Fly Fishing: Southwest Montana Fishing Report and....

...what's up next....But first an update...

The recent snow storm which dumped around 6 inches in Dillon,  a bit less in some spots and a lot more in the mountains is now history...I think? The forecast in the near future calls for gradual warming thru Wednesday then another day of rain/snow then another upturn and so forth. Depending on which forecaster you choose to believe the wind will either be howling most days or as some say, light and variable...watch out for the variable is all I got to say on that...

Clark Canyon is now completely ice free. In my experience, based on 4 brief afternoon sessions, the fish have yet to heed the call; in other words the fishing is slow,  actually really slow. Though the rumor mill has it some days have been OK and other days not so hot...no surprise there, eh? Though everyone seems to agree the bite is still far from red hot...go figure.

Chronomids, marbou jigs, San Juan Worms and buggers, brown, black, olive, purple, tan; the usual rigs amongst the local lake rats...

Beaverhead is flowing around 250 out the dam, okay for floating (closed above Pipe remember) and pretty easy wading as long as you pick your spots to cross. Not much happening on top except for those brief, elusive afternoon periods when the wind gods are on break and cloud gods sneak their way in...Bwo nymphs 20-18; midge larvae 18-invisible; scuds, SJWs all work but the best fishing right now is pitching buggers tight to the banks. 

Big Hole spiked last week to almost 7000 has come down nicely to below 1500. Running clear and cold (around 40 in the afternoons) as long as the predicted warm-up doesn't melt the recent snow too fast the fishing over the next week or so should really start to pick up. Even if the river does spike again I don't think there's enough low snow and ice left to approach last week's surprise...though please don't spread it around you heard it here first...Streamers, rubberlegs, SJWs, streamers and if you feel lucky try throwing your favorite skwalas in the afternoons...Haven't seen any yet but don't forget Al says he pitched one awhile back and...OK I don't buy it either but, hey, give the guy a break, you know a long winter of too much hot sun, sand, dancing babes and conch salad...as I say give the guy a break...

Ruby is spilling from the dam around 150; pretty easy to get around and rumor is the streamer fishing is pretty good; nymphs are always a good bet). Pick the right day and the olive and midge fishing might surprise ya...(closed above the dam until opening in late May).

Lastly a word of advice: Get you a wirehair and pack her along. As Annie proves over and over again there just ain't no bad fishing days...like the fish don't bite, why hell why not point (attack), half-drown self in a wave or two; or as she likes to do given a creek or river see how many times can swim across and back and still shake your boogie somewhere this side a North Dakota or...as I say wirehairs just flat out keep you grinnin...over and out...

Upland Bird Hunting: Snakebit Annie Update...

It's been more than 7 weeks since Annie's rattler run in at Freezout Lake. And just a few days ago since we declared her severely atrophied leg and foot almost back to normal. The way she has been rambling the past couple afternoons pretty much erases any doubt we might harbor.

A couple days ago obvious she smelled birds but in the howling wind just where who knows? So after much tail wagging and snuffling back and forth over a wide area suddenly she took off. At warp speed, a quarter mile out wheeled around, went a quarter mile the opposite direction; wheeled about came back part way turned into the wind, dropped into a kitty-cat-like moving crouch would make a hunting lioness green with envy and...Pointed. But apparently the birds were on to her, because as soon as she stopped the whole bunch lifted from the sage 50 yards ahead, caught the wind and vamoosed over yonder hill.

Gale yelled, "Looks to me like she's back," to which I gave her assertion a hale and hearty thumbs up, turned and muttered "Good girl,"...Which of course fell on deaf ears, as Annie baby was by then flat out gone over yonder hill in what can only be described as hot pursuit...Hooray!   

Snakebite Victim Update...

It's been 15 days since Gale shot this gruesome photo; some 12 hours after Annie's run in with a rattler in the grass beside Freezeout Lake. As I posted previously up until a week ago the leg was not looking good, things were not going well. She would not drink unless forced to and was eating very little. She would not put her foot down instead continued to hop about on three legs...Trust me, for us it was damn frustrating, difficult to deal with and tough to watch. But then last weekend something of drastic turn for the good, the swelling began disappearing, the discoloration began to fade, and every now and then she started using her foot. Better still she began eating although still not drinking anywhere near normal, she did drink.

The above two photos shot a couple days ago show how fast the healing is progressing. The swelling is gone, hair is growing in and except for the two places where dead skin sloughed (also sloughed between her toes where the snake hit) if it weren't for the short hairs you would never know. Especially if you saw her running through the snow this morning...leaping Annie of old fashion from the concrete to the deck...twice mind you...Well hell, can you blame us for cheerin' like two little kids at Christmas...Anyway Dandy Annie is if not herownself at last, my take is she's damn close...Hooray!

Feels Like Fall Today...

...As the temperature barely made it out the 30s...And while I would not bet the farm on such a fickle sister as Montana weather I am pretty sure we've seen the last of Indian Summer...The leaves, really colorful just a day or so ago have suddenly tinted toward brown and in the backyard already a couple aspens are bare. Won't be long until all the leaves are gone and we all know what that means...Yikes, hard to imagine another winter lies just around the corner...

While we haven't seen the last of the honey bees no doubt their visits will be few and far between in the upcoming weeks...

From the sound of it the last of the sandhill cranes boogied this morning...Already a week or so ago we noticed their numbers out on the East Bench (staging area) had thinned considerably...Always sort of sad to see these beautiful birds go but then again if they stayed around all winter what would we have to look forward to come early spring...

Tis a shame we don't have bracken fern here in southwest Montana to color up the fall woods; always makes me a little envious of the folks in northwest Montana...but on second thought we got way more trout and way fewer folks so...Ah, forget it...

How's this for proof the fall so far has been warmer than usual...this poppy bloomed next to deck two days ago and last night Jack Frost killed it but still...

On another way more serious track Annie is still hurtin'. And today especially has not been one of her best...she was putting weight on her foot yesterday but since this morning has been reluctant to put any weight on it. Plus the bruising and discoloration is all the way up her leg and looks much more sore than it did a couple days ago...Add to that the dead skin is starting to slough (something we all hoped would not happen) and...Well, I'm afraid she is in for not only a long painful haul but a serious one besides...Yeah, we got our fingers and toes crossed on this one and trust me, I would gladly eat all the crow the healing gods care to serve up...

Rattlesnake Bite Brings Our Bird Hunting to a Sudden Halt...

...hopefully not permanent but I must say right now this ol' boy's heart just ain't in it...For some I suppose such incidents are but a bump in the road for us it's a nightmare we hoped would never happen...But when you think about it 50 plus years of runnin' bird dogs in snake country I suppose it's a nightmare just waiting to happen. But the way this wreck occurred makes you wonder just what the hell I did to anger the hunting gods...Thursday morning dawned cold, around 20 degrees in Dillon...up Freezeout Lake who knows but the forecast for later was for cloudy skies, chilly north wind and temps in the low to mid 50s...Not exactly the sort of weather one would expect to run into a rattler, at least not one warm enough to do much harm. But 10 minutes into the hunt and no more than 40 yards from open water not at all the sort of place one expects to run into rattlers especially in late October given no rattler in its right mind would den that close to lake in low grass, not a rock in sight...Damn what the hell was it doin' there in the first beginning is a mystery I will no doubt never know the answer and will probably take to my grave wondering...Anyway Annie was hot on the trail of rooster, apparently passed too close and came out of it on three legs in great pain and no doubt wondering as I what the hell...since there was no warning buzz, nothing just a hurt for certain dog and a goddamn worried pair geezers...

The snake hit her with just one fang between the toes. At first there was no swelling, as I say no indication what the hell, but by the time we got her to a vet (in Choteau 12 miles up the road) the foot and leg were swollen big time and poor Annie was by then really hurtin' Because we could not be certain what had happened (no snake in hand) the vet put her on a powerful pain killer and two antibiotics...And hoping for the best as you can imagine we spent a restless night in the camper but come morning the swelling and bruising was much worse so on her advice we headed to Dillon hoping our vet would know and...She took one look and said nothing else but so here we are...

As you can see the damage is extensive, the worry of course is should the skin crack the healing process will no doubt be long and painful...Hoping to nix that we are bathing the leg in warm water every couple hours doing our damnedest to keep her from standing around (apparently the pain is such she is reluctant to sit or lay down) and instead lying down...so far we have not been all that successful. Another worry is the venom could destroy the coagulation properties in her blood and what that means is more than I can say but am sure it ain't good...Vet is supposed to let us know anytime so...Whatever I'd be surprised if we do any more bird hunting this season...But if all turns out OK then of course would be a small price to pay and one we'll gladly ante up...