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Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 205
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 08, 2009 - 12:14 pm: | |
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Crane Meadow Lodge, Twin Bridges, MT Fishing Report
for 8/27 through 9/2/2009
I traveled to Crane Meadow Lodge in Twin Bridges, MT on Weds, 8/27 to host a group of friends and clients on our annual trip to the lodge. Nick Reding, Jim Ewoldt and Howard Curtis, all from St. Louis, MO, Dennis Kinley, from NJ and Mike Perez, from Richmond, IN and I all met up in Bozeman on Weds afternoon and made the 1 ˝ hour drive to the lodge. It is a nice change to have cool, crisp mornings in the 40’s and afternoon high’s in the 70’s and low 80’s with only about 25% humidity as opposed to Florida’s hot and humid climate in late summer.
We fished the Madison, Ruby, Jefferson, Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers as well as a couple of spring creeks. One of the best things about Crane Meadow Lodge is the variety. Although this was my 8th trip to the lodge, I still managed to fish parts of the Big Hole, Jefferson and Madison Rivers that I hadn’t fished before. We had more water this year than on previous trips and heat wasn’t as much of a factor. We had access to all rivers, all day long which gave us numerous options. We found the fishing to be good in all rivers except the Ruby, which was cloudy due to water being released from the dam. However, fishing the Ruby above the dam was good.
Although every day can’t be a banner day, we had numerous great days. The best action and biggest fish for me were on the Beaverhead River. Mike Perez and I started at dawn one day and had great action “skating” Crane flies for big browns. Watching them blow up as the fly wakes across the surface is as exciting as a snook blowing up on a popper!
Dennis Kinley and I fished the Big Hole one day and caught some quality fish on dry flies. We also caught 3 grayling. The Big Hole is one of the few rivers in the lower 48 states that has a population of grayling. Dennis and I also waded the Beaverhead and Stone Creek, a spring creek on private water that Crane Meadow Lodge has access to. We caught browns up to 24” on hoppers in both the river and the spring creek-a great day! Dennis and Mike Perez fished the same area another day and caught big fish (up to 25”) again!
Howard Curtis and I floated the “Jeff” one day and caught some quality fish. Howard is a beginning fly angler and he did great on the trip! Jim Ewoldt and I floated the Madison on the last day and caught some quality fish. Jim had the hot rod that day, catching and releasing several big browns and rainbows on a Zonker/nymph combo.
Although there were good days on all of the rivers, the biggest fish came from the Beaverhead or Stone Creek. These areas consistently produce big browns up to 25”. One of the nicest things about fishing and staying at Crane Meadow Lodge is the variety of water to fish. You can do something different every day and the scenery is breath taking! This is an annual hosted fishing trip for me every August or September. For more info on fishing Crane Meadow Lodge, you can contact me or contact the lodge directly at www.cranemeadow.com .
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com |
Capt. Rick Grassett (Snook_finaddict)
New member
Username: Snook_finaddict
Post Number: 148
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 12:53 pm: | |
Capt. Rick Grassett’s Crane Meadow Lodge, Twin Bridges, MT Fishing Report for 8/18 through 8/24/2007
I traveled to Crane Meadow Lodge in Twin Bridges, MT this week for our annual fly fishing trip there. Nick Reding, Bob Harness, Bob Reynolds, Jim Ewoldt and Dick Callaway, all from St. Louis, MO and Bob Maddocks, from NM, all met up with Bill King and me, from Sarasota, in Bozeman on Saturday morning. After gathering our gear and an hour and a half drive to the lodge, we settled in for 5 days of fishing.
Except for one very windy day, the weather was beautiful with temperatures ranging from the high 30’s to the mid 70’s and almost no humidity. After spending several months tarpon fishing in Florida’s heat, it was a welcome relief! We fished the Madison, Beaverhead, Ruby and Big Hole Rivers and a several lakes including a high mountain lake near Dillon packed with cutthroats.
We spent most of our time fishing the Beaverhead and Madison rivers and Stone Creek, a Beaverhead tributary on private water. We found the Ruby to be high and cloudy, although a couple of spring creeks, Mill and Leonard’s, that flow to the Ruby fished fine. The best action was on the Beaverhead and Stone Creek with browns to 24” and numerous fish over 20”. The Madison also fished well with rainbows to 18” caught and released. Nick Reding and I had a good day on the Madison nymphing for rainbows from Valley Garden to Ennis Lake. Nick also had a good day fishing dry flies on the Madison.
Bill King and Bob Reynolds had a good day fishing for brookies with 3 and 4-weight fly rods on the upper Big Hole. Another group had good action with cutthroats while fishing a high mountain lake on Crane Meadow Lodge proprietor Cody Meine’s family ranch near Dillon. Bill King and I had a couple of great days on the Beaverhead and Stone Creek with numerous browns over 20”. I caught my personal best trout this year, a 24” brown that went over 5-pounds while hopper fishing on Stone Creek. On Thursday, Bob Harness and I caught and released 8 browns from 18’ to 23” on hoppers while fishing a different section of Stone Creek. Dick Callaway also caught a 23” brown out of Stone Creek one day.
Watching those big browns “blast” a hopper and then trying to hang on with a 5-weight is exciting. It is very challenging fishing, casting upstream in a narrow creek with tall grass on either side. Once you hook a fish the real fun begins as they take off either upstream or sometimes back at you and between your legs!
If you are looking for a quality western trout fishing experience then you should check out Crane Meadow Lodge. Located in Twin Bridges, close to Ennis and Dillon in southwestern Montana, they fish the Beaverhead, Ruby, Jefferson, Madison and Big Hole rivers, several spring creeks and lakes. The best things about Crane Meadow are the variety and the amount of private water that they fish. They can be reached at (406) 684-5773 or www.cranemeadow.com. I’ll be doing a slide presentation of this trip at the monthly meeting of the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers on Tuesday evening, August 28, at Twin Lakes Park (just east of I-75 at Exit 205, which is Clark Road or Rt. 72). The meeting begins at 7 PM, although there will be fly casting and fly tying before the actual meeting begins.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
(941) 923-7799
E-mail snookfin@aol.com
www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com |
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