Written by: Kubie Brown

The first fish of the day turned out to be a real beaut.
Photo by Sam Brown
Expect the unexpected. With the waters dropping in Montana and fishing starting to pick up, my brother Sam and I headed to the Boulder River in Big Timber, hoping to stick a few rainbows on our mutual day off. Most of the fish we catch there are in the 14-to-16-inch range, with a bigger fish coming up every now again. So nothing could of prepared me for this giant cutbow that sipped the drake I was casting at the very first run we fished! It’s always fun when the first fish of the day makes the whole trip worth it.
Kubie Brown, a former Trout Bum of the Week, is a Vermont native who used to man the fly-fishing desk at the Orvis flagship store in Manchester, but he has since moved to Montana to pursue his fly fishing dreams. He is now a guide at Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge.
Awesome rainbow, congrats!