Trout Biology

December 28, 2019

Don’t panic. This is not about the trout’s digestive system- we could care less about that. This is about trout biology that will make us better fishermen. In fact, this is why you paid attention in Biology class in school, to be a better fisherman. So stick with this for a bit.

Trout have an IQ of 4. That’s it. Which is just about enough to get them through the only 3 tasks they have in their lives. The 3 things trout do are eat, try not to get eaten, and, in their season, make little trout. Because they have an IQ of 4, they can only accomplish 1 task at a time. So if a trout is spawning, it won’t eat, and is very difficult to spook. And if a trout is spooked (fleeing from predators) it is not eating. One thing at a time for our friend the 4 IQ trout.

Calorie Calculator

When you think of a trout, you probably think of a Rainbow Trout, or a Brown Trout (and usually with some size to it, if you are like me!) But what you should be thinking about when pondering trout is a calorie calculator. If a trout expends 6 calories in energy to take in 4 calories of food, it will die. Basic, but absolutely true. When trout are viewed this way, everything a trout does makes sense. (well, most everything- they are fish) Every decision it makes will be based on this fundamental tenet- where it is in the water column, how far from shore, etc. Unless a trout is spooked or spawning, the calorie calculator analogy always applies. So when a trout is feeding, (which is all the time) its actions and behavior can always be explained by the calorie calculator analogy.

Walker Scarbarough with a Madison River Brown Trout in Montana.

Water Temperature

Trout are cold blooded. This means their body temperature matches their surroundings, unlike a mammal, which regulates its own temperature no matter what the external temperature is. Cold water slows down a trout’s metabolism, and a trout requires less food to support itself. As the water warms, a trout’s metabolism speeds up, and it requires more food. So, if you are fly fishing in the summer, a fish may range quite a ways for your offering., Because its metabolism is up, it needs the food, and it is not lethargic. But with colder water comes a more lethargic fish, as their metabolism is slower. So in colder water you need to get your fly right on top of your quarry, because they are not going to range very far to take your fly. So, cold means more accurate fly placement, because even if you have the correct fly, if it is not where the fish will eat it, it’s not doing any good. There are a lot of studies on trout and temperature, but let’s boil it down to this, a chart showing optimal temperatures for each species of trout. If the water temperature gets much above or below those listed, the trout become more difficult to catch.

Here is one other interesting trout/temperature fact. Trout feed best when the water is 62 degrees. And the more rapidly the temperature approaches 62 degrees, the more aggressively the fish will feed. So whether rising or dropping to get there, 62 degrees is the magic number.

Speaking of water temps, we all know when rivers get too warm, the trout are stressed, and if the water temperature gets too warm, the rivers will be closed to fishing to alleviate that stress. The reason the fish stress is lack of oxygen. Nothing lives in boiled water because boiling removes all the oxygen, and no living organism can survive without oxygen. And the warmer water gets, the less oxygen it can hold. So cold water holds more oxygen, and of course that helps the trout. Warm water = less oxygen = more stress. Imagine if you were walking down the street, and all of a sudden you lost ½ your oxygen supply. That would apply stress. And that happens to fish. As they move in the water, they are also looking for water that holds enough oxygen to survive. So, in warm weather and warm water temps, you want to fish in the riffles. Why? Because riffles act as natural aerators for the river. Wherever the water is churned up and bubbly, there is oxygen, and that’s often where fish are when the water is warmer, where they can breathe. Because breathing is a good thing.

Sight

Trout have eyes (Hey, that’s why you are reading this, for information you can’t get elsewhere!), and don’t ever believe someone if they say fish can’t see color. The rods and cones (the parts of the eye that govern light absorption and sight) in their eyes may be different from ours, so we don’t know how they actually perceive color, but they can sure tell color differences. Just float a trico through a Blue Wing Olive hatch and you’ll see. Also, fish can see colors in spectrums humans cannot see, so the UV spectrum is available to fish. So if you are a fly tyer, it doesn’t hurt to add some UV materials to a fly, as the fish can see those wavelengths. And they see well in the dark as well, so keep that in mind as well.

Remember people telling you that “Fish always bite better in the rain.” And you assumed it was just because it was raining, or the fresh water brought additional food into the river, or they simply liked the change in temperature. Well, it turns out, trout like clouds, because they have no eyelids, and little ability to adjust the size of their pupil. Bright sun is just plain uncomfortable to a trout. Also, millions of years has taught trout that they are more easily seen/vulnerable to predators on bright days, and that also a major factor in trout behavior. So in the summer, if a cloudy day rolls around, make sure to go fishing as you will often be rewarded with a lot of action.

Lateral Line

Trout also have a lateral line, which is a series of openings in their skin that identify changes in water pressure. They can use this lateral line to feel disturbances in the water, such as an angler clomping to the water, or feel the vibrations of a large fly in the water, such as a muddler or sculpin. Both those flies are dressed with a bulbous head that pushes a lot of water ahead of them, which the fish can feel and identify as prey. The lateral line is especially good to know about when fishing in off color water- that a fish can “feel” a bulkier fly make its way through the water. And of course trout can “feel” the fly in clear water as well, but given a choice, trout are primarily sight hunters, so in clear water, appeal to the eyes, but in off color water, appeal to the lateral line.

Predator Instincts

Another thing to keep in mind about trout is they are predators, with all that implies. As a predator, you have to work too hard to take prey in its prime, which screws up the calorie calculator. So a predator will always try and focus on the weak, the sick, or the vulnerable.

Nature is not neat or orderly, and things don’t always work out as planned. Some eggs don’t hatch. Most nymphs do not grow to maturity. And many mature nymphs do not complete their metamorphosis and become adults. When nymphs rise to the surface to become an adult, they encounter the meniscus (surface film), which they must break through. Breaking through the meniscus by a nymph has been compared to digging through 3 feet of dirt for us. Many insects do not succeed in breaking through, and thus failing to become a cripple. Once through the meniscus, an insect can be unsuccessful in inflating its wings, or be blown over by a sudden breeze, and again, go from a healthy, functioning adult to a cripple. And trout like cripples, because they can’t escape. And they like emergers, because they are vulnerable in their attempt to go through the meniscus.

When trout are actively feeding, they are searching for a place in the water where they can find an abundance of food, and be safe from predators. Unfortunately for the trout, these places in the water, where food and safety are together, are rare. So fish have to make choices, to move into more unsafe places to take in nourishment. Fish must follow the food. Food is not always found in the safe, sheltered places in the river, so the trout must come to the food. So when fish are feeding, they are often extremely skittish, more so than when they are in their zones of safety.

Fly fishing guide Chase Harrison and a happy guest fishing the Missoula area.

Prime Lies

Back to 4 IQ- the fish must feed, but often to do so, they must leave their comfort zones, so as soon as they feel unsafe, they flee. The places where food and safety are found together are called “prime lies”, and they are places where the bigger fish are found. The primer the lie, the bigger the fish. There are places in the river where big fish always are. These places consistently hold fish, because they combine the two things fish always need, food and safety. Certain lies are capable of holding 9 inch fish, other lies are capable of holding 15 inch fish. In these lies there will always be fish of this size, because that is all the lie can support. Year after year, these places hold fish of a certain size. That is called the holding capacity. Holding capacity can apply to an entire river (how many fish can a river hold) or to a specific lie in the river (how much food goes by to support a single fish).

Doing The Locomotion

The trout’s fins are used for every motion they make. The tail, or caudal fin, is the main means of propulsion, while the dorsal and anal fins are mostly used for balance. But it is the lower front fins, or Pectorals, that are so interesting. These are the fins that allow a trout to go up or down. And in a moving water situation, the main way a trout feeds is tilt their pectoral fins, and allow the current to push it in a path that intersects with the food. So when a trout rises, it angles its pectorals and pushed backwards by the current to the food, and then flicks its tail to return to the feeding spot. The only energy the trout expends is the tail flick to return. The rest is done by the current. However, remember that when you see a rise form, it is below where the trout is holding, so you must cast above the rise so the fish can see your fly. The adipose fin, that identifier of all things Salmonidae, what separates the trout and salmon from the “lesser species”, well, it’s just like an appendix- totally useless. Oh well.

The Thalweg

Simply put, the thalweg is the place where the river is moving fastest. In a river that was a perfect U, the thalweg would be found at the surface in the center of the U. We all intrinsically know this from our wading experiences in a river, the current is fastest in the middle, and slower at the sides.

But let’s look a little deeper. Unlike a lake, where fish must cruise to find relatively stationary food, in rivers trout maintain a position and allow the insects (food) to come to them. So water in a river works as a conveyor belt, delivering food to the trout. For easy math, let’s say there is one insect every linear foot on the river. If the river moves at 10 feet per second, the fish gets to look at 10 pieces of food per second. If the river moves at 1 inch per second, then the fish sees one insect every 12 seconds.

BUT. (And isn’t there always a but!)

It takes a huge expenditure of energy for a fish, to maintain its place in water moving 10 feet per second. Even if it was possible for a fish to eat all 10 insects going over each second, would it still be enough caloric intake to offset the energy used to maintain its position in the current? Conversely, it is very easy to stay put in the water moving 1 inch per second. However, is 1 bug every 12 seconds enough to sustain and grow the trout, even though there is so little energy expended to maintain that position.

Which brings us to what we call Fish Math, for lack of a better term. As a fisherman, you are searching for the point(s) in the river where the current is moving at just the right speed to bring enough food to the fish, but not so fast that the fish has to expend too much energy to stay there.

And keep in mind that this is exactly what the fish is doing all day long as well, searching for these perfect intersections of food and current speed. It is conventional wisdom that “rivers don’t fish well when they are rising’, but that they do fish well when falling. We think the thalweg helps explain this. As the water rises, the fish are forced to move from one comfortable spot to the next, trying to locate these current speed/food intersections. And as the fish has to constantly adjust to the new currents, they are moving a lot, and a constantly moving fish is not a feeding fish. But as the water drops, it often drops more slowly, allowing the fish to find a spot to stay and feed. This is why we go to the USGS web site and follow the river flows so carefully, trying to monitor the fluctuations of the river.

But just knowing the flow does not help, you need to know how much the flow has changed in a certain time period. An angler, describing a river they just visited, tells you it was flowing at 17,000cfs. (cfs is Cubic Feet per Second) That tells you nothing useful. The useful info comes when the angler says, “and it’s average flow is normally 3,000 cfs” Now you know he was there during run-off. Or he says the river was at 700 cfs today. Again, no real info. But if he adds that the previous day it was 350cfs, then you know that it poured down rain, the river has doubled in size, is probably off color, and you know the fish are off the feed. So the best way to understand the flows is to check the flow today, know the flow for yesterday, and view the change in flow as a percentage. If the flow is 990 today, and was 900 yesterday, it came up 10%. Which is probably not bad. You need to know the flow and what it was the day (or the past few days) before to glean any real info from river flow data.

But we digress from the thalweg, our jumping off point for this discussion. In our stylized drawing it is very simple to see the thalweg, it is at the center top of the U. But very few sections of a river are a perfect U. There are downed logs, rocks, depressions in the river bottom, undercut banks and a myriad of other current deflectors that change the position of the thalweg. Which is the start of reading the water. Learning how all these different streambed deflectors affect the flow and speed of the water at the surface throughout the water column is the first step to reading the water. If you want to see the underwater currents, follow Lee Wulff’s advice in his book Trout On A Fly, where he recommends attaching a 12″ piece of fl. pink ribbon to the end of your rod tip. Dip the rod tip into the water and watch the reaction of the ribbon. If it swings straight downstream- fast current. But stick the ribbon behind a rock or in a bottom depression, and watch the ribbon flutter and drop. Places where the ribbon flutters and drops will be places where the fish live, and places where the ribbon streams out are places where the trout are not. The ribbon allows you to create a visual picture of stream currents, and so go on to recognize these spots in any river or stream.

Reading The Water

The thalweg is the first step to reading the water. Reading the water is a term that describes looking at the water and identifying the places where a trout should live. Lee Wulff allows you to visualize the currents, but it is not always feasible to walk out and dip your yarn in the water. So you try to look at the water and “see’ the current. To do this, use a few different keys. One of the most important is the streams of bubbles on the surface. The streams of bubbles allow us to see the “seams”, places where 2 (or more) currents come together. Where currents come together, food sources come together, creating a larger food source. Remember that seams, while we are using the bubbles to identify them on the surface, will usually run as deep as the water, combining food sources both on the surface, and below. Seams are good, so learn to identify them.

Another important key is the color of the water. The darker the water, the deeper the water. Basic, but it needs to be said. As our fish biology taught us, fish usually need 2 things, access to food and safety from predators. Depth equals safety to a fish, So deep water will hold fish. But, shallow water is where photosynthesis takes place. A we all know, photosynthesis is the foundation of the food chain. So a lot of food is found in shallow water, and fish need food. But, food and safety are not always found together, so a fish needs to find just the right spot in the river- not too fast, not too slow, not too deep, not too shallow. Like we said, fish math. But when you learn to identify these spots on a consistent basis, you will begin to catch fish on a consistent basis.

Reading water is a skill best learned on the water, not from a blog. Tough words for an author to write, but true. There are many ways to read water but a different way of reading the water from Joan Wulff’s book Fly Casting. As a casting instructor, she stressed casting profanely. Provided one has good casting skills, she provides this method for fish location. Mentally break down a section of river into a grid. Cast your fly into each section of your mental grid, and see where you hook fish. Then look carefully at the places where you have located fish, and take in its features (water color indicating depth, bubbles indicating current seams, etc.) Then move along the river and try and locate different places with the same features where you hooked fish. This can be tedious, and you will fish some water that has no fish in it, but if you are having trouble reading the water, this method provides as close to a sure fire way of locating fish that I know of.

Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Missoula Fall Fly Fishing

October 2, 2019

As the fly fishing season transitions to fall and leaves turn from green to blazing, your approach to fly fishing needs to turn as well. Conditions are about to change around Missoula, and you’ll need to be aware. In mid-August, during the intense summer heat, the best fishing is early morning and then again in the evening. During the heat of the day, between noon and 7:00 pm, little action is seen. Hot temps and high sky drive trout deep to find shelter. Not the best time to fish. When the weather is hot, fishing is better near the edges of the day, and the hotter it gets, the closer to dawn and dusk you need to fish.

But the weather is changing during October and Novemeber, and so are the trout’s habits. Missoula is about to get colder and cloudy, and trout love that.

Trout want exactly what we want from the weather, a comfortable temperature. Not freezing, and not scorching hot. As fall approaches the Clark Fork River valley, those comfortable temps are moving from the edges of the day to the middle of the day. Those cool air temps and colder nights also lower the water temperatures. Trout are finding their comfort level in the middle of the day, instead of the edges of the day. As an angler, you should be as well!

Streamer fishing for Trout and Pike can be great in October and November.

Trout location also changes with water temperature. Warm water holds less oxygen, and high heat requires trout to find highly oxygenated water. As fall arrives, water temps fall and starts to hold more O2. Additionally, trout are cold blooded. Their metabolism slows as water temps fall. These two variables combine to change the trout’s holding lies. Trout use less energy, need less energy and now have highly oxygenated water. Cold weather moves trout to slower moving, softer water. Combine slow metabolism and high O2 content, and trout can and will move into water they shun in high summer. In short, late season fly fishing can be summed up this way, you’re going to find fish feeding in the middle of the day in softer, slower water.

Dropping water temps make fall streamer fishing some of the best of the year. The Brown Trout are moving upriver to spawn, and colder water temperatures let trout know they need to grab as many calories as they can get. A streamer in the morning, before the hatches start, can be a deadly tactic. Make sure to size your streamer to your fly line weight. Traditionally, fall streamers have some yellow or orange in them, though Brown Trout will move for a white streamer at almost any time. Depending on river choice, a sink tip may or may not be in order. The Blackfoot River and Clark Fork River always have sink tip water, while the parts of the Bitterroot River and Rock Creek may not be perfect for sink tip streamer fishing. In all the local Missoula rivers, big fish are moving for streamers! (Click here for 13 tips for fishing streamers)

In Missoula Montana, fall means a lot of other things to its residents. There are two distinct seasons that arrive with the cool weather, hunting season and Griz season. The University of Montana fields a very competitive football team, and Washington Grizzly stadium holds 26,000 rabid fans every Saturday when the Griz are home. From the angler’s standpoint, you know where 26,000 of your closest friends will be from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Not a bad time to go fishing!

A wide angle shot of the Griz football team taking on an opponent inside Washington Grizzly.

Other residents live here for the hunting. Antelope, deer, elk, Bear, Turkey, Pheasants and Waterfowl are all calling to the sportsmen of Montana. With such a limited season in the woods, most angling hunters put down their rods to pick up bows and rifles, and they head to the mountains. For those who angle, that means another large segment of friends are off the rivers as well. The crowds we’ve experienced throughout the summer are clearing out for football and hunting. Just like the grasshopper population is knocked down by fall’s cold weather, the fishermen population is knocked way down by fall’s cold weather activities. The rivers open up in the fall.

There are other issues that come up in fall fishing. As this is being written, there is a cold front coming in, bringing some winter weather. Water and cold weather are not a good combo. Hypothermia is a real concern, whether from falling in or just extended wading. We all know the fastest way to chill beer is put it in an ice bath. When you’re wading, especially as the water temps cool, you’re just like that beer, walking in a cold water bath. That drains energy and heat. Late season fishing means you need to plan ahead a bit. Have a spare change of clothes in the rig. Doesn’t need to be a tuxedo, just dry! Extra food and some water doesn’t hurt either. Maybe a thermos of hot coffee or soup. You get the point. Fall in August, and your friends laugh. Fall in on a 40 degree day, and it’s a bit more serious.

Missoula fly fishing guides and fisherman look forward to the amazing hatches and streamer fishing that the Fall has to offer. The seasons are turning, and long winter is just around the corner. But before the cold gets here to stay, the cool weather will make the fishing something wondrous to behold. Streamers move the big fish, hatches Like BWO, Mahogany and October Caddis bring the anglers out for one last hurrah. To many in town, fall fishing is the pinnacle of the entire year.

Flies and Fly Tying

Blue Winged Olive – Montana

September 9, 2019

For many anglers, the truest sign of Fall is the emergence of the Blue Wing Olives (BWO). Arriving after the first fall rains, the cold, cloudy days bring BWO’s out in big numbers. They continue hatching through October, and sometimes later. BWO’s hatch from late morning through mid- afternoon, bringing trout to the surface to gorge. With such a long hatch window, how do you time the emergence on the rivers? You look for the heat of the day. As the days get shorter and colder, the hatch begins to move from morning to afternoon.

The Clark Fork River and Bitterroot River have phenomenal BWO hatches, and these insects can be found along the length of those rivers. Rock Creek will get good BWO hatches, but you’ll need to find the slower, quieter water where fish are feeding. The BWO is not an important hatch on the Blackfoot River. As Missoula’s highest elevation and most northern river, the Blackfoot isn’t known for it’s fall hatches. It IS known for its fall streamer fishing!

The BWO’s in Western Montana vary in size from 16 to 22. Why such a large size range? Because the “BWO” hatch is not a single species, but a complex mixture of multiple species. While the species, mostly baetis, are taxonomically different, they’re all basically the same size and color. Which means the same fly will be the correct imitation for any species that is hatching.

When many people think of late-season fishing, they think of a lovely day under the autumn sun, enjoying the crisp fall weather. For the BWO’s, change your thinking! Some of the best Blue Wing Olive fishing comes on the worst days of the season. 45 degrees, cold rain mixed with a little snow, maybe some wind, and the BWO’s will come off in droves. The fish respond to the cloud cover, and the fishing can be epic. If any hatch defines the value of cloud cover, it’s the Blue Wing Olives.

With so many different species in the rivers, it’s tough to find a place where some species of BWO nymph isn’t present. Most of the Baetis nymphs are very strong swimmers, capable of moving in 3-6 inch bursts. With this type of swimming strength, baetis nymphs are very active on the bottom, and very much a part of the trout’s diet. Frank Sawyer’s Pheasant tail nymph was designed to imitate the BWO’s found in his native British waters, and the pheasant tail works wonders in Missoula as well. Even better, Once in a while a moving pheasant tail can be effective. A slight jigging action on a slowly swung pheasant tail ban be a strong tactic in the fall.

The BWO can be a blanket hatch, and with all blanket hatches, you have fish focusing on various stages of the insects emergence. The Missoulian Angle Fly Shop carries flies for all stages of the BWO emergence, including the Last Chance Cripple, Hi-Vis Spinner, Silhouette Dun and the TiltWing Dun. With the largest fly selection in town, we’ll have the hot BWO pattern. When buying flies, make sure you vary the size and shape of your purchase. Make sure to have cripples, spinners, emergers and duns to make sure you have the needed stage on the water. Nothing worse than watching fish rise without the right fly!

Tungsten Jig Pheasant Tail. One of Missoula’s most popular fly patterns from March-Novemeber.

The BWO will also emerge in the Spring. Once again, the species are completely different, but the same flies will work. This also explains why a small Pheasant Tail nymph always works in our area. With two separate life cycles, there will always be a size 16-18 little brown mayfly nymph swimming in 3-6 inch bursts. While the BWO might define fall for many anglers, it’s just as effective in the spring. Still loves the cold, still loves the clouds. The only difference is now it’s Spring!

Additional Blue Winged Olive Resources

Blue Winged Olive Overview – Fall

7 Tips For Fly Fishing The Blue Winged Olive Hatch

Blue Winged Olive Overview- Spring

Flies and Fly Tying

The Euro Nymph Game

August 27, 2019

Trout eat constantly. If they’re not surface feeding, they’re sub-surface feeding. It’s a well-known fact that nymphs live in the rocks. It’s a more well-known fact that rocks live on the river bottom! So if you want to get your fly to where the fish are, you need to get your nymph on the bottom. Which is why Euro Nymphing is so effective.

Euro nymphing has been around for 100’s of years. Historic records have anglers fishing deep flies on tight lines in central Europe in the 1600’s. Fast forward to the 60’s, and you find anglers across the United States high stick nymphing, which is also Euro Nymphing. And of course, the competitive anglers across the world have dominated the river portion of the World Fly Fishing Championships with Euro nymphing techniques.

Euro nymphing traditionally uses a long rod (10-11.5 ft.), a FIPS (Fédération Internationale de Peche Sportive Mouche) Euro Nymphing line and a long, monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. The variations from that are endless, but that is the basic setup. The long rod allows for better line control on the water, while the line and leader are chosen for their ability to sink rapidly. You can definitely use a Euro nymph set-up on your 9 ft rod, however the shorter rod will not give you the coverage a longer rod provides, nor will you get the length of drift. But tightliners have been nymphing with 9 ft rods for years with great success.

Perdigon Fly Pattern is one of our most effective Euro Nymphs we carry. Also a very popular dropper off of a dry fly.

The flies are also different than many of the traditional nymphs used in Missoula. The Euro nymphs, like the Perdigon, are designed to sink rapidly. Many feature Tungsten beads on jig style hooks. The jig style hook rides point up, so they hang up less on the bottom of the river. The Missoulian Angler has the largest jig nymph selection in Missoula, and it’s expanding on a yearly basis. These nymphs sink rapidly, snag less and take trout.

The Euro nymph fisherman is running a relatively a relatively short line (10-25 ft) with 1-2 flies and maybe some weight, depending on depth. The FIPS line is quite thin, and not utilized as a classic fly casting line. The cast is accomplished using the weight of the flies and the flexibility of the long rod to cast the nymphs. The design of the Euro nymphs takes them to the bottom quickly, and the long rod allows the angler to control their depth and speed with incredible precision. The graphite rod translates every bump and tick back to the angler’s hand. As the flies ride close to the bottom, where the fish are, the tight line instantaneously allows the angler to set the hook upon take.

Working at such a close distance, euro nymphing is more suited to faster moving water. You can definitely Euro nymph in slower water, but your wading game had better be in top form! Euro nymphing does not work well from a boat. You need to have a bit more control over your flies depth than is achievable from a boat. Additionally, it often takes a couple of passes through a viable lie before the proper depth and speed is achieved, which is quite difficult from a boat.

Euro nymphing is all about getting the fly where the fish live, allowing the fish to expend minimum energy to feed. There is no method of fishing that is more effective. The relative water currents are slowest at the bottom of a river. The nymphs in the rocks are at the bottom of the river. The fish get a maximum return for a minimum effort when feeding, so they spend the majority of their time hugging the bottom. When you get your fly where the fish are feeding, you take more fish. Simple as that. So if you’re all about catching a lot of fish, call and ask the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop about Euro nymphing opportunities in Missoula. Once you get the technique figured out, your catch rate will jump exponentially.

Happy fly fishing!

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Flies and Fly Tying

Missoula Fly Tying Classes in Missoula

August 19, 2019

We don’t care what YouTube says, or how many Instagram post are put up, nothing beats a fly tying class to rapidly learn how to tie flies to fit all of your fly fishing needs. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not down on electronic fly tying instruction, because there’s so much to be learned on the internet. Many of the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop staff haunt the internet, finding out about new flies and new materials. How else do you think we have the best fly selection and fly tying material selection? Because we pay attention to the new and the
old.

But when it comes to teaching fly tying classes, George, Ron and Taylor approach teaching a little differently than a youtube video. Videos often highlight new materials and cool fly patterns. At the Missoulian Angler, we highlight techniques and material handling. There’s a big difference. Our classes are designed to improve a tyer’s skill set in handling materials, not in multiplying their number of patterns. Sure, we’re going to teach useful and innovative flies, but the focus is going to be on how to use the materials easily and efficiently, not the pattern.

Our employees have over 110 years of fly tying experience combined, and over 60 years of professional fly tying and fly tying instruction experience. We tie flies for destinations around the world. Again, the patterns aren’t important. But the skill set attained in tying destination flies translates into a mastery of materials that few others have. It allows us to provide exceptional advice, and the ability to solve pretty much every fly tying issue that arises.

That has tangible benefits for our students. Not only do we have the knowledge base to solve most problems, but it extends beyond that. When you go home and practice (notice the phraseology, not if but when!) there will often be a bit of a struggle. Bring your flies into the shop. We can look at your fly and tell you where the issues are occurring. Just a look at your fly will tell us that the reason your hackle is so sparse is you’re placing your dry fly wing at the 60% point, not the 75% point. Your hackle is being asked to cover too much linear space on the hook, and it looks wrong. Some might think the problem lies in the hackle, but it’s not. The problem lies in the wing placement, and we’re experts at identifying the root of the problem. It’s something the computer age has not yet been able to replicate, the instantaneous solving of your fly tying annoyances!

Boxes loaded with Christmas Island flies tied over the winter for our hosted trip.

We’re not going to lie. We’re more than a little obsessed with fly tying. Taylor roams the internet looking for new, different and innovative patterns.. George is ancient and crabby, and makes sure the shop is stocked with old school tying materials. We pay close attention to our customers, and stock what they’re asking for. We like to think we have the best material selection in Missoula, and a lot of our customers back us up on that claim. Our classes are a great mix of old school and new. We’re completely old school in our teaching concepts and material handling. But we’ve definitely stepped into the 90’s with a camera/TV setup. This allows the student to really see, up close, what’s going on while the instructor ties, as well as making the process smoother and easier. If it helps our students, we’re all for technology.

We run classes in late fall, early winter, and spring. We’re always running beginner and intermediate classes. Our specialty classes vary from year to year. Price for a class is $100, with all materials included. You will need to have your own tools, though the shop has loaner tools for the days you just don’t feel like tearing down your tying station! Call 406-728-7766 or email [email protected] to get the latest schedule.

Flies and Fly Tying

Missoula Tricos – Sunny Side Up

August 13, 2019

The trico is a purely American phenomenon. You can tell by the name. When the British named their mayflies, they used terms like Little Marryat and Greenwell’s Glory. We just shorten the latin name, Tricorythides! The trico has also been known by other names, like the Little White Curse. At size 18-20, it’s a small fly. We all take trico flies for granted, but John Geirach once wrote the greatest advance in fly fishing in his lifetime was not in lines or rods, but tiny hooks to mimic the small insects trout eat.

CDC Hi-Vis Trico Spinner is one of Missoula Fly Fishing Guides favorite flies for the Trico hatch.

Tricos begin hatching in early to mid-August, and last through September, depending on the weather around Missoula Montana. Tricos are a bridge between the excellent post run-off fly fishing and classic fall fly fishing. Tricos are an anomaly in the mayfly world. They are one of the few mayflies that react positively to the sun. The brighter the day, the better tricos hatch. Also, the spinners fall at the same time as the adults emerge. An exciting aspect of the hatch is the trico clouds that appear over the water. The mating insects and the spinners ball up above the water, flying in a figure 8 pattern. It starts about 10 feet above the river surface, and slowly descends. Be ready, because when the trico ball hits the water, the fish are feeding! Female tricos, with their white abdomen are easily distinguishable from the all black males. The multitude of choices for the trico can make fly choice a bit difficult. Adult, emerger or spinner, male or female. When everything is dropping on the water, it can be a tricky riddle to unravel.

But not as tricky as the Pale Morning Dun hatch. While there are a lot of insect stages on the water, the tricos are so small, and food sources so scarce at this time of year, the trout seem to be less picky. We have found that a male spinner is effective most of the time, and is our go to fly. Yes, you will find fish that will refuse it, and having a few different flies is always useful, but for the most part a size 18 and 20 spinner gets the job done.

Tricos are crawler nymphs, and are found in the riffles. This is where to start looking for the trico clouds, over the riffles. But trout rarely feed on tricos in riffles. Not enough caloric intake for the energy expended to feed in the faster water. So the best trico water is a riffle that opens up into a pool. The trout set up in the pools and feed on the tricos coming out of the riffle. This also explains why the spinner is more effective in pools. The adults are drying their wings, then leaving the surface, while the spinners are floating downstream in the last throes of life. The spinner is simply on the water longer.

In Missoula, the Clark Fork River and Bitterroot River boast excellent trico water for fly fisherman. Those rivers are a little lower gradient and have more areas of slower water. While the tricos will appear on the Blackfoot River and Rock Creek, high gradients mean the areas where fish feed on tricos are limited. Once you’ve located fish eating tricos, on any Missoula river, you’re going to find them there as long as the tricos hatch. Tricos are very consistent, and the trout count on that daily meal. They emerge at the same time, in the same way, and the trout are almost trained to be there to eat. It’s one of the most appealing factors about the tricos to anglers and fly fishing guides, their consistency.

After working at the Missoulian Angler for almost 30 years, Ron Beck has invented some of the most effective flies we have seen. His Peacock Trico Spinner is one of our all time favorites. One of the many flies he teaches in his advanced Fly Tying Classes in the Winter months.

With the small size of the fly, it’s also a time for small tippets. Tricos demand 5 or 6X, so they float correctly on the water. A soft tippet material is preferable for this hatch. Our favorite is the Trouthunter tippet. Quite soft, and it also comes in half sizes, to provide exact matching with a bit of extra strength. The least effective tippet for tricos is Maxima. It’s such a stiff mono that it often impedes the flies natural float. It can be done, but there are other products that make it easier.

The favorite trico in our fly shop is the Peacock Trico. Invented by Ron beck at the Missoulian Angler Fly Shop, a serious trico fisherman, it has been honed to perfection by hours and hours of on water testing. The Missoulian Angler Fly Shop also carries Hi-Vis tricos that are a little easier to see on the water. We also have the largest fly selection in town, so you know we’re going to have a trico pattern that will fill your needs and take fish.
With its consistent nature and scarcity of hatches, the tricos are an important summer occurrence for fly fishing around Missoula, and provides excellent fishing during some of the hottest days of the year.