Day One: Bighorn River with Dave...Just what I was hoping

Jon and I finished our first day on the Bighorn and it was a good one.  But first, let me catch you up on our travels.

On Saturday I picked Jon up from his apartment about 7:30 and we headed south to the airport, stopping for dinner at Chipotles for dee-lish-us burritos.  Next stop was REI where we both bought wide brimmed hats that would prove to be highly valuable in the relentless western sun.  From there we drove on toward our hotel (near the airport).  Since our flight was so early (6:15AM) we had decided to spend the night close to the airport and chose the Courtyard Atlanta- just 2 miles from the airport.  As we entered the lobby and heard the loud music blaring we were filled with dread...and rightfully so.  The hotel was full of revelers and Jon and I had a miserable night's sleep...kids shouting in the halls, doors slamming and loud voices all night long.  I HATE hotels.

At 4:00 AM we rolled out of bed and headed towards the airport where our check in proceeded flawlessly.  In fact the entire trip to Billings was on time and uneventful...just the way we like it.  We picked up our rental car from Hertz and pointed it towards Ft. Smith.  Two hours late we pulled into town.  I think the drive  was an eye opener for Jon- the south eastern landscape of Montana is unlike anything he's ever seen...big open plains, massive wheat operations, big skies.  The weather was sunny and hot..something pushing 90F.

The Big Horn Trout shop has been mostly rebuilt since I was here a few years ago due to a tragic fire in which three guests were killed.  The owner Steve Hilbers was waiting for us and quickly had us checked in, licensed and geared up.  Our room is spacious, new, clean and nicely decorated...my only beef is that the internet speed could use a boost.

 Jon and I decided to go right out and try our luck and that was probably a good idea and a bad idea.  It was a bad idea because we got skunked and encountered hoards of other anglers who were drawn to the same area we were in due to the easy access to the river.  It was a good idea because it helped us appreciate what a good day would follow...I really appreciate what these guides know and can do for a client.

On Monday morning we met Dave Dill (that's him two pictures above) who is to be our guide for the next two days.  Dave is a great guy...very upbeat, knowledgeable and a good teacher.  We launched his drift boat at Three Mile, rowed straight across the river, parked the boat and almost immediately Dave had Jon on his first Montana brown trout.  It was a thrilling moment for me to see my son, after all these years, enjoying the pleasure of this beautiful river the way I have for so many years.  The fish were taking a tiny (size18-20) black caddis and caddis emerger pattern.  We spent about an hour and a half working these fish, each of us taking multiple fish...nothing huge but nice healthy browns and an occassional rainbow.

The crowds that we'd seen yesterday seemed to have gone elsewhere...we literally had the river to ourselves...nice.  The weather today would be glorious...warm without being oppressive, clear skies (easier to spot fish) and wind free (most casters nemisis).  It was looking like it would be a great day!!!

 We the picked up anchor and change our tactics to fishing a Hopper pattern with a small Pheasant tail trailing that.  As we floated the remaining nine miles we steadily picked up fish and at one point Jon stuck a really nice fish...turned out to be a 20" rainbow- our best fish of the day.

 Around 4:00PM we took out at Bighorn Access and hauled the boat back up to the Afterbay and began drifting the upper three miles looking for rising fish.  We were able to spot two pods of riser and at each stop we were able to stick several nice fish.  The sun was just about to slide behind the mountains when we started down the road to town...tired, hungry, a bit sun burnt and satisfied with our first day of fishing on the Bighorn.

Back to the room by about 8:00PM  and after a quick shower we dined on cheeseburgers at Polly's Dine just across the street.  As I crawled into bed I was dead tired but filled with satisfaction over how well the trip has gone so far...it's been just was I was hoping.