West Fork

Max and I decided Sunday would be a great day to float once again as a double header following up on yesterday's lower Bitterroot float. After a quick confirmation call on the evening of the 4th, Nick decided that he would gladly fill the extra seat in the Odyssey (a great self-bailer that has seen many a stream in the States and Canada). For today's float, we chose the West Fork the Bitterroot, a long time favorite fishery of mine. This water holds large cutthroats.

Max had already been snooping around in the drainage earlier in the week - Thursday to be exact and alluded yesterday to the fact that the big flies were already up to Painted Rocks Reservoir. I had never floated the upper stretch (a bit more hazardous when running high and fast) of the West Fork, having usually floated from Piquett down to the highway 93 bridge.

The upper water is very accessible from the bank. I was pretty certain there were going to be numerous opportunities for foul ups with debris and hazardous snags, but that wound up not being too big of a problem. There was still plenty of water and it was running clear. Thursday Max had taken his pontoon down and scouted out things which had me feeling a bit more comfortable as well. The only log (jam) across the full works was at the Rombo campground.

We floated from just below the Reservoir to the Ranger Station. It was a beautiful day and the salmon flies and goldens were abundant on the upper part of this tailwater. There were two other rafts putting in at the same upper spot. One plate was from California and another Utah. Other than these two boats, we had the works to ourselves. This worked out well, as we simply stopped in a couple of spots I like. For instance, the below log Max is casting into. One year in this spot after a bit of business in the area, I snuck over to this hole late in the day and fished during a salmonfly hatch. The fish that day were cutthroats and rainbows, dark and beautiful, rising in a frenzy to hatching salmonflies. An electrical storm came though during that day and I almost could not pry myself out of the water. Today in the same spot however I missed a couple of small ones and Max caught a few smaller fish on a copper nymph. There were not as many big bugs in this section today and I had the feeling we were about a week off (too late). Also, the fish had probably seen a few presentations recently.

While I was rowing, Nick cast into some really nice deep braided water along the main road and hooked a three to four pound fish which two times bound out of the water. It was hilarious watching his eyes as they bulged and the size of the grin on his face. The fish was so alive. Max struggled for the net while I tried to keep us out of the rocks. First the fish went under the raft (it was a fast section) and then after jumping, it found its way under a large boulder and broke off. From exaltation to dejection. Times like this are why I like rowing. The ability to take it all in. We cheered him up and said that was an amazing fish! After the float, Nick informed me that it was probably the largest cutthroat he has had on his fly rod and he had hoped I had my camera ready. It rose to one of Max's (a native Bitterrooter) hand tied salmon flies. Max ties very "buggy" patterns!

Honestly, the cutthroats here remind me of the cutthroats on Fernie's Elk. The only thing I would say is that I like this better as it's near home, without a border crossing and there are a lot less folks around. Nez Perce was flowing clear and brought the water level of the West Fork up nicely. This drainage makes its way along the back side of Trapper Peak (part of seen below and the top shot of Trapper taken along HWY 93). Trapper is a favorite back country skier destination. The West Fork had a major fire recently which is now quickly filling in with lush greenery. There are big horn sheep in this area though we did not see the herd today. One can drive through the Magruder Corridor and drop into the Selway when the conditions warrant. Today was a great float and we were content.