Not every day on the water is a highlight reel. This was one of the other ones — and those are worth telling too.
For our last day, Jake and I floated the Clark Fork downstream from Missoula. It was raining when we put in, already cold — upper 40s, maybe low 50s — and the rain was settling in. What we didn't know was that it wasn't going to let up. Not for a minute. It poured the entire day.
It poured from put-in to takeout.
The fishing was tough from the jump. The fish weren't looking up — who could blame them — so it was a nymphing grind, and even then they came slow. Maybe a fish an hour. We'd pick one up, float a while, pick up another. By the end of the day we'd landed something like six fish total. On a normal Clark Fork day that's a slow hour; on this one, it was the whole day.
We did get one that made it worth it — a genuinely beautiful rainbow trout. There's a good photo of that fish, and it's the kind of catch that reminds you the tough days still hand you something if you keep your fly in the water.
Bringing one to the net in the rain.
The rainbow that made the day worth it.
And we kept it in the water. Anyone who's fished with me knows we'll grind through just about any conditions, but this one tested us. It was raining so hard we couldn't even pull over for lunch — we just manned up, stayed on the oars and the rod, and fished straight through until we came off the river around three. Coming off early isn't something we do. This day earned it.
Then it had one more trick. When you float a river, you hire a shuttle driver to move your truck and trailer down to the takeout so it's waiting when you get there. Ours wasn't there on time. So picture it: soaked to the bone, freezing, finally off the water — and now standing around waiting on a ride that hasn't shown. It worked out and we got warmed up eventually, but that stretch at the takeout was about as cold as I've been.
Pro tip, hard-earned: good rain gear in Montana isn't optional, especially in the spring. I carry a high-quality packable Patagonia rain jacket on nearly every trip, rain or shine, because out here you never know when the sky's going to open up. And here's what people underestimate — being in the 30s and dry is a whole lot warmer than the upper 40s and soaked all day. Cold you can manage. Cold and wet is what gets you. Stay dry out there.
Everything soaked through — this is why the rain gear matters.
The fish still bite in this stuff. It's just hard on everybody — the guide, the angler, and the fish. But you take the rough days with the good ones, and three days in Montana with a buddy on the oars is three good days, rain or shine.
Thanks to Jake — Missoula Fly Guy — for three days I won't forget, and to Drew Baker for the camera work on Day Two.
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