Dateline, Montana.

Evidently I need new waders. Fishing Rock Creek today I felt like I was fishing in a Northwest downpour: non-stop heavy rain. By the time I got off the river my pants and socks were soaking wet, and I hadn't fallen in the river for a change. The water just ran down my raincoat and soaked through my aged waders. I've never seen it rain steadily all day in Missoula in the fall before. As you can imagine, I had the river to myself.

When I awoke this morning, it seemed like the perfect day to try some streamers for trout moving up out of the Clark Fork in preparation for spawning. I fished the very lowest section of Rock Creek and did, indeed, catch a couple fish. The first was a beautiful cutthroat, about 16 inches, that I pulled out from under a fallen log. I also caught a helpful bull trout (12 inches) that, when I over-reacted to its initial strike by jerking the fly to the surface, came up to take it like a dry fly and hooked itself. I'll take luck when skill fails me.

The rain should stop later tonight, and the forecast for next week, when other club members come over for an outing, looks dry. Skies will be mostly sunny with high temperatures in the mid-toe-upper 70s. Fishing will be fun and, I hope, productive.