Greg Thomas's blog

Ennis Lake fishery could be in peril?

A couple years ago it was Hebgen Dam and last night it was Ennis Dam—according to PPL Montana a bus-sized boulder slammed into the dam, which is located about 10 miles from Ennis, caused a small oil spill and is now lodged on the dam where it created a 30-foot wide crater.Myka Thomas fighting a good one on Ennis Lake in July.

Early predictions say the lake would need to be drawn down nine feet and PPL is trying to figure out how to do that, fast or slow. A lot of that decision probably depends on what they plan to do with Hebgen Reservoir, which rests upstream of Ennis and is typically drawn down in September.

Peter Crow's Go-To Steelhead Dry

Natural inclination these days is to go with a variety of sink-tips to get your metalhead. I did that last year on Idaho's Clearwater River and hooked four fish from one pool and then thought, I wonder if they would have taken a dry? Are you kidding me? Hell yes, they would have eaten a dry.

Dan Curtis' Elk Hair October Caddis

Ok, I'm all fired up because it's late August and there's already fresh snow on the mountains and the weather forecasters are calling for frost. All I can think about are fall hatches and that includes the October caddis. You'll find that bug on lots of Rocky Mountain streams from now into November with a major presence happening in late September and through October.

In my mind, the bastion of the fall caddis is in Idaho's northern panhandle where the St. Joe, Kelly Creek, the Coeur d' Alene and the North Fork Clearwater beckon. Take a pile of Dan Curtis' Elk Hair October Caddis to that region in September and prepare to slay—those wild, native westslope cutthraots crush this pattern.

Notes: The elk-hair caddis was created by Al Troth of Dillon, Mont., but this October variation was created by Dan Curtis of Rathdrum, Idaho, to match caddis that emerge on northern Idaho's wonderful cutthroat and rainbow trout streams during fall.

According to Curtis, the best time to fish this pattern is when adult female caddis return to the river to deposit eggs. Typically, anglers findegg-laing females most abundant in the afternoon and evening.

You can fish the Elk Hair October Caddis in riffled water, but it may be more effective when danced across slick glides and tailouts to simulate the actual insect. Expect violent strikes.

Drink-Thirty. A few bars to peruse.

Recently went through the July issue of Outside Magazine which, you should know, is a killer read. Orcas attacking their trainers, Lance getting ready to pedal again, and a collection of stories on why moving water (yea, rivers) are worth revamping and protecting.
In addition, Outside provided a guide on watering holes. I was especially interested in this matter as I’m exceptionally experienced in this subject, at least through the Pacific Northwest and the West.

Overall, Outside covered 38 prime drinking spots, only six of which I’ve visited. Whoa, are you kidding? So, what did they get right and what did they miss? Here’s my take, for what it’s worth.

HITS

Salty Dawg, Homer, Alaska

Outside got it right. This is a classic drinking establishment and I’m sure the evenings are something to see. I’ve only visited during daylight hours and the first time I did so some dude was staring out the window at me and a couple friends as we exited the rig.The Salty Dog in Homer.

He moved his face closer to the window and stuck his tongue out to touch the glass and then lapped the thing around. I was getting really uncomfortable with his shit-eating grin and that damned tongue when I noticed that a giant fly was walking on the outside of the glass. That’s what he was doing; painting a portrait of insanity by making like he was eating that fly!

We waltzed in and I shook the dude’s hand. We bought him a round and that’s when we decided we’d landed on a true freak. “I can get you anything you want,” he said. “In 15 minutes.”

“I’m cool, dude,” I replied, “I’ve got a job interview in a half-hour.” This was about our third stop on a drive down from Soldotna where we’d closed another bar at 6 a.m.

“Ok, well here’s my card,” he said. And out the door he went.

The Salty Dawg is a tourist trap for sure, but it’s also really cool place to check out if you’re in Homer.

Claim Jumper Saloon, Ennis, Montana

Ah, a hometown drinking hole for me. I live about 75 yards from the Claimjumper’s front door and even when I’m not there I can hear what’s going on while resting in bed, reading on summer evenings with the window open.

I was single when I moved to Ennis and I remember thinking, What are the locals complaining about? There are options galore here. And I still believe that. A summer night, with people driving over from Bozeman to fish, and with tourists headed to Yellowstone, and with a bevy of local character, there’s no downtime. The owners, Brad and Kelly Dilorio, are equally entertaining, Brad being a fun-loving, major presence at the bar. He’s a big, bald dude who you can’t miss and he makes a trip to the Jumper worth your time. He also make you pay if there’s a ruckus. And there often is; one time I was talking up a cutie and all of a sudden some dude landed headfirst on my Doc Martin kicks. I looked to my left and saw Brad with a stranglehold on a dude. True western bar here so keep you smartass in check if you value your teeth.

Slap those rods to the hood

There's  nothing as maddening as having to break down your rods and rest them on the dashboard or behind the front seat or, worse, loose in the back of a pickup with Labrador retrievers, while traveling to the next prime fishing spot.Oh, yea. Here's the answer while fishing the Madison, the Ronde, the Clearwater, the North Umpqua and anywhere else that you jump from one spot to the next.

This is especially a pisser when you are road fishing, meaning jumping from one good run to the other, those runs being separated by no more than a mile or two. I dealt with that issue for too many years before securing Professor Bodkin's Rod Carrier. The magnetic bases attach to the hood of my truck and to the roof. The rods are held in place on the padded mounts and a fixed bungee keeps the rods from "jumping." I'd feel fine cruising down a bumpy forest service road with my spey rod arsenal held in place—and that's about, what? Four-thousand worth of product attached to the hood? You want something sturdy and secure when you're moving around with today's great, but expensive rods. And this rod holder is secure.

Lately, I've been bopping around the Madison with my single-handers secured with the Bodkin rod carrier and you'll soon see a dude with four spey rods attached to the hood, tooling around the Ronde and Clearwater. The only drawback: there's no lock on this thing so you have to keep an eye on your goods. Say you're taking a break at Bogan's while fishing the Ronde, or you need some flies for the Clearwater and you're headed into the Red Shed to talk to Poppy—best keep an eye on your loot.

See more at www.www.profbodkin.com/rodcarriers.html