Fished the clark fork for a few days and had maybe one of the scariest moments of my life. I fell, This wasn't a funny fall at all. I slipped and fell backwards and my head met granite, Very hard, Was like getting hit in the back of the head with a sledge hammer. I hit hard enough that I could not move my arms or legs for a good 10 seconds, Then i had another few minutes of pins and needles in my limbs, Back of my head is split open, My ears are still ringing. Just a reminder to be careful out there, especially when alone, Nobody would have found me for possibly days. Nlow for the fishin, It was good, took sometime to find good water as it is getting pretty low. Lots of brookies 5 to 10 inchers, some already in bueatiful full spawning colors. Also lots of rainbows, i actually got 2 that were about 16 inches, If you ever fished this river you know thats a big fish for that river. Overall probably averagd close to 20 fish caught and released a day all on dry's. Remember guys be careful out there, Thankfully the rod didn't get broke .
Obviously not the Montana Clark Fork . . . where is this place? I like to explore and fish solo a bit too . . . between rattlers, falls and whatever else can happen, we have to be careful out there when we're solo. I find myself doing a lot less rock wall climbing these days when I'm solo. I had a similar experience a couple of years ago that was an eye opener for me.
i have had a few close counters myself, before i got my new wading boots, i would fall straight on my bad knee which had a cracked knee cap, or i would slip and fall backwards like you shaun, but luckly i had a backpack on which saved my head, if i didnt i would have been done.
glad you are ok buddy, be careful out there would ya.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Bob, the clark fork is a small river that runs into the middle fork stan. about 10 miles down from kennedy meadows. It's a good brookie river with some nice bows in it as well. Its not as well known as other west slope rivers but its a fun place to fish. Crackin my head open was defenitly a real eye opener, I guess sometimes I get a bit careless. Chalk it up to a learning experience i guess.
I'm pretty sure that I had a layer of sand on my boot bottoms since I had just been standing in a sandy spot, That mixed with stepping on a "polished" peice of granite made for the accident, My head still hurts . Yeah I still had major fun on this one Matt.
The water above and around the meadow area at the end of the road is a bit skinny but still fishable, The lower portions of the river are still good due to feeder creeks, Plenty of pools several feet deep, water temp was still ok at around 60 degrees late in the day. I wouldn't hesitate to go within the next few weeks. I was a good 1/2 mile above the end of the road when I cracked my head and didn't see anyone else that day.
Good to hear you are OK. It is easy to forget how dangerous it can be climbing around the rocks. On the Upper Sac, around 5 years ago on a stretch of rocks I have been climbing around since I was a kid, I fell forward on some boulders and cracked my head so hard I blacked out for a few seconds. It could have easily been much, much worse. It taught me to really slow down in the river...
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. Yeah I still had major fun on this one Matt.
