![]() We had to scramble to make it happen today, but the morning was good fishing and once we escaped the dirty water the late afternoon was great with plenty of hook-ups and some great big rainbow trout in the net. Dave and Bill had one double on mid-sized bows and then Bill hooked up on another jumbo rainbow trout and after a long fight he had a big 21” male in the boat. Dave had a fish of similar size come unbuttoned just before hitting the net. Just below that he tangled with a big 21” hen. On our second drift Bill stuck a hefty 19’ rainbow trout to get us back in the game. When we arrived we had clean water and hardly another angler in sight. We rowed to the ramp, loaded up and headed up to the dam for the last couple hours. Lev and Hunter picked up a couple in the other boat,īut it was obvious the fishing wasn’t going to improve in the dirty water so I made the call to push off and head upriver to finish the day. After lunch we tried a bunch of different stuff to no avail. When we stopped for lunch I knew the conditions were not ideal, but I still had hope we could find some big fish. We had decent action the rest of the morning until the dirty water from the Dearborn fully mixed into the main river. We picked up a handful of smaller bows before Dave stuck another big 18” rainbow trout. Bill picked up a feisty rainbow trout below that and Dave connected with a thick 19” bow that put up a good fight. Today I had Bill and Dave in my boat and Dave hooked up right away in the first spot to a rainbow trout that came unbuttoned on a jump. We hedged our bets a little and launched at Stickney Creek to have at least a couple miles of clean water to catch a few. I have had great fishing below the Dearborn in dirty water for big browns and so we decided to roll the dice. I knew the safe play would be the upper river, but I also knew it would be crowded. On the way to Craig this morning I noticed the Dearborn was high and off color. I have been fishing with these guys for nearly 20 years and this season they were out on the Mo for Lev’s birthday. Tuesday was the first of 3 days with the Hoffman gang. Jason hooked up immediately at the put in – Big Rainbow Trout Sheila with a healthy big rainbow trout Laura tight to a solid fish – Big Rainbow Trout Sheila holding court on the Mo – Big Rainbow Trout Big Rainbow Trout We look forward to doing it again next year. They love to fish and are a ton of fun to spend time with on the water. The weather was tough again, but it was a great two days with the Bryan crew. ![]() There was a mix of sizes today with some little 10 inchers, most were 15-17” and a few healthy rainbow trouts up to 19”. ![]() The wind was a menace all day long, but we preserved and were rewarded with some great trout in the net. The fish continued to cooperate all the way to the take out. He flies were just dangling downstream of the boat and trout grabbed them and took off. Sheila hooked two in the afternoon when she wasn’t even fishing. That meant some of the big foam back eddies weren’t very good, but we were finding enough fish on the banks to keep things interesting. The breeze kept up all afternoon and we never did get a great bug hatch today. ![]() We tucked out of the wind for lunch at that point. Then the next run had a jumping rainbow trout for Jeff at the top and Sheila tagged a nice male bow in the back eddy. Around the corner the next run produced 3 or 4 for both Sheila and Jeff. We hit the same spot and Sheila connected with a hot rainbow trout right away. It was a good sign when Jason hooked up straight out from the boat ramp while I was launching my skiff. I had Sheila and Jeff today while fellow guide, Scott, had Jason and Laura. We decided on a short stretch from Craig down to take advantage of the least windy stretch of water. Once we drove up to Craig, the wind was still blowing but not nearly as bad. The wind was absolutely howling at Hidden Canyon Lodge in the morning and we questioned even trying to get on the water. Monday was the second day with the Bryan crew. Some awesome groups and solid fishing from start to finish! Big Rainbow Trout Cold and wet to start the week again and finally warming by the end. ![]()
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