More Sedges, less Moon

Last week as we entered Mid-Summer, 27 stalwart FFB Members and guests, descended on Georgetown Lake like a giant Sedge hatch, for their annual camp-out. They found the Trout large, and in-charge, and reluctant to bite until the fading Sun dropped over the mountains.. The later it got, the better the bite, as the Travelling Sedge insects turned on the Trout like a massive shot of caffeine. I for one, started rooting for the poor critters, as I watched the determined bugs rise to the surface, dry their wings, and then start skittering towards shore, only to disappear in a violent, splashy swirl....dinner for a Trout. Some of them MUST make it I guess, or they'd be extinct by now..

At Rainbow Bay , a packed campground shared the beach with 3 huge Bull Moose, who strolled through without a concern. They would splash in the water, and feed on the shrubs while gawkers fell over themselves, and off their paddleboards, to get as close as the Moose let them. As far as the fishing was concerned, the nearly-full Moon each night, meant that the fish were looking up, and feeding on these bugs all night long, ,and during the day, they sat on the bottom..........stuffed. Of course, the hard-bitten Trout Veterans that we were, we were able to find the occasional hungry one, that missed the "nocturnal buffet"

The ones brought to the net looked like stuffed footballs....almost as wide as they were long. One that I caught and had to keep, was full of 500 eggs......in July???... Even a few Brook Trout went for some flies....Estelle caught a nice one. It was fitting,... as she celebrated the Anniversary of her locking herself out of her Jeep last year.........by doing it again........this year.....

The warm, sunny Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Friday, gave way to a "backhand" by Mother Nature on Saturday and Sunday morning. We were driven off the lake on Saturday evening by Thunderstorm cells....NATURALLY during a HOT Sedge hatch. Whitecaps in a 12-foot boat are no fun.

On Friday night, the "Pot Luck" extravaganza of epicurean delights, was again, over the top. Christina spent over an hour cooking Korean Pancakes to a continuing group of people that looked like a Depression-era soup line...

As usual...salads, appetizers, desserts....too much wonderful food.......everyone cooked their own protein on the two big grills. I saw burgers, steaks, ribs, brats and an assortment of other meats. I think I saw some Spam on there too... All this while being serenaded by Conway Twitty, Elvis, Gene Pitney, and the Big Bopper ( my Oldies CD's)..On Saturday evening, Doreen's 130-gallon showers finally got the better of the Romans' fresh water tanks, and were leaving the cats dehydrated, but Phil pulled a pretty neat "McGyver"-like setup of hoses and funnels to re-supply them...all during a midnight-monsoon...

No slips, trips, falls, or serious injuries..pretty good for that many old people....except for Phil's trimmed toenail that took a piece of toe with it.......

All in all...another memorable trip to one of the best fishing lakes in Western Montana!!!

Even if you only go over for the day...you should experience the Sedge Hatch before it ends...

So now........it's "ON TO HEBGEN!!"

PS from Maui Boy

As far as the contest goes, there were only 5 that responded to join. Two didn't make it in time so the results are: and the following didn't come close to the GTL Grand Slam!

Ed was the winner at 19" for the Streamer category. He tried so many flies, I don't know what he caught it on. All I have is the picture and his word. LOL!

Estelle the winner with a 16" Brook on a Surface fly and Gary won the Nymph (now labeled as the Rabbit Hole, down deep with an 'indicator') category with a 19" on a callibaetis nymph.