Sula, MT - Day 10
Monday, October 3, 2022
Another big day of fishing for the boys today! Andi arranged to take Jim and Aden fly fishing on the Bitterroot River with an outfitter from Darby. Fly fishing is incredibly popular in Montana, and fishing the Bitterroot is no exception. The river is home to many different types of trout including rainbow trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout, bull trout and even brown trout. October isn’t peak fishing season here, but the fish are still active and the guys had a great time floating down the river nonetheless.
Around 7:30am this morning, Andi, Jim and Aden left our rental cabin in Sula for their fishing excursion. Aden’s been really into fishing on this trip to Montana, so he was ecstatic about going again today. The raft is really meant for two people + the guide, but Andi was able to get the OK for Aden to come along. He knew Aden would be crushed if he had to stay home while Dad and Grandpa went fishing for the day. Both Jim and Andi have fly fished before, but Aden never has so he got a quick lesson on shore how to operate the fly rod.
By 9:00am, the trio was on the water with the guide helping to instruct them what to do. Andi said the fishing experience was very fast moving and a bit technical as not to snag the line in the passing trees and shoreline. At first, Andi and Jim did all the fishing. When Andi snagged a fish, he let Aden reel it in but eventually that wasn’t satisfying enough for Aden. “I want to do it myself!” he begged Andi. So, Andi let Aden try fly fishing by himself and Aden did great!
The guys caught quite a few trout during their day of fishing, but it’s catch & release so they didn’t bring any home to eat. Aden even caught a rare bull trout! The fishing guide said Aden should consider himself lucky because very few people can say they’ve ever caught one. Andi was impressed how careful the guide was in handling the fish. It’s clear the outfitter had much respect for the trout population and the river that provides his livelihood.
The outfitter provided snacks on the water, but the guys were still hungry when they finished fishing around 3:00pm. Andi took Jim and Aden to Big Cat Cafe for a late lunch. This is the second time we’ve eaten at that restaurant during our visits to the area and I can’t say we’ve been pleased with it. It’s pretty expensive and the food quality isn’t that great — at least that’s what the boys reported to us when they returned to the rental cabin afterwards.
While the guys were fishing, Janie, Tory and I hung out at the rental cabin all day. We didn’t have a vehicle since they boys took the Jeep into Darby, so Tory and I did school in the morning and Janie went for a walk around the neighborhood.
I made chicken salad from some leftover chicken in the fridge which we ate for lunch as well as some of the gnocchi Janie and Tory made yesterday. We played games in the afternoon and just spent time together talking. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.
That evening, some of us wanted to walk the East Fork trail down the road from the cabin. Tory and Aden wanted to stay back, so Jim offered to watch them while Andi, Janie and I went for a quick hike. The East Fork trail is flat and relatively easy, and it felt great to get outside to stretch our legs and be in nature.
We ate leftovers for dinner that night since all of us were on different eating schedules from the day. After two big days of fishing, Aden was ready for bed early. He was showered and snuggled up in bed by 8:30pm. The rest of us went to bed shortly thereafter.
Tomorrow is another day in Sula. Can’t wait to see what’s in store.
