A Castin' and A Blastin'...Not necessarily in that order...

Off track sort of is this update of an earlier post dealing with the whacky fisher folk better known as "noodlers"...shouldn't surprise to find the activity alive and well in Okie country, eh?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/04/magazine/LOOKcatfish.html?ref=magazine

Gale reminded me today how remiss of late my rantings and ravings so...My excuse being free at last (sort of) from the trials and tribulations of the guide wars we taken advantage to instead kick start the bird season and of course get a little castin' in too. Admittedly the castin' has taken a backseat to the blastin' but hey, been quite a lull in the action for both us and the dogs so like what do you expect. Anyways here are a few shots should serve as proof we ain't exactly been settin' around twiddlin' our you know whats...

Kate might be blind as a proverbial bat but don't think for a moment her nose don't still work...Notice the lead Gale used to get her in the ballpark of this Hun covey...pretty damn nifty I say...

Annie I think approves of sharin' the bird findin' with sister but just to make sure no one gets the wrong idea she is quick to take credit if given the slightest opening...sort of a dog thing, eh?

Annie and your reporter cooling their heels on a really too hot afternoon for chasing Huns...actually we decided enough already upon running into a rattler whilst chasing Huns...nuff said on that nasty subject...

On yet another track there seems to be more "nice" (no this is not a trophy size muley, not by a long shot) bucks (whitetails especially) around than usual so in the interest of honest photojournalism been trying to capture a few as proof...alas most mornings while no problem to see bucks the majority are far beyond range but I'll keep trying and you never know might even get lucky...

Beaverhead National Forest: Poking Around

Heavy duty guide schedule of the past couple weeks so tired the ol' boy all desire to rant was put on temporary hold...lucky you, eh? But of course we did muster up enough gumption to take advantage of a couple days off, do a little poking about in Canyon Creek--a place we haven't visited in several years. Carved by the lively, gin clear crick, towering limestone (and other rock we have yet to ID) cliffs, soaring golden eagles and the very real opportunity to glimpse all sorts of wildlife, including the resident goat herd (alas no goats this time) the awesome canyon itself is reason enough to go but...

Canyon Creek Charcoal Kilns

 

...the presence of these 23 (several restored) charcoal kilns makes it unique--one of a kind so far as I know.  The kilns turned wood into charcoal to fire the smelter at Glendale five miles east of here. Between 1894 and 1900 the smelter produced more than $20,000,000 from silver and lead ore mined in the surrounding Hecla Mining District—among the most productive in the state.

 A few miles further upstream the public road ends at this gate offering up a pretty nifty view of the still (mid-July) snow-splashed peaks of the East Pioneer Range. The ranch, by the way, is part of the Merewether Ranch which is currently in foreclosure so I assume CCGR is also? At any rate this day the place was abandoned. The nearby USFS campground is also closed at the moment to remove mountain pine beatle killed trees.

Gale could not resist (who could blame her?) tempting the crick's colorful brookies to sample her favorite Orange Stimi--obviously a ploy worked to perfection.

Fly Fishing: Dodging the Opening Day Circus...

Road over the mountain might be bare but off the blacktop you are indeed in deep do-do...

To my way of thinking having a crick such as this all to ourselves trumps participating in the Opening Day Circus every single time; no matter how many or how big the trout...Not a single soul did we see the entire day...can't beat it.

In deference to Kate who would really like to get in the crick but can't anymore, at least not safely, I did not wade. Not being able to at least get in the crick to get around obstructions calls for a bit of ingenuity, to say nothing of perseverance...actually getting to a spot like this and making the cast is, to put it mildly, damn hard work...

Thanks to the fishing gods it ain't all a jungle...

Runs such as this are, if not to die for, certainly highlight the dream-reel and sometimes even serve up a pretty nifty trout...and if you're really on your game maybe two or three even...imagine!

Solitude, pretty spot, pretty trout, lots a critters...to my way of thinkin sure beats the crap out a rubbin' elbows on , say, the Beav or (fill in your favorite blue ribbon trout water)...I rest my case...

Annual Big Hole Tour Provides Few Surprises

Saddle Mountain (right foreground)/West Pintlar Peak behind show off typical Easter weekend snow bonnets... 

Yesterday we decided it was high time to do our annual Big Hole tour. Expecting lots of snow in the high country topping the Big Hole Divide, gazing across the drifted-in valley to the winter-white peaks of Beaverheads beyond erased any doubts. While the sagebrush foothills of the Pioneers to the east are as usual mostly bare looking west is a winter wonderland. Why this drastic change, actually just about follows the road all the way to Jackson remains a mystery to us.

We spotted dozens antelope and a small band of elk on the Grasshopper side of the Divide below the snowline. Just over the pass countless mule deer, some looking really poor, grazed the open sagebrush. Above Jackson to Wisdom the river is open and the snow in the valley is really spotty. Ground squirrels were everywhere as were the raptors hunting them--northern harriers, red-tails, rough-leggeds, ferruginous swainson's, golden and bald eagles to name several. Numerous sandhill cranes, several ospreys and a large elk herd just outside Wisdom highlighted that portion of the tour. From Jackson all the way to Glen waterfowl loafed in just about every puddle; especially numerous in the river above Squaw Creek bridge off the North Fork road...plenty muddy by the way around the edges, be sure to keep 'er on the straight and narrow. Mallard, wigeon, blue and green wing teal, white pelican, common and hooded merganser, pintail and of course scads of geese to name just a few off the top the ol' bald noggin'.

We stopped for lunch at Fetty's, now the Big Hole Crossing. The change of course came about when the original BHC across the street burned last summer. Extensively damaged, apparently beyond rebuilding, the owners decided not to rebuild. Instead bought out Fetty's. Lunch by the way was excellent and quite filling. Since the BHC owned a considerable reputation for serving up good and plentiful eats on the other side the street we were not surprised.

Thought I might make a few casts at Fish Trap but a marauding skunk nixed that idea...the good news is Annie baby failed to see it...No snow in the valley below Squaw Creek and once you get down around Wise River even the foothills are bare. The river is clear and open all the way. While there still might be some ice on the shadiest banks we did not see any. No fisher folk to speak of until Stanchfields but quite a few rigs from there down to the Glen Bar...the Salmon Fly access was just about standing room only largely due to a horde of ATV rigs.

Montana Land Trust Buys Idaho Grizzly Habitat

A Missoula based land trust,Vital Ground Foundation, has bought 57 acres of grizzly bear habitat along Reeder Creek in northern Idaho's Bismark Meadows, giving the foundation 160 acres in the area. An effort to help protect the area from encroaching development.

The 1,100 Bismark Meadows is a meadows and wetland complex is part of the USFWS Selkirk grizzly bear recovery area. The Selkirk Range in northern Idaho and eastern Washington is home to 40-50 grizzlies. It is also ground zero in the continuing fight by enviromentalists, such as the Sierra Club, to keep grizzlies on the endangered species list.

As many as 8 grizzlies have been known to use Bismark Meadows in the spring. Last year a sow and two cubs as well as an adult male were seen in the meadows.