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| The right is Ten Lakes Wilderness with Independence Peak 7100 feet above sea level, the center is the tops of the Canadian Rockies, and the left is Marias 5500 feet above sea level |
This vacation has been in the planning stages for a hair over a year. A lot of people have been involved making so many decisions for this trip. I thank you all for assisting me in making a lot of my decisions. I left the northerly part of the state to drive down to Jacks house on Thursday 15th. I would be loaded for bear on this trip. We would have everything covered from PFD’s, flies, spare paddles, and side arms!
We loaded the rental truck and went to sleep to wake up at
0330 to hit the road at 0415.
We headed west through Indianapolis, Indiana and then onto
Peoria, Illinois. We entered Iowa (the
state that would never end) at Davenport. Then we turned the truck to towards
Loveland, Iowa. I have seen corn fields before, but this was a little much! Lol
Onward to Sioux City and then to Sioux Falls to pick up I-90. On this leg of the trip, we were still
feeling like a million bucks. Jack had made this trip a few times by himself!
He’s a trooper what can I say!
We still pressed on to Belle Fourche to pick up 212. This is
where our driving iron will start to wane.
I saw the B&J Convenience Store and we both were in
desperate need of some sleep or at least a nap! If my memory serves me right,
we had been driving for 20 hours at this point. We were joked out and story
telling out. There was nothing that was going to save us from the delirious
state we were in. To make this all worse it w
So, fun fact this rental truck gear selector was a dial! It
was not on the column, and I would fight it the entire trip. We had found a
place to get some res
I was so delirious that I thought the gear selection was on the column. Jack saw this as we rolled sllloowwly forward. I looked at him and said I am so F$$%%^&! tired. I pressed the brake, and he rotated the selector dial to park. We tried to sleep and could not. I really don’t know why we switched drivers and we pressed on. It was about thirty minutes later, and Jack found a farm field entrance at like 0000 and Jack backed in. With it still raining we got about a 30-minute nap.
Jack and I used to work together and entered confined spaces
together to do our work. So, we had many many stories to laugh about and shake
our heads. This gave he and I hours of laughs and motivation to keep going.
We took 212 to I-90 into the Helena area. We made a small
stop to say hello to a few people.
We then pressed onto the Eureka area. We arrived in the
Eureka area with a total driving time of 36 hours. Kudos to Jack he is a strong driver and with
my mediocre driving strength we did it safely and without incident.
Let me talk about the fly selection for this trip. I tied
Chubby Chernobyl Hoppers in size 8’s and 6’s. They all looked great, but
looking at what others were throwing it would have been better with 10’s and
12’s. The hopper hook I used was the
good ole tried and true TMC 9395.
The soft hackles I tied up ranged in sizes 10’s and 12’s on
TMC 5212’s. All the soft hackles were tied with a tungsten bead of 1/8”.
We were not due pull into Eureka until Sunday. This means Sunday would be our first fishing day. We stayed at Jack’s brothers house, and he was an amazing host! We went to bed with our bellies full and passed the bleep out.
Sunday 18th September
This day would be an extra fishing day because we where not
supposed to be in Eureka until Sunday night! We headed to the dam to see if we
could hook up with a few fish. The lake that is behind the dam is Lake
Koocanusa. For more information on the lake look here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Koocanusa
The Libby Dam on the Kootenai River (The Koot) is a tailwater and the waters
are deep and fast. You can see the flow information as well as temperature of
the river here. https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=MSO&gage=KBDM8&view=1,0,1,0,0,0,1,0
https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?lid=KBDM8
I made 0.50 oz through 1 oz slinkies for this. With our
eggbeaters we headed to the river. The canyon
the river is in is beautiful. We were greeted by Ospreys, Eagles, and Doll
Sheep. The bait we used was gulp minnows
with a #4 hook and bottom bounced them.
We used braided line as out main line 30# test 8# diameter.
Then we went to a snap swivel and then the mono leader to the hook. I used 12#
test floro on Jacks rig and 12# on my rig.
Jack would within minutes land the first small Redband Rainbow Trout.
These guys are fighters no matter their size.
Jack would land 4 of these feisty little fellers at the dam. I decided
to use a 0.75 oz slinky, and I hooked Jack up with a 0.50 oz slinky. I wanted to
see who would hook up more and since Jack has never fished like this, I did not
want to over burden him with the heavy lead.
I showed Jack how to watch his rod tip and follow the
bounces and learn how to tell a bite from a rock. I know its not an exact
science, but he learned some things that day.
I would hook one massive fish and then I understood why the
local use all braid and zero mono on their bottom bouncing rigs. If you hook a
fish that’s over let’s, say 12-15# he or she is most likely going to break you
off. I then changed to 15# Seaguar and
them 18#. I would break off all my large fish. I did see Shamu with my slinky
in his mouth jumping and highly irritated as he broke me off. The fish left me
stunned, but I did manage to hook and land a nice 5# to 6# Redband.
This style of fishing while can be highly rewarding its not
my favorite so after a few hours we called it a day and went to see the sights.
We did not go to the swinging bridge, but we did see the
upper part of the falls. For more information see attached link. https://www.libbymt.com/areaattractions/kootenaifalls.htm
This area is amazing and while a photo is great it still does
not do it justice. We enjoyed our trek out and back, but did not like seeing
the snaggers!
Monday 19th September
I arranged for a guided day on the Flathead River below Flathead
Lake. I could of picked any other river, and with its trout numbers barely
about 500 trout per mile I was not jumping for joy, but the scenery was amazing.
I booked the trip through True Water Fly shop and the information can be found
at https://truewatermt.com.
When booking a guide, you never know what you’re going to
get ever! I was happy and ecstatic to realize our guide “Rod” was a salty guide
veteran and has a great personality.
We met at the shop loaded into his truck and towed the drift
boat to the put in. While I was the one
who wanted to do this guide trip I did this mainly for my friend in appreciation
for allowing me to have the opportunity to go on this trip. I was going to be just soaking all of it in
and enjoying the day. I would land one tiny Wetslope Cutthroat Trout (Cutties),
but Jack would be the hero of the day. He hooked up from the back of the boat
to the front of the boat. His Cutties would range in size from 14”-17”. The
fish where solid and taken on nymphs.
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| Thunderhead over the mountain |
Tuesday 20th September
We would travel to Kintla Lake, Glacier NP and well we had
every intention to canoe the lake! Side note, If you plan to see this Lake during
prime time of the season, get there yesterday because although the parking
areas are small and tight the views along with hikers, hand boaters, and
sightseers are as thick as molasses. Then
mother nature said nope not today you’re not. The winds where 5-12 knots and
the lake were sporting 2–4-foot rollers with white caps. I found this so
defeating I must admit. I brought my 250-grain full sinking line and my six weights.
We would not be able to throw these, so we had to put our tails between our
legs and use 0.50 oz spoons and eggbeaters. All the fish were hanging down from the drop
offs in the lake. It was a shame we could not canoe it and use our fly rods,
but sometimes its just not meant to be.
With our light eggbeaters we would attempt to cast into the
headwind! We did land a few fish. I landed my first Cuttie and a splake! They
where both released to fight another day. This area is as virgin as its gets the park
was founded in 1910 and is as wild as it gets!
On our way to Kintla Lake we passed through the town of
Polebridge. Here are some websites that explain
the town well.
https://glaciermt.com/community/polebridge
https://quirkytravelguy.com/polebridge-montana-town-without-electricity/
https://myitchytravelfeet.com/polebridge-montana/
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Kintla Lake Looking North from Shore    |
Wednesday 21st September
We decided to go fish the Koot and this was mainly also
because of all the drought conditions everywhere else in the state and not to
forget the water temps where still high in most rivers.
We concentrated on all the boulder fields we could find. I would
swing flies with my custom rainshadow blank. The grain weight window for this
rod is 250-375 grains. I used my 350 skagit short with a 10’ clear sinking poly
leader followed by 4# test - 4 feet Seaguar mono to my fly.
I would work the boulder fields attempting to swing around
the boulders and into the feeding lies. I was rewarded with two cutties and one
fish that broke me off at the surface. Meanwhile Jack would hook up though out
the day. The flows on the Koot were approximately 8500 cf/s and wadable near shore. The water temps here at 61 degrees not ideal
but better than most in the area. The
emerald color of the water was so mesmerizing.
Thursday 22nd September
This would be our trip into the interior of Glacier NP. We would
travel the very very foggy Road to the Sun Road. This park and Acadia have been on my bucket
list my whole life. Now I will have been to both. You need to be really dedicated
when seeing either park, but Glacier takes a different level of dedication. We entered at West Glacier and began our
journey. Our first stop was Lake
McDonald she was surrounded by fog and stunning views. The lake was gin clear and
the inclement weather kept some people away from the park this day. I knew it
would be very peoplie. We pressed on and
took several photos along the way. I also used Google Earth Pro (GEP) to find
location where I wanted to make sure I took photos based upon the road view in
GEP. We arrived at the Logan Pass Visitor centers grand parking lot. Its was not full like normal due to the
inclement weather. Remember this park
and its views at the vistas are at the mercy of mother nature. I took plenty of photos to further show you
my point I am trying to make. We
finished the amazingly stressful but beautiful foggy drive down the Road to the
Sun “oddly there was no sun!”. lol
We continued onto Two Medicine Lake. I wanted to take more
photos. I wanted to take photos of Painted Teppe Peak and Sinopah Mountain.
The lack of people really was nice. We did not go back to the Road to the Sun because of the fog and it had not lifted all day. We decided on the route 2 route to go back to Eureka.
Friday 23rd September
This day we would be floating the Kootenai and swimming in
her on the same day! Well, here goes the good, the bad, and could have been really
ugly!
We started at the dam well about 1000 yard downstream at the
first put in. This float would be 7.75 river
miles long. A float longer than 8 miles is in my book to long to fish all day
and try and get to your take out before sundown. There are major concerns in
trying to navigate any body of water at night. I also learned about these fish
in this river that they hang out in no mans land. I mean to me their was no reason for all of
these fish to be hanging out in 2 – 5 FOW (Feet of Water) with no cover except
for their own camouflage and light broken water above. I took my switch rod and
if perpendicular was 0 degrees I would cast 30 degrees downstream. This would
create a belly down stream and send my wet and soft hackles ripping downstream.
I would fish the hang down for about two minutes. This is where my fish would
come from. My range of casting would be 15
feet to 30 feet swing through these positions and take 3 to 4 paces down stream
and repeat.
We fished every bubble line, eddy, slick, and other
traditional holding lies.
We paddled down river and would repeat this until well
mother nature got tired of us tempting fate.
Here comes the ugly part we where 3.28 miles from out take
out. The trip was over half way done.
No matter what sport of outdoor activity you participate in
you must be prepared for accidents as much as you can. I have spent countless
years taking safety classes from water safety, fire safety, hazardous chemicals,
field medical situations, and heat related conditions. I have also had
countless hours of water survival technique classes. Then there is the
acceptable risk factor. I also need to add another factor my partner and I have
entered several confined spaces together and trust each other with our lives.
I knew going into this that the lake canoe did not have high
walls and that was a concern. I bought outriggers that would give us extra
balance and buoyancy. As, you can see in the photos what I am talking about.
All our gear was lashed into the canoe except my coffee cup.
We had an extra oar in the canoe lashed to the canoe. My 24”x27”x14” dry box
was lashed into the canoe and secured. These two items saved us from losing the
canoe. All of our rods and other gear was not lost. All of the gear was tied in
by rope or lashed in with heavy Velcro straps.
My details of what lead to our titanic moment on the
Kootenai River. The river was 57 degrees on this day. I ran upon a submerged
rock and could not push off fast enough and the current pinned the canoe to the
rock. We would get lose but not fast enough. The stern go swamped and filled up
with water. As you can see in the photos.
We had on out PFD’s, wading belts and wore no cotton. This
only allowed the water to get in up to our knees. In our fight or flight moment
we choose to fight for each other, and my partner did not abandon me, and I did
not abandon him. We were about 17 feet from river left, but it felt like a
mile. We kicked out legs as hard until we drifted closer to the river bottom.
My partner reached bottom and then I touched bottom.
Even though the water was that cold and due to what we wore
along with the air temp of 60 ish hypothermia was not an issue yet. The risk of
hypothermia waned as we emptied the canoe of water and cargo before pressing
on.
We had three miles to go according to my Garmin. With a
combination of portaging and canoeing we made it safely to our takeout. I have
several take aways from this trip for sure!
Be safe on the water and be prepared is not my only take
aways and there are many more!
We are laughing now, but only because all that we did
preparing for what if worked out in our favor along with a lot of luck.
Yes, I know this was not the best choice for river fishing
in Montana on a river I am not familiar with! Next time I go to Montana to fish
I will have river pontoon that is rated for rivers like this.
This is where the incident happened 48°22'2.04"N
115°21'20.54"W
Saturday 24th September
So, from Fridays swim qualifier we took the day off from
fishing “shocker I know”. I lost my coffee cup during the dip in the river. I
set out on a mission to replace it and drive all the way back to Polebridge to
take photos and to get more stickers from the mercantile. I stopped at several pull offs along the way
to take photographs.
Always pay attention to your surroundings and here is an example of why. I was taking a photo of the Northfork of the Flathead River valley. I did not hear an animal scream as it was taken down, but I could hear an audible gurgling sound emitting from several yards away. This was a bear, wolf, or large cat that had taken down another smaller animal and was crushing its larynx with its mouth. I quickly got in my truck and headed out. I would imagine others would have hung out to see what it was. Not this kid no thanks I was outie!
Sunday 25th September
On this day we would leave the Eureka area and head southeasterly of Helena. We would be staying with Jacks daughter and son-in-law. These folks like Jacks brother where amazing hosts and are good folks. I did get a lot of doggy time which is important cause I miss my doggos a lot. We arrived 6 hours later and went to bed to get up and venture to the Gallatin River on Monday.
Monday 26th September
The river was running approximately at 325 cf/s @ a little over 50 degrees. This was a very
green to clear river. I would not swing up some trout, but Jack and his
daughter got to spend some quality time on the river together fishing.
I used the same techniques, but this was smaller water. The
targets where smaller and the swings shorter. It would have been better to use
a single hander and swing flies. I wanted to use my switch rod as much as I could
in Montana.
Jacks’ daughter took us to the Big Mo headwaters, and we fished that for a short bit. It was nice to see and me being a survey technician it is all about the history.
Tuesday 27th September
Calamity Day
Wednesday 28th September
We awoke at 0500 and had a yummilicious breakfast cooked by
Jacks daughter. We said our goodbyes and deadheaded for Devil’s Tower. We were they’re for maybe 30 minutes and then
turned the truck easterly! Thirty-two hours later we would be home. The weather was 15-20 degrees higher during
the day versus the last three years of recorded history. The night lows where
in the normal range.
I want to thank all of Jacks family for opening their homes
to me and making me feel at home. I want to say I appreciate you folks greatly.
Thank you for putting your lives on standby
for me your generosity will never be forgotten and some day I will repay it
back two-fold.
Thank you for reading and hanging in through all my grammatical
errors!
Be well,
Sonder
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