Frosty Morning

It was 4 below at my house this morning at 6AM.

I'm guessing it was 10 below here at the lodge.

It was 7 below when I took these photos this morning.

I counted 23 elk in this herd this morning. There is at least one young bull in the herd. Can you spot him? I think he is the 5th or 6th head from the left. If I did this correctly, you should be able to click on the pictures and they will pop up much larger.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Rock Creek Rams!

Check out these bad boys!

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep rams on Rock Creek Cattle Company. Photo by Kevin Morley

Talk about Ram Tough!

Rock Creek Cattle Company's own Kevin Morley was out and about last Friday and found our resident herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. He sent these photos to share.

Bighorn ram flanked by ewes at Rock Creek. Photo by Kevin Morley.

Very nice Kevin, and thanks.

According to the Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks webiste, this herd is known as the Garrison Herd. They have a pretty extensive write up and management plan for your reading pleasure if you are so inclined.

Here is the link, http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=39737 with the Garrison Herd part beginning on page 132 of this PDF. There is some interesting stuff in there.

Thanks again, Kevin!

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Hell Freezing Over?

Our low for the month so far has been -24F. I don't know what it takes for hell to freeze over, but I'm betting this is close.

It has been unseasonably cold. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Place yer peepers on this pic of Ice Creek, formerly known as Rock Creek.


OK, so we haven't really changed the name to Ice Creek, though we could and it would fit perfectly. There are a few small pockets of flowing water that have not iced over, but not many.

The damned ice dams actually raise the ice and water level in the creek. Don't know if you can tell by this photo but the ice/water level is definitely out of it's channel.

Same thing is happening to the Clark Fork. Very slushy and much of it is iced over.

The good news is, we are supposed to hit a warming trend next week with temps getting up to near freezing for afternoon highs. Whew, I'm sweating already. Somebody pass the Copper Tone.

By the way, there is an official weather report station thing in Deer Lodge. It is two blocks from my house, on the Clark Fork river. It is at the Circle H Growers greenhouse/nursery place. I was talking to Ed, the owner, and I think he said it automatically updates every 15 minutes. Here's the link to he weather page at Circle H Growers.

Obviously, no fishing is being done in the rivers around here. Even if you could put on enough clothes to stand in a river waving a stick, yer stick would freeze. So would your line. Too many icebergs floating along too.

What about ice fishing, you ask? Sure, probably in the not too distant future. The bad news is what I know about ice fishing you could put in a rocks glass and still have plenty of room for bourbon. The good news is, someone has volunteered to teach me about it.

I'll let you know more about that in a few days. I think the ice needs to get a bit thicker first.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Spawning Browns in Rock Creek

German Brown preparing for the spawn in Rock Creek. Photo by Joel Thompson

Most of the golden leaves have fallen. They seem an offering from the Cottonwoods to the spawning Brown trout, migrating from the Clark Fork to Rock Creek. The decomposing leaves break apart in the creek's currents, as our Browns do their thing to make new lives.

Rock Creek Brown in spawning mode. Photo by Joel Thompson

Joel, Ron and I have seen several pairs of spawning trout throughout the creek. A few of the fish have been impressive. Some are brightly colored, some just big, some big and brightly colored.

16" Brown Trout preparing to spawn in Rock Creek. Photo by Joel Thompson

We have initiated an honorary no-fish regulation for Rock Creek, until the Browns are mostly done spawning. We hope to encourage more fish to make their homes here on Rock Creek. We feel they will find life enjoyable and productive here, just as our members have all season. So, look for new scaly, slimy faces when you wet a line next season, and hold your mouth right, in order to hook one!

In Wild Waters,

Zac Sexton

Home On The Range

I had the privilege of going on horseback ride yesterday with Matt Buckley, our equestrian guru.

Matt has come up with some amazing rides for us this year and it is an absolute pleasure to ride with him. Due to the time constraints, I was only able to go on a 2 hour ride which was a real bummer as it was a perfect day for a ride. That said, my butt is a little saddle sore so maybe it was for the better. We rode up a drainage to the west of the home ranch and before long we started seeing elk.

Elk calf on the range. Photo by Joel

The elk calf in in the picture got separated from the herd and began to follow us. I guess the horses looked close enough to being its mama so the little guy felt comfortable following us. As soon as we crested the top of the bluff, we encountered the rest of the heard below us and the calf took off running for them. It was pretty cool to have him tag along as long as he did.

Horse Wrangler, cowboy poet and all around great guy, Matt Buckley. Photo by Joel

The vistas from on top of the bluff were simply breath taking. That is Matt in the picture and if you look real hard in the valley below, you can see the herd of elk.

I can't say enough good things about Matt. He is professional, kind, enthusiastic, witty, and just fun to be around. He is als a great cowboy poet and if you take a ride with him, I encourage you all to get him to recite some of it for you! Trust me, you will not be disappointed! Matt has taken our equestrian program to the next level and I encourage everyone to book a ride with us in September.

September is a great month on the ranch. The temperatures are mild and the fall colors are just getting started. Plus the elk are starting to get into the rut so you will likely hear them bulge at all times of the day which is a very cool thing if you have never experienced it before.

We have all level of rides for all level of riders and can do rides from an hour long up to.....well as long as you would like to go for! Come and enjoy the ranch from the back of a horse. You will never regret it!

Feeding Your Addiction,

Joel

Rock Creek Fishing Report

The creek has been fishing pretty good in the evenings lately, but it was a little slow today when I was out with Jill Caruso and Matt Donald. They were in from Seattle and wanted to try their hand at fly fishing so after a little lawn casting lesson, we headed for the creek.Matt Donald and Jill Caruso doing a little lawn casting practice.

The creek has risen about 4 inches overnight which has brought temperature down and probably had fish feeding all night on the behavioral drift of nymphs and larvae and probably lots of terrestrial bugs like ants and beetles being washed in from rising water.

I don't know for certain but I think the rise in water is due to less irrigation water being taken out as hay fields are being cut and very little irrigation is going on at the moment.Jill Caruso with a Rock Creek Brown that took an Elk Hair Caddis Dry

We did get a few rises on elk hair caddis, golden stones, chernobyl ants, beetle and even San Juan Worm dropper.

Matt Donald with a Rock Creek Brown that took the San Juan Worm dropper.

Thanks to Jill and Matt for a great morning on the creek. I really enjoyed sharing it with you. Come back soon!

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Creek Fishing Well

Rock Creek has been fishing very well recently!

Cary Patterson with a nice Rock Creek dry fly Brown

The spruce moths are out in force and a good dry fly pattern to use is an elk hair caddis. I'm liking the gray and tan body flies. Size doesn't seem to be really important, within reason. Hoppers are also working pretty danged well. I know Zac has been dropping different nymphs from his dry for his guests and the fish are eating those too.

Paul Hayne and one of Rock Creek's fine dry fly participants!

I fished the Clark Fork with my nephew a couple of evenings ago. Spencer turns 9 years old in a couple of days. This was his first time to fly fish. He landed his first brown trout on a dry fly and to say he is excited about and hooked on fly fishing would be a real understatement. Elk Hair Caddis, PMD's, Parachute Adams, Purple Haze and Rusty Spinners are all working on the Clark Fork at the right time of day.

Mornings and evenings are proving best right now. Middle/heat of the day, not so much unless you have plenty of cloud cover.

We have had several afternoon showers roll through but not enough to muddy the waters. We take a break if there is lightning in the air, otherwise we're fishing!!

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Fishing Report

We've been really busy and that's a great thing for everything except the blog.

On my way out the door to teach some trap shooting however I wanted to update you quickly on the fishing around here.

The Blackfoot and the Missouri have both been fishing well. The Upper Clark Fork that runs through the ranch is hit or miss. Evening hatches can produce good action some days, and leave you less than satisfied on others.

Rock Creek is fishing great. Mornings good, heat of day not so good, evenings can be great. Stoneflies, Spruce Moth imitations, small Parachute Adams working right now but can be hard to see on the fast water.

You need to be quiet on the creek and watch that you don't cast a shadow on the pools as you approach. Fish from down stream and quietly stalk up toward each pool fishing the entire pool form tail out to falls with most of the bigger fish coming right beside the white water in the head of the pools.

Zac and Joel and I all have plenty of pictures but just finding time to process them all and write a post is challenging. More to come....

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Rock Creek Catching Report

Had the pleasure of fishing the creek with Al Stinson recently and the action was good.

Al and I started our adventure down on the Clark Fork and his 2nd or 3rd cast Al was hooked up and in battle. Good size Rocky Mountain Whitefish took the dropper on a dry/dropper rig. I got a photo however it did not turn out well. Reflection glared out the image. We fished there a while longer and decided the action was probably more fast and furious up on Rock Creek so we headed there. We were right/

Al's hopper hit the water and a big brownie inhaled it. Solid 16 on a parachute hopper patter that we carry in the shop. He played the fish perfectly and while he was doing that I was looking for the net. The one that I left up in the Jeep at the trail head. DOH!!

Got the fish up against the bank using a combination of my hands and feet which was, I'm sure, quite comical. Got both hands on the fish and was about to hand it to Al for the picture when it did a quick flip and was gone. I was kicking myself square in the butt for leaving the net in the Jeep. It was a beautiful fish, very healthy and a great fighter. Sorry Al, for not getting that picture for you. Dangit.

We fish on upstream a ways and there were many takes. Just about a fish everyplace one should be. It was a great day of catching.

I'd say we are in the beginnings of hopper season around here. Golden Stoneflies are showing up in greater numbers and a few hoppers are around. When you have the correct flies, with the correct, drag free presentation, the action is very satisfactory.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron
Post Script: If your guide doesn't have a net with him, ask him why not! I can guarantee you he or she didn't mean to leave it behind.

The Ins and Outs of NuCanoes And A Fishing Report

Hope you had a great Independence Day celebration. We had a great time here with a huge BBQ, libations, music and sparklers!!

It finally, really, feels like summer here in these mountains of Montana and that means it was time for us to move the NuCanoes up to the lake. We have a small fleet of them available for rent during your visit.

They are very easy to paddle, virtually unsinkable and so far, I haven't been able to tip one over. I have fallen out of one, but that's nothing new for me. Ain't the first boat I've fallen out of and I don't think it'll be my last!

Joel decided it might be a good idea to put together a little video demonstration of easy paddle boat entry and exit strategy. I was the camera man on this project and no, you don't have to worry about me quitting my day job.

Heeeerrrrrre's Joel!

Thanks JT, good stuff.

Today's Fishing Report: The creek looks great and the dry fly action is picking up a little each day. Bugs in the air include some caddis, golden stones, yellow sally with a few hoppers showing up.

Though a few fish can be tricked in the morning, the best bite is certainly in the afternoon through dusk. Plenty of mosquitoes on the creek so be prepared. Long sleeve shirts and long pants along with a little repellent will go a long way to making your day much more enjoyable.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Creek Browns and Cutties on Dries.

I get excited about dry fly fishing. We've had three good, really warm days in a row and it's got our creek fish looking up.

Al Stinson and I fished some different sections of the creek yesterday and today. Both days we had fish take the dries. We fished dry flies and some dry dropper combos. Fish ate both.

It's not what I would call red hot action, but it's good action.

Al caught Brownies and Cutthroats both.

Good couple of trips.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Quick Fishing Report

Fished the creek for a few minutes this morning. Less than a half hour. Moved one fish with a streamer. Water is still running high and fast although clarity is improving and level has dropped about 2 inches overnight.

We've been having rain the last few days and light snows up on the mountain. Runoff is not over but fishing on the creek should improve steadily unless we have a flash flood and that could set it back a few days. I'm optimistic though.

The Clark Fork is still high and off color. It will be a while.

The fish at Lake Foley are becoming more active with signs of surface activity according to Eric Rieland, our fisheries biologist/stream restoration specialist.

In other news-Eric is finishing up work on the creek. Many more improved holding areas just below the county road and down below 17 green. The fish are moving up from the Clark Fork and we're looking forward to those sections of the creek fishing very well in the next few weeks.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Creek Fishing Report Plus Blackfoot Bow!

Runoff continues on the region's rivers and creeks. Rock Creek here at the lodge is up over a foot this morning after recent warm days and a few rain showers. It's running high and slightly off color but I was able to trick a few browns with a Big Horn Lead Eye Bugger this morning.

Most in the 8 to 12 inch range with one a little over 14. It's tough, fast fishing with very quick drifts and swings into pockets and deep pools getting some of the bite and erratic strips upstream very tight to the bank taking more fish. Like I said, it's tough work type fishing but a person can catch some streamer fish if they are committed to fast and furious and really feeling the take.

In other news, check out the photo Zac snapped of this beauty that Brett caught while fishing one of our rivers the other day.

This beautiful rainbow measured 25 1/2 inches according to Zac's tape measure. It ate a tungsten bead head "Bird Of Prey".

All Smiles

Great live release!

Nice one Brett!

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Shotgun Safety Basics With Rock Creek Ron

I really enjoy the shooting sports. It's a close second, for me anyway, to fly fishing. I enjoy shotgunning, rifles and handguns. Today, we're going to talk about some basic safety procedures when on the trap range at Rock Creek Cattle Company.

Once you arrive at the trap range, your instructor for the day will go over the following basic instructions. It is standard operating procedure whether you are a beginner or a seasoned firearms veteran. Remember, it's not a video game or a cartoon. It's serious and with safety in mind, it is loads of fun.


1.-Always assume any firearm you handle is loaded. Never point it at anything or any one that could be shot if an accidental discharge occurs.

2.- With the firearm in the muzzle up position, find the safety button and make sure the button is in the safe mode. If you see red, it means fire. Push the button to the safe position.

3. With the firearm pointing down range, move to the ready to load position.

4. After loading, move firearm to the up position, meaning the muzzle is pointing straight up.

5. Take your stance-Feet about shoulder width apart with your leading foot pointing down range, back at a right angle and pointing to your right, if you are right handed, to your left if you are left handed.

6. Mount your shotgun-From the up position, push your shotgun skyward, and settle it back into your shoulder. Point the muzzle downrange and slightly above the trap machine. You may now click the safety button into the fire position.

7. When you are ready, call for your target by saying "Pull" loud and clear.

8. Track your target and fire. Immediately after firing, return the muzzle to the upright position and engage the safety again.

Repeat!

Once everyone is familiar with the routine, we can put several people on the firing line at once at the different posts and have a real trap shoot!!

Here is the video we shot a couple of days ago, starring Rock Creek Ron with videography by Joel.



The shooting sports are great fun. Keep safety first and have a blast.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Fly Casting Basics Video

"10 and 2, like a metronome, accelerate to a stop, don't let your wrist break, keep your back cast up, keep your forward cast up!" All things a fly casting instructor might say to a first time fly casting student. All of that stuff can certainly apply and be effective in helping students put a mental image of what's going on during the fly casting process, but it can also lead to information overload. Think instead of this: "Answer the phone, hammer the nail." That's what Rock Creek guide Zac says when he gets folks started fly casting.

Zac has decided he wants to become a Certified Casting Instructor as determined by the Federation of Fly Fishers, also known as the FFF. You can learn more about the FFF if you follow this link to the home page of the Federation of Fly Fishers. They have an entire casting instructor process that includes not only knowing how to cast but also how to effectively teach others how to cast. It is not an easy undertaking but we have great faith that Zac can get'er done!!

Joel decided that it would be good practice for Zac to be our star instructor for a video series on fly casting. Joel grabbed the camera, Zac grabbed a rod and they went to work producing this video.



Great job Zac and I'm thinking Joel could be a movie director in his next life!! Enjoy and if you have any questions or comments, let us know.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Big Water & Big Fish

The "Hog Hole" where Zac caught several fish in the mid-teens.

Big water has brought big Brown trout to lower Rock Creek, though the real story might be the monster resident Westslope cutthroat trout. Ron gave me a mission to see if Rock Creek was fishable and I chose to accept it.

I headed to the lower, meadow section of the creek, thinking the big water flows may have attracted fish from the Clark Fork to move and find respite on the ranch. Though the water is still high, it is only slightly off-color and fishable. The trick is to get down deep.

By drifting a combination of heavy flies, I found big Browns made it to the meadows. I landed several fish, the biggest of which is pictured,was around 15 inches, fat and healthy.

A 15-inch Brown trout caught in the meadow section on Rock Creek. It took Zac's Marathoner pattern from the bottom of a deep hole.

Moving upstream of the Cattlemen's Club, I found resident fish were still feeding actively, again in deep holes. I was getting used to catching 8 to 11-inchers, and rather lax in my hook-setting, when something big hit my fly. I lifted to set the hook, felt a few head-shakes, and saw a monster Cuttie explode to the surface.

It was as deep from back to belly as my hand is wide, and around 20 inches long! I gave the beast some slack as it headed to the raging current, shaking her head furiously. She disappeared, throwing the hook, and leaving my flies tangled in the Spruce tree branches above me.

I can take you to her...

In Wild Waters,

Zac Sexton

The Pond & The Swashbuckler

Several evenings each week, I can be found wading around our small reservoir, erratically stripping Water Boatman flies and grinning ear-to-ear with each hook-up. Many fish have fallen to my Water Boatman pattern that a friend named the Swashbuckler, because of the riotous fly retrieval, and showy strikes from fish. It really is quite exciting.

Pond Brown Trout with Swashbuckler Fly Photo by Zac Sexton

It took a while to figure out the secret of the Water Boatman bug. But since our streams are high and off-color, I have plenty of time to research our pond. Earlier this season I would see a fish rise every now and again. It didn’t matter what the weather was, and it didn’t seem to matter what bugs were hatching. Most the time only midges were visible, and fish usually just sip midges. We couldn’t figure what was causing the fish to explode from the water. But one evening I saw a Brown rush from the depths after a Boatman.

The bug got to shallow water just as the Brown swirled in the surface, missed its target, and shot back to deep water. That was what I needed to clue me in to what they were eating. I started to change my retrieve of the olive-brown generic nymph I was fishing, and immediately got hits, then landed several fish.


That night, I tied a few Boatman prototypes and found one to out-produce the rest. I have since caught all but two fish since early May on the Swashbuckler fly. By fishing a few key places, and using a particular retrieve, I have found it possible to catch several fish every time I fish our small pond. And we are excited to take our members and guests to share the excitement of catching hard-fighting trout in our pond.

Cutthroat Trout photo by Zac Sexton

Update: last night, I noticed some Mayflies emerging, and a few fish chasing ‘em…

In Wild Waters,

Zac

Upper Rock Creek Restoration Video

Joel and Zac went up to check out the creek rehab work on the upper meadows section of Rock Creek. Erik and crew are fixing some of the areas that the flash flood of last July created. It was a mess.

The fishing was already good up there and this will make it even better.

Here is the story as filed by Rock Creek Reporter on the fly, Mr. Joel Thompson! (Nice work, but don't quit your day job buddy, bwahahahaaaa)


Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron

Missouri River - May 5 2009

Fred Schremp and his guests joined us for a fly fishing trip on the mighty Missouri river.




None of Fred's guests had fly fished before, but now they are true Troutaholics!

Everyone in the group caught and landed fish. Great job guys!



The flies of the day were flashy pheasant tails, orange scuds and soft hackle hare's ears.

We look forward to getting out with these guys again and showing them some dry fly action next time.

Feeding Your Addiction,

Joel

Rock Creek Current Conditions

The creek is high and off color right now. High just because of runoff though it has come down in the last week. Off color mostly because Erik is working in the upper meadows, up by the county road, with excavators in the creek. Joel shot some video and hammed it up a bit that I'm going to try to post in here if I can figure it out.

I tried to find some dry fly fish yesterday afternoon but no luck at all. Still too early and cool though we are having some good mayfly hatches and I'm seeing a few caddis. The time is close, but it's not today. It's actually snowing here at the lodge right now. No accumulation but the next week is going to be wet.


Creek temp is 43 F this morning.


Joel and Zac took Fred Schremp and his 3 guests on a float trip yesterday on the Missouri. Good trip for fishing and catching. Details to follow as soon as Joel sends the info.

Sharp Hooks and Tight Lines,

Ron