Norhwest Montana...

...features one eye-popping scenic after another...Here are a few we captured on the aborted ruffed grouse hunt I posted previously...Not so hot eatin' wise but a for sure eye feast....

Swan Lake Fishing Access Site

Mission Mountain Wilderness

Placid Lake State Park

And before you sharp-eyed viewers scream foul...I must confess to fiddling with these a bit in Lightroom 3.5 which I am at the moment trying my damnedest to master...These were tweaked using the presets in the Develop Module...Not much to master there since all that is necessary is a mouse click and deciding whether or not you like what you see or...next preset...Oh well, to my eye these turned out pretty damn nifty...Right? Right...

Spring Has At Last Sprung...

...So Sayeth The Brave Order of Virtuous Weathermen...And if you believe that one just take a gander out yonder window... 

Ok, so depite that the official solstice is still three weeks down the road, most of us do consider March, April and May spring months. And as a bona fide- true-blue-carded-fly-pole-toter spring, the official sort or otherwise, tis indeed time I typically get off the proverbial pot and get at it but...for a variety reasons, some of which escape me at the moment, the bug as they say has yet to bite this ol' boy's butt. 

Could be the drive to Butte yesterday: snow drifting the highway, the icy wind howling, oh say, 30-miles plus, to say nothing the stark white iced-over Big Hole broken only here and there by skinny ribbons black, really black open water or...

...the past week's widespread reports of negative 30s and worse in all the right places (read rivers), like someone once noted we all have our limits...right.

Or it just might be that after 50 days or so gamboling about the desert  bedecked out for the most part in tee-shirt and shorts (OK I lie but) I just can't bear the idea a dealin' with a mostly froze-up crick, freezin' butt whilst wavin a silly ol' stick and maybe...just maybe...snaggin' a silly ol' trout or...

Worse...findin a by God Montana bone a tuggin on the line...

Perish the thought, eh?

Instead me thinks tis high time to toss nother log on the fahr, splash a dash a bourbon in the glass, kick back and when the bluebirds start to singin' up ta lemonade springs well... Be sure and call me, ya hear...over and out...    

Trash talk aside, the mountain whitefish has saved many us iced-up bug dunkers from tastin' dreaded skunk...true story.  

Montana Pygmy Whitefish Record Shattered

For at least the 7th time since 1982 the Montana pygmy whitefish record has been broken. Russ Geldrich of Kalispell caught the 0.36-pound (5.76-ounce; 9.84 inches in length) pygmy in Little Bitterroot Lake on February 13. The monster whitefish devoured a jig and maggot rig intended to nab kokanee.

Three types of whitefish live in Montana. Two, the pygmy and mountain whitefish (pictured above), are natives, while the lake whitefish is introduced. For its size the pygmy has a very large eye and lives near the bottom of deep lakes such as Little Bitterroot, Ashley, and Flathead. They feed on tiny zooplankton, bottom insects, and mysis shrimp.

By comparison the state record mountain whitefish caught in Hauser Reservoir in 2007 was 23 inches long and weighed over 5 pounds; while the record lake whitefish hauled from Flathead Lake in 2006 stretched the tape to 27 inches and weighed about 10.5 pounds.

For reasons escape me it seems many anglers, particularly fly anglers, loath even the idea hooking-up a so-called whitey; persish the thought actually having to take one off the hook. In worst cases, usually amid loud cussing, the poor whitey ends up in the bushes. In my boat every whitey in the net is treated with the same tender loving care given the biggest trophy trout...much to the dismay of many clients I might add. While I can't prove it my take is the worse the trout bite the brighter Mr. Whitey's star shines...nah, can't be...right?

As an intersting side note: When I first moved to Dillon a local guide told me (whispered and sworn to secrecy of course) his main goal in fly fishing was to one day own the state record. Diligently nearly every day off for at least an entire season he spent dredging the nearby Red Rock River where he said "the biggest damn whiteys anywhere swim." Alas, while he caught some dandys none quite measured up to the then reigning champ...Whether or not he's still at it is more than I know...

Feds Grant Montana $20 Million to Combat Mountain Pine Beetles

While lodgepole pines such as the dead one on the right in the above photo are bearing the brunt of the current mountain pine beetle infestation the ponderosa on the left is not out of harm's way by any stretch. Compared to much of western Montana the stately ponderosas are sort of rare around here, yet I know of several beetle killed individuals and no doubt there are many more out there. Currently about 3 million acres of pine forest across western Montana are under seige with apparently no end in sight. Who knows what $20 million will do if anything to stem the tide but it sure beats sitting back, wringing hands and doing nothing.