Lazy Sunday

A brief and more than likely grammatically terrible description of the day.
 
Got up late.  Made some breakfast.  Glanced at Moldy Chum.  Slammed a pint of coffee.  Tied some flies.  Read a few fellow blogger posts.  Took a gander at some fish pics circulating the inter-web. 
 
Went fishing. 
 

 By dumb luck, happened to run into a few friends on the river.  Tied on a streamer.  Made some casts.  Stuck a cut-bow.  Took some pictures.


Laughed a lot.  Watched some birds.  Frozen fingers.  Should have worn another coat.  It isn't 37 degrees today.  They said it was supposed to be 37 degrees today.  Waders leak, I really start to notice.  The dog's definitely having the most fun.   

Livin' the Life.

Switch to nymphs.  Slip on the shelf ice.  Nobody sees me, I'm temporarily safe from humiliation.  Catch a small brown.  My buddy catches a bigger one.  Take more pictures.


The camouflaged wonder with a mighty fine "feesh".  

Release said brown.  Take more pictures.

Sit and shoot the breeze for a while.  Watch some more birds.  Watch some deer.  Make a few more half-hearted casts.  Lose my rig on a tree branch.  Call it a day.  Walk back to the car.  Happy to be alive.  Watch the snow showers roll over the mountains.  Soak in a few minutes of sunshine.    

Watch the sun go down over the Bitterroots.  Go home.  Make Chili.  Eat Chili.  Perfect day. 

The End.

Friday Films - Fly Fishing Film Tour Edition

With the 2013 installment of the widely popular Fly Fishing Film Tour kicking off this week in Colorado I thought it would be appropriate to feature all most of the films being featured in this year's tour.

And they look awesome.

For all you denizens of Western Montana.  The Film Tour will be coming to Zoo Town on February 2nd.  If you caught last year's event, well then you must remember that it was quite the party.  I got my tickets, do you?  F3T screenings often sell out these days so it pays to get your tickets early.

Find out more and take a gander at the schedule at http://flyfilmtour.com/

Hit 'em Again Doc! Trailer from Silver Creek Outfitters on Vimeo.

Blackwater Devil's Gold from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Calico Syndicate from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Hank Patterson's Official F3T Prelude! from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Enough is Enough from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Urban Lines - Fish Where You Are from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

REEL Trailer from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Sunshine, Great Fish and Good Times

I hope this is an indication of what the rest of the year will be like.  

Two Feet of Gold.

Got out for the first time of this new year and was rewarded handsomely.  After a bunch of days with single digit temps, thirty degrees felt downright comfortable.  Apparently the browns were enjoying this shift as well as many of the larger specimens were on the prowl.  For a few hours it felt more like October than January with some nice fish slamming streamers.

Jordan admiring a nice hen.

Over the last couple weeks I have been in contact with fellow angler Jordan through, of all things, Instagram.  I have been admiring his over-sized trout pics immensely.  Jordan apparently thought I was a crazy psychopath decent enough person to fish with so arrangements were made.  It was a blast swapping stories, fish tales, and generally having a good time.  I always enjoy fishing with new folks.  Besides being great company Jordan proved to be more than capable with a fly rod, landing some great fish.

Got Adipose?

I don't have much more to say other than it was sure nice to get out in the sunshine, absorb some vitamin D, and fling some flies for a few hours.  Enjoy the pics.  Hope your 2013's are off to a good start.   

Icy Abstract

Strippin' Streamers in the Sunset

Last Light Brown.

Friday Films - Somewhere Warm Edition

So after a week of below average temps, the river is decidedly looking more like a solid than a liquid.  Now if you happened to see last weeks edition of Friday Films you'll know that I usually don't mind the winter fishing game. 

Though I guess we all have days we'd prefer to be on a beach somewhere.  Especially on a dark January day.  Here's to dreaming.

This week, fly fishing footage from a few decidedly warmer environs.  Christmas Island GT by Ben Marlow, Florida tarpon with Waterline Media, and then a little bit of everything with World Angling. 

Enjoy


Casting At Shadows - Christmas Island Extended Trailer from Ben Marlow on Vimeo.


Riding High: A Season on the Fly from Waterline Media on Vimeo.


Slam by WorldANGLING fly fishing South Florida for Permit, Bonefish, Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish from WorldANGLING on Vimeo.

Streamer and Sticker Giveaway

In honor of the Bum Trout Facebook page getting over 250 "Likes" there happens to be a little contest going on over at said page.

Clicking on the link will deliver you to the Bum Trout Facebook Page where the instructions on how to enter can be found.

What's the prize?  A couple of our brand new stickers and four streamers tied by yours truly.  There are two "Dark Knight" and "Brown Town" buggers up for grabs.

You have one week to enter.  Contest ends on January 23.

Good Luck, and if you haven't done so yet, please take a second to "Like" the Bum Trout Facebook page.

This all could be yours.

  

Snowy Saturday

10 degrees today.  Too cold for me to want to fish.  Took out the camera instead and messed around with some filters.  Fresh snow, sun shine, what could be better?

Friday Films - Winter Pursuits

It's January.  As I write this, snow is lightly falling and the mercury tells me it's about 15 degrees out.  Typical winter day in Montana, and I love it. 

Winter is the season that most folks hang up the waders and patiently wait for spring.  Around here that means Skwala season and dry flies.  For the person that can't go more than a few days without being near moving water. Winter - frozen fingers, shelf ice, and everything else that goes with it is merely an inconvenience.

Winter fishing also has it's own simple joys.  For starters you are usually alone.  It's quiet.  And in Montana, winter has a stark beauty that at times can be truly breathtaking. This weeks edition of Friday Films brings in some footage that hopefully highlight the soul of the winter fishing season.


One in Winter from ryan peterson on Vimeo.


Eastern Idaho Water from Kevin Emery - Life is Fly on Vimeo.


Winter Fly Fishing in Colorado from RA Beattie on Vimeo.

Cheech's Leech Fly Tying Tutorial Video

So here is my first attempt at doing an HD fly tying video.  I figured out afterwards that I should have not had the camera so zoomed in.  Oh well, that's how you learn.  Hope you can at least follow what I am doing.  Next time will be better, promise.

In recent years articulated patterns have become a mainstay in fly shop bins, and fly boxes across the country. The reason is that articulated patterns just plain work. One of the better articulated streamers I've fished in recent months has to be Clark Pierce's deadly Cheech's Leech. This fly has all the ingredients of a big fish catcher. It swims great, has a lot of flash and movement, and presents a realistic bait-fish silhouette when wet.

The beauty of this fly is that it is actually quite simple to tie and doesn't require a lot of exotic materials. This makes it easily possible to tie it in a wide range of colors. The techniques required are nothing new to most tiers, if you can make a dubbing loop, then you can tie this fly.  Happy tying.

 

Materials - Olive Version

• Two #4 2x long streamer hooks such as the Tiemco 5262
• Olive Polar Chenille
• Olive Simi Seal dubbing
• Any .38mm, 15lb. nylon coated stainless steel micro-wire such as Flex-Rite (available at most craft and bead shops).
• Two clear orange or red 6mm plastic beads
• .25 lead or non-lead wire
• 7/32” 1/30oz plated lead eyes
• Olive/green barred Sili Legs
• Olive marabou

The Finished Product

2012 In Review

Thought I would throw together a little recap of the year.

2012 was year one in the life of Bum Trout, and if 2013 turns out to be anything like the previous year, well that would be just fine.  First off I want to thank all who have followed the blog over the past year.   

The idea for Bum Trout all started in April, after meeting the good folks from False Casts and Flat Tires (Stan, Zach and Anthony), Where the Water Leads (Alec), and Oak Fish (Cody) during a chance February encounter at the Craig campground on the Missouri.  Hanging out and fishing with these guys sparked my interest in starting my own fishing blog.  Thanks for the inspiration fellas.  Since then I have had the good fortune of getting to know this unruly bunch of anglers, good people and all around fish catchers.

I will attempt to highlight some of the more memorable trips, moments and fish of 2012.

May - Smith River Trip

The last week of May marked my first trip down the Smith River in central Montana.  During the course of the 5 day float many great fish were caught.  The highlight of the trip however, definitely had to be the breathtaking scenery, great company and ridiculously amazing food!  I can't wait to get back on the Smith again this year.

 

June - Salmonflies

2012 produced one of the biggest salmonfly hatches I have seen since I have lived in Montana.  Even though I never personally had what you could call an "epic" day during this hatch.  Seeing that many big bugs was really something.

Summer - Small Streams

This summer I found some amazing cutthroat water and spent many, many afternoons throwing dries and catching some gorgeous fish.  This is the fishing I love the most and in 2012 I had some darn good small stream days to remember.

All Year - Missouri River

This year I spend a bunch of days on the mighty Mo'.  Days well spent.  Caught some beautiful fish, and met some great folks including Ivan of Yukon Goes Fishing.  The highlight fish was this brown, taken right at dark, skinny water, last cast.

August - Carp

When I wasn't driving a combine during wheat harvest, I was attempting to figure out the carp game.  In 2012 I actually started to experience somewhat consistent success. Well, at least I didn't get skunked on my handful of carp outings.  This was an improvement from my past couple years of fumbling around and spooking fish.

September - Mayfly Craziness

With the false cloud cover provided by the many fires in western Montana, the mayflies responded with consistent, prolonged hatches.  This brought the big fish to the surface on the Bitterroot and Clark Fork Rivers almost daily.  One of the best trico seasons I've seen in a while.  Had a lot of fun taking shots at big, super spooky risers.

Fall - Brown Trout on Streamers 

Fall brought on some very fun days throwing big streamers and sticking a few good fish.  I was fortunate to get to fish a lot more with Alec, and got to know Chris of the blog Vermont Trout Bum.  Looking forward to more trips with these gentlemen.

  
And of course the year ended rather nicely with what might be my biggest browns of the year coming only a couple days ago.  See the post Last Casts.  

All in all, 2012 treated me very well.  Looking forward to 2013.  I want to thank everyone who has taken the time this year to check out the mostly bad photography, poor grammar, and ramblings of mine.  I appreciate all the follows and comments that I have received in this first year.  Looking forward to a great 2013.  Thanks again and happy new year!