Waterfowl Season Opens Saturday...

 

 

 

Ducks and geese become fair game Saturday and we plan to open the season not far from our camp on the upper Big Hole. Seven ducks are allowed again this season with no more than 2 hen mallards, 2 pintails and 1 canvasback. I doubt we will need to check our bag as mallards and teal are about it...at least those are what we see up there most often...to say nothing of the long odds of bagging a limit. Anyway later we plan to hunt down a couple sage hens, perhaps a blue grouse or two and of course barring an early winter (not much chance but anywhere near Wisdom one just never knows) we will fish...

Big Hole...

 

 

...skinny and cold but still cranking. Late yesterday morning from 10 until mid-afternoon we fished a variety of dries and soft hackles to continuously rising trout and grayling and never moved from the long flat pool we started. By the time I got out, despite that the air temperature had climbed into the low 60s, my feet felt like clubs and while my legs and knees were not numb the sting of cold was quite apparent. Luna negra, trico, ant and several size 16 soft hackles all produced but I think all of the grayling ate the soft hackles. How long the trico hatch will continue that high up is anyone's guess but yesterday it was a mere shadow of the funnel clouds we encountered just a couple weeks ago. We'll probably hang out here through early next week, fishing and chasing chickens as the mood moves us...then onward and upward to who knows where all depending on how the weather turns...colder we head east, continued Indian Summer...well as I say depends on the weather... 

Montana Upland Bird Hunting: Transition Time...

 

 

Usually by now the fishing is pretty much history, our days spent either working on some writing project or chasing chickens or better yet...both. But this time around most of September is so littered with guide trips, both writing and bird hunting have been, for the most part, put on the back burner. Thankfully all that is about to change: This morning we scouted out a few spots to take our friends, Dave, Keith and Bert sage hen hunting the next couple days...alas Wednesday and Thursday it's back to the guide wars but...NO MAS!

 

Starting Friday we WILL (fish gods willin and the crick don't rise, or something like that) turn our fullest attentions to finishing Birding Trails Montana and of course chasing chickens as fall's were meant to be...Stay tuned, I promise to keep you all posted as the season unfolds...

Back In Action...

 

Only excuse I can come up with for not posting for near a month now is...just too damn worn out following several too long guide runs...I knew for sure the ol' boy was fast losin' the battle when one night I dreamed a brown trout maybe even weirder than above...whoo-ee baby, best a grip, eh? OK, nuff bawlin' let's get serious, down to the nitty-gritty, at least my take on the current state of affairs concerns the local trout wars.

 

The Beav has been hot and cold of late...one day we would really spank 'em next day the trout beat us up but good. When it was on size 16 & 18 nymphs such as Lightning Bug (green, gold, silver), Copper Bob, Micro Mayfly (brown or olive), sunken ant, B.H. brassie, B.H. Flashback P.T. and Ray Charles (tan) worked wonders. When it was off...who the hell knows?

 

August trico and caddis top water fishing some days was mind boggling; lately we've been doing a good business on various hoppers, ants and the old reliable Luna Negra...afternoons of late we've done pretty good dropping a brassie just for good measure.

 

Only did the Madison once and that day top honors went to the San Whammy (short and wine color seemed to please 'em most). Reports from the Jefferson have been similar to my take on Beav...hot one day and...

 

I quit the Big Hole after getting stuck way more often than I'm capable of dealing so for the latest update go to my pal Al's bigholetrout.com Apparently he's still fool enough to...well you know...old man, addled mind...