Lewis & Clark Odyssey

[TillamookChinook]

I will be floating a canoe down the Wild & Scenic section of the Missouri River in Montana just after Memorial Day. There are a lot of nice fishing opportunities between Portland and Great Falls and I'm hoping some IFishers might direct me to or comment on a few of them.

Our route east will go through Lewiston, Id. and along Hwy 12 by the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers. Then over Lolo Pass and east on Hwy 200 along the Blackfoot River toward Great Falls.

Our float on the Missouri will be six days, finishing up at the head of Ft. Peck Lake.

On the return I think we will head south to I-90 along the Yellowstone River, then west/southwest to Hwy 93 south along the Salmon River gorge, eventually to Silver Creek near Ketchum. Then beat it for home in Portland.

I fished a couple of years ago at Silver Creek. It is gorgeous and the fish were very picky.

Any comments or recommendations about campgrounds, roads, diners, fishing holes, etc. would be appreciated. I'll try to come back with some pics to post.

TC

[J.Slay]

T.C. - How did the trip go? I have made the voyage up the Lolo Pass and to Montana and the Mizzou. Great river, huh? Hope you landed some footabll bows and browns. I fished the Lochsa, and was not dissappointed. Nice cutties, great country up there in Nez Pierce land. I did not hit up a lot of water on the way (Wallowa, Lochsa, Mizzou), but have fished some nice rivers in Montana with my buddies from Whitefish. Clrak Fork and Bitteroot were great floats.Anyway, hope the trip went well, and let's hear your report!

J-SLAY

[TillamookChinook]

Okay, here's the report. I am sad to say I "still have the magic touch". I can put an entire fishery off just by being there. We were worried about cold and wet weather for our week-long float down the Wild and Scenic section of the Missouri. What we got was unseasonably warm weather nearly all week. So warm that it melted the snows in the Rockies and blew out all the streams.

On the way over I fished the upper Missouri at Craig, Montana, just below the series of upper dams. Beautiful water, lots of fishers, not much "luck" for me. But I saw a lot of active feeders at dusk that I could not fool. Definitely worth another trip.

When we put into the wild section of the Missouri I could see the paddle down about 18" into the water. After a week of snowmelt and debris floating down the river the visibility was about 3".

But I did not expect to do serious fishing in the Missouri. What I had planned was fishing some of the great trout streams in Montana and Idaho on the way back to Oregon.

As we headed south from our takeout in Montana we came to the Yellowstone. It was dark brown, roily and high into the brush line, with logs and debris floating past. Same story for nearly every river in the region, including the Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson, Beaverhead, Big Hole, Salmon and Big Wood.

I did try fishing in the middle of the day on the Beaverhead just below Clarks Canyon Dam, near Dillon. The water was clear and there were lots of fishers. No action for me.

We stopped for two days at Silver Creek, south of Ketchum (near Picabo) in Idaho. That is a treat. I caught a few fish, small to medium size. But it is a thrill to be fishing in a clear stream where you know there are fish over 20". I did hook one strong fish that came off before I could see it, so let's just assume that it was at least 24". By next week it may have grown to 30", at least.

Lots of great birds and wildlife all along the trip. The Wild and Scenic Missouri float is very easy, nothing like any rapids.

Tillamook Chinook

[J.Slay]

Few fish certainly doesn't spoil that trip. You hit up some great country! I am jealous.....but I will be over there in Sept.!

[Bill Monroe]

the Imnaha was just opened for spring chinook fishing.