Well, It's Official: We Found a Honey Hole in Bozeman, Montana

When you get together with your friends for fishing, there's usually a favorite hole to visit and this is the story of my local spot.

Once again on a weekday I was planning an afterwork fishing trip with Andrea and Chris. We wanted to head to the same spot as before because the fishing had been good.

After stopping by the gas station to get worms, we soon found ourselves in the parking lot and headed down to the water.

The three of us parted ways once we crossed the high-water mark and wished each other luck. Andrea caught a fish right away and I quickly snapped a picture.

I didn't wander too far downstream before I found myself alone between the quite river banks. Casting my setup in to a deep hole, I became the worm impaled on the hook.

I saw myself casting the line out; soon the sunny sky gave way to a murky rippled atmosphere and the light faded quickly. The bottom of the river bed was soon surrounding me and I could see fish swimming above. Again and again, I was thrown into the depths until my body was ripped off the hook and cast into the water. The spot wasn't working for me that day and I got skunked.

I returned a few days later not this Andrea or Chris, but with a girl named Nicole, and her pup Lucy, that I was hoping to impress.

Of course the road to the spot was subject to contraction and we got turned around a couple times finding parking. Soon enough we found it and my embarrassment was fading.

Nicole and I geared up and headed into the water. I went upstream and found a long run of low water. After a few casts I felt a hit, then I let the worm drop a bit and felt another. Suddenly, I could see the brook trout and waited until he bit again, so I set the hook.

The fish came flying out of the water and I was able to get it to the bank for a quick photo before releasing it.

When I came back to the put in spot Nicole and Lucy were sitting on the banks watching the dimming sky. She said she had no luck, and that Lucy swam, chasing the bait the whole time. I showed her a picture of my catch and she seemed impressed, her smile was the best catch of the day

NEXT: FISHING THE SMALL TRIBUTARIES OF THE GALLATIN RIVER IN MONTANA AND FINALLY FINDING TROUT