The next day was typical for my wandering, with some ups and downs. In the early afternoon I decided to take the scenic route that bypassed Deer Lodge, which wouldn’t add much mileage but would show me a new area, one that the map showed had two rivers.
I turned off at Anaconda and was impressed with how nice it was. I looked to fish the little stream that runs through it, but it was quite fast and I gave up and took a nap. After that, and finding that both golf courses were crowded, I headed off to try to find a place to fish. I kept checking out the stream but it remained too fast for my taste and finally I came to the turnoff for Warm Springs Campground and Picnic Area. I followed the road in for two miles, spotting a small bear at one point, and couldn’t find a good place even though the stream was much smaller. I decided to give up and ride my bike and that was a fine choice, but as I rode I found a lovely little stretch of water that though small looked very fishable. I would have bet a chunk of money that I would catch trout there, but to my amazement, I got no hits and didn’t see a fish. That does happen, but I had gotten a good ride so I drove on only mildly disappointed.
The countryside was pleasant enough, but I didn’t see any streams until I passed Georgetown Lake, and came to the outlet stream. It was exactly what I wanted and though it wasn’t even a quarter of a mile till it tumbled down a long falls, I was ready to fish. Fortunately, I decided to start fifty yards below where I parked, just above where the cascades began.
It was terrific fishing and I caught 9 trout in perhaps seventy five yards of stream, with two of them being 12 inches long. I decided to keep fishing above my truck and I had no luck at all, so someone had fished it hard fairly recently. As another experiment I fished the lower area again and got just one small trout. So if someone had followed me a few minutes after I left, he or she wouldn’t have had much luck, and would have thought the stream was not worth much.
I drove on to Drummond, where I stopped for dinner, and then drove on toward Missoula where I pulled off along the Clark Fork to take a bike ride. I looked at the river to see if anything was hatching, but there was a steady wind so I was satisfied with a twilight bike ride along the enticing river.
In the morning I practiced for a few minutes and realized my horn needed some work. I did my yoga and then headed off for Coeur D’Alene, where I hoped to find someone to fix my leaky horn. The first shop I called, Burt’s, turned out to be the perfect place since the owner worked on saxes and the salesman said he would be in in the afternoon.
That resolved I decided to fish the St. Regis, one of my favorite streams. It has a good bit of water but it can be easily waded and crossed if necessary. I have had some luck on the river, but today, with the heat, the fish were not hitting at all, on dries, hoppers, or nymphs, although I did get one hit on a Stimulator just before quitting. No fish, but very rewarding.
When I got to Coeur D’Alene, I dropped off the horn and the owner said he would do his best to get it fixed by tomorrow and then I drove downtown. The lake looked tempting, with hundreds of bathers splashing way, but I wanted to ride first so I took a long trip along the lake and then ended with a refreshing swim in the cold water.