Part 2: Max From the Trout Highway!

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STOP 5: Rock Creek — THE MEADOWS ON ROCK CREEK, MONTANA

From Madison River Lodge I headed north to the famous fishing town of Ennis. Ennis is always worth a stop, so I grabbed lunch at one of my favorite guide hangouts in Montana, The Gravel Bar. On any given day, at any given time, it is common to overhear guides and anglers sitting in the bar chatting about their fishing day and the one that broke off. From Ennis I drove north, and then east through the smelter town of Anaconda, to the newly built Meadows on Rock Creek. Upon arrival I was welcomed by General Manager, Will Hensley.  Will handed me a beverage, showed me to my cabin, and then took me for a tour of the property. It is an amazing home base for anglers and travel companions for almost any outdoor activity. The first place Will took me was to the “Cowboy Golf Course”.  Will has built 3 tee boxes and 6 holes with extreme elevation changes on the hills and cliffs near the lodge. It is a ton of fun and a great way to unwind after fishing. We talked and hit balls for a while before Will took me to the highest point on the ranch where they refurbished an old cabin and called it “The Lookout”. From here guests can have a fire on a mountain top with an unbeatable view of Rock Creek and the surrounding area. In another career, Will was involved in live music, and he wants to turn The Lookout into a recording studio where musicians can come and record at a unique venue. After seeing the horse barn, the hiking and biking trails, the 3-D archery course, the bow shop, and wedding venue, it was time for dinner followed by an after-dinner fishing session on Rock Creek.  

Rock Creek is a fantastic smaller water fishery with miles of amazing pocket water and deep pools. It is a great river for beginning or advanced anglers. Some of the pools are obvious and very traditional drifts with lots of room to make a cast. Some of the runs are very tight and technical and anglers must make short, accurate casts under bushes and brush with little time in the drift to get set up. It is a fascinating fishery. There was talk of stoneflies coming off any day and hope was high that we would see them. Will and I poked around on the river for a few bends. I worked lazily and landed a few fish, and missed a few fish, until dark when we called it a night. The next morning, I was met by my guide who picked me up in a ranch side-by-side and we set off to fish some of the sections down river. We fished a few runs before we started to see a couple of small fishing rafts bouncing their way down the river. In June Rock Creek is often floatable and is a great way to cover the miles, but it is somewhat advanced level rowing. The river is small, and quick moving, with lots of strainers and rocks to get hung up on. The person on the sticks needs to be somewhat experienced, decisive, and ready for anything around the bend. We caught a few handsome 12 to 14 inch trout then headed back to the lodge to grab lunch and drive over to Flint Creek for the afternoon. Flint Creek is a very small creek that runs through pasture and mostly open prairie. The creek is streaky for fish, but when the conditions are right it is possible to catch 18-inch brown trout in very skinny water.  We fished a few holes and poked around a bit, we did hook and land a few sizeable brown trout, but mostly we were just taking a look because the guide wanted to see the water. From Flint Creek we headed back to the lodge for refreshments and a great 4-course meal. After dinner we parted ways, and I went back to my cabin to rearrange and repack my gear for my next stop. Once back at my cabin, I opened the windows, cracked a beer, and put a record on the provided turntable while I packed my gear on the porch. That evening was magical with the sunset over the hills, the meadowlarks and songbirds singing while I packed up and listened to The Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl. If the room has a million-dollar view, a turntable, and a stack of records, you play Dark Side.

Stop 6: The Bitterroot River — THE BITTERROOT MILE CLUB, MONTANA 

I needed to be in the Bitterroot Valley pretty early the next morning, so I said my goodbyes and left the lodge at 7:00am before breakfast. I was bummed to miss the lodge breakfast, but I was pretty excited to grab a breakfast burrito at Alaina’s Grub on the edge of Phillipsburg. Alaina is a local student who opened a food truck in the summers to serve anglers and tourists in the area. All the food is made to order, but her burritos are huge and perfect for breakfast and lunch on the river. It is a great story about a local kid seeing an opportunity and filling it with hard work and a solid product.

I drove through Missoula and south, up the Bitterroot Valley, to the town of Hamilton and The Bitterroot Mile Club. At the lodge I was welcomed by the owner, Scott Woolfolk, who showed me around the property. The lodge sits on the Bitterroot River with its own private boat launch. Large decks and gathering spaces complement the spacious log lodge complete with its own fly shop upstairs. Scott employs three chefs on staff and takes pride in the culinary program at the lodge. He took me to the kitchen and let me try spruce ice cream made by one of the chefs. If you ever have the opportunity to try homemade spruce ice cream, I highly recommend it. My favorite part was the Glamping Cabins. They are cool, modern, double occupancy cabins set away from the lodge, but one wall of the building is a garage door that can be opened to the river and the deck outside. I could see myself sitting out there after fishing watching the river roll by. Speaking of the river, the Bitterroot River is one of the finest fly fishing rivers in the world. Hands down. It can be streaky, and high, and low, and off color, but when it is in form it is hard to imagine a better river anywhere. I was introduced to TBMC by one of the best outfitters in Montana, Latitudes Outfitting. With the high-end accommodation and meals, an amazing river, and top-class guides, the Bitterroot Mile Club checks all the boxes for a lot of guests.

Stop 7: The Big Blackfoot and the North Fork of the Blackfoot Rivers — NORTH FORK CROSSING LODGE, MONTANA

After my meeting at The Bitterroot Mile Club I had little bit of time to kill so I stopped in Victor to play one of my all-time favorite disc golf courses, Spiritwood, followed by a late lunch in Lolo at Lolo Peak Brewery.  From Missoula I drove northeast past KettleHouse Brewing Company to Ovando and Pro Outfitter’s North Fork Crossing. At the lodge I was met by the lodge manager Iia, head chef Keith Kelly, and assistant lodge manager Katie. Iia gave me a quick tour and then took me to my tent and let me know to come up the lodge for appetizers when I was settled in. North Fork Crossing is my kind of lodge. It is a great blend of glamping wall tents and a full lodge for hanging out and meals. Guests stay in permanent canvas wall tents complete with heaters and fans. Each tent has a private bathroom in a bathhouse building a short walk from the tent. On a hill above one of the bath houses is a great outdoor shower, mostly for the guides, but guests are welcome to use it as well. I am a real sucker for an outdoor shower.   I was the first guest at the lodge for the season and that night after a great dinner, I chatted with Iia, Keith, and Katie about their histories, the upcoming season, and plans for the lodge this year. After a great conversation I headed off to my tent where I immediately knew that I was going to like this place. On the bookshelf near the clock were copies of a local bird guidebook,  A River Runs Through It and Young Men and Fire both by Norman Maclean. The Missoula area, and specifically the Big Blackfoot River, is immortalized, for better or worse, by A River Runs Through It. Here I was, in a tent, thumbing through the book just a few miles from the water that is woven into the pages of the short stories. I read a page or two and then fell asleep with the light on and the book on my chest.  

The next morning, I was met by my guide, Koahl DeShazer, who told me he would get the raft set up and to meet him down by the bridge whenever I was ready. I gathered up my gear and walked 500 yards to the put in on the North Fork to start the day. The North Fork of the Blackfoot typically runs very cold in June and often the fishing is not very productive, especially in the mornings. We loaded up and floated down the beautiful and crystal-clear North Fork to the confluence with the Big Blackfoot. Koahl is a native of Missoula and a junior high school teacher in Columbia Falls by profession, but during the summers he guides full time on the Blackfoot, Smith, Missouri, Flathead, Bitterroot, and Thompson Rivers. While we were floating down, Koahl mentioned that I was lucky there were stoneflies in the air and the river was clear, something that does not often happen. The Blackfoot River is a freestone river in that it is fed by snowmelt and springs and not controlled by dams. Typically, when the stoneflies are hatching the river is high and off color. He asked me if I was okay trying just a dry fly for a while to see if we can get them to come up. I said, “Sure. Absolutely. Let’s not even tie on a dropper today!” Koahl laughed and tied on RIO’s Morrish Fluttering Stone just before we got to the confluence. As soon as we hit the Big Blackfoot everything changed. The river, still clear, was teeming with life.  We saw a few rises and at one point looked down and could see a pod of bull trout shuffling around on the bottom of the river. The bird life exploded. We saw eagles diving for fish, Kingfishers on branches, and songbirds everywhere. 

What proceeded to happen next was one of the greatest days of dry fly fishing of my life. All day long we watched trout eat the fly on the surface. It was amazing. On the banks, in the middle of the river, under trees, through the canyon section and out on to the plains we kept getting eats. Even when it got a little slow around lunch we stuck to not putting on a dropper and working for it and we kept finding fish.  I know I saw the river on a special day, but I fell in love with the river that day. It was incredible and so much fun. We pushed through the lower section of the float, lazily fishing some spots but at that point I was good. I didn’t need to keep fishing. We took the boat out at Russell Gates Campground and Koahl asked me if I had been to Trixi’s in Ovando yet. I said that I had not, and he let me know that no trip to Ovando is complete without a visit to Trixi’s Antler Saloon. Trixi’s is the classic western small-town saloon and restaurant full of cowboys, bikers, hippies, anglers, hikers, fishing guides, bike packers, and local characters. We ordered a “Vitamin R”, cheersed the fish, and played the “Shake a Day”, after which Koahl took me back to lodge for a great dinner with Keith, Iia, and Katie.  

I loved everything about the experience at North Fork Crossing. The accommodation, the food, the people, the outdoor shower, the river and the guiding all added up to a destination that filled my cup.  I know that I had epic fishing, but I would go there even when the fishing is off, and the weather is terrible, just to be in that special region of Montana again.


CLICK HERE for Part 3 of Max From the Trout Highway