Flyfisher's Guide to Montana...Upgrade

Talked to Chuck Johnson, Wilderness Adventures Press, yesterday about plans to reprint Flyfisher's Guide to Montana (2nd Edition, 2nd, maybe 3rd printing, I forget) this fall. One big change will be inserting color plates and recipes for specialty flies appropriate to Montana waters. A change I had been hoping for ever since we first talked about doing the book. I don't know about you but black and white renditions of colorful trout flies just do not cut it...Anyway I could not be happier to participate and am open to any and all suggestions...bear in mind we won't be including old standbys such as Elk Hair Caddis, Adams and so forth...Flies we will consider include those guarded secret ties you been spanking 'em even your best buddy is clueless. We will of course give credit where credit is due, contact info should you tie commercially and so on...Let me know ASAP as always your intrepid reporter is on sort of a short leash...

Fished upper, upper Big Hole yesterday amid swarms, I mean SWARMS, tricos...rise was already going strong when we hit river around 9 and fish were still madly slurping when we quit for lunch around one...too skinny to float best plan getting wet...sort of refreshing considering the 90 degree heat of late...

Montana Outdoors: Bannack Days...

Last Saturday, a lull in the guide wars, Gale and I along with our PA friends, Paul and Gretchen Rebarchak, spent the morning at Bannack Days. Bannack, the first Territorial Capital of Montana was a wild place by any stretch as is the annual re-enactment...

 Here's Paul doing his best to charm these, ah, soiled ladies. While looks can be deceiving, sorry pal, I came away thinking the ladies were, ah, dare I say it? Not all that impressed...you don't suppose the gray beard...nah!

As you might expect a gunfight soon ensued, drawing a big crowd, of course. In the end the white hats won but trust me the black hats did not go down easy...as the first shots rang out, a couple youngsters sitting nearby...well, to say they flinched is truly an understatement.

Pannin' fer gold, also drew a crowd, as young and old alike were stricken by 'gold fever'...can't say for sure any struck it rich but as you can see weren't from lack of tryin'...

Paul and I struck it rich as we entered the "Montana Morning Coffee" shack and found this lady roasting coffee beans the "old fashioned way"....old fashioned or not this gal (Dillon) brews a mean
CupAJoe...trust me.

Not long after, we struck gold again with a pair a "Indian Tacos" (Dillon)...what else can I say just about a feast such as this...Anyway next time your in town third weekend in July be sure to check out Bannack Days...not much chance a goin' way disappointed...guarandamnteed!

Montana Fly Fishing: Rain Dancing Pays Off...

For quite a spell now a bunch of us have been performing daily rain dances...and quess what? Yesterday the rain gods finally paid off...to the tune a 100 cfs plus bump up in the Big Hole flow...will no doubt put the river off in the short run but with the summer setting up as it is--hot, dry and dusty--best take any and all water offered no matter what does to the fish counts...

We started up high yesterday morning and got chased by a big thunderboomer which dumped big time...taking a gander at the sky we decided our best shot was down river and...were soon socked in an even heavier downpour...Around 1 pm the skies finally cleared and we enjoyed several hours of interesting top water action in one of our pet cricks...nothing like gangbusters still we caught more than enough trout--mostly brookies, a few colorful cutts--to whet our whistles and called it good.