Downtown Missoula Fall Fly Fishing Action, DIY Style

How cool is it to stay in a hotel that you can walk to incredible trout fishing waters and actually catch fish?  That exactly what you have at The Double Tree by Hilton in downtown Missoula.  This is the ultimate DIY fly fishing hotel in Missoula.  There is a great hole right in front of the hotel on the Clark Fork called “The Hollywood Hole.”  

 

 

I actually choose at the last minute not to bring waders, and after wet wading for a bit to cross a small section of water to fish an incredibly good looking shelf, I absolutely regreted it.  It is possible that the water was so cold that no man or woman could stand it for twenty or thirty seconds.  It’s also equally possible that I am not as tough as I think I am.  It’s difficult to say.  

 

 

I fished this hole with a streamer the first evening with no luck.  The next morning I changed up a bit and fished a dry and dropper with a chubby Chernobyl up top and a perdigon fly down below.  I love these flies, and have fished them in many states.  My first cast by a small seam on the Hollywood hole had a large cutthroat swipe at the chubby up top, clearly a good sign!  

 

 

I started landing small rainbows on the perdigon dropper.  These fish had plenty of power in the fast water, and I enjoyed having a group of fans cheer me on from the bridge above.  Having fans cheer you on is something most of us fly anglers don’t get often as we are secluded from humans while enjoying our sport.  

 

Not the best image, The Chubby Dry fly is here

 

There were not a ton of fish landed, but I’m sure you can all agree that it’s a pretty cool thing to fish new water and land a few fish, with no assistance what so ever.  I’ll be back to this hole in the near future, and next time I’ll have my waders!  until next time, tight lines my friends!