A Fish On Is A Fish On!!

Whitefish on the Middle Fork

Most days I chase trout. I chase Cutthroats, Rainbow, Cuttbows and Brook Trout where I live. Today, though, I chased Cutthroats but it was not to be. What I found was a lot of Whitefish.  Mountain Whitefish to be exact. While they are part of the Salmonidae species, they are completely different from trout.  You can sometimes catch them on the surface, but most of the time you catch them deep. Most of the people I know consider them a nuisance.  But they can be fun to catch.  In Montana, they are native species and the typical ones caught in Northwest Montana are 12 to 14 inches. The Cutthroat trout follow them upstream in the fall to eat the eggs they are about to lay during spawning. Which means when you find Whitefish in the fall, their is a good chance to catch a big Cuttie as well. 

Today started off as a beautiful day and I decided to explore a new spot I had scouted online several times before. I had several hours to get out before a soccer game I was refereeing so off I went. I decided to fish the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  I picked a spot along the southern border of Glacier National Park that I had driven by numerous times but had never fished.

I parked along the road and started walking downstream.  I had scouted this piece of water many times and had always thought that this water looked really good. As I walked out to the spot I wanted to fish I noticed some smaller fish rising.  Turns out it was 8 inch cutts and I wanted to see what the deeper holes downstream held. So, on downstream I went leaving the little fish to play around.

One thing I love about the Middle Fork is the scenery. I find I walk a couple steps, then just stop and look.  It probably took me a half hour to walk to the spot I wanted to fish that was probably a half a mile away.

I decided to nymph today because I didn’t see anything rising in the hole I wanted to fish plus it was really deep water.  Big cutties live in deep water. Big cutties live behind big rocks.  And I know the Middle Fork has big cutties and big rocks. Plus, after scouting the water with Google Earth, I know that this stretch has everything I would expect for great fishing.  I was pretty excited to get down deep to see what was there.

So I tied up a double nymph rig and started casting. Fish on! Then it popped off.  Another cast, another fish…that popped off!  I checked the hook thinking that it might have broken the point off.  Nope still there. Another couple casts and another fish.  Another pop off. WHITEFISH!!! They have really small and soft mouths and you need to be really careful to land them with a fly. Getting a good hook set on a Whitefish is sometimes tough.

Finally a hook up and an 8 inch Whitefish. Seriously? This is what is here? I make another cast…and another miss. I decide to move up to the head of the pool and see what is there.  Now, from experience, I know that the big cutts are behind the Whitefish.  But the Whitefish are being super aggressive. This tells me that no matter what I do, I am catching 5 Whitefish per cutthroat today.

Finally, a bigger fish! A nice 13 or 14 inch Whitefish.  Then another…and another.  Sure, they are not the Cutties I wanted to catch, but a fish on is a fish on!!!

After a couple more fish I have had enough of Whitefish and it was time to go home and get ready to referee a soccer game. Today was a win for me.  Beautiful scenery and lots of fish in the net.  Overall, although I wasn’t looking for Whitefish, I had a great time catching them. Just being out hooking some fish, is the reward. I have to work late tomorrow so I plan to fish the other side of the river and see what is there.    You never know what you are going to find! May be a big Cuttie, may be a Whitefish.  Either way, a fish on is a fish on!