Helena area stream restoration volunteer event - this Saturday!!

Mine waste in the Telegraph Creek floodplain (image source unknown) 

The Pat Barns Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Trout Unlimited-National, and the Little Blackfoot River (near Helena) need you!!

"The Pat Barnes Chapter of Trout Unlimited and TU’s Clark Fork River Project invite you to join us in our efforts to revegetate the restored section of Telegraph Creek at the Lilly Orphan Boy Mine site. In 2016, TU and Montana DEQ removed 9,000 cubic yards of mine waste from Telegraph Creek and restored 350 feet of stream channel in the headwaters of the Little Blackfoot River.

The day will begin with a tour of the restored stretch of Telegraph Creek. Rob Roberts, TU Project Manager, will explain the techniques TU and partners used to reclaim the mine site and reconstruct Telegraph Creek. Following the tour, we will plant native trees and shrubs in the restored area.

Revegetation of this area will protect the stream bank and hillslope, promote native plant growth, and add shade to Telegraph Creek.  Please meet at 8:00 AM at the Van’s Thriftway parking lot on Saturday, September 30th. From there we will drive an hour to the site. Please bring appropriate clothing, footwear, and work gloves. Lunch will be provided.  We will finish the volunteer event around 2pm.

To RSVP please contact Max Lewis ASAP via phone or email at mlewis@tu.org or 207-701-1683. "

Gary Lafontaine wrote of the Little Blackfoot River, "There is no stream more special to me than the Little Blackfoot River. Let me completely protect one drainage in the state, from ranching, mining, logging, and even over fishing, and this would be the one."

If you have not yet explored the Little Blackfoot River or its tributaries, do it.  This fall.  I worked in the valley a few years back doing a fish passage/entrainment project from the mouth all the way up every trib.  I went places and met people in that valley that I will probably never see again.  And, I can tell you one thing, this fishery is about as resilient as one can get.

The Little Blackfoot River is heavily degraded and is heavily relied upon for irrigation. Many of its banks have been hoof sheered right out of existence, and there are fish-eating canals and irrigation dams galore!  Meanwhile, just about every one of the tributaries (Telegraph Creek, Dog, Ontario) have major impacts from historic mining. Yet, the fishery lives on.  The lower river has medium-sized (6-16'') brown trout galore.  In the fall, you might find some bigger ones that come in from the Clark Fork.  This area of the river is hard to get on as the entire valley floor is private cattle ranches but there are many locations to exercise legal MT stream access and there is one FWP access site.  The middle reaches have a mix of browns and westslope cutts and the upper (above Elliston) turns into more of a cutthroat fishery.

The Little Blackfoot is a major and vital tributary to the Upper Clark Fork River, a river that has gone through ecological disasters on an unimaginable scale.  The Upper Clark Fork is currently undergoing a major, and I mean MAJOR, restoration project to remove millions of yards of heavily contaminated mine wastes from the good ol' days in Butte and Anaconda.   Likewise, the tributaries of the Little Blackfoot are receiving some love from TU National and stream restoration badass, Rob Roberts.  Be a part of it and get off your ass to do something good.

Are you a TU member like me that can't just write checks or make donations because you are a broke ass who is following your dreams instead of following the money train?  Well here's your chance to give your "in-kind" donation.  I have always been disappointed in the fly fishing community when it comes to volunteer events.  Fly fishers like to talk but they rarely walk the walk.  Prove me wrong!!

How to wash your nasty fishing shirts (performance wear)

Polyester performance fishing shirts AKA sun shirts

No matter what you call them, sun shirts, Florida shirts, tropical-wear, or performance shirt, polyester fishing shirts are awesome and I love them.  They are like wearing a silk sheet which keeps you cool anytime there is even the slightest breeze.  In sunny, hot, and dry Southwest Montana, these shirts give great SPF protection and will dry minutes after getting wet, cooling you to the bone even on the hottest day. In the humid south, the fabric dries more slowly and works like a swamp cooler in the wind making even the hottest day on the flats bearable.  Hell, I even wear sun shirts under my hoodie in the winter here in Montana because they are so comfortable and they make me think of Florida and summer carping when it's -25F and blowing.

Not only are they practical but they can also be beautiful.  They take printing and hold images way better than cotton and have been used for years to display fishy art that is super fun to wear.

However, anyone who has ever owned one of these shirts knows that there are a couple of downsides. They hold BO smell and they stain, badly! For a while, I had given up on some of my favorite shirts because they became so stained that I could no longer wear them in public.  I had a couple of white ones that looked like I had worn them as a line cook in a Greek diner on a Friday night! Not everyone will get that reference but just picture a lot of food and fish fry grease.

We tried everything to get the stains out including using chlorine bleach.  I googled "fishing shirt staining" and saw that a lot of folks were having the same issue.  Many people said that they just don't buy the more expensive printed ones and just throw them out after a while.  Others had concoctions they mixed up which sounded like a lot of work without great results.  I didn't find all the info in one place but I did come to a conclusion that works.  Here it is:

DONT: 

• Use bleach
• Throw your nasty stained/smelly fishing shirts out

Using bleach actually, destroys the fabric and causes it to stain more! 

DO:

• Spot treat mega-bad stains with stain remover like you'd do with any type of clothing
• SOAK THEM IN OXY CLEAN!!

Yes, Oxy Clean is the ticket.  And you don't even need to remember anything.  Follow the instructions on the back for "tough laundry stains."  The longer you soak the shirts, the better.  The first time I tried this, I soaked all of my nasty-ass shirts for 12 hours.  I drained the washer and then ran a normal load.  I was absolutely blown away by the results!  I had little faith and this was really the last shot.  They looked brand new!!  The soaking took out 98% of the stains including gnarly ones around the neck from sunscreen and huge globs from the ribs and pulled pork nachos at Izzaks in Craig.  By soaking them, you're not only totally dissolving the greasy stains but you're also dissolving the disgusting human grease, sweat, and carp slime that causes them to get so stinky.  It was a total restoration. 

Now, I only have to soak them every once in a while when they get bad.  The shirts have actually gotten brighter and cleaner after each subsequent soaking. It's easy and cheap and I get to have my awesome shirts back!

Montana's Ringing Rocks

Montana's Ringing Rocks under smokey skies

Next time you are in the Butte/Whitehall area and have some extra time or are looking for a way to burn a few hours in the mountains with your family, check out the Ringing Rocks. For whatever reason, the rocks ring like a metal bell when hit with a hammer.  They only work when they are still solidly attached to the outcrop.  If you hit the loose ones or try to bring one home, it will not ring.  It's definitely weird and cool.

Here's a video I took. Turn the sound on!:

To get to there, get off Interstate 90 at the Pipestone exit and head to the dirt turnaround on the north side of the highway.  There is a couple of dirt roads that branch from this location.  Take the road that seems to head east.  It is marked with a skinny brown sign that says "Ringing Rocks."  Follow these skinny brown signs up into the mountains with your high clearance vehicle for 4 or 5 miles.  My girlfriend got us all the way up there in her Subaru but that is not advised.  It was fun to watch though. You can also go part way and walk the rest (about 1.5 miles) if you drive until the road gets crazy and pull off on the side.

A clear day at Ringing Rocks

Ivan Doig Symposium going on now!

Ivan Doig is certainly one of my favorite authors of all time.  If you aren't familiar with his work, become familiar ASAP. Doig was born in Montana and has written about this wonderful state in much of his works.  My favorites are the trilogy revolving around Morrie Morgan and his tumultuous time in Butte, Montana during its heyday (The Whistling Season, Work Song, Sweet Thunder).

This symposium over in Bozeman is already underway and will continue through Saturday.

For more information, click here.

Stay safe Florida!!

Fuck you, Irma!