Ruby Springs

The Galeton River right now is very low. A river runs through it, but very slowly.

Nevertheless, it does run and the rivers are still open. So my friend Mark Koide, who resides in of all places New Jersey, flew out to meet me for a few days of fishing in the mecca of all fishing – the land of the Madison and the Jefferson and the Galeton and the Big Hole and the Beaverhead. And, perhaps most importantly, the storybook Ruby Springs.

The highway west out of Bozeman from the airport takes you right to the Galeton and by early afternoon we were itching for some fishing. We exited the highway, double-backed a few miles and found a pull-off where we could switch to wading boots, gear-up and start casting within an hour or so of landing.

The heat kept most sane folks in air conditioned parlors, but we started flailing away at this riffle and that run as if we were Orvis himself. We were comforted in the fact there was the occasional rise and so clearly fish were present. But we had yet to land our first fish. Ahead I noticed a slack water to the right of a nice, cool riffle and so I switched to a streamer and cast a few times to a shady area just above a fallen tree.

Cast, sink, sink, bam! Fish on.

After a nice little fight I had this gorgeous 14-inch brookie in the net.

 

With a thunderstorm gathering we made our way back to the bridge but on the way found rising brownies, and I managed to land a nice 10-11 incher on a dry.

Montana, like much of the West, is suffering a drought that will likely soon turn into emergency conditions. It will surprise no one if some of the great rivers are closed this month. The rain has been fine this season, but the snow pack is at or near zero and so flows in early July are closer to what you would expect in early August.

Our fishing lodge expected us for cocktails and dinner by about 7 so we got off the water and hustled south and west to Ruby Springs Lodge, our home for the next three nights.

In the movie Field of Dreams, the young ballplayer asks his host, “is this heaven?” Kevin Costner replies, “no this is Iowa.” Same line applies for flyfishing at Ruby Springs. No, this is Montana.

Paul Mosley and John Sampson have created something other-worldly, yet amazingly comfortable and familiar. The lodge cabins are what I would build for myself – in heaven. Yes they are comfortable and yes they are spitting distance to a great fishing stream. (Photo: our deck rail and the Ruby just beyond)

 

We made it to cocktails and dinner, but the rising brown trout – many of the them quite large by my Seattle standards – were too much for us to ignore at our sumptuous table. We impolitely excused ourselves after devouring a great steak dinner and were on the water again before sunset. We landed some nice brownies and of course a few more by sunrise after just a few hours of sleep.

 

A word about my fishing companion, Mark Koide. Koide must be the Japanese word for, "I love to fish." Koide is the CEO of a construction company that makes custom swimming pools, and he's a very accomplished business guy. But I've never seen a more passionate fisherman. John Gierach wrote in All Fishermen Are Liars this about fishing lodges and guys  like Koide:

I enjoy and appreciate fishing lodges, but not everyone does. Balls-to-the-wall types may see regular mealtimes and other necessary regimentation as a waste of valuable fishing time.

Let's just say Mark maximized his fishing time, and he was rewarded with a lot of great fish and a lot of great fishing stories.

Our guide, Jason Carrico, chose one of the mystical rivers mentioned above for our first morning. The dam-controlled water flow was at a nice 1500 CFS, which seemed perfect for floating and finding hungry fish. I had read about and dreamed of these rivers for years and so this was a particular treat. We left our lodge early, climbed the mountain elevation through Alder and Virginia City and descended into a spectacular valley. We used a nice nymph rig I won't describe here, and I got started with a 20.5" rainbow that was full of color and energy.

 

Jason is a knowledgeable, patient and authoritative flyfishing guide. We were lucky to have him. There is nothing like fishing with a guy who is at the top of his game. He managed the boat with great skill while keeping Mark and me focused and on the best buckets. We worked hard and reaped the rewards of lots of very nice fish. Jason also makes an extraordinarily nice streamside lunch.

Next day we floated the Jefferson which may be the most beautiful and diverse river in the Montana cannon of rivers. We did dry-dropper rigs this time and fished quite well early in the morning before the searing heat. We had a lull mid-day but it really picked up for us right at the end.

Both Mark and I continued to supplement our intense guided fishing trips with solo jaunts to every part of Ruby Springs. And we had great results in the mornings and early evenings.

RSL may be the best managed and most positive culture I've encountered in the wide world of sport and hospitality. I plan to be a repeat visitor and hope to meet my new friends again there next summer.