Flathead River Basin Protection Finalized

Subconsciously, I’ve worried about Montana’s and British Columbia’s Flathead River Basin for years. Every now and then I get something across my desk that says British Columbia will allow mining in the headwaters of the drainage, which is one of the last bastions for native bull trout and a wonderland for native west-slope cutthroat trout. The whole thing, if mining goes bad, which is often the case, could be blown to smithereens. Not a pretty picture in my  mind.

That’s because I’ve fished Continue reading

Posted in British Columbia, Northern Rockies | 2 Comments

Mule Deer in British Columbia’s south Chilcotin Mountains

I’ve spent too much time in the field this fall and not enough on the water. Some of that is because I’ve been being a good father, some of it’s related to hosting friends and family, and some of it can be attributed to just taking advanatage of some great opportunity.

And another one of those opportunities just came up, when
a friend called from Canada and said, “Greg Thomas, do you want to hunt trophy mule deer in the Chilcotin Mountains the first week of Continue reading

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Punching Tags in Montana

Got away for a few days with my father, Fred, and visited some great family friends in northern Montana. Great dinners. Lots of laughs. World Series games on motel TVs. Chicken fried steak for dinner. And a couple nice animals for the freezer.

We went unguided in the broad expanse and that big, open country isn’t easy to hunt. But Fred managed to take a nice little four-by-four whitetail the last day after passing on some nicer bucks earlier in the hunt. And we chanced on to a Continue reading

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Skate ‘dat Fly. Feel the Thrill.

Let’s say you’ve just been through a few days of bliss, banging up steelhead on light sinktips and whatever your delivery of choice is—Fall Favorite, sunken Muddler, Pick ‘yer Pocket…

And now, all of a sudden you’ve got skating in your head. But then Continue reading

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Confluence Films Premiers Connect

Our boy Michael Gracie showing the skills. Confluence Films and Yellowdog put on a great show.

Headed out last Friday for the Bozeman, Montana premier of Confluence Films’ new release, Connect. Connect is the third offering in a line of quality films and it follows Drift and Rise. Knowing the crew that would be in attendance, I figured I was in for a fun and somewhat wild time. And
the evening didn’t disappoint.

THE PARTY

As expected, there was a pre-film party at the offices of Yellowdog Fly Fishing Adventures and a bunch of really cool people braved the rain and first chilly temperatures of fall to attend. Got to spend time with Stu Apte and his wife. Had a nice chat about life and kids with Craig Matthews, who owns Blue Ribbon Flies in West Continue reading

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Fly Rod & Reel Fall Issue

I’m really excited about this fall version because it’s packed with entertaining stories and it also offers a lot of go-do-it suggestions. And the quality is there. For instance, I killed a scheduled feature story because, after reading it in July I thought, How many damn times have I read this story before? The answer Continue reading

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Where in the World: Photo Contest

Here’s the second version of our Where in the World photo contest where you, the angler, gets to twist your brain for an answer. This is one of my favorite shots of all time, not a fly-fishing specific image, you’ll note, but interesting and humorous in a a photo-documentary sort of way. Your only hints here: the dude was pulling off a bottle of schnapps and smoking filtered cigarettes. Ok, this too:
he was fishing near a place where you could end up buying some of the best market food Continue reading

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Dude Eats Montana State Record Perch

Two things I love about this image. First, the anarchy sign on the outhouse, which I fully support, especially in this day of political corruption and general despair. And, second, my bud Dan Summerfield is holding a monster yellow perch that he caught at Northwest Montana’s Lone Pine Reservoir earlier this year.

What makes the image particularly intriguing is that Summerfield measured that perch, which ate an olive bugger, at over 14 inches. Montana’s registered state record perch measured 14.375 inches and weighed 2.39 pounds. What did the ‘Ville do with that fish? He took it home and ate it. Said it was good, too. But we all had to laugh when we discovered that he likely ate the state record yellow perch.

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Where in the World Photo Contest

I’ll try to do these contests as often as I can, perhaps on a weekly basis, with the support of my great sponsors. This week’s prize is a Hatch Outdoors bottle cap opener in the design of a fish tail.

Come up with the right answer first and I’ll send this thing to you pronto. Should be handy during the last days of summer and during Indian summer. Perfect for cold Coronas. You’ll have to deal with the lime on your own.

Hint: Heavily fished and easily identifiable. Browns, rainbows and burbot available. Continue reading

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Redfish New Orleans Style

Just back from a big week in New Orleans where the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show took place. Suffice to say, I’m kindof happy it’s not occuring there again next year. People seemed to be more enthusiastic, shall I say, than they’ve been in Denver and there were a lot of lost souls wandering around in a daze

Continue reading

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