Snappy’s Event Center housed “The Bug Quartet”, Pat Van Eimeren, Justin Smith, Jim Borowski, and Steve McDermott. Along with bugs, both real and artificial, we also had a table where kids could sit and color fish pictures as well as a display to help visitors identify the various fish species they may encounter around here.

Pat and Justin had collected a wide variety of aquatic insects: mayflies, stoneflies, dragonflies, water boatman, etc. along with some nice sized crayfish.  All are fish food and all are important to us fishermen as well. Kids and bugs go together like, well, like kids and bugs, and the youngsters were drawn to the insect table like moths to a flame. 

Justin and Pat were there to answer all their questions and even let them handle the bugs if they were willing.  When the girls would show up, Pat would take one of the crayfish out and let it grab his ear, creating a living earring!  You should be grateful that I don’t have any photos of Pat with a crawdad hanging from his ear lobe.  It was one of those things that once you see it, you can’t unsee it.  There were no young ladies willing to try this new fashion.

After viewing the real bugs, visitors could spin around and watch Jim and Steve create imitations from foam, fur, and feathers.  I don’t know how many flies we tied, but they were free for the taking and we were kept busy for sure.  My initial qualms about being tucked away inside, far from the action, were quickly dispelled with the first gust of wind and rain.  If you think wind can wreak havoc on your fly-casting, imagine what it does to a desktop of near weightless materials!

We did have some excitement during the day.  That morning one of the dragonfly nymphs had hatched out.  Pretty neat really, having the adult and his/her empty shuck side by side (OK, technically, it’s an exuvia, not a shuck; sheesh, biologists are so picky!).  As the building warmed up, along with the day, our dragonfly made a break for it, flying across the room and landing on the glass of the closed door.  It was quickly retrieved by a young lady who returned it to our bug boys. 

The kid’s coloring table was a hit and a great way for mom and dad to distract the youngsters for a bit.  Across from that was the Fish ID table where Fish Wildlife & Parks had provided us with a creel load of colorful fish drawings, giving every angler a chance to see how well they know their fish species. And, giving us a chance to talk about the difference between bull trout and lake trout and how to identify them (You do know Bull Trout belong in Montana, right?).  Tucked away under the fish images, and overlooked by most I suspect, was a large silhouette of a White Sturgeon, caught long ago in the Kootenai River. That fish is significant, as it was the largest fish ever caught in the state of Montana. You never know what sort of interesting stuff might show up at a FVTU gathering.

As things wound down Justin and Pat put all of our bugs back into the containers from whence they came in preparation for returning them to the wild.  Why not just dump them into Snappy’s pond?  They’re fish food after all.  Yes, but just like with fish, you shouldn’t transplant insects from one waterway to another.  That’s especially true with something like a crayfish.  Crayfish are a very predatory crustation and introducing them into a habitat where they don’t already exist could have serious environmental consequences.  You know how we are about non-native species introduction.  That applies all the way down the food chain.  So, all the little critters got taken back to their respective ponds and streams.  I gotta believe that the one poor crayfish that served as an earring got home saying, “You are not going to believe what happened to me today!”

We hope you came and enjoyed your time at the Fin Fest and hope you found your way into the Event Center and stopped by to say “Hi”.  Next up is summer: fishing, hiking, fishing, camping, fishing, and more fishing! 

See you in the fall…

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When Todd Sharpe bought 3 Raft Raffle Tickets at The Sportsman he wisely put his wife Carrie’s name on one of them. And for the second year in a row a lady was the big winner!

Carrie will be thrilled to ride in the front of her new NRS raft while Todd rows. The couple moved to the Flathead 15 years ago for work (Todd is employed at Applied Materials) and never left. They’ve rafted with friends and are excited to have the opportunity to bring their own boat to the party.

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We had a rather packed house full of regulars and also some new faces. Lizzy started off with her story of how fishing trips really kept her family together as she was growing up. She certainly loves fly fishing for trout but discovered that bass fishing is a hoot. She spoke about both largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, and gave us pointers on how to tell the difference. She also listed many rivers and lakes in Montana that have bass and urged us to give it a try.

Lizzy brought a table full of bass flies, jigs, and spinner bait. She held them up and described her favorites and how to present it. Nothing was held back. Although I was secretly hoping she would give some bass flies away, she did lob some other small gift items to the friendly crowd. Probably the sweetest pictures of the night were shots of her young nephews and nieces holding up bass as big as their grins. Everyone smiled. Lizzy even reminded us to “take your parents fishing too”. Thanks Lizzy.

This gathering was our last regular meeting of the season. It’s time for the summer break. But don’t forget the “Flathead Fin Fest” is coming up fast, Saturday May 16. This is a family-friendly and affordable event and will be held at Snappy’s Sports Senter in Evergreen. The event goes from noon to 4pm and you can drop in anytime. It is free. We will have kids fishing pond, fly casting, gear swap, raffle prizes, silent auction on guided trips, food trucks, and more. We are both excited and a little nervous how this will all come out. We have never tried anything like it. See you there!

The post All About Bass appeared first on Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited.

Through a series of educational stations students learned about the the importance of healthy watersheds and trout populations. This project, spearheaded by Kalispell Middle School science educator Josh Gubitz, FVTU board member Justin Smith, and Matt Wilhelm of Yellowstone Flyfishing School, is designed to inspire the next generation of conservationists and fly fishers.

FVTU volunteers Wade Fredenberg, Pat VanEimeren, John Panichelli, Justin Smith, Lee Jester, Matt Wilhelm from the Yellowstone Fly Fishing School and KMS Science teachers led students through 4 informational and 2 recreational activities at Lawrence Park that included:
Aquatic entomology and macroinvertebrate studies
Aquatic Invasive Species awareness and detection
Fish dissection and anatomy exploration
Stream velocity measurement and recording
Kick ball and Frisbee golf

The students were actively engaged and asked lots of good questions. FVTU looks forward to supporting this event in the future.

Pat VanEirmeren put on his waders and boots and collected a variety of invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians from the shores of nearby streams. Pat and Wade Fredenberg, both retired biologists, used these as visual / physical backups to the information that they were presenting. The kids were fascinated and didn’t hesitate to jump right in and handle the various displays. They were well informed on the differences between amphibians and reptiles and what constitutes an insect.

Justin Smith talked about how aquatic invasive species (AIS) get transferred and the importance of cleaning boats and personal gear before moving on to another fishing spot. He demonstrated how to search for AIS on waders, boots, and jackets by placing adhesive markers and plastic plant replicas on various articles and having the kids find and identify them.

Matt Wilhelm from Yellowstone Fly Fishing School dissected a trout and explained the various organs and the digestive tract. The students were not at all squeemish and answered questions as the demonstration proceeded.

Josh Gubitz and other KMS Science Teachers put together a very interactive demo on how to measure stream velocity. One student threw an orange peel into the stream and those at the beginning and end of the tape measure would call out when it passed their position. Another student timed the run with a stopwatch and another recorded that time. Run times were then averaged.

This was a great opportunity to get a young group of science students into a field environment for hands on exposure to rivers and conservation. FVTU appreciates the chance to participate in the program with KMS.

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Cast Hope

Cast Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization positively impacting kids and their mentors through free fly fishing and outdoor experiences. Through their program, clients build mentoring relationships, fly fishing skills, outdoor knowledge, sustainable practices, and personal values. Cast Hope’s gift of the outdoors empowers each mentoring pair to grow closer as they participate in healthy hobbies together. Cast Hope has a chapter in the Flathead Valley and hosts a very comprehensive website.

Cast Hope is also hosting a Fly Fishing Film Festival in Bigfork on April 24th. See details and purchase tickets here.

River Retreat Lodge, Irwin Idaho

Co-owner John Douville stopped by to tell us about River Retreat Lodge. The lodge is a small private lodge near the South Fork of the Snake River (ID) and Salt River (WY) and hosts conservation-minded fly fishing groups of 8–12 anglers. The lodge offers a variety of summer and winter activities.

Kimberley Fly Fishing British Columbia

Kimberley Fly Fishing offers world class dry fly fishing in the Canadian Rockies and Kootenay Purcell mountain ranges. Kimberley offers summer and winter fishing trips plus trips to New Zealand and Argentina. They also offer scenic floats down the St. Mary River and have an onsite fly shop.

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Justin is the owner of Lakestream Fly Shop in Whitefish and Jerrell is the lead guide and outfitter for the shop. Between the two of them, they have over 50 years of experience guiding on the Clark Fork, so are well suited to share their insight on this fishery.

If you’re not familiar with the Clark Fork, you should be. While it’s not exactly in our “back yard” so to speak, it’s kind of in the neighbor’s back yard. In fact, for many of us, it takes less time to drive down to the the Clark Fork than it does to drive back into the South Fork of the Flathead! Plus, it’s a lot less bumpy and dusty getting there. With a great, and different, fishery so close, it deserves a good look.

The Clark Fork is an interesting river. While it’s not the longest in the state, that honor goes to the Missouri, it does flow over 300 miles; from its head waters near Butte, right through the heart of Missoula, to where it leaves the state northwest of Noxon and eventually dumps into Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille. Along the way it picks up a lot of tributaries, the largest being the Flathead (more about that later), with the result being that the Clark Fork is the largest river in Montana by volume. It’s also a survivor. It’s weathered assaults by logging and mining over the decades but somehow managed to hold on and remains an outstanding western Montana fishery.

Our focus is that lower fishery between St. Regis and, roughly, Plains. This is classic freestone water. Unlike the Flathead system around here, the Clark Fork is nutrient rich and has big and consistent insect hatches offering some exceptional dry fly action. It also gives you the opportunity to catch a wide variety of fish; rainbows, browns, cutthroats, and smallmouth bass can all be found in this lower section.

The stretch between St. Regis and Quinn’s is more canyon like, with a wide variety of water, and mountains on either side. North of Quinn’s the valley opens up, the river widens, and the Flathead pours in from the east. The Flathead more than doubles the size of the Clark Fork, as well as adding warmer water to the flow. The confluence is a large roiling affair that holds some nice fish. Below the confluence the character of the river changes because of its size. The fishing remains very good with a better chance of hooking a smallmouth. Plus, the trout tend to run larger in this stretch.

Justin and Jerrell definitely whetted the appetites of a room full of fishermen ready to get back on the water. The entertaining and interesting presentation was followed by a lively discussion. FVTU members know that Justin and Lakestream have been strong supporters of FVTU for years. He frequently donated a Clark Fork trip to our annual banquet. A lot of FVTU members (my wife and I included) got our start floating there thanks to one of those donated trips.

So, the next time you feel that urge to fish a more traditional Montana freestone river, head down to the Clark Fork. Better still, call Lakestream and book a float with either Justin or Jerrell. You won’t regret it and you won’t forget it! It’s fun, it’s productive, and it sure beats driving to Bozeman!

One meeting left! That’s right, only one general meeting left before the big Fin Fest (May 16th Snappy’s) and our summer break. Tuesday, April 21st, 6pm, Sacred Waters Brewing Co., local fishing guide Lizzy Dwyer will present “Smallmouth Bass Tactics“. You won’t want to miss that one (especially now that you know you can catch a smallie in the Clark fork). See you there!

jim@flatheadtu.org

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The idea for the Flybrary Project originated with Florida flyfisherman, Larry Lattrell, back around 2019. In Larry’s own words it was a grassroots effort intended to “…increase interaction among anglers beyond social media.…The intent being that you may discover a new pattern or develop a new friendship by being involved in the exchange”. The idea took hold and, thanks to social media, spread around the country. For a while there was even a Flybrary Project website with an interactive map of where flybraries were located. The website is gone, but the flybrary concept lives on.

FVTU first got involved in 2023, when a local high school student, Ryland Armstrong, took on building and installing some flybraries as his Eagle Scout project. He was assisted by FVTU board member Tim Joern. You can read about that effort here: https://flatheadtu.org/read-any-good-hooks-lately/ (Unfortunately the photos didn’t transfer over to our new website.) Ryland’s original effort placed flybraries at Pine Grove Pond, Teakettle, Old Steel Bridge, Pressentine, and Kokanee Bend fishing access sites.

They work! My wife and I have stocked them a couple of times to “prime the pump” so to speak. Over the past two years I’ve seen flies disappear and new ones crop up so they are definitely getting used. Unfortunately the flybrary at Kokanee Bend was lost when the FWP information sign at that location was vandalized.

Recently FVTU decided to revitalize the Flybrary Project locally by replacing the one at Kokanee bend and building some new ones with the hope of placing them at various access sites along the Middle and North forks of the Flathead. It’s a great idea but we need your help to make it a success.

FVTU will work on getting permission to install the additional flybraries. What we’re looking for are volunteers willing to “adopt” a flybrary. Someone willing to keep an eye on one, prime it with some flies at the beginning of the season and maybe again around mid-summer, and letting us know if it needs repair or replacement. We’re calling these volunteers Flybrarians! Every flyfisherman I know has way more flies than they need and fly tiers are worse yet! This is a great way to help out FVTU while engaging in your favorite past time and sharing some of those extra flies.

A few people have stepped forward and want to help, but we need more; especially if we’re able to branch out up the forks.

If you’re interested, send me an email or corner me at any regular meeting.

Adopt a Flybrary Today!

jim@flatheadtu.org

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There are always a few exhibitors that make me scratch my head, but the atmosphere is friendly, everyone attending has a good time, and the emphasis is truly on those staunch pillars; hunting and fishing. Plus, you can meet and greet some of your FVTU board members and other volunteers, there to answer questions and pass along helpful information.

This year we had prime real estate. Come through the doors and we were the first booth on the main aisle. Virtually everyone who came to the Expo passed by our booth, and many stopped in for a look-see or a chat. As in the past, we had fly tying demos (with the flies free to take for anyone interested), great videos to watch, freebees for the kids and the adults, FVTU merch, and lots of good, sound info on our native fisheries.

The Expo also saw the rollout of our 2026 Raft Raffle with the winning prize taking center stage.

This year we’re offering the NRS Approach 138, 3-person fishing raft. This 13’8″ gem comes fully loaded with frame, floor pad, seats, leg braces, rod holders, oars, and more. We’re even including an anchor. At around $8000 retail, it could be yours if you hold the winning $10 raffle ticket.

If you missed the Expo and still want a shot at the raft, we’ll be selling tickets at our upcoming March and April general meetings as well as selected places around the valley. The drawing will be held at our Flathead Fin Fest 2026! The Fin Fest is our new event this year replacing the banquet. This will be a family friendly, afternoon event held at Snappy’s Sport Senter on Saturday, May 16th. You’ll be hearing much more about the Fin Fest in the upcoming weeks.

Big thanks to all of the FVTU board members and volunteers who helped with setting up, tearing down and manning our booth over the weekend. A special big thanks to board member John Panichelli, who honchoed this year’s action and attended all three days. We hope you dropped by the EXPO and we certainly hope that if you were there, you stopped by and said “Hi” at our booth. We can’t exist as a chapter without you; as a member, and as a volunteer from time to time.

The Flathead Sportsman’s Expo really is a lot of fun. It may not be on par with the big shows in places like Denver or San Francisco, but it definitely has a unique charm all it’s own. It’s fun for kids of all ages and we hope to see you there next year. That said, for me personally, booking an African safari in Kalispell, Montana is akin to ordering fresh seafood in Des Moines, Iowa. I just can’t get my head around the nexus….

jim@flatheadtu.org

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Use this link to view our comments in their entirety:

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Our Chapter President submitted a Letter To the Editor on Tuesday, Feb. 24th, to the Inter Lake, Missoulian, Beacon, and Hungry Horse News about the revival of the Lake Trout Slot Limit. The letter is shown here:

TOXIC FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

March brings Spring weather, the renewal of fishing licenses and sadly, this year another step backwards for native trout in the Flathead!

The story is well known. The accidental introduction of nonnative Mysis shrimp to Flathead Lake in the 1980’s led to a surge in predatory lake trout populations, resulting in the demise of highly valued kokanee and a system wide decline of native Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout.

In 1992, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) implemented a “slot limit” for lake trout, requiring anglers to release fish between 30 and 36 inches to preserve trophy lake trout fishing opportunity. But, by the early 2000s, agency management strategies diverged. Beginning in 2014, CSKT prioritized saving native trout by aggressively reducing lake trout numbers through Mack Days tournaments and commercial-scale gill netting and they removed the slot limit on lake trout in the Southern half of Flathead Lake. Stubbornly, FWP retained the trophy lake trout slot limit on the North half of the lake, leading to inconsistent and biologically nonsensical regulations in two halves of the same lake. In essence, FWP protected large lake trout spawners that the Tribes were trying to remove.

Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited consistently advocated for a unified fisheries management approach of the Flathead Lake and River system, focused on nativetrout recovery. We supported the Tribes approach. But we were recently stunned to learn that after 12 years of attempting to maximize lake trout removal, CSKT as of March 1 is reinstating the lake trout slot limit on the Tribal half of Flathead Lake. Why? They acknowledged their recent monitoring indicates that after two decades they are finally making the desired impact and are seeing a shift in lake trout population structure, with considerably fewer large individuals. So, why back off now, potentially snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?

Large lake trout can consume even adult native trout. They live up to 40 years and accumulate significant bio-toxins. Due to mercury and PCB contamination. Montana FWP and CSKT both publish warnings to limit lake trout consumption, especially for children and women of childbearing age. Yet, in 2026 the new fishing regulations once again favor nonnative, potentially toxic lake trout over threatened native Bull Trout and Cutthroat. This has raised concerns among both conservation and human health advocates. The return of the lake trout slot limit certainly does not benefit native trout and is exasperating and toxic in more ways than one.

Wade Fredenberg, President, Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited

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Our February meeting was devoted to discussing the history and status of arctic grayling in Montana with FWP grayling experts Mark Kornick and Trisha Cycz.  In our continuing effort to provide more interesting and immersive programming, we scheduled their talk about arctic grayling to coincide with a blast of arctic weather that dumped 4-6 inches of future trout habitat in the valley.  Despite the cold and snow, a couple of dozen of the FVTU faithful and guests joined us at Sacred Waters for a good show.

Arctic Grayling, Thymallus arcticus, so named because they smell like thyme, are found throughout Alaska and northern Canada.  They are easily recognized by their very large dorsal fins.  They have scales like a whitefish but fight like a trout and are an excellent and sought after game fish. But did you know that during the last Ice Age, grayling made it all the way down to what is now the Lower Forty-eight?  Grayling were found in only two places that far south, northern Michigan, and the upper Missouri River basin in Montana.  When the ice receded, the grayling stayed. 

By the end of the 1930’s Michigan’s native grayling were extinct, driven over the brink by logging, overfishing, and habitat destruction.  But ten thousand years later the Montana grayling are still here, and thanks to the efforts of people like Mark and Trisha, still going strong! 

Red Rocks Lake and the Big Hole River harbor original native strains.  Grayling elsewhere in the state are the product of an extensive stocking program.  Working out of the little-known Rose Creek Hatchery right here in the Flathead, Mark and Tricia work their magic to produce millions, yes millions, of grayling hatchlings. Those grayling end up in a wide variety of lakes around the state.  Many are somewhat “remote” but others, like Rogers Lake, just twenty miles or so west of Kalispell, are easily accessed and provide excellent opportunities to catch a grayling. 

River fishing opportunities are much more limited with the Big Hole River being the best known and providing the most opportunities to catch one.  Mark told us that they’re looking at planting grayling into the South Fork of the Madison River.  That said, I’ll let you in on a little secret.  I wasn’t going to say anything but Mark did sort of mumble it under his breath so I guess I’ll spill the rest of the beans.  There are a couple of grayling in the North Fork of the Flathead.  They are few and far between, but occasionally rarely you’ll pick one up.  Grayling weren’t stocked in the North Fork, nor were they native there (no grayling existed west of the Continental Divide).  It’s believed that the ones you catch are remnants of grayling planted in Red Meadow Lake (although there hasn’t been a planting there in over twenty years).  Some fish apparently made their way downstream via Red Meadow Creek and into the North Fork where they continue to hold on.  If you’re lucky enough to catch one, treat it gently and send it on its way.

There you go, another great program. A really unique fish that we’re privileged to have available right in our own back yard, so to speak.  If you haven’t caught a grayling and an Alaska trip isn’t on your RADAR, drive over to Rogers Lake and take a stab at this relic. Big thanks to FVTU board member Beth Gardner for setting this one up. I got a lot out of it but drove home feeling I left one important question unasked,…what would the Latin name have been if they smelled like oregano?

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I know, your thinking “Hey it’s TROUT Unlimited, what are we doing talking about grayling“?  FVTU is all about protecting our native fishes and it’s hard to get more native than the grayling.  Besides, grayling are one of those indicator species. If you find grayling, you’ll find high water quality, something needed by our two favorites, bull trout and westslope cutthroat. 

Where were you?  There’s only two regular membership meetings left before our new summer bash, the Fin Fest!  We still want to see you at our next meeting, March 17^th, 6:00pm, Sacred Waters Brewery.  Be there!  No excuses!  The Olympics are over by then; you can’t claim you’re watching curling. 

jim@flatheadtu.org

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