A sweet vest for kids and a first test on Ennis Lake.
I was on Ennis Lake this last week, taking advantage of the great weather before the snow arrived. Took the girls with me two straight days and we had a blast. A few weeks ago Backbone Media sent out fishpond’s Elk River Youth Vest and I was waiting for the right moment to give it to Tate. After she’d landed a nice rainbow II said, “Seems to me that you’re missing Continue reading
Are wolves a reason to carry a Dirty Harry sidearm when fishing?
I do a lot of tromping through the backcountry looking for fish that most people overlook. I’m always aware that I could encounter a black bear or a grizzly bear and I prepare accordingly by bringing bear spray with me and keeping it strapped to my fanny pack. I haven’t considered wolves to be a threat, but I just read an account of wolves and hunters, recently published in The Missoulian. And now I’m seriously considering packing a sidearm with me when I fish. Continue reading
Fall brown hunting on the Ruby River.
If you’re looking for a little solitude in southwest Montana you can often find it on the Ruby River.
The Ruby, which hosts a couple thousand trout a mile, including browns to 20 inches, is often overlooked as anglers set sights on the big-name streams, such as the Madison, Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers. I understand the appeal of those streams because you can launch a drift boat, pack a big cooler full of beverages and snacks, and set out for an all-day assault. On the Ruby, you wade fish and you work through the brush or you pick your way Continue reading
Fall browns and rainbows in southwest Montana.
It was one of those days. I mean, November 4, in Montana, with the temperature right at 70 degrees. Not a breath of wind. Clear, blue sky. Ducks and geese passing overhead. Leaves still falling off the trees.
Sent one daughter to school Continue reading
Chasing monster rainbows in God’s Country
I’ve never really taken to the words expert fly fisherman. So, when people introduce me as such, I always roll my eyes a bit. I don’t doubt that I have as much or more fun while pursuing fish as anybody else, but I still walk away from the water sometimes with Continue reading
Fly Fishing the Beartrap with Baetis and eggs.
It’s not that I’m a Madison River freak or that I particularly like the river better than any others around here, it’s just that it’s right out the back door and easy to spend a few hours Continue reading
The classic killer, P-Chute Adams
Probably more western trout have been caught on a Parachute Adams than any other fly. The reason: this pattern matches most western and eastern mayfly duns, and it floats like a cork making is easy to see. And, right now, it is a killer on western trout streams where Baetis hatches are in full swing. If you want to catch some nice rainbows and browns on Continue reading
The real dirt on A guide’s life.
I don’t really understand books anymore, especially in the fly fishing genre, which is a super limited market in the big scheme of things. I get it when an author writes a book to demonstrate some sort of mastery over these fishes we pursue…and said author sees a payoff when dudes hire he or she to guide or stay in their lodges or book “hosted” trips Continue reading
Scott Sanchez writes a down to earth classic with Charlie Brooks, Johnny Boyd, George Grant, Jack Dennis, Mike Lawson, Craig Mathews, Shane Stalcup, and more.
Scott Sanchez is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and he’s a great member of the fly-fishing community. He’s also a father and husband and he’s leading the push to put as many young people on the water as possible. What does all that mean? He’s Continue reading
Chasing speed goats on Montana’s prarie
Been hunting antelope for 20 years and most of those times it’s with the same crew, my father, Fred; a friend from the commercial fishing industry, John van Amerongen; my uncle, Bill Thomas; and another friend, Dave Zimmerman.
This year we were missing Bill because he stayed in Seattle to look after Continue reading