Ice fishing in western Montana – pike was the big catch
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| Five pound pike |
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| Successful day on the ice |
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| Ten pound pike! |
Pictures say it all. Thanks for forwarding these photos to us Mike!
Winter in Colorado – Billy is still fishing
Billy Burk, our good friend in Colorado sent us these great photos recently. He said I could share them on the blog. All the photos are by Billy. Thanks Billy!
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| From Billy Burk 2011 Super Bowl |
Here is a photo of two Superbowl fish. My neighbor Cody and I went to the river Sun. morning and Had the whole river to ourselves; (it’s been a while, due to increased exposure in the media). After landing a double, he donated his (smaller) fish for a photo op. One monster took me out to the deep, faster current and came unbuttoned, Grrrrrr! There was a good Midge hatch coming off though, and we landed a bunch of stocker’s on size 22-26 Miracle Midge pattern. My Bride and I went to some friends’ for their “Bowl” party in the afternoon had a blast there too! What a great day!
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| From Billy Burk 2011 winter |
I took a photo of my buddy and neighbor Cody on our trip to the Taylor River Tailwater ( the Hog Trough) catch and release area. Big fish are always possible. Unfortunately they are very well educated and tight-lipped for the most part! We got snowed on most of the day but during a calm moment I saw this photo-op.
The last photo is a sunset.
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| From Billy Burk 2011 winter |
Rainbow trout – an entirely synthetic fish. Learn more Feb 7 in Missoula, MT
Written by Merle Loman for Bitterroot Trout Unlimited.
Join Missoula and the author for a reading and signing of Anders Halverson’s An Entirely Synthetic Fish. The event will be at Fact & Fiction, 220 N. Higgins Ave, Missoula, Montana on February 10th from 7 pm to 8:20 pm. For more information call the book store at (406) 721-2881. Click here for directions to Fact and Fiction downtown.
About the Book
An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World (Hardcover)
By Anders Halverson
$26.00 – ISBN-13: 9780300140873
Availability: Special Order – Subject to Availability
Published: Yale University Press, 3/2010
Anders Halverson provides an in-depth account of the rainbow trout and why it has become the most commonly stocked and controversial freshwater fish in the United States. Rainbow trout have been proudly dubbed “an entirely synthetic fish” by fisheries managers. According to Halverson, his book examines the paradoxes and reveals a range of characters, from nineteenth-century boosters who believed rainbows could be the saviors of democracy to twenty-first-century biologists who now seek to eradicate them from waters around the globe. He discusses how the story of the rainbow trout is the story of our relationship with the natural world—how it has changed and how it startlingly has not.
Anders Halverson is an award winning journalist with a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology from Yale University. With support from the National Science Foundation, he wrote this book as a research associate at the University of Colorado’s Center of the American West.
A lifelong fisherman, he currently lives in Boulder, CO.
- Anders Halverson’s An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World just won the National Outdoor Book Award. You can get a copy for yourself if you donate $25 to Trout Unlimited.
- Click here for excerpts of reviews.
Other Montana events for this book are:
Book Signing at Country Bookshelf Bookstore, Bozeman, MT on Monday, February 7, 2011 at 4:00pm. Click here for more information about the Country Bookshelf Bookstore.
Book Discussion at Montana State Univ., Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT Monday, February 7, 2011 at 6:00pm. Click here for the website for Museum of the Rockies
Plenary Address at the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Great Falls, MT, Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 9:00am. Click here for AFS information http://www.fisheries.org/units/AFSmontana/
For fun, he posted this quiz on GoFishn.com. The winner received his book.
The Rainbow Trout Quiz: Question #1 – GoFISHn on GoFISHn
In 1996, IdahoDepartment of Fish and Game hatchery managers routinely taught their fish one thing before releasing them into the wild. What was it?
The answer: worms. Candy Craig got it right, and she’s the winner of a copy of the book. The reason the fisheries officials put the fish on a worm diet was to prepare them for the wild. They feared the fish would swim around looking for pellets when they were released, which is their normal fare in the hatchery.
Happy new year to all our friends, old, new and not yet met
Pinegrass played new years eve for First Night Missoula at Break Espresso from 5 pm to 6 pm. The turn out was fantastic. Lots of people pulled chairs towards the band, stood along the walls and in the aisles and enjoyed coffees, teas, and pastries. Pinegrass has never sounded better. Happy new year everyone.
Pinegrass has been playing weekly since 1988. The over-all sound of the band is a result of the individual influences and passions of each player. The common denominator for all Pinegrass members is to play each number with feeling – they strive to play good tunes, the way they’re “supposed” to be played. You will hear traditional Bluegrass played “true” to the original (mostly), and a bit of Swing, Dylan and whatever else strikes the fancy of the band-mates at the moment. Members are John Joyner, fiddle and vocals; Bill Neaves, guitar and vocals, Chad Fadely Mandolin; Jack Mauer, banjo, dobro and vocals; and Ted Lowe, bass and vocals. Tidbit: “Pinegrass” (scientific name: Calamagrostis Rubescens) is a native grass.
Native fish restoration in Montana – Bitterroot Trout Unlimited public program 1-21-2010
The January BRTU meeting will be at 7:00 PM Thursday, January 21 at the Hamilton Elks Lodge, 203 State Street. Travis Horton, who is the Native Fish Coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, will give a presentation about Montana’s Native Trout programs. This will be a great opportunity to learn about what makes Montana’s fisheries so special. Attached is the postcard that is being mailed out. Please feel free to forward on to interested friends. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Bean at 363-6158, Fishaus@blackfoot.net
Link to programs offered by Bitterrroot TU
Elks Lodge
maps.google.com
203 State Street
Hamilton, MT 59840-2522
(406) 363-3031
Get directions
Seasons Greetings from Big Sky Country
Seasons Greeting from Wapiti Waters in Montana’s Big Sky Country
As we reflect on this past year, we appreciate the gain from our toils and rejoice in the memories of families and angling friends.
Another season has come and gone for Wapiti Waters. Hopefully this winter, we will be partaking in our usual cold month recreational endeavors. Unfortunately the snow hasn’t hit this part of Montana yet. After a reasonably successful hunting season, Merle and I are still hiking around the hills for exercise and “light therapy” rather than skiing. Our immediate focus is keeping the house warm, and sharing our reflections, thanks and hopes with you in this letter. Read on for a recap of our most successful guide season ever.
The 2009 guide season kicked off in mid-March with mild weather, good dry fly fishing and some happy anglers. By the end of March we had icy guides in our rods as an arctic blast descended. Unbelievable as it may seem the Skwalla dry fly fishing was pretty good despite temperatures hovering near 32 degrees. The native cutthroats are incredibly hardy fish. Grilled “brats” and hot soup was the mainstay for lunch.
The rest of spring was fair fishing with flows a little too high at times. 2009 had a huge snow pack and the threat of flooding was imminent.
After one big surge in late May, an orderly run off ensued; this prevented a natural disaster. By June 9th we were fishing the Big Hole and Bitterroot forks. From then on Wapiti Waters was busy throughout the summer and into fall. With Merle on bookkeeping, lunches, website and emails, I could focus on my outfitting and guiding. Without the weekly and late Tuesday nights at the Top Hat, I was still able to play parties and weddings with the band and enjoy my music through the guide season.
Highlights from 2009:
Clark Fork is coming back quickly from the Milltown project. Insect hatches that have been suppressed in previous years are showing up again which has stimulated nice angling in certain sections.
The Big Hole had exceptional flows and terrific fishing throughout the season. What a joy to be on this river in August floating and wading in some of the finest trout water in North America.
A hot, sunny September to remember made for some very technical angling. After a predictably good morning trico spinner fall we would take a little time to do some invasive species management. We searched and found northern pike lairs and were modestly successful at pulling some out. What a thrill to see them pursue the fly, strike it and playing that size of a fish. It is a nice change of pace and 180 degrees from trico fishing. For the Pike, we used a 9 weight fly rod and a 2 “aught” air resistant streamer instead of the 4 and 5 weights with a size 20 dry. Now that is variety.
Another arctic freeze-out in early October disrupted an unusually good month of fishing. Fall colors were a gloomy grey green. It was still beautiful to be out but we felt we got cheated without the vibrant yellow and oranges that our stream corridors normally exhibit. We know we can’t always have it the way we want it and we especially appreciated the nice BWO and mahogany dun hatches.
First, we want to thank those who fished with Wapiti Waters in 2009 and wish you all Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year in 2010 and second (and as important) all the great guides who worked with us.
