Trip to the Lower Mountain Fork.

I made a trip up to the Lower Mountain fork this last weekend. I arrived Friday night and checked in to the Broken Bow Inn and tied flies that night and prepared for some early morning fishing. I had the bug so bad, I got ready and did some night fishing. It was downright cold...so cold in fact my fly line and guides froze. I figured it was time to head back. I got up early and made the short trip to the park. I fished all morning without any luck. Fish were hitting the top and I couldn't figure it out. Well, upon closer examination of the waters I saw what they were eating, I soon found myself in the middle of a Blue Winged Olive hatch. It was very neat to see them. I didn't have any BWO's but I did in the truck and figured it was about time for lunch. I ate lunch, grabbed the flies and headed down to fish. The hatch was still happening but I couldn't present the fly well enough to entice any fish to strike. I finally tied on an Olive Wooly Bugger and finally had a fish. After that it was close to every cast. By the end of the day I ended up with about fifteen 12" Rainbows. I wrapped up at about 5:30 and headed back to tie some more flies. I decided to try the night fishing thing again but didn't have any luck. Supposedly, during the nighttime is when the big ones come out. The next day, I hit the water at 8:00. It was cooler only because the wind had picked up from the previous day. I caught a bunch more fish in the same spot as yesterday. After a while I decided I wanted to try for a Brown trout. They frequent the Spillway Creek area so I headed there to give it a try. I caught several rainbows and then finally caught this little beauty. I went to another spot and caught one Rainbow after another, practically every cast in one small hole. I wrapped up the evening and headed back home. All in all, it was a wonderful and relaxing trip. To date, other than my trip with a guide on the Little Red, it was my most productive trip. All the fish were caught on flies I tied, which makes it very rewarding. This Saturday, the TPWD will stock the lake next to my house with 2450 Rainbows. My daughter and I plan to give them a try. Enjoy the pictures!