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From the Pacific Coast to the Colorado Rockies.
From Alaska to the Sierra Nevadas.
You're tuned to the West's premier sport fishing show.
Columbia Country.
And now from the Big Trout Lodge in Liberty Lake, Washington, here's the producer of
Columbia Country, Bob Asbury.
Hello and welcome to this week's edition of Columbia Country.
I'm Bob Asbury and it's great to have you along.
On today's show we're heading out to Montana's famous Big Horn River to fly fish for rainbow
and brown trout.
Also a little later on tactical sport fishing we'll get some pointers on how to rapid tune
flatfish and quick fish.
All this just ahead on this week's edition of Columbia Country.
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Welcome back.
On today's show, we're fly fishing for rainbow and brown trout on the famous Big Horn River
in South Central Montana.
And with me as always, Columbia Country's field host, Carl Mann.
Carl, it's nice to be back on the Big Horn River.
It really is a beautiful day out there, Bob.
I'm really looking forward to it.
And Carl, for our viewers who aren't familiar with the Big Horn River, it's located, oh,
roughly 50 miles south of Billings in South Central Montana.
Now, Carl, we were out here a couple years ago.
It was in the fall.
This time we're here in the spring.
The river's running a lot higher, a lot faster.
Anything different?
Well, I think the fish will be sitting in different places for sure.
We'll probably use some different tactics than what we did in the fall.
Usually you get into the dries in the fall, so we'll probably be nipping today.
Well, Carl, this is a world famous river.
I'm anxious to get out there.
There's a lot of big fish to be had out there, Bob.
I'm ready for it.
All right, well, let's get out on the Big Horn River now as we fly fish for rainbow
and brown trout.
This week on Columbia Country, we travel to the famous Big Horn River in Montana.
We will be fishing with outfitter Michael Mastrangelo.
Michael and his wife Ellen operate the Fort Smith Fly Shop and Cabins in Fort Smith, Montana.
Because of the early season conditions, Michael has recommended nipping with the option of
dry flies if a good hatch develops.
Michael, you like to fish mostly from the boat or are we going to get out and fish from
the shore or what?
I like to fish mostly from the shore because then you're connected to the river and you
can read water.
From the boat, we'll fish from point A to point B going to the next hole.
That makes sense.
All right.
Carl, this is a very good inside seam.
And inside edges are really good on tailwaters.
The fish like to hang inside.
They get the food coming to them.
They don't have to fight that much of a current so they're kind of in and out of the edge
here.
Okay.
We're going to fish this edge right here.
Your lead is right.
Upstream a little bit.
Watch the men's because they're kind of a compound man maybe.
Right.
A little upstream, a little downstream.
Just help that indicator move it along.
Give it a natural flow?
Natural flow.
It's got to float like it's attached to nothing.
All right.
Good.
There's one.
There's one.
There you go.
Good one.
Now what I try to do, Carl, is get him out of that tower.
And I like to walk downstream a little bit of them here.
Okay.
Because they get out in that stuff and it's really tough to get them back in.
Even these smaller fish, they're lying hard.
You know, they just, they will not quit.
Can't tire them.
They are strong here.
They really are.
I mean, he's just holding his own out there.
He just doesn't seem to be moving.
Might have hung you up.
Yeah, I got him to move that time.
I put some extra pressure on him.
Okay.
Well, you know what you're doing.
It's a pleasure to fish with you, Carl.
Well, this is a tough fish.
I thought he was snagged.
You want to come down further yet?
Like order.
You got an angle on him now.
I just kind of raise your rod and point a little downstream.
You should be able to turn him and have that current push him in.
Normally.
You see, he's got his head now going downstream.
It's a nice fish.
It's a decent fish.
That's a real nice fish.
There you go.
Now we're going to have to chase him a little, Carl.
Yeah, I think we do.
If he keeps going out, he's going to be in your backing at about another.
My theory is always if you get below him, then you got to be bigger than you thought.
Yeah, he's probably 17 plus.
I think he's 18 and over.
Keep that rod butt high and let him fight him with the rod butt, Carl.
That's a pretty nice fish.
Okay, I'm going to bring him to you here.
He doesn't recognize he's being all clean shaven this morning there, Michael.
There we go.
Good job.
What's wrong with that boy?
Whew.
That is a dandy.
Whoa.
That's a beautiful one.
That is a beautiful rainbow there.
That is magnificent.
I had no idea it was that big.
No wonder I thought I was snagged on the bottom.
He fought hard, boy.
He's got some girth on him.
Yeah, that's a beautiful fish.
Look at that girth on that fish.
Oh yeah, I know it.
That's a double handful.
He's about 20 and a half and he's heavy.
What do you think he weighs?
Four?
Yeah.
About four anyway.
I'd cheat on it.
I'd go four and a half maybe.
Out of the way.
I'll try to be the conservative guy.
Okay.
He's in good shape, not a mark on him.
He's a torpedo.
Beautiful fish.
You want to give him a little more drink?
He's ready to go.
He'll be off.
Love it.
That's why I live here.
Thank you, sir.
Well, that was excellent.
There's another one.
Nice work, Carl.
Well, I have a subtle take on that one.
He's pretty hefty.
Yeah, it is.
Good work.
It's as high as he's going downstream quite as much as he is.
Yeah.
Well, you got a better angle on him now.
Now you heard it.
You heard it talking.
Boy, he's tough.
I'm saying I'm tougher than you guys think I am.
They must be a lot deeper.
This water's so clear these fish don't look as chunky as they actually are.
Yeah, they're all healthy in this place.
Even the little babies are thick.
Perfect.
Beautiful work.
Boy, these are nice fish here.
Good fish.
Boy, that's a beauty.
It is a beauty.
That's a slab.
That's another beautiful fish.
Boy, they're really in good shape coming out of winter, aren't they?
Fabulous shape.
Got a mark on him.
All right.
Want to put him in the net here a second?
We'll give him a rest.
Yeah, give him a good drink.
Give him a good drink here.
We want him in the June pool.
Oh, I'll tell you what.
These are really... You know, I fished this once in the fall, Michael, and we didn't catch
nearly as nice a fish as this.
Oh, these are beautiful.
They're very healthy.
That's an excellent fish.
That's a painting right there.
It is.
This is what I call God's jewelry.
Okay.
All right.
Let him slip out there.
There he goes.
Beautiful work.
You know, Michael, I've been listening to you, and technique seems to be a real key here
in how you work this line.
I know you're a lot better at it than I am.
Why don't you take a minute, if you would, and show the viewers exactly what you're talking
about.
I don't know if I'm better, but I'll make an attempt.
We'll get the technique.
There we are on this side of here.
All right.
When you get your line out, you want to give it time for those flies to get down.
What you want to do is cast upstream, mend it, get some slack in it, so that your flies
will get a chance to get down.
Here's the mend.
Another mend.
You can see the indicator float like it's attached to nothing.
You can feed out a little slack.
Hopefully, you might get a fish.
So for most two cycle engines, you set the switch to on, set the choke, prime it, then
you pull the cord.
Cool, thanks.
Okay, sir.
I got it all figured out.
You got to switch it on, pull the choke.
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welcome back on today's show we're fly fishing the world famous big horn river
in south central montana now we're fishing without bitter michael
mistrange low
michael operates the fort smith fly shop in fort smith montana michael first of
all thanks for taking us out on this world famous river and given us your
expertise well you welcome great to have you
michael as i said this is a world famous river we've got some great fish
it gets quite a bit of pressure how are these fish holding up
you said you saw the fisher in fabulous shape
they fight to the death
and with the pressure any place you have great fishing you're going to have
pressure people want to catch this type of fish
uh... great fishing here i guess all a lot of the year was the different times
to contact you to book these trips well the fishery is open year-round but the
primary times of probably through march through the beginning of november
we have hatches during that period and then fishing is always good here
and michael you also operate beside your fly shop you have cabins uh... you have a
pretty nice setup there we do we've got three cabins maybe a fourth even soon we
can accommodate up to twelve or fourteen people
well i sure recommend you get a hold of michael here if you're coming out to the
big horn river michael it's been a great day shall we get back out there
let's go get them
let's get back out on the big horn river now as we fly fish for rainbow and brown
trout
there's one
good work
let's get some slack in here
good strong fish
might be a big boy
it's the bigger brown than any of the browns we've caught so far i think
oh i saw him yeah he looks like a decent size yeah he's very decent
he thinks he's a monster michael he will be
uh... he'll be notorious and famous for a little bit
but he was liking your secret fly yeah he'll eat it
especially in the fast water slow they're not going to eat much of it well you get the wiggle out of it
it's really got good movement on it
all right see if i can turn him this time
pretty fish
boy he pulls hard
really does
nice fish
as soon as you get them out of the water they get deeper in your quick
that's a good brown
he ate it
that's a beauty
tough brown
really hard-fading fish he wasn't coming in easy look at the beautiful colors on him
and he blends so well with the background when you let him go you'll be able to see he just blends in
that's a nice fish
go ahead and put him in the net and
give him a drink there a minute
he is chunky look how thick he is across his shoulders there
that's why he was so tough out there
that's a beautiful fish
all right well we'll let him go
move your net a little bit and i'll just let him slide down here
look at the color
he didn't stick around he's powerful
that's a powerful fish
beautiful work
well it sure has been a beautiful morning
beautiful fabulous
michael i just want to take a few seconds you've got something so unique here i wanted our viewers to
see what type of a strike indicator you're using we don't use anything like it i've seen
nothing like it
show us what you got well as far as i know it's only used on this river i wish
i'd come up with the idea but someone else did
it's a balloon
just a plain old balloon just a little they call them water balloons but they're small
you know maybe two inches long what you do
suck it up that way you can blow it up
but i prefer doing it this way
tie a knot in it
then tie a slip knot
the butt section of your leader and just attach it right there and trim this part off
you get an all day indicator
no need to grease it
light cast well
and it's very sensitive
well it's worked so far it's worked like a dream
we'll see how long it lasts by the end of the day huh? and the price is right
carl i showed you about that indicator now we're going to show you what the rest of the leader
looks like we've got about nine or ten foot total of leader
you've got the indicator maybe six eight
inches below the butt section of your fly line
you've got about maybe seven and a half eight feet
to a connection where you're going to put your weight
then i like to go about
anywhere from twelve to eighteen inches
between the two flies we use two flies a lot on this river
it's pretty easy to cast just remember not too tight of loops
well it's worked so far michael i'm really impressed with this whole thing
i'm not a real big nymph fishman but i've learned a lot from you so
well it works and i never fool with success
oh there's a good one
there he is
that's a good fish
that's a nice fish
they are tough fish
you know everybody claims they got strong fighting fish in the rivers but i'll tell you what
these fish
they really are tough fighters
real tough
pretty pretty fish
well carl the bighorn river it really lived up to its reputation it really did
bob it was better than i remember we caught some really nice fish out there today
we really did carl and michael you know he's a really good guide very technical
people that are going to go with michael are going to learn a lot about fishing
well i think that's one thing they will do they'll learn a lot how to fish they
can use it in other areas he really knew his stuff out there he knew where every one of
those fish were he called it on every hole we'll catch one or two in this one one on this one
and we did
really did carl and you know carl he was very meticulous about the weight uh...
keeping that line in the right position well you gotta keep the food in front of the fish
and you want to be on the bottom they're generating a lot of water out of the
dam out there so we kept adjusting the different weights to make sure that our baits
were right on the bottom and they were and it worked
well carl great day great river thanks
okay well just ahead now on tactical sport fishing
we'll study some new ways to make your fishing experience even better
stay tuned for tactical sport fishing after these messages
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welcome back
today on tactical sport fishing i'm talking with outfitter toby white
that always a well-known outfitter in the lewiston clarkston area
told me what are we going to be looking at today
today i'm gonna show the viewers how to rapid to wardens flatfish or quick fish
told me a real interesting thing a lot of people out there fishing for those
salmon and steelhead let's take a look
today i'm gonna show you how to tune a quick first thing you do is take it out
of the box put it on your line
and dump it in the water
you watch how it swims
as you can see
this plug is not swimming truly it's circling
we're pull it out of the water
we're gonna take it off our line
we're gonna take a pair of needle nose and turn the eye out
one full turn
you wanna make sure the eye
it's nice and square
level even with the plug
turn the plug over
make sure the center eyes are the same
and put it back on
your line
check it out
i severely straightened it
but it's still diving a little left
when the plug dives left
you turn the eye
the direction you want it to go
i want the plug to dive right so i turn the eye to the right
slightly
put it back in the water
we've got a perfectly tuned quick fish
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well that does it for this edition of columbia country
for a dvd your vhs copy of this or other columbia country episodes
collar go online
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if you're interested in this particular episode
be sure to include the episode number
well next week on columbia country
we take you out to fort peck reservoir in eastern montana
that fish for walleye
for all of us here at columbia country
thanks for watching
and see you again next time