Fitting squares into circles

One of the many reasons (although not the primary reason) I rarely nymphed when I lived back in Montana was avoiding the dreaded headshake of the native mountain whitefish. Whitefish don't eat dry flies and streamers...usually. There are always exceptions to the rule. Early fall is whitefish dry fly time. And sometimes whitefish eat streamers.

This aggressive, tiny mouthed whitefish followed my streamer downstream a good 10 feet before it did it's best to defy the laws of physics and geometry by fitting a square in the tiny tiny circle.

If I've learned one thing from Brown Trout....

It's always eat the head first.

Apparently, it has something to do with the spiny dorsal fin of the potential meal. If the brown trout eats a fish with a spiny dorsal tail first, it would most likely get stuck in the brown trout's gullet. That may be the logical explanation, I like to think it's because they are mean, ruthless predators. Whatever.

Pikeminnows - A streamer fisherman's whitefish

I'll say it. I don't like catching whitefish. I don't know many people who do. That's one of the reasons I don't like nymphing. Combined with the fact that it is an easy way to lose four dollars to the dark abyss on any cast, nymphing is not a personal favorite. Sure, it is necessary at times. But, summer is not one of them.

During spring, summer, and fall, I bask in the glory of good streamer and dry fly action. Nary a whitefish to be had. All trout, all the time.

But, this spring and summer's streamer fishing has been peppered with the presence of the Northern Pikeminnow. A fish that, like the whitefish, is native to the waters around Missoula. A fish that, like the whitefish, is not particularly pretty.

One of many.

According to the Montana FWP Field Guide,

The predaceous Northern Pikeminnow is native to Montana west of the Continental Divide. It is somewhat pike-like in appearance with its large mouth and elongated body. Northern Pikeminnow prefer lakes and slow-moving waters. They are considered to be highly undesirable in some situations because they feed on young sport fish. They are effective predators despite their lack of teeth. Northern Pikeminnow are among the largest native North American minnows.

Behind every piece of large woody debris, in every back eddy, along each undercut bank and in each backwater in the Bitterroot, I have caught a pikeminnow. All on streamers. Many of them smaller than the streamers themselves. Other friends have caught larger ones in the Clark Fork and the Blackfoot. The first couple are cool. A nice change of pace and always a surprise. But, lately, they have been wearing on me. They are every where trout should be and they will seemingly eat anything that swims. They are the streamer fisherman's whitefish.

Why are they showing their ugly mugs this year? Is it a result of the removal of Milltown Dam and the subsequent decrease in the population of pike in our local rivers and backwaters? Maybe. I don't know.

Maxima Finger

When tying knots, sometimes 20 lb. test gets the better of you. When it does, utilize the cut as a painful stripping guide when ripping streamers.

20 lb. test finger (photo by Laura Verhaeghe)

You're welcome.