were eager to eat my Strip Leeches, Sculpin and
Smolt patterns.
It makes sense. In winter, trout are hungry. They
have fewer food choices and lower food volume.
While the Mo always provides sufficient food,
winter is a leaner time. Fish are forced to be
more opportunistic. This makes a swung fly very
tempting. From a trout’s perspective, it’s an easy
target and a larger meal. Winter is a great time
to fish a two handed rod. While I was discovering
the trouty swing nature of the Mo, other anglers
were finding similar successes on rivers like the
Yellowstone, Lower Madison, Bighorn and Clark
Fork.
Fast forward to 2016 and spey