John fishes with Jack pretty regularly. John is a retired (more than once) Marine, neighbor and good friend. He is also “godfather” to our Chesapeake puppy, Freda. Yesterday we fished a stretch of the Bitterroot mainstem Jack hadn’t been down since high(est)-water. The water level was at about 3000 CFS – fairly big, but clear. John wanted Freda to come, too. In order to be safe and keep Freda in tow (or more accurately, in the boat), I got to come along as dog-sitter. I did get to catch some fish, too!

We saw a LOT of wood – new wood, the big kind with green leaves – in the river. In the slideshow you will see John play a fish and I will include some photos of Freda and new “trees” in the river.

If you are floating the Bitterroot while the water is fast, be sure to do your homework and have safety flotation devices. The hydraulics are dangerous and often difficult to predict. I didn’t take photos of the biggest rocks and obstructions because Jack made me put my camera away. Wise choice.

Along the way, we saw herons, ducks, osprey, eagles, kingfishers, Lewis’s Woopeckers and many more small birds. Those photos are for another blog entry.

We surprised a whitetail deer on a gravel bar. I loved those photos. To see them click on Merle’s Whitetail Deer photo blog.

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