Thanks for a great season!

That's not Brett Favre on the tractor, it's actually good friend Tim Haslitt ponied up and thinking about working for his turns after he digs his way to freedom. love that photo Alex. Truth be told and let my lower lumbar be proof, it was actually 22" of heavy wet cement.
If this is any indication of things to come, than brace for yet another banner Winter here in Southwestern Montana. This recent dump of snow bodes well for all the reasons we live here!
As for the fishing - well, on days when your guides aren't iced up and you can actually cast a fly it's been pretty decent. Here's the skinny on Winter fly fishing.
Get a late start. No reason to race to the river. Let the water warm up. ***Remember, this is fly fishing. This whole sport revolves around insects and their life cycles. If the bugs are frozen and immobile, then too are the fish - most likely. Take the time to steep some beans and prepare a thermos of coffee in the morning. Drinking a hot cup of joe on the river might just be the highlight of your day. Enjoy the fish you do catch. It takes a special soul to be out there on the river this time of the year braving the elements. Lastly, think about the reasons why you fly fish. I rediscovered something this past season I've known for a long time but hit me upside the head. Angling for the right reasons is as personal and as real as it gets.
Thank you to those who helped make CK Outfitters 2009 season a success! It is amazing what a little bit of water, favorable conditions and cooperative fish will do for the fishing. This year was the best fishing we have had on the Jefferson to date and this river is only gaining momentum. The Madison produced some trophy trout as always and the Yellowstone fished well late into the season. The shining star in Southwestern Montana had to be the Missouri. This tailwater is a "must fish" if in the area. Since the Missouri requires a bit of traveling and a minimum 1 night/2 day stay, currently we are working on lodging options for 2010. In March, be on the lookout for our Spring special - a great way to cash in and save on some great fishing. Although the season has finally come to an end, we will continue to update our Blog as the fishing warrants. Be sure to stay up to date on all things relevant to fly fishing with CK Outfitters by visiting our Blog @ http://ckoutfittersflyfishing.blogspot.com Have a great Winter and we hope to see you this Spring!

Craig Kalpinski
Owner & Managing Outfitter
CK Outfitters

MO Rainbows

What a great time of year to be fishing the Missouri! If you are looking for solitude and great fishing, the MO is your best bet. You will experience fantastic dry fly fishing in the afternoon. Nymphing with baetis nymphs and emergers is solid before the hatch comes off. Haven't thrown any big junk - haven't had to but I suspect those big browns would take a bite.

A brief warm up!

Looks like we have seen the last of this arctic ass whooping. Predicted highs for the rest of the week should reach the mid forties to mid fifties. We'll see if the weather guy is right or just a wannabee James Span.
The weather guy said something to the effect of this being a “once in a generation” weather event. Temperatures this cold in October happened last about 25 years ago. It's certainly not global warming... maybe a global cool down.
As for the fishing, we begin to pick it back up tomorrow and will have more to report at a later time. Before this freeze, the Browns were beginning to stage up in the shallows and slow moving tail outs before they make the run to do their thing. If wade fishing ***Use caution this time of year not to disturb the redds. They are pretty obvious looking barren patches of clean gravel that the fish have pushed away. This will help protect future generations of fish. We saw a new age class of Brown trout on the Lower Madison this year. These fish were clean, bright, powerful, HOT and wild fish. Most fish had very few hook scars and some had never been hooked before - a testament to the importance of Catch & Release fishing.
On a side note and a break from fishing here in Montana: Ya'll need to check out my brothers Blog.
http://milespaddled.blogspot.com// His crew of dedicated kayaking friends are as serious about their paddling as we are about our fly fishing. Barry hooked this turtle gettin' jiggy - something I did not teach him this Summer. Turtle was unhooked safely and released back into the Wisconsin River. Way to represent CK Outfitters! I will continue to keep you updated on all thing relevant to fly fishing here in Southwestern Montana until it is just too cold.

COLD!

COLD! 4 degrees this morning and rising. We went from Summer straight into Winter bypassing fall. This cold snap is not even funny. It is too early for this bone chilling torture.
We had a couple of trips booked last week but due to the weather we pushed those into next week when the weather is supposed to warm up a bit. They are calling for a high of 51 on Tuesday. Sorry to say but I don't have much to report other than one mediocre day on the Lower Madison last week. I will amend this report after it warms up this next week.

Up and running!

After a brief sabbatical from technology, we are back! The fishng last week was good, as it should be during fall in Montana.
We have been all over the map. From the Jefferson to the Missouri and over to the Stone. Everything is fishing well! ***Word of caution*** Come prepared for foul weather. Most days will start out cold and if we are lucky, temps might reach a comfortable level.
Were getting fish on dead drifted Bugger and Bead combos. Baetis dry fly fishing has been weather dependent. If there is a ceiling, the fish are looking up in the afternoon. If that big bright ball is out and about, it's been a nymphing game.
My apologies for lack of Blog posts. Computer crashing, geeky techs, poor service, you get my point. We are up and running again and will keep you posted as the fishing continues!

On Hold...

Computer problems have me down for awhile but thanks to the very knowledgeable computer geek fixing my laptop, I should be up and running soon. In the meantime, the fishing remains very good! I will keep you updated on all things relevant to fly fishing with CK Outfitters as well as the front that is going to push through tomorrow.

Hot out of the gate...

We put in in the town of Livingston and 14 miles later got out at the Hog farm (Joey you will love that!) and had a blast. My first cast of the day was a sweet 19" Brown, about 30 minutes later we hit this neat run with a streamer and I had two break me off. Then this really nice colored up 19" Rainbow takes the fake and once stuck jumps 4 to 6 times right at the boat. It was hard to keep tight but he was hooked good and no problem landing him. Great day today landing lots of whitefish (20+) - which are still fun to hook and land, along with the two fair sized fish mentioned and a couple others that did not need the net. I sure hate to go but got to make some bread so I can come back soon. Thanks Craig! Scott

Fall Baetis just around the corner

The Fall Baetis hatch is on the brink of breaking loose. All we need is some cooler weather and some overcast skies and it will be go time around this place. In the meantime, I think we are out of the seasonal transitional funk that we experience every year. Fish are still looking for Hoppers but will inspect closely before attacking with any sort of vengeance. Nymphing has been solid all the way around but my favorite means of catching this time of year would be the streamer/bead combo. Try fishing a zonker (olive, copper or pearl) in sizes #2 - #6 trailed by a #16 - #20 beadhead flashback pheasant tail nymph.

Ritchie Family Float

This is two years in a row of great fun with the Ritchie family. The morning started slow as expected after the first freeze of the year. Sorry, grasshoppers - next season, R.I.P
The wind blew but did not deter us from catching fish!
Lana, aka Ace Ritchie boated a beautiful 20" Yell0wstone brown. Thanks and you all did a fantastic job on the water today. I'm looking forward to next year.

Everyday is Different

The day before yesterday the fish were crushing foam Hoppers. Different story today. They would not even look at a Hopper today so we nymphed until we were blue in the face. It paid off BIG! This 22" pre spawn male took a # 6 copper zonker.

New York Minute

By the looks of my fly patch, it's still Hopper time. Hard to believe the hopper fishing is still hanging around but with temps in the mid 80's and low 90's coupled with dry conditions, we may be throwing the locust into October. Weird. I think this week has been the best Hopper action I've had on the river this season. Yesterday was good on the Yellowstone. Today was epic action on top > Lower Madison. Had a great day with Ray and Steve today!

2009 GHC Official Results Are In

Mark E. Mark B. Dave E. Cesar S.
Day 1 9/7/2009 upper madison Day #1 2/18" 13/19" 2/12" 6/15.5" (#fish/longest)
Boat#1 Day #2 6/16.5" 6/17" 8/15.5" 5/13"
guide: Blaine total fish longest poker hand
front M Baker 13 19 QQQKK Day #3 5/14" 3/12" 2/13" -
back C Soto 6 15.5 AA
Day #4 3/12" 8/22" 9/15" -
Boat#2
guide: CK total fish longest poker hand
front D Ellwanger 2 12 Total 16/60.5" 30/70" 21/45.5" 11/28.5"
back M Ellwanger 2 18
Day 2 9/8/2009 lower madison
Boat#1
guide: Blaine total fish longest poker hand
front D Ellwanger 8 15.5 910JQK
back M Ellwanger 6 16.5 66
Boat#2
guide: CK total fish longest poker hand
front C Soto 5 13 JJ
back M Baker 6 17 33
Day 3 9/10/2009 upper yellowstone
Boat#1
guide: Blaine total fish longest poker hand
front D Ellwanger 2 13
back M Ellwanger 5 14 55
Boat#2
guide: CK total fish longest poker hand
front M Baker 3 12 77
back -
Day 4 9/11/2009 lower madison
Boat#1
guide: John S. total fish longest poker hand
front D Ellwanger 9 15 flush
back -
Boat#2
guide: CK total fish longest poker hand
front M Baker 8 22,19.5. 18 JJJQQ
back M Ellwanger 3 12
bold=winner

BTW it's a new moon

Current Phase of the Moon:
Updates every 4 hours):

underlined=bought dinner

Reflecting... With a scotch.

It's like the fish was walkiing down the red carpet or something. All eyes and cameras had this fish in the scrapbook. The Johnny Walker eases the pain slightly but I have fallen victim to the blog this season.
I'm constantly searching for the "Big Fish" photo. Today's fish would of fallen into that category. If I have your attention, please read on because this is no fish story.
After having a very slow morning, Scott Ritchie wanted to change flies. " You guides have been throwing the same flies all season and I think you might be in a fly rut". I agree whole heartedly. It's easy to fish the zonker that is proven or an ity bity nymph that the fish are always seeing. I liked what Scott was thinking so I switched him up to an olive Bow R. Bugger. We hadn't moved more than six feet before he was hooked up. Then a second fish and then the bottom... so we thought. I am so glad Scott had the patience to feel this supposed snag out.
The short of a could be long story is that the brown snag measured 25"! This is the second largest fish I have ever boated. Now what's to follow is a series of events that may have some of you wondering if I'm full of BS
The fish was on the tape and measured 25". It was a toad! I don't know if the fish had stage fright or what but it decided to make a grand exit catapulting out of my boat. Scott literally jumped into the river to nab the fish for a second photo op. He wasn't able to recover the loss. Scott, I'm glad you didn't hurt yourself.
What I'm wondering is why after we boated the fish and there were two witnesses to the fish being taped at 25", and no photo, this hurts?
I see a lot of fish being caught throughout the season and for some reason this one rattles me a bit.
Does it matter that the fish was never photographed? No. I think the blog is therapy for a fishing guide who likes big fish in his boat.
I had a fantastic day on the water with Scott and his wife Lisa, until we meet up again...Cheers and Happy Birthday Lisa!

P.S.
Thank you for the Caymus wine and cheese. Looking forward to cocktail hour tomorrow night!

Getting better everyday!

The fishing is improving daily as we transition into fall. Fish seem to be bulking up on large bites of food like sculpins and crawdads. Today we got most of our fish to eat a #4 copper zonker trailed by a #20 baetis nymph. Scott boated this beauty with guide Louis Bishop.

Scott Ritchie and the Maddie

This gorgeous specimen was caught today on the Madison (appropriately known as the Maddie) river in Montana. Guide/Outfitter/boat driver/Ace/knot tier/Craig Kalpinski of CK Outfitters put me on this fish and others and has for years. Had a great day catching toads not numbers! Also landed a nice Bow in the 18"+ range and lost one about that big too. Total about 8 fish with one 1" monster at the Greycliff take out. It was sunny, 80 degrees, no clouds, not a typical day for big fish. Lots of fun and reminds me of why I come to this wonderful area! Got home about 7 p.m., grilled a T bone, corn on the cob, made a salad, opened a bottle of Caymus and watched the KU football victory! Can't wait for the wife, kids and daughter in law to arrive next week...

Scott Ritchie

2009 GHC Champ

The trophy is going home with Mark Baker this year! A 22" Brown stole the show. Everyone had a good day on the river. The GHC invitational was a huge success and I'm looking forward to next year. Thanks to all and more on this on Sunday (my day off at last). Cesar, we missed you the last couple of days but I know it meant the world to your wife to be home on her birthday. See you soon big guy.

Day Three GHC Invitational?

Not quite sure what was with the fishing today? At times I wanted to pull my hair out. Baker was fishing like a champ. If the fishing had been any good, he would of worn them out. Mark Ellwanger got a few and Pops tied Cesar Soto's whitie record with a few trout mixed in.
It all comes down to tomorrow on the Lower Madison. Baker rolls into round four with a 19" lead. Will this be enough to bring the GHC trophy back home? I will keep you updated on all the action tomorrow.

Day Two GHC Invitational

Fished the Lower Madison on day two. Not red hot but not stone cold. Both boats put some good fish in the net. All in all, it was a great day and fun to be out there with this crew. Today is a day of rest before we resume play on Thursday. Not sure yet if Cesar will be joining us but I'm sure it's nothing a few flowers and some chocolates can't fix. Hope to see you out there glitter man! Will this 19" brown pictured here take the cake?

Day Uno. Success!

Day one took us to the Upper Madison. Mark Baker is sitting on top of the leader board with a healthy lead. The Ellwangers both had a good first day back on tour and Cesar Soto continues to build upon his skills. Props to Cesar for an excellent performance today. Not sure where the GHC tour will take us tomorrow but Blaine and I will keep you posted on all the highlights of this much anticipated event.

Rise and Shine...

Early morning floats on the Lower Madison are one of my favorite things to do. We hit the river early this morning to avoid the Labor day weekend crowds. It payed big dividends. There finally releasing water out of Hebgen making a float down to Greycliff comfortable. The big water push has sent crawdads and other tasty morsels down the river. Some local shop owners and Outfitters will say we are in a transitional funk as the season changes over. Based on what we did this morning, I cannot tell. Paul's big mouthed brown, pictured here measured 22" and some change. More evidence that funk or not, this is hands down one of the best times to be fishing here in Southwestern Montana. Best flies today were an olive bow river bugger with a bush's crawad dropped below.
Tommorow begins round one of the GHC invitational. This is the premeir event of the season. Looking forward to seeing the gang tomorrow and glad to have Cesar Soto on board this year!

What's my name?

Cesar Soto rolled into town and was the hot hand on the Yellowstone today. Who say's Dominicans can't fish? It was the last day of Spring Training for some and now the games begin. It has been a fantastic preseason and for those that are in this competition , you must bring your A game to fish and fight with this hard hitting crew of anglers.

Full Moon?

Fishing was pretty good Thursday for being a sliver away from a full moon. With cooler weather in the forecast I would suspect the Fall baetis activity to begin picking up. The crawdad molt is also on - diver down. This fish (new generation) crushed a copper zonker, went air born, freaked out and then took Baker down to his backing. One of the best fighting fish I have ever seen on the lower Madison. One more day left of Spring training. Let the games begin!

September

Ahhh... at last September is here and today we hit it hard on the Lower Madison. Fish were eagerly pouncing on zonkers. I started fishing a #6 copper trailed by a crawdad. We began catching a bunch of rainbows so I made the switch to pearl to imitate juvenile bows darting around. It worked! I stayed with the pearl the rest of the day and hacked off the crawdad and switched to a #18 flashback pheasant tail. We rocked em' all the way to the take out. It was a great way to begin the month and I'm looking forward to more great fishing.
This is a fantastic time of year to be fishing Southwestern Montana with CK Outfitters so give us a call to reserve your spot this coming fall.

For The Love Of This Sport

I had a great day of fishing with good friend Mark Baker. We spent the morning switching between the nymph and Hopper rod until I was convinced the fish were looking up. We spent most of the day casually discussing his science experiment. Recently we have toyed with several different shades of Hopper patterns and until today I was not convinced there was a king.
Mark has taken different Hoppers, placed them in a fish tank with different colored back drops, with light at different angles and then from below under a glass table, photographed the results. Tomorrow he will produce the end results. I will share this information with his permission of course. This sort of effort takes a serious fly fisherman to have patience for the love of this sport. I found it interesting what he had discovered in his findings.
The Hopper fishing continues to be strong as is evidence from Marks Brown (one of many) caught and released safely today on the Upper Madison. ***Warning*** If you are fishing with Baker, don't let him give you his fish for a photo op!
Gentlemen, and you know who you are, Mark has two weeks left of Spring training so bring your A game to Montana in September. We are moving over to the Yellowstone for the next few days and will keep you updated on all of the action.

It was the hat!

Spent a fun day on the river with Jim and Kendrick. Upper Madison was kind to produce this fish for her. Heading back very early in the morning to cash in on some solitude. Will keep you posted on all things relevant to fly fishing Southwestern Montana with CK Outfitters

Quality Time At The Vise

After spending the last few days in the scorching heat, I took the day off to spend some quality time indoors at the vise. Today is much cooler with a few rain showers. This next week looks to be comfortable on the river with temps back down in the high 70's. With cooler weather and fall approaching, I can't help but think about those big browns chasing streamers!

Hopper fishing continues to be good on our area rivers with fish looking for a big bite trailed by either an ant or beetle. As always we will keep you up to date with current fishing reports as we begin to make the transition into Fall.

Locust explosion!

I don't know if any of you have kicked around the grasses near the Upper Madison R. recently. Holy hoppers! I had to be careful driving the back road to Varney bridge this morning. There is a slick greasy layer of hopper guts covering the roadway. *Use caution when racing to the river! When we got off the river the grill on the Tundra looked like a hopper eating machine. OK, here goes. The hopper fishing is epic! We didn't catch anything huge but what we lacked in size we made up for in numbers. We had consistent action from ramp to ramp.

Crawdad Feast

Yesterday was hands down the best "Big Fish" day I have had on the river this season. By the looks of these two of several fish caught it is no surprise we are back on the Lower Madison. My brother Barry was rockin' straight out of the gate. Baker eased into his day and kept adding to his stats with a fat 19" rainbow and then nailed a 22" brown. This fish inhaled a size 2 copper zonker but most fish had the crawdad on their mind. The sun was out which was a pleasant relief from the soaking rain on Friday. What a great weekend of fly fishing!

Smokin'!

I had the great pleasure of fishing with my brother Barry today. For a guy who has spin fished a lot but only touched a fly rod a couple of times, he did a fantastic job on the river today! Barry just gets it. Not only does he get fishing and what it's all about but what's important in life. I'm looking forward to fishing with him again tomorrow and good friend Mark Baker.

Anna Hoppers

We fished another well rested favorite piece of water yesterday with positive results. Nymphing produced in the morning and then the Hopper bite turned on! The other two guide, Blaine and Ben did well fishing a Hopper dropper combo right out of the gate. Fish were crushing a large grand hopper in the afternoon. We got a few on the dropper but the fish seemed to be on the lookout for a big bite of food.

Baker's Dozen

The Upper Yellowstone has been great as of late. Fish that are not native are crushing hoppers. The natives are slow rollin' on terrestrials. Monday we fished down low in the way of Grey Bear > Otter Creek. We had a slow morning with one big boy hooked but never seen again. The afternoon picked up for us fishing a hopper and beetle. Looks as though this beautiful weather is going to hold out for awhile.