Armstrong's Spring Creek

This week, former Bozeman Angler spey guru, Lawrence Stuemke, joined Peter and I for a day on Armstrong's Spring creek. For those of you that haven't messed around on this world famous pieces of private water, this one of those places that can, and often does, humble the most skilled fly anglers. The water is about 50 degrees year round, gin clear, and full of educated trout. The fish this time of the year, like everywhere else, don't see the pressure like they do in the summer months, so they're a little less spooky and a bit more willing to eat a well presented fly. One of the mistakes many winter anglers make is that they forget that the water is 15-20 degrees warmer than the rivers they've been fishing all winter. The trout are holding in more traditional summer like feeding lies, like riffles and runs. Shoot... The trout don't know its February and only 20 degrees out side. On our day, we had mostly sun with a little wind, which put a slight chop on the water making it a little easier to sneak up on these skittish creatures. As for the fly selection, these fish make a living on scuds, tiny midge, and baetis nymphs. So, size 16-20 imitations tied on 5x and 6x fluorocarbon tippet were required. I poked two nice male rainbows with in 10 minutes of stepping in the water, both in the 15-17 range. With the instant action I thought this was going to be a killer day, but that was it until just before we left. Peter and I were fishing side by side getting in a few last casts before we headed over the hill for home when I hit a little Brown and then another fat little Rainbow. I called it a day after the release of the Bow and made for the truck. Peter stuck it out for a few more casts and ended the day with a nice thick Brown Trout.

TY