They said at the fly shop that the river was running twice it's normal level for this time of the year. We shrugged and quietly went despite the advice to wait until later in July. One of the things that is pretty easy for me to do these days is trade crowded water and lots of fish for solitude and tougher conditions. And that's what we got. There was hardly anyone on the river, despite its popularity, and the few holes we found that were fishable gave up some decent trout. Not tons of fish but enough to keep us happy.
I love Westslope Cutthroat. And I really love fishing for them with a big parachute Adams. We caught a fish or two in every hole we tried and we lived a contented life for five days in the Bitterroot Mountains.
Say that out loud to yourself and you know how great that is: "five days in the Bitterroot Mountains." It's like a windy echo, repeating itself in the back of my head even after my return home...
