Ice Fishing with Davis

So I sent the wife and daughter to Louisiana for a family wedding and I was home having a boys weekend. On Saturday, January 9th, I had an offer from a friend to do some ice fishing. This isn't my normal area of expertise so having a buddy with some extra equipment is pretty handy. When I asked Davis if he wanted to go ice fishing he quickly responded "yes..... and dad.... can I use that 'Cars' fishing pole in the shed?" Davis already has a Shrek fishing pole but the little thinker was quick to find an excuse to need to open that Cars fishing kit that I had stuffed in the rafters of the shed. I guess any good fisherman needs his summer equipment and winter equipment.

So Steed's Pond is my old stomping grounds. Plenty of time was spent here just being a boy. You know ... chasing frogs, swimming, fishing, smashing pennies on the adjacent train tracks and just getting dirty. Good times, but in all the years of living nearby I have never ice fished there.

I was hearing from neighbors and friends that the DWR had dumped a bunch of Rainbow trout and Brook trout into the pond that came from the hatchery they use for the community ponds. Also the rumor was that they were having good success through the ice.

So Davis and I dropped off Garrett with Grandma & Grandpa and we hit the ice with Jack.

For about 2 1/2 hours we fished and while it was a little slow, Davis was a great fishing buddy. He stuck to it and was quite dedicated. After missing a fish he got pretty mad at himself because he really wanted to "see that fish". Convinced of course that it was the "big one". I think Davis caught 4 fish and we all missed a bunch too. Can't wait to try it again soon, guess I need to buy a few ice flies for the next time.

Fly Fishing Net Retrofit

I decided after some research and blog reading that it was time for me to either get a new fishing net with a rubber mesh or somehow retrofit my current net with the rubber mesh.

The problem was finding someone who sold the rubber netting for a price that wasn't sky high. Most of the online sources I checked had just the netting for $50 plus and that just seemed silly considering a new net would be anywhere from $60 - $120 and most of the work in building a net comes from the wood bending and gluing of the frame. I finally heard that a fly shop in Salt Lake had the nets for $25 and I went to check it out. Fish Tech Outfitters is a really nice shop too and while I don't frequent there (45 min from home) I do appreciate a good shop. Sure enough they had the Brodin nets for $25.

Before I really knew what I was doing I cut the old mesh off my net and was fiddling with how to connect the new rubber mesh. One of the websites I had read talked about using the white cord from an old set of blinds. It just so happened that I had a trashed set of blinds out in my shed. I cut the cord out and I was in business. I grabbed my bobbin threader from my tying kit and I was ready.

Being a computer guy I had a bunch of velcro straps that we use for cable management and I used those to hold the net in the approximate location for the stringing. I made one adjustment to the net and cut off the very top ring of mesh to give me a little bit better fit. I started stringing it up using the bobbin threader to pull the cord through the holes in the net. About 1/2 through the bobbin threader busted and while that sucked it forced me to think of something else to use and I found some old monofilament in a tackle box and that worked well enough to finish the stringing.

The net has been out on the river many times since and I have loved it. Not having my hooks get caught up in the nylon mesh is fantastic and being a better net for the fish is a bonus too. If you fly fish or trout fish, you should consider making the move to a rubber net. As a bonus - the clear mesh is supposed to be harder for the fish to see in the water.

Labor Day Weekend - Part 2

So now much later I will add part 2 on our Labor Day Weekend trip to Montana. Part #1 is here.

Day 3 - The plan was to hit the Gallatin near Big Sky, MT in a stretch that Bill and Tom had fished in February or March. I had never been over to Big Sky and the scenery did not disappoint. We started the day meandering the various fly shops in West Yellowstone. The shop folks said there was some dry fly action to be had near the river edges with pine trees. I had never fished the Pine Moth, only read about it. We hit a stretch just past the main part of Big Sky. Wet wading again since the weather was so nice.

The fishing was pretty terrible really. I did see some really small fish rising in the edge water but they were taking dries a lot smaller than a pine moth. We fished pretty hard for a couple of hours with fish to the net. I had one foul hooked fish that popped free after a few seconds. That was it. Good news is that it was a beautiful day to be out fishing. Later at the fly shop in Big Sky we were told that we were probably fishing way too big.

This is why fly fishing is so appealing. It can be forgiving and fast fishing one day and then kick your ass the next. While the later is not my favorite thing, you hope that you learn something that will make you a better fisherman.















Day 4 - Beaverhead and journey home
Our last day had us headed over the mountain to Dillon, MT and storied Beaverhead river. Again this was a river I had never fished, but had heard many friends talk about it.

We put in at what I think is the 2nd boat launch point right under the bridge of I-15. Not knowing where I was going I decided to work upriver towards the dam. Tom went with me and Bill went down river. Since Bill was the only one to ever fish this river I guess we should have followed him but I like the exploring part of a new river.

I'm not sure my heart was in it this day. I was fighting a slight headache but was hoping the fishing would be just the medicine I needed. I saw lots of really good water but no good strikes to talk of. Went from nymphs to swinging some streamers in hopes of stirring some browns but couldn't make anything budge. After a while I was happy to sit in the shade of the bridge and talk to a couple of ladies from the east coast who were in Montana as part of a women fly fishing group.

We headed for home around 6pm and made our 4 hour trip back to the land of jobs and family.

















I had a really nice trip. Any fisherman will tell you that September can be tough fishing but we had a pretty good trip all things considered. I will say that the Ruby and Beaverhead have my attention now and I would really like to float the Beaverhead and see the water.