PICTURE-- Land of the Giants 12SEP25 Todd Large Brown Trout

 

PICTURE-- Land of the Giants 12SEP25 23-inch Wild Rainbow Trout

 

Fishing "Land of the Giants" on the Upper MIssouri River" SEP 2025

 Fly Fishing the West

Vol. 32, Issue 1

Sept. 11-14, 2025

Missouri River (Land of the Giants) Sept. 12,13, Helena, Montana 

Friday, Saturday, Sept. 12, 13, 2025—Todd, Nelson and Erika Geary (Todd’s daughter and son-in-law) and I drove each morning about 8 am north of Helena to “Gates of the Mountains” Marina on Upper Holter Lake which is below Hauser Dam on the Missouri River. This is a part of the Missouri River which is very scenic and inaccessible by motorized vehicle. It has steep cliffs mixed with pine and fir trees. The cliffs have many caves and rock formations. It also has ancient petroglyphs of buffaloes at one place in the canyon wall.

From the marina we took jet boats upriver to Hauser Dam, an area known as “Land of the Giants” We nymphed the stretch of the river from below the dam drifting about ¼ mile downstream then repeated this run travelling back upriver. The pole rig was a small bobber near the end of the fly line, then about 5 feet of leader to a swivel with a small shot sinker just above the swivel. From the swivel was about 4 feet of tippet (guessing maybe 5x (5 lb. test)] to a size 8 bead-head wooly bugger. Attached to this fly was a size 18 “green machine” or similar fly on 2 feet of tippet. The fish we caught normally took the lower small fly. Todd and I were in one boat and Nelson and Erica in another with a guide that worked for Trent (Bradley on Friday and Jamie on Saturday). 

On both days we caught about 10 fish in each boat. Friday morning, I caught two rainbows, one measured 23”. It ran pulling line for about 30 feet before getting it turned around. (See picture below, this fish was a wild rainbow.). In the afternoon Todd caught a large brown (see picture below). It too ran a ways away from the boat. When both of these fish got near the boat they would swim under the boat to the other side. Todd had another large fish on, but his line got caught in the oar lock on the boat and the line broke. I did catch another rainbow late in the afternoon that I believe was larger (at least heavier) than the 23” fish in the morning. Brad (our guide) netted the fish, got it in the boat, then when we were lifting it to take a picture it flopped out of our hands, onto a seat in the boat, then overboard before I could get a picture. Brad felt bad about that. I told him not to worry. Now, I have good reason to return another year to try again. 

On Saturday we returned to the same place on the river. In the morning we again drifted just below the dam. Todd caught five or six here. I had a good-sized fish on that ran upstream and was lost. I did catch a brown about 19-20”. In the afternoon we moved downstream to the lake area across from the marina. There Todd caught 4 or 5 rainbows, one maybe 20”. I caught 2 rainbows. Each day we returned to the marina about 4 pm. 

NOTE: I have made fishing trips to “land of the giants” on the upper Missouri River 3-4 times since 2018. They are not recorded in this blog. Each time was a great trip and never disappointing. This surely is one of the best locations in the world to experience the best of earth’s creations. 

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:

1. The weather was very nice in Montana. It was mostly warm and sunny (72 F high). It was cooler on Saturday and rained slightly about 4 pm as we were leaving.
2. The water in the Missouri has a green tinge to it and tiny green bits of algae floating in the water. (YouTube videos show the Land of the Giants water to be quite clear during other parts of the year.)
3. We saw bald eagles in the canyon.
4. The trip was very memorable with Trent Brown and his associate guides. We would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a Montana fishing guide. They are some of best at what they do, for sure. Also staying with Rachelle, his sister, was very nice as well. (She runs a bed and breakfast/over-night stay business (SageDog Inn Airbnb in Helena, MT.)
5. A non-resident Montana fishing license in 2018 was $35 for a two-day license. For this trip it was $51 for two days.

Regarding this part of the Upper Missouri River (upstream from Holter Dam), on July 19, 1805 Meriwether Lewis (Lewis and Clark) on their way to the Pacific Ocean recorded in his journal, “…we entered [much] the most remarkable cliffs that we have seen. These cliffs rise from the water’s edge perpendicularly to a height of 1,200 feet…the towering and projecting rocks…seemed ready to tumble on us. For a distance of 5¼ miles [the river is] deep from side to side nor it there in the first 3 miles…a spot…on which a man could rest the soal of his foot… From the singular appearance of this place I called it the ‘gates of the rocky mountains’..”.  Lewis was also within a couple of hours march from one of the great gold deposits [in the west], Last Chance Gulch, near Helena, Montana…. But they were not looking for gold. As far as Lewis and Jefferson were concerned, animals, not minerals, were the great wealth of the Rocky Mountains. They caught cutthroat trout, encountered buffalo, deer, large elk, grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, beavers, otter, cranes, geese, red-breasted mergansers and curlews, ‘and a great number of snakes’. They were hampered by prickly-pear cactus, numberous  bothersome ‘musquetoes’, and ‘needle grass, an invention of the devil, consisting of barbed seeds which “penetrate our mockersons and leather legings..”.  On July 27, they arrived at Three Forks where the Missouri split into the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallitin Rivers.” (Source: Undaunted Courage- Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West, by Stephen E. Ambrose, pages 252-258.)

Fly Fishing the West

Vol. 31, Issue 1

October 21-22 2019

Snake River below and above American Falls Reservoir, Idaho 

Monday Morning, October 21, 2019—Tyson, Paul and I arrived at Pipeline Campground at about 7:30 am. It is about 5 miles southwest of American Falls, Idaho, which is at American Falls Reservoir Dam. It is called Pipeline because there is a pipeline suspended across the river. There is a boat launch where the pipeline is. Upon arriving there were already several fishermen fishing at some rapids just upstream of the boat launch. We drove further upstream along a river road about ½ mile to a pull-off with access right next to the river. Tyson and I went upstream over a dry river bottom reaching out about 30 yards from shore to where the river flow narrowed to about 25 yards, see PICTURE below. Paul tried downstream. (See NOTES 1 and 2 below on wind and river level, which are key factors in our experience fishing this river.)

Tyson caught an 18” rainbow on a streamer (white, weighted he tied). I had a fly pole and spinning pole with me. Walking out over the riverbed I found a ~1/8 ounce yellow with green spots rooster tail lure in the rocks so I put it on. I caught a rainbow habout 20” long, see PICTURES below. Paul caught a rainbow about 14” on a black panther Martin lure,. The entire time the wind was blowing upstream. It was cold (about 38 degrees F). The wind started out at about 10 mph but picked up and by about 11 am it was 20-25 mph. This made casting hard. We left at 11:30 am.

Monday Afternoon, October 21, 2019—After lunch we drove about 40 miles from American Falls to Blackfoot, Idaho. About 2 miles north of Blackfoot we got on Porterville Road and drove to where it meets the Snake River. There is a bike path between the road and the river. We parked where there are a series of log jam/rapids. We fished above and below the rapids. I fished a deep (10-15 feet deep) stretch where water was being funneled above the rapids to a canal. One reason we tried this section of river was the wind was not a problem. I caught a 14” rainbow off the bottom on a size 12 tan elk hair caddis. Paul also caught a similar rainbow on an elk hair caddis there as well. We all fished below the log jam/rapids, see PICTURE below, with no luck.

Tuesday Morning, October 22, 2019—We decided to go back to Pipeline Campground. The temperature was pleasant at 46 degrees F at 7 am. We arrived at about 7:30 am at the same spot as Monday. The river flow was down from about 1,200 cfs on Monday to about 800 cfs. There was no wind. Again Tyson and I went upstream out over dry river bottom to where the river narrowed to about 25 yards. Paul tried again downstream. Tyson landed a rainbow on a streamer about 20”. I was a shiny, beautiful rainbow. I tried a 3” sinking rapala on the spinning rod and caught a 24” rainbow. This is the biggest rainbow I ever caught next to the second biggest ever the day before. (See PICTURE below). Tyson had assured us that there were 24” rainbows in there. He was exactly right. The wind started to pick up considerably again about 10:30 am. We headed home. What a two-day trip it was.

Other Miscellaneous Information/Observations:

1.    The weather was mostly very nice in Idaho in October. Monday was cold in the morning (38 degrees F) but warm in the afternoon and sunny (50 F). Tuesday was surprisingly warmer (46 F at 7 am). Monday morning the wind started out as a breeze (5-10 mph) when we arrived at the river, then slowly picked up and by 11 am it was up to 20-25 mph. When we arrived on Monday the cold temperature with even just a breeze made it miserable trying, for example, to keep your hands warm.

2.    Tyson planned this trip by closely watching the river flows. During the summer months Snake river flows below American Falls Reservoir (at Neeley, Idaho) run from 15,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) in June to 10,000 cfs by September. By mid-October flows drop to 4,000 cfs. When we arrived on Monday the flow was down to 1,200 cfs on Monday then 800 cfs on Tuesday morning.) Flows actually (as of Wednesday, October 23) had dropped further (to about 400 cfs) by the next day (after we were gone).

3.    The water in the Snake below American Falls Reservoir had a light green tinge to it. During very low water small pools left in the dry river bed were loaded with small green caddis larvae, as well as other aquatic life, including what looked like small scud or sow bugs and dark reddish-brown  sculpin up to 3-4 inches long. Above the reservoir by Blackfoot the water was much clearer and slightly green in deep holes. Even so, one could see the bottom through 15 feet of water. It is no wonder that trout grow to large sizes in these stretches of the river.

4.    We saw hawks, large white pelicans and huge flocks of seagulls sitting along the river. We also saw several brown sculpins in pools left on the rocky river bottom as water flows dropped overnight.

5.    Non-resident Idaho fishing license for 2019 was $22 for a two-day license.

6.    On the way home we passed by Samaria, Idaho. Samaria is nestled under the beautiful Samaria Mountain range and overlooks the fertile Malad Valley. John Evan Price was the first settler to inhabit the area. He, along with his two sons, arrived to the present site of Samaria on February 10, 1868. Eventually the area was settled by Mormon pioneers, mainly from Wales. Due to the hospitality of the inhabitants, the name “Samaria” was suggested by Lorenzo Snow, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints upon his visit to the area. John Evan Price had a great, great, great grandson named Tyson, who one day would pass through the area on a fishing trip (this trip). Tyson’s grandmother, Norma La Rue Bowen was also born in Samaria on October 16, 1924. She passed away January 6, 2015 at the age of 90 years.

Snake River Below American Falls-Low Water OCT 2019

About 20" Snake River Rainbow OCT 2019

Snake River Upstream of Blackfoot, Idaho OCT19

An 18" Snake River Rainbow caught on a Streamer OCT 2019

A 24" Snake River Rainbow OCT 2019