Montana Float Trip (ik)

[nvrgvup444]

Well, I took my ik to the Big Hole River, MT at the beginning of July. It was a long drive up there (slept in my truck for a few hours for rest). My grandfather was adopted in Butte, MT and I received his fly rod/reel from 1932 upon his passing. I have a picture of him fishing with it on the Big Hole River from 1932. I have been planning this trip for some time just to tie up some loose ends (bucket list) and to try to get a picture of me similar to the one I have of him. He was a great man and I loved fishing with him. This trip was a way of remembering his legacy and teaching me about respecting nature.

I had a bunch of dehydrated food, deer jerky, Katadyn Combi, GPS, hammock, sleeping materials, paracord, his fly rod, net, fishing supplies, Jetboil, some good cigars, etc, and my dog. We pulled into a campsite, set up and had a good sleep. Thank goodness my hammock has a mosquito net because the mosquitos were absoluetly horrible. I would walk around and asked people for a ride. I never had to ask many people as everyone was very nice. Nobody accepted money, but I did give them some jerky. They drove me up river and I floated down to my truck/camp. I would then drive up to another campsite and set up, get a ride up river and float back down to camp. I did this for 3 days, each time floating back down to my truck. Getting rides was probably helped by having an ik, as it made it easy to hitch a ride.

Before floating each section of river I would ask people around camp about any obstacles that I need to be aware of. The first section of river, one person said "there is a diversion dam, but we just went through it", another person said, "there is a diversion dam, but you can go over it", the third person said, "there is nothing to worry about." There is an old power plant that used to operate on the river.

The very first float was in a canyon section of the river. There were many boulders, small riffle sections and some water that was really moving. There was some parts that water would come over the side of the boat but I would just pull over and open some bails and let it drain out. We floated, fished, floated, ate, floated, fished (you get the picture) and I was having the time of my life. This had started off as the trip that I had been longing for. I had never been fly fishing and didn't really care if I knew what I was doing. Lots of people we would pass made comments about what a great time my dog and I looked like we were having. We were having so much fun. There was snow on some of the mountain tops, tons of wildlife and surrounded by beauty. I know why people wear waders as the water was very cold. That was the one thing I wish I would have purchased

We were on the water from about 9am to 4pm when we came to a bridge that had a "danger" sign on it. So we took out, walked up and tried to see where we could portage. There was nothing around so we stated walking down the road. We couldn't see the river due to the private land surrounding that side. My dog and I got back in and away we went. However, I didn't put on my life jacket after getting back in the kayak. The gps had us only about 1.5 miles from camp, so I thought it might be easy going. Well, we were on the left side of the river and when we rounded the corner, I could see that the portage was on the right. For a moment I had a gut feeling told me that I should do the smart thing and paddle over to the right side of the river, but I looked at my dog and said, "What the heck". The river was moving fast and I didn't know if I could even make it over without putting us in danger. However, the closer we got to the diversion dam, I knew that I had made a mistake. There was about a 4 foot drop in the only spot that wasn't blocked. I said a quick prayer and told my dog to "hang on!" We went over, bounced up, got sideways and immediately flipped.

After getting tossed from the boat, we were getting thrashed around pretty good and for a moment I thought my time on this earth was done. The under/back current tossed us around, over and under the water. When I popped up I grabbed my dog, somehow got the tie-off rope on the kayak and swam/waded to shore. My heart was beating through my chest. I was glad that we didn't die as I was stupid and wasn't wearing my life jacket. I lost lots of gear: my extra paddle, gps, nagalene bottles, fishing tackle, throw cushion, spinning rod, my grandfathers fly rod/reel, anchor (there's too much to list) and I had lots of scrapes that turned to bruises the next day.

That's right, I lost my grandfathers rod and reel. It was gone forever. I lost the one thing that brought me to this river. I lost a cherished part of my grandfather's legacy. I lost the one possession that I had from him, the one thing that he wanted me to have. It was gone, but we were still here.

The amazing thing is that after about 30 seconds sitting on the shore, I see a dry box floating by so I waded out and snagged it. It had my wallet, keys, phone and camera in it. We rested on the rocks for about 5 minutes before seeing one of the people that said that it was "ok to go over" come over the dam. They immediately snapped an oar, but they made it through after almost getting pulled/pushed back into the falls. As they floated by, they hollered over to me and I could tell that they were a little shook up. I was still in just a bit of shock/ticked off so we didn't talk much.

Sitting on the shore gave me time to think... I was happy to be alive, but at the same time I was sad and mad that I lost his fly rod. A family came over to check on us after they saw what happened and I told him about everyone saying that it was "ok" to go over the dam, and he told me that most people probably thought that I was in larger "river raft" and that the lower the river gets, the larger the drop becomes. I wish I would have talked with them earlier. Nothing that was lashed down was lost. Lesson learned. I guess the falls get bigger as the river starts dropping after the snow melt. Thus the portage!

All this on my first day! It went from glorious to treacherous within 30 seconds. But, we still had to get to camp so we loaded up and headed out. Since I no longer had my gps, I floated right by my campsite. It was tough paddling upstream for about 200 yards after a full day, but we got close and then drug the kayak the rest of the way.

The other two floats were calmer and more mellow. They were in the "valley" section of the Big Hole and not so much in the canyon section. The river flow was not as fast. Don't get me wrong, the water was still moving at a pretty good clip, especially compared to the slower moving rivers here in NW Missouri. I will have to say that the ik did an exceptional job. I was pretty rough on it and it shows no signs of ill wear.

You can see by some of the pics that my dogs was not always happy with me, but he still loves me.

Ending thoughts:
I would do this again.
I wouldn't get complacent and lazy.
I cherish this life (and my dog's life)
I will listen to my gut.
Being adventurous does not have to be dangerous.
Even though I didn't have cell phone coverage, I will find a way to call my wife every other day.... because she was ticked.
Don't tell the wife the truth about "near misses" until you get home.
I miss my grandfather... and he is probably laughing about his fishing pole being back "home" at the bottom of the Big Hole River, MT.

[stanger1944]

Wow that is some story, glad it turned out okay. Beautiful country, and just remember your grandpa's flyrod is back where he had so much fun with it.

[NeonMoon]

Well, it there was any best place to lose that flyrod, I'd say that was it (sorry you lost it though). Great pics!

[mermentau]

I miss my grandfather... and he is probably laughing about his fishing pole being back "home" at the bottom of the Big Hole River, MT.

That was my thought as a grandpaw. Heaven has to have some Montana in it for sure. Thanks for sharing a great story. I spent 2 weeks on a reservation near Box Elder a couple of years ago. The most peaceful 2 weeks in years.

[2KanZam]

Sounds like a trip I'd like to take (minus the dump). Is that IK new model SE 380x/420x? If so how do you like it? I fish out of an older model and I freakin love it!! Not telling the old lady about near misses until you get home is KEY!! LOL!! I've experienced that one. Lost a boat once, like you just fell into complacency when a strainer appeared out of nowhere. Lost my phone too so I called from a gas station....to tell her I lost the phone and will be a couple hours. I waited until I got home to tell her about the boat.

I'm not one to preach but, if you see a sign with "Danger" do not proceed until you have visually identified the hazard and put on your pfd (and dog's) immediately.

Portage trails are there for a reason. Usually if I see a trail I stop and check out what it's for, sometimes it's a portage but more often I am pleasantly surprised wiht a campsite, falls or some other attraction.

Lastly, it sounds like this was a lowhead diversion dam, possibly one with a breach? Low head dams are one of the most dangerous obstacles on a river no matter how small. Never, ever-ever run a low head dam, even if it is just 12 inches high...they create hydraulics that can be inescapeable.


Glad y'all are ok and glad it won't keep you off the river.