In-Person Whitefish Derby Continues a BVFF Tradition 

Full disclosure - No records were broken during our annual In-Person Whitefish Derby; however, about 24 fly fishers enjoyed a day on one of the premier rivers in the United States. Weather played yet another crucial role in the fishing success. No, not fishing, catching success.

I send out a bolded THANK YOU to Glenn Anders for coordinating this year's outing and serving a fine chili and hot dog meal at the end of the day!

We were met by blue skies with scattered clouds and rather calm winds. The cold temperature is what made catching challenging. Ambient air temps were in the mid-20's to begin the day and kept water temps below 37F for much of the fishing time. The water temps didn't get over 38F until around noon and catching began to turn on a bit.

The last hour from 2-3 PM found water temps getting near 39F and the catching really ramped up. Of the 13 fish I landed, 7 came to my net in that last hour. Remember this when you are fishing. Water temperatures are what matters The fish begin feeding actively at around 38-39F temps. Not only does their metabolism increase, the insects they eat also get more active and are readily available. But I digress.

At the end of the day, we all gathered back at the Village Boat Launch and enjoyed hot chili with hot dogs and told tales of woe about how challenging the fishing was. The longest fish was recorded by Brian Martin at 17.5" and Bert Hammond came in with a 17.25" fish to claim second.

Thank you to all who registered and came out for a fun day of fishing and connecting on a very special river.