Dog Days of July

With June behind us, along with our good water flows and cooler weather we are now in the heat of the summer. For the next 6 weeks, the best guides will prevail. The work will fall into those outfitters who have built a reputation for having great mid summer fishing or because they just pack the calander and make as much money as they can by selling trips to tourists without explaining water temps, time frames and completely disregard quality trips and our great resources. The past 3 seasons have fallen on drought and our state has yet to come to agreements or change our laws regarding water rights and usage. Once again, we are seeing our rivers drained dry by agriculture and hobby farmers. Right now there is no voice for the anglers. Trout Unlimited and BHA are all quiet on the matter of protecting our water ways and no politicians or representatives are doing anything to help out. I find myself torn on taking more trips with disinigrating water flows and although I need to provide for my family, I am lucky enough to have other outlets of work while I give the trout a break. The past years I have done a good job of selling my mid summer dates and backed it up by packing the net with good numbers and great action throughout the year. As these summers get drier, I have re-thought my game plan for the future and from here on out this will be the tail end of my season and I will focus more on the early months of Montana fishing. With that being said, I am still focused on providing high quaility trips for anglers and in the past three weeks we have still seen that. I have ran plenty of Blackfoot trips recently and have focused mainly on the spruce moth hatch in the mid river area. We saw lots of dry fly action this month, mostly in the sun with some big browns still willing to chase down a skating moth. I have noticed an abundance of bugs still and most of my better days have still been focused around caddis, pmd and mayfly fishing. Some of my better Bitterroot days were spent focusing on the small stoneflys we see in that river along with a grip of drakes to keep my interest in the valley fishing. I have also been branching off towards the upper and lower Clark Fork and have still produced great days there as well but I have noticed a decline in action on the lower Clark specifically due to raising river temps. This later July I tend to pump the brakes and give myself some downtime to save my energy for the last three months of our season. I am optimistic with our weather and pray for clouds and rain to cool down the water. Some of my most epic dry fly days have come in August but for that to happen I need the river to stay cool enough to fish into the afteroon chasing the hopper hatch. Right now the hoppers are early with lots of little hoppers around. In the upcoming weeks we will see the hopper size increase and we should also see our nocturnal stone fly hatch start to peak. Some of my better fish will come on a big water walker or a size 6 more or less. My season is set, my August is still busy enough to keep me fed but also down enough to try and do my part to preserve my fishery. I have always been an August producer and I have plenty of cards up my sleeve to keep clients happy. In these heavy heated summers there are a few steps I take to keep my composure. I like to pick clients up before sunrise, we get on early and off early. I explore different fisheries, I find traveling to lakes and other rivers to chase different species is a great way to mix it up. The most important thing I do is not OVERBOOK, I need to make money but I do not need to damage myself or my fishery for money. Give the fish a BREAK! With that being said, set your alarm for 4am, pinch your barb, cut the dropper off, chase some bass, explore a damsel fly hatch on a lake, drink a beer, do a cannonball, hike the mountains and get ready for elk hunting. The clouds will come, the temps will drop and the fish will be ready to rock soon enough.