It Might Have Been the Last Trout Fishing Trip of the Year?

The other day I headed out to my favorite river, the Swan River, for a quick afternoon fishing trip. 

We had had a bit of snow and very cold temperatures the day or so before I headed out, but on this day air temperatures were in the low fifties, so it was quite comfortable.  I went to an area I hadn't fished since the spring that is between a dam and Flathead Lake, so the rivers flows can vary quite a bit. 

Well, when I got to the top of the ravine that overlooks the river, I quickly noticed that the river flows were very LOW.  I began my decent to the river and when I stepped into the running water, I quickly realized I might have a problem.  There was very little current, nothing like what I was used to, and I assumed the trout might feel the same way. 

After getting snagged a few times (which is the big problem with drift fishing in low current flows) I hooked and landed a beautiful little 7 or 8 inch rainbow trout.  "At least I won't get skunked", I thought to myself as I let the little guy go.  I once again got snagged and knew I had to head downstream to the deep hole that I was familiar with if I wanted any chance of catching any more trout, which is what I did.

At the head of the hole, where the river was the narrowest, the current was flowing okay, so this is where I fished.  I got snagged once then hooked a trout that looked to be 12-13 inches, but she threw the hooks before I could actually land her.  I fished for another hour or so with no luck, so I decided to call it a day.  At least I was confident in the knowledge that this particular spot was done for the year, and wouldn't be fished by me again until the spring.  Does this mean that the rest of the Swan River is done for this year?  It's hard to say, we'll just have to see what Mother Nature has to say about that.