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Tiny Craig finds prosperity as outsiders chase trout
CRAIG, Mont.- The midafternoon heat is intense in this little town, and the fishing is a little slow. But Mike Bushly is still upbeat.There's air conditioning inside The Trout Shop, an emporium loaded with cool fishing stuff - flyrods, vests, waders, flies, ventilated clothing and a well-stocked deli offering drinks, sandwiches and chilled salads. Even the thick fleece-lined jackets have a perverse retail appeal.And Bushly has plenty more reasons not to sweat. The shop and the small community that surrounds it are awash in anglers ready to spend cold cash chasing big trout."This is our Christmas right now," Bushly said. .
Silver Creek rebounding from spring flood
Four months after an unusually large flood swept through Silver Creek, depositing silt in favorite fishing stretches and skewing insect hatches, most anglers say the prized trout stream near Picabo is fishing as well as ever. "There's nothing wrong here. The fishing's been good," said John McGough, of Hailey, as he changed out of his waders after a morning of fly fishing last weekend. "I'm seeing a whole lot of active, young fish, which is good news." During a warm, wet spell at the tail end of one of the snowiest winters in the last 25 years, flows on Silver Creek were measured at a swollen 460 cubic feet per second (cfs) on April 6 and 7, 2006. Average flows during spring runoff top out at about 200 cfs. When the waters opened to fishing in late May, many anglers complained that the physical structure of the creek had changed dramatically.
Fishing's good as Coho Derby opens
Jay Torke of Kohler and his five-member team, Untouchable, led the pack Saturday, the first day of the two-day team competition in the Coho Derby headquartered at The Wharf, 733 Riverfront Drive. "We brewed a gallon and a half of coffee and drank it all," said Torke, whose family owns the Torke Coffee Roasting Co. in Sheboygan. "That's definitely helping us catch fish." Untouchable is leading 42 teams in the Super Derby tournament with 124.55 pounds of fish in the 36th annual Coho Derby, said Grace Brown, co-owner of The Wharf with her husband, Jeff, both organizers of the competition. Torke, 30, said his team caught 14 fish, but were only allowed to weigh 10 nine king salmon and one lake trout. He talked a bit about the team's strategy. "We looked at the northeast wind that's been going the past few days, kind of figured that the fish would be deeper, so we started deep and found a few and kind of worked that area," Torke said.
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