As the sun sets on 2015...

Georgetown Lake, Montana

This last year was one of the best since I've been on this planet, and I've had some good ones.  I completely fell in love with my new city, Butte, and I fished, played, worked, and learned like never before.  Thank you 2015!

Happy new year to everyone out there!  I hope I'll see you on the river, lake, flats, slope, trail, or ice next year.  Until then, watch out for traffic jams...

Traffic jam on MT Hwy 1

"Stand up for the Beaverhead" - an op-ed by Wade Fellin of the Upper Missouri River Waterkeeper

Beaverhead River moose

There is a great op-ed in the Missoulian today from Wade Fellin, Program Director for the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Inc.  It is a call to action for the Beaverhead River's recent algae issues and is critical of the proposed hydroelectric use of the Clark Canyon Dam.  

Read it here.

Dun Magazine Winter Edition 2015 - I love this magazine!!

Click here to read Dun Magazine Winter Edition 2015

"Be a Part of the Story" - Clark Fork Coalition

George Grant Chapter of TU will meet to discuss cleanup and restoration of Clark Fork R. and Silver Bow Cr. (updated)

The George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited is holding a Board of Directors meeting and the public is invited.  Some folks representing TU and the MT DOJ, as well as, Joe Griffin (retired MT DEQ hydrogeologist and all-around bad-ass) will be giving a presentation on the restoration and mine waste cleanup on Silver Bow Creek and the Upper Clark Fork River.

Updates:

• Casey Hackathorn of Trout Unlimited (national) will present on the Upper Clark Fork and its tributaries.
• Jason Lindstrom of MT FWP will present electro-fishing data from Silver Bow Creek.
• Pat Cunneen of the BNRC will likely present on efforts to remove the Parrot Tailings, Diggins East, and Northside Tailings from the banks of Upper Silver Bow Creek in Butte.

This is not one to be missed!!

The meeting is Monday, December 14, at 6:30 pm in the Business Development Center @ 305 W. Mercury St. in Butte, Montana. 

Don Thomas (the guy DU fired) is presenting at the Westslope Chapter meeting tonight!

Today, Wednesday, December 9th, 2015, Don Thomas will be giving a presentation about fly fishing in Alaska at the monthly Westslope TU meeting in Missoula, MT.  This is the same Don Thomas who was fired from DU for writing an article critical of James Cox who is leading the fight against Montana's Stream Access Law in the Ruby Valley.

While the focus of Don's presentation will be on his many years of fishing SE Alaska, he is also planning to discuss the Ducks Unlimited fiasco.  Click here for more information on the meeting.

Come on, WTF MT-FWP!?

The area of the Upper Clark Fork which has been closed for years and then re-opened on September 15 is now CLOSED again!  Come on!  They just put a sticker over 2015 and extended the closure for another year.

I completely understand wanting to protect the newly restored and revegetated streambanks (ecological restoration and plant ecology is my job and what I study), but this is a bit extreme.  The ridiculous amount of browse protection is doing more damage to the vegetation than the tiny handful of people that fish down there, but I digress.  This just really sucks.

The stupid sticker

New vid from Missoula River Lodge - "15 Seconds Fishing Montana"

Ok, that's either one crazy-ass UFO or a salmon fly!  I'm thinking UFO...

Fly Fishing is a Joke

Here's a great video by The Weekly Fly.

Jerry Kustich, Co-founder of Sweetgrass Rods, criticizes DU in the Standard

Jerry Kustich wrote a great Letter to the Editor for the Montana Standard about the Ducks Unlimited/James Cox ordeal.  He has lived in Twin Bridges for the last 30 years (the area where Cox's contested bridges are).  He's also the co-founder of Sweetgrass Rods, a bamboo rod company in Twin Bridges.  

Great article Mr. Kustich!!