing future projects and giving constructive creative feedback.  If you’re the jack of all trades, even better! Editing of photo/video and being able to proficiently utilize a camera for both video and photo will be necessary.  We provide some training but you absolutely need to have experience.

Duties May Include:

-Developing and creating content for social media and social media campaigns.
-Develop branding strategies
-Managing photo and video content
-Label and organize video in accordance to specific film projects
-Edit short 15-45 second videos
-Shoot photographs and short video for social media, marketing, and editorial purposes
-Design and develop marketing strategies for branded apparel
-Ship orders and manage day-to-day operations of apparel side of brand
-Studying and developing marketing strategies to be implemented through social media specifically Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
-Creating detailed post schedules
-Create blog posts around hunting and fishing
-Provide a critical eye with regards to creative projects
-Build interactive websites
-Handling clients and customer relations

Qualifications/Skills that we are looking for in a candidate:

-Experience in the outdoor field, preferably hunting and/or fishing
-Video/Photo experience and knowledge of Adobe programs such as Premiere Pro & Lightroom.  Looking for at least 2 years of experience.
-Past experience managing social media, developing marketing campaigns and managing digital media content.

-Ability to build and manage websites
-Graphic Design experience
–Demonstrate passion and a strong work ethic
-Familiarity with the Vimeo and Youtube platforms
-A strong background in storytelling
-Familiarity with website creating platforms

 

**YOU MUST MOVE TO MISSOULA, MONTANA FOR THIS JOB**

Please send resume, cover letter, availability, and any creative material or portfolios to Zack Boughton at  work.montanawild@gmail.com

 

We are also taking applications for internships for Spring/Summer 2016.  These can involve photo/video production and editing, social media and general day-to-day duties.  Let us know what you are looking for in an internship.  Please make a note in the subject line of the email if that is what you are applying for.

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Smith Optics LIFE BEYOND WALLS – now live!

This summer we had the honor to team up with Smith Optics and shoot a film for their LIFE BEYOND WALLS online film series. After many days and nights working on finishing this project, we are happy to release the final piece today!

This film is unique in that it shows more of the whole experience, rather than just fishing and gives a better look at what its like to be on the river with the Montana Wild crew.

 

 

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Eastbound – Browns, Bows and the Bighorn

life, beyond, walls, montana, wild, adipose, boatworks

“I love a ground-dog burrito!” We had just spotted a questionable looking Mexican restaurant and already the stereotypes were being heavily flung around. What would you expect from a truck with 4 dudes and a solid five hours plus rallying I-90?

montana, fishing, trout, mexican, food, burrito

An hour later we emerged, bellies full and hoping that no one would be feeling “spicy” in a few hours. We were in the home stretch and soon enough we’d be looking over the waters of the Bighorn River for the first time. A little over a month earlier we had gotten the call from Smith Optics to shoot a lifestyle film for their latest web series “Life Beyond Walls.” Wanting to keep it within the borders of the Big Sky state yet still get a little road trip in, the Bighorn was an obvious choice. A tailwater with above average flows this year meant it was opposite the rest of the state and hopefully full of aggressive trout. Finally we hit the river and pulled onto the bridge in St. Xavier. The water below us was swollen and running a green/brown color. We all started talking about hooking “slam pigs” and raucously expelled typical bro banter.

Adipose, driftboat, fly, fishing, montana, bighorn, river, brown trout

That evening we cruised into Fort Smith and swung into the Bighorn Angler. Bryen and Shelly were there to greet us and give the lowdown on the fishing. A few dozen flies later and we began to organize and sort fishing gear in anticipation for the morning.

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Morning came early and after a few slight bobbles getting everything loaded up we finally arrived at the boat launch.  We dropped the boats and got ready for a long day on the river.  At the moment we had the place to ourselves, little did we know that in an hour this would be full of twenty different rigs hoping to launch.

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Soon we pushed off, hanging to the bank and searching the wide featureless water. A slow twenty minutes put us at the first small island and a pit stop was ordered up. Fifty yards upstream multiple fish were chowing down on the morning buffet. Two casts later and two great browns had hit the net.

bighorn, river, fly, fishing, montana, brown, trout, adipose, wild, film, smith optics

bighorn, river, fly, fishing, montana, brown, trout, adipose, wild, film, smith optics

At that point the boat train had engulfed us. Despite the crowds one thing became apparent, we were having a lot more fun than the other boats. Typical to many rivers there was a lack of yelling, laughing and general good times. Weird. Our float continued under hazy skies as we banged streamers into every nook and cranny we could find. Dozens of fish later we hit our takeout and headed back up to sneak in a second short float. Mice were skated, the golden sun sank in the West but no fish stuck. Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin” blared from Lungren’s cell phone as we pulled in under the light hum of a lonely light guarding the Three Mile boat ramp. Day Two was complete.

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With a good day of fishing under our belts we figured we’d take a risk and give the lower river hell. “Chuck and Duck” was the game plan and flashes and strikes ensued from all the likely spots. A short ways later the line stopped in it’s tracks and a hefty flash gave us a look at the largest fish of the trip. A quick fight ensured there was no chance of him getting away and a plump rainbow laying in the net left the group acting like a bunch of wild monkeys.

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Good call boys, good call. Apparently this lower river was the real deal. A few hours later we had changed our tune as things were downright slow. The water had picked up decent color from some of the small feeder creeks and reading the river became much tougher. We embraced the day and enjoyed the great scenery and even better company.

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After lunch we split up and started working a small island. Twenty minutes later a couple goldeyes had been caught. No one in the group had ever caught one before so this was news to us. One came on a dry and another hit a streamer, apparently they were hungry little buggers.

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As the float neared its end the roar of a diversion dam pulled everyone back into full attention. Cameras were carefully pulled from the boats and walked downriver. Travis and Sam pushed off and lined up above the man-made rapids. Sam was first and found the right slot, easily pushing through. Travis was up next and despite his best efforts was pulled over into the edge of the main wave formed off the dam. A healthy splash and the skiff cut through the wave and slid downriver.

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We all were beat from another long day under the sun and pulling into the Riverview Lodge was very welcome. Steve had worked some magic and got us the bottom half of some prime real estate. With a great view of the valley and a full kitchen we got dinner on the grill and got some much needed rest for Day Four.

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Day Four again saw us boating fish and seeing plenty of new water. Streamer fishing was the choice mid-day as staring down a bobber just didn’t get us too fired up. That evening found us anchored up on a long seam with a long line of noses extending downstream. Hookup after hookup with no boats in sight was the story.

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Fast forward to the takeout. Now I’ve depleted the old Ford’s gas gauge plenty of times but this one was shaping up to be interesting. We had ran our own shuttle and the driving distance between takeouts was further than expected. The gas light had been on for about 30 miles and 20 more remained before we got back to the lodge. It was 11PM when the engine sputtered and the power steering went out. Yes I was a dips#&* and should have put more than $30 in the tank yesterday. We were stranded. Two hours later the Ford had been towed to the nearest fishing access and both boats were safely parked back at the lodge.   The following morning found us back at the truck with a 5 gallon gas can pouring precious fluid back into the fuel hungry beast. We were back in business!

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This would be our final morning and we figured a quick hammer sesh through the top 3 miles would be just right. A few hundred oar strokes and Travis was into another nice brown. The cameras did their thing and in a flash the brownie was back in the river.

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It wasn’t long and again we had hit the end of the road. The launch was in sight and the trip was complete. The boats hit the trailers, and we grabbed our stuff and hit the road.

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As we drove home we relived the past four days. All the ingredients of a great fishing trip had left everyone feeling satisfied. We are excited to share the film with you here tomorrow! Be looking for it to go live  tomorrow August 12th on the Smith Optics website and if you haven’t checked out their other films from the “Life Beyond Walls” Series you should do so! We also had the pleasure of testing out the new “Guide’s Choice” sunglasses which will be available soon.

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These things are absolute beasts on the water and will definitely make the best days better. Look for them at your local fly shop this fall. Also a big thanks goes out to Steve Galletta and the crew at the Bighorn Angler. Their expertise is unmatched and the lodging they provide for anglers is superb. Check them out next time you hit the Bighorn.

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And last but not least, a special thanks to the awesome crew at Adipose Boatworks. They have a rental boat there at the Bighorn Angler if you want to give one a spin on your next trip.

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-Zack

 

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SUMMER HAZE – Film Release

Summer Haze, Fly, Fishing, Montana, Wild, cutthroat, trout, simms

We are excited to release our latest fly fishing film, just in time to get stoked for summer dry flies. When creating SUMMER HAZE we wanted to capture explosive dry fly takes and overall get people pumped about summer dry fly fishing. The 4wt glass rod got a serious workout throughout the filming process. Hopefully this film gets you motivated to get out and explore some new water this summer and remember in the end, its always good day when you can get your feet wet.

 

-Travis

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BUCKNASTY BROWNS // Film Release

The time has come, Bucknasty Browns is now live and online.  After touring this spring with The F3T, we are proud to share our film with everyone.  Enjoy!

Thanks to support from:  Simms Fishing | Smith Optics | YETI Coolers | Scientific Anglers | Orvis | Grizzly Hackle

 

BUCKNASTY BROWNS hats and tees here>http://montana-wild.com/store/

 

-Zack

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