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Monday, March 30, 2015

Snow geese, sunset, and sunrise madness at Freezout Lake, MT

Fire in the sky on the Rocky Mountain Front, Montana


Wow, Freezout Lake and the Rocky Mountain Front could not be any more beautiful!!

Sunset on the Rocky Mountain Front - Montana

























Fire in the sky


















































Now, for the reason why we were there.  Freezout Lake is on the Pacific Flyway for migrating birds.  The lake is a perfectly placed rest stop for birds which have just flown over the Rockies.

Barley Field, Montana

























What really makes Freezout the perfect rest stop is the agriculture adjacent to the lake.  Anheuser-Busch contracted farmers grow barley and wheat out here where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains in dramatic fashion.  The snow geese utilize these fields for food while helping clean the fields of the previous years grains.  I bet they help with fertilizing too.

Snow geese at Freezout Lake, montana


























While the warm spring had geese numbers lower than usual, it was still mind-blowing!

Snow geese sunrise

























Snow geese at Freezout Lake, MT

























Geese in the fields


























A trip to the Rocky Mountain Front and Freezout Lake is one of those things that everyone needs to do at least once.  It is just absolutely gorgeous out there and the drive is epic.  This is about 60 miles north of Craig, Montana.  Yes, that's the Craig that we all love on the Missouri River.

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Get off your ass and explore!  Also, I'd rather take a bullet than live somewhere besides Montana, USA!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Biology Friday - Mayfly Madness




Cool video from NatGeo Wild.  I'm heading up to Freezout Lake to hopefully have some snow geese madness.  Stay tuned for a report and some pics on that,  Like I said, March Madness does not take place on your TV!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

March Madness on the Poindexter Slough


The Poindexter Slough of the Beaverhead River


























The Poindexter Slough in Southwest Montana flows through one of the finest pieces of public land in the entire country.  The Slough is America's spring creek and although it is on public land, the skill and physical fitness level required to fish it keeps the crowds very much at bay.  In fact, I fished just about the entire reach and I saw nobody else all day long.  The only people I did see were two bait fishermen fishing frog water while I was limping back to the truck in the dark.  I was too tired to tell them that fishing bait is still illegal for two more months which turned out okay because they were really nice and told me they hadn't caught a thing.

I, on the other hand, had a 40+ fish day and one of the most fun days bushwhacking and catching large browns and rainbows so far this year!

Brown on the line


























The Slough is not the place to bring a beginner.  Your roll cast needs to be in top shape here as the banks are lined with thick willows.  You're also going to want to leave lollygaggers and the timid behind.  If your not getting your ass kicked by the willows and your skin and clothes ripped by the roses and currants, your not getting in deep enough.  Effectively getting to where the big fish are is as close to going guerrilla in a jungle as you can get in MT.

Underwater Brown
  


























The Slough is chock full of very large, very wary brown trout and some big-ass rainbows too.

Brown Trout sucking on the Meat Whistle



























I fished streamers downstream all the way down to where the Slough hits the Beaverhead and was absolutely blown away by the number and size of the browns in that small piece of water.  The MeasureNet works on a number line centered on 0.  To get a measurement, you add the value at the head and the tail of the fish.  As you can see here, this guy was pushing 20in. (51cm.)  John Barr's Meat Whistle in green was the ticked to getting some vicious hits from the browns.

Another brown sucking on the Meat Whistle




Once I reached the mouth, I set up a nymph rig and headed back upstream.  I put on the Soft Hackle "Sow Bug" and all of a sudden, started to catch huge pre-spawn rainbows.  Surprise!

Soft Hackle Sow Bug in a big rainbow's kype jaw


























I'm talking BIG rainbows!  Check out the kype on this big guy.  He was pissed about getting caught.

Female rainbow release


























This large female was never lifted out of the water and released faster than a toupee in a hurricane.

Underwater rainbow



























It's getting to be the time of year where you have to start looking out for redds.  More on that soon.  Once irrigation starts in the Beaverhead Valley, half of the water going into the Beaverhead and also the Slough ends up going down ditches.  The weeds grow long in the Slough and the fish become almost un-catchably spooky.  I'll see these guys again in the fall...

Monday, March 23, 2015

Brown Trout Fail

The Release

























The Escape

























The Beach - Oops!




























It was full-on March Madness on the Poindexter Slough of the Beaverhead yesterday.  Stay tuned for a full post on the happenings tomorrow...



Saturday, March 21, 2015

Clark Fork River Spring Cleaning Schedule

Clark Fork Coalition

Get your feet wet for clean water!

Temps are warming, streams are rising, and soon you'll be spending all your spare moments blissfully enjoying the river. Let's prepare for a summer of water recreation by cleaning up our favorite waterway. The Clark Fork Coalition is gearing up for an action-packed spring and we need your help! Check out our upcoming volunteer opportunities:


Reserve Street Clean Up: April 10th

8:30am-1:00pm (lunch provided)
Join CFC, the Poverello Center, and the Missoula Water Quality District to clean up trash under the Reserve Street bridge. This stretch of river has some unique needs associated with temporary camps along the river. Must be 18 years or older to participate. We will need 12 volunteers for this event.

Annual River Clean Up: April 18th

Times vary (lunch provided)
Help CFC host Missoula's most popular volunteer event! We need help with set-up, registration, serving lunch, and helping things run smoothly throughout the day. Great opportunity to get involved behind the scenes of a community-wide river celebration. Contact Katie for more info on specific jobs and time slots. We will need 15+ volunteers for this event.
Snowpack Monitoring: March 28th and April 25th
All day
Help predict spring and summer stream flows by monitoring Montana's snowpack! This is a full-day adventure in wintry conditions. You'll gain experience in snowpack data collection and enjoy a beautiful hike in the Sapphire Mountains. No experience required; snowshoes provided. Limited to 10 volunteers per outing.

~~~~~
To volunteer at any or all of these events contact Katie at katie@clarkfork.org or (406) 542-0539, x212. If you haven't done so already, please fill out a volunteer application.


Have questions? Get in touch!
Thank you for helping the river!
Want to do even more for our rivers?
and help keep our watershed clean, healthy, and whole!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Spring Break

An Upper Clark Fork goodbye
























Spring Break is not going to be the all-out, fish bum, first camping trip, fish every day madness that is usually is for me.  In fact, I'm a good couple of hundred miles away from a trout right now. Sometimes you got to be a good grandson and hang out with the folks that support your various exploits.

However, trout of the Clark Fork, Rock Creek, Beaverhead, and Big Hole be warned, we have a date this weekend and the coming month is going to be epic!!

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Happy Pi Day!


Picture from http://jusrolprofessional.co.uk/menu-inspiration/stargazy-pie.aspx


https://www.pinterest.com/pin/562527809676524274/

























































Today, I get to let some of my science dork out.  It is an especially cool Pi Day this year as it is 3-14-15 which is the first 5 digits in pi (3.1415...)

These crazy pies are called Stargazy and they're a real Cornish dish.  Crazy! 

Friday, March 13, 2015

Biology Friday - "Mayfly Eggs Hatching a Minute After Being Laid"





This cool video from Stroud Water Research Center shows not only a mayfly laying it's eggs (I can't believe how many), but how quickly they hatch into tiny nymphs.  Freakin awesome!!  I had no idea.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Volunteer season begins!










































Another great volunteer opportunity!

It may be the start of the serious fishing season, but it is also the start of volunteer season.  I'm about to call out our community, and I hope to be proved wrong.

For the past decade, I have put together volunteer events for various conservation organizations as a student and employee. I have also attended countless events because they are fun and a great way to meet people and network.  Over the years, I have tried again and again to tap into the fly fishing community for volunteers and have always been severely disappointed.  For the most part, fly fishers don't volunteer for projects that directly help and improve the streams that they love and use.  NOT COOL!

If you truly love the fish and everything that comes with them, get off your lazy ass and help out. There are no shortage of opportunities, especially this time of year.  It's not about being righteous, it's about having fun, meeting really cool people, and contributing to the systems that give so much to us.

Do it!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Kelly Galloup Fly Tying Event in Butte




GEORGE GRANT TROUT UNLIMITED



GGTU to Sponsor Fly Tying, Fly Fishing Seminar March 28
The George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited is proud to sponsor a fly tying and fly fishing seminar March 28, 2015 in Butte featuring Kelly Galloup, a well-known fly fishing guide and fly tier, television host and owner of the Slide Inn on the upper Madison River. The seminar will be held from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at Perkins Restaurant on Harrison Avenue.
Kelly Galloup has earned a reputation for catching trophy trout using large streamers he has developed such as the Zoo Cougar and Sex Dungeon and his specialty is articulated streamers. The seminar will emphasize tying some of Galloup's creations and he is certain to entertain the participants with tips on fly fishing.
The seminar is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted. For more information call Bob Olson at 560-3791 or email him at robolson@bresnan.net.



SAVE THE DATE !!!

THE ANNUAL GEORGE GRANT TROUT UNLIMITED BANQUET WILL BE SATURDAY, APRIL 11th, 5pm
AT THE STARLANES





Sunday, March 8, 2015

Today's wisdom

























Sometimes it's a good day to die, sometimes it's a good day to go fishing. 
-Play on an old Sioux saying also used in Sherman Alexis' Smoke Signals

Going to hit the Lower Big Hole for the first time this year before a balls-to-the-wall week at work/school.


Thursday, March 5, 2015

Two groups pushing for more Silver Bow Creek Restoration

Photo courtesy of http://www.geochemicaltransactions.com/




































Butte, MT's Silver Bow Creek was the original "Shit Creek."  It was used as a sewer; industrial mine waste, reduction, and smelting dump; as well as being polluted from secondary industries to the mines.  For many years, the "riparian" area of Silver Bow as it flowed out of Butte towards Anaconda looked more like Mars than a stream in Montana.  While the creek still has some serious pollution problems, the majority of its length has seriously benefited from restoration activities stemming from the Superfund listing in the 90's.

However, the "creek" upstream from the confluence with Blacktail Creek right in Butte, is not considered a creek at all.  It is technically Butte's Metro Storm Drain.  This classification allows for much less regulation and protections than if it were a true "stream."

Two groups, the Silver Bow Creek Headwaters Coalition and Project Green have rallied to push for stream restoration for the Metro Storm Drain.  Silver Bow Creek Headwaters Coalition even filed a lawsuit (2010) over the Metro Storm Drain classification.   

While I'm all about stream restoration, there is a lot to be considered here and currently I have no strong stance on the subject.  Here's what I do know. This section of Silver Bow is dry unless there is a major rain event as the water that would flow in the creek is diverted to an underground storm drain system. The restored part of Silver Bow downstream is becoming a great fishery (believe it or not) and I really enjoy the new, super long trail system that runs along it.  However, by midsummer, the flows and temps in Silver Bow get really low and warm, threatening this great new asset.  If the Metro Storm Drain section was to be restored, I'd hope this would add significantly more water to the system.  Furthermore, there would be a great natural conduit for delivering more clean water to Silver Bow once the water treatment begins in the Berkeley pit.

No matter what happens, it's good to see people give a damn about Silver Bow.  Get the full story in today's MT Standard.  

        

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

How a Skwala swims, with jazz





This video of a Skwala stonefly swimming in a Skwala sized swimming pool (dog bowl?) is great.  You can really see how they wiggle their little asses across the water.  At 0:30, the Skwala is flipped on its back and you get a trout's view.  Notice the large, black egg cluster on its butt.  All of my Skwala dries have an egg cluster usually made from a ball of peacock. 

Video by Ken Burkholder 

Monday, March 2, 2015

Get your 2015 Montana fishing license - Happy Fishing New Year!!


Map of state districts and counties
























Don't forget your 2015 fishing license.  Happy fishing new year!  Should be some great fishing statewide with the warm-up this weekend.