After a 3AM wakeup I followed the setting moon SW for two hours to one of my favorite headwater creeks close to the Continental Divide. It was going to be a warm, sunny day but as I geared up for the walk to the creek, the air temps were still in the 40s and the rising sun had not yet cleared the mountains to the east.
Fence Line creek is aptly named as you have to follow a fence line into the valley to reach the stream. Wire gates that last year were in pretty loose shape and easy to open had been repaired with new wire and this year were so tight they were impossible to open. But after safely passing backpack and my F703 Scott rod over the fence, I was able to slide under the bottom wire on my back to traverse the fence.
This was my first trip to Fence Line creek this season and the contrast from 2021 was stark. In 2021, a late June trip encountered extremely dry conditions, grass maybe only 6” high, the creek flowing clear and well below normal. All the usual seeps and potholes were bone dry and wildflowers almost non-existent. 2022 - second week in July, what a difference a year makes. Our late Spring rains had this mountain valley awash with moisture. All the seeps and potholes were soggy. Wildflowers sparkled everywhere and the grass was thigh high everywhere. Even the creek still showed signs of run-off as it still flowed above grassy banks in places and carried a slight dingy color.
It was a gorgeous day, but once the sun cleared the horizon, temps rose dramatically with the lack of clouds to the high 70s by mid-morning. The early warmup brought out copious Caddis and a few mayfly spinners early. Fish in Fence Line creek aren’t very selective and over the course of the morning I connected with humpies, bi-visibles, hoppers and EHC. At one point I decided to try a bugger/soft-hackle combo under an indicator in a deep pool. First cast, a trout rocketed up from the bottom to attack the indicator. That prompted me to tie on a small hopper which produced well for the remainder of the morning, including a small grayling which is testament to some of the restoration work MT FWP has done in these mountain valleys.
Although it was a beautiful morning in this remote valley, there is a downside to all the moisture—flies. Luckily, they were not biting flies but by mid-morning the volume of flies buzzing around my head, crawling inside my sunnies and generally annoying me no end was so bad that I had to call it a day. As I walked back up the fence line, I marveled at the cornucopia of wildflowers this Spring has brought forth. Hopefully I’ll return to Fence Line creek this season.
