Time for some fish!

It's been a while since I've shared some fish photos. None of these fish made it to the dinner table. They were all safely released to live another day and re-populate the river.

We also think the fish become smarter and wiser after being hooked once, making them more difficult to catch. More of a challenge.

We decided to fish yesterday afternoon, sort of late, maybe 1:00 or so. There were 3 guys there fishing and a couple guide boats drifted by. The skies were cloudy with the promise of a Montana afternoon shower. We didn't plan to stay long.

We knew one of the guys was from a local town who fishes here once in a while. The other 2 were brothers from another nearby town, but we didn't know them. The river is running at least at 800 cfs and it's tough to wade, so Rick and I made our way out to the far bank together and after a few minutes the first guy took a break to rest from battling the current. I was fishing dry flies and Rick was set up to nymph, so Rick was looking for rising fish for me to cast to. It'd been about 5-10 minutes and I spotted a fish right in front of me, a short cast about 20-30 feet away. I hooked it as soon as I cast to it and I brought it back to the home bank to net and release it. The guy was now getting ready to go back out and said to me "I told these 2 guys that you'd catch a fish as soon as you started. And --- you just caught the fish I've been trying to catch for the last hour and a half." I didn't say anything, just smiled. If he wanted to think I'd caught 'his' fish... oh well. I hadn't even been casting where he'd been fishing. In fact, I'd caught the brown trout from where he'd been standing, not from where he'd been casting. That's OK. The 2 brothers asked me what fly I was using and I took a look at the size 12 stimi-like, caddis-like, very bushy flies they had on. I showed them my size 18 sparkle dun and they were amazed at the difference, especially the size and shape. Rick ended up giving them each a similar fly and even tied them on the tippit for them. I went downstream a bit and hooked 2 more fish, but they were both at the very end of my cast and they were off the hook in short order. I had them on long enough that Rick came over with the net. Long distance release or LDR. The 3 other fishermen were nice and we all realized how difficult and challenging this river can be. Not to sound erogant, but I think I was the only one who landed fish. Lady luck I guess.

Friday Fish

Uh-oh! The printer died!

Well, actually, the black ink still works, so we can print documents. Just the color has stopped working. And only the magenta has stopped flowing, so my photos have taken on a sunshine-yellow tint. Very yellow, with no red. The green trees are blue and the reds and oranges are very yellow. So I probably can't print any photos or cards until we get back to Arizona. I'll be OK without the printer, a Canon i960 photo printer that I just love!

Rick took the 6 ink cartridges (tanks) out, refilled them and found that the magenta was almost out (without a warning). I did some research on the Internet to find out about the print head failure and why the magenta nozzle might be stopped up. Rick soaked the print head in isopropyl alcohol and Windex for a long time and then used canned air to blow through the print head nozzle. After a few deep cleaning cycles, still no luck. We'll wait until we get to the big city to replace it. This won't stop me from taking photos and luckily I had just printed some photos to display and created some photo greeting cards. Of all the electronic devices we have, I guess this is the one I won't miss too much.

New gadgets in the left sidebar

I've added a couple new "gadgets" to the left side of the blog. Right below our Welcome photo I added the "Followers" section because we've had a couple Followers for a while. (Hey Jason & James!) Although Google Blogger sometimes has a problem with the programming behind the Follower gadget, causing some blogs to not open properly. So we'll see how it works. And I'll see if more people decide to become Followers. We are Followers to a couple other blogs. I guess it's a way to let the blog author and others know what you like to read.

I added another jigsaw puzzle so now we have 4. The new one of us and our motorhome is a challenge. Try it to see if you like it. You don't have to rotate the pieces, just click & drag. There is an Auto Solve button if you decide you just want to see how it goes together. I love puzzles!

We have a section showing our archived or older posts and there is a link to Older Posts at the bottom of each page. You can click on them to take you there. We also have a nice Google search feature that pops open a new window at the top of our blog with the results. You have to go to the top of the blog page to see the results.

I'm going to work on a couple new slideshows soon and share some favorite photos. You can share your thoughts by sending us a comment. I try to reply to each of them.

I've moved some of the other gadgets around, rearranging them different ways. Let us know if something doesn't work, if you get an error message, or if something is causing problems. And check often to see what's new.

High water? Going higher?

The fishing has been fairly good, probably better out on the lake though. But then, I can't wade the lake like I can the river. And we don't have a boat now. So we happily walk down to the river most days.

A few days ago I spotted a couple fish rising on the far side (why is always that way?), barely disturbing the water, sipping dry flies off the surface. Although the river was 'only' at 600 cfs or so, I made it fine. My mind wasn't on the river currents or falling in, it was on keeping track of the fish I'd seen. Now that its even higher, about 800 cfs, I land the fish on the far bank in about 3 feet of calm water, rather than try to get back to the 'home' bank.

It's not easy walking the hooked fish back to the 'home' bank. What's funny is that I usually walk backwards when I do, feeling my way with my heels. Once I was over there on the far side for a while and I'd caught a couple fish, I started wondered how I was going to get back. I daydreamed and wondered if a drift boat floating by might let me hang on as we made our way across the river. The current is very strong and about waist-high for me. It seems you can feel the river go higher as you're standing there fishing. I wasn't worried because Rick came out to fish the far bank near me and we made it back together, arm in arm, without a problem.




I've asked Rick to work with me to get some better underwater video in the clear, calmer water. We'll share it when we do.

A Day of Weather = A Day of Rest

The farmers must be watering their fields, planting another round of hay. The river flow has been gradually increased to about 800 cfs and we've had wind, rain and hail today. A good day to rest and take care of what needs doing around the motorhome.

It's been a week or so since we've had any real amount of rain and the hillsides and campground are starting to lose the green, giving way to the tan color of a dry summer. We are in a semi-arid, high altitude area with no forest of trees nearby. The rolling hills aren't going to be this green again until next year, but Rick and the campground owners are trying to keep the park-like feel to the campground. They pump water from the river through a very long "fire" hose and irrigate the campsites. Rick has also been helping them prune the trees and trim the bushes, the few they have in the campground. Some of the Nanking cherry trees are red with fruit, but the owners say there's not as much fruit as last year. I guess that means we won't spend days boiling the small cherries for their juice. Just as well.

Our friends have headed south. They packed up their tents this morning just in time to miss the onslaught of pea-sized hail pellets and the deluge of rain. There are a couple campers still here in the campground, but the place is practically empty now. We'll go fish tomorrow I'm sure. Unless we get more thunder and lightning, then we won't.

More Camp Style Living

Smoked trout, hot cheese dip, smoked oysters and mussels, jalapenos poppers wrapped in bacon, london broil in the dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, bbq tri-tip, bbq chicken thighs, chilie relanos, bbq chick breast, brats, twice baked potatoes, fresh salads, rice of all flavors, breakfast burritos, apple crisp, peaches and cream, and smores. We have been eating well for the past few weeks and we've had a lot of fun.

Been Busy Having Fun

We've had friends visiting for the past few weeks and we've been busy having fun! They love to fish and enjoy the camping lifestyle.

Rick and Eric cooked most of the dinners outside on the grill or in the cast iron dutch oven.

One night they made fried chicken and it was yummy!

We've taken lots of photos of our follies and fishing.

I'm happy to say that I spend more time fishing than on the computer.

Road Trip Wildlife

Photos from Float Trip

We floated the river in the evening, from 4:30 until 8:00. There were plenty of fish rising to mayflies and you could easily see them in the calm "slick" sections. The fish were on the adult mayflies, and then they would only take spinners for about an hour and then they were back on the adult mayflies. We had a really good time with Eric on the oars. All three of us caught lots of fish. It may not look like fun to some, but we had a blast!

I was at the front of the raft and had the best view of the small rapids. Eric practically put the raft in neutral while deciding which side to take through the rapids. The take out point is immediately after this on river right.

A much needed change of scenery

Instead of fishing, I headed to town with Stefanie and their 2 kids. We went to a few places in town for some shopping and then picked up some groceries. We were back to camp around 1:00 where we'd left Rick and Eric tying flies. When we got back they were on the river, catching lots of fish. Rick tied up a special Compara Dun pattern that I wanted and they had lots of success.

I walked down to the river and the two irritating guys were there, but they were leaving. Yippeee! My "favorite" had gotten a hole in his waders and Rick said he'd gotten up on the far bank and practically took it all off in an effort to dry off. Thank goodness I'd missed that show. Rick also said earlier he asked one where they were going to fish so he didn't intrude too close. Rick said "Do you mind if I fish here?" and the guy said, "I'm fishing here next to my brother." Rick said he didn't want to fish way out there, he wanted to stay on the close bank. So Rick fished from the bank. He didn't get into the river and as the guys watched, Rick hooked a big fish and it ran out to where they were fishing, jumped high in the air a couple times and threw the hook. Now that's a show I would have liked to have seen. Rick didn't need to land the fish. The guys were surprised and from that point on walked around the area where Rick was fishing. (Unlike me, when they walked right through.) Perhaps they did learn something during their stay in Montana.

The visitors both eventually left the river and left Rick and I to ourselves. There were only a couple of boats who floated by and no one else within sight. Although it was well into the afternoon, the fish were rising and Rick had tied what they wanted. We fished with dries, spotting each other's fish and coaching each other on our casts. We took turns and had such a great time laughing and just having a good time together. And we caught lots of fish. Around 4:00 we headed the short distance back to camp where Eric had the cata-raft hooked up and ready to launch. We were going to float and fish from the campground to the next takeout point and we purposely had waited until the end of the day. We wanted the majority of the guides to be out of the way. We cruised on by a couple drift boats and found the spot we knew from the past; a wide open, slow moving, glassy section of the river, the surface disturbed only by the big heads of gulping trout. I had on a dry fly, one of the Compara Duns that Rick had tied, so they put me at the front of the raft. As we sat there anchored, Eric pointed out a fish rising waaaayyyyy downstream from us and said he'd pull up the anchor to get closer. I said "no", let me have a try at it first. He said "It'll be a tough set!", as I cast to the fish. And after letting it drift a good long distance I saw the water move and the splash and I set the hook! And I set the mood for the rest of the float trip. It was a blast, with lots of fish, most not so easy, but soooo much fun! It immediately brought back memories of the 3 of us floating the rivers of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana as we'd done for years. Eric is great on the oars and I've trusted my life to him on some scary waters. I think I caught the first 3 fish and then I sat out the next inning while Rick and Eric each caught a few. A couple guide boats with clients drifted by and I asked if they were catching lots of fish. One guy said a couple, one guy said he was getting skunked. Yikes! I thought I'd better keep my squeals to myself. Actually, I'm not a squealer when I hook fish. I prefer to be quiet about it = most of the time.

When I wasn't fishing I was looking for rising trout for Rick and Eric. I can truly have as much fun spotting and coaching someone else. It was great to be able to tell them "Another foot towards the bank, right beyond that rock, down another 10 feet, should be right THERE!" and the fish would take, and they would set, and the fish would jump, jump, jump and we'd quickly net it and release it! Lots of jumping brown trout in the 18" to 20" size, with a couple nice rainbows.

We called Stefanie around 7:30 to bring the truck and trailer for the take out and she met us around 8:00. The mosquitoes were thick, but Stefanie had a tasty dinner waiting for us back a camp. I have some photos and video of the float trip that I will try to post next. What a great day it was. I'm in a much better mood.

Butts

After fishing today I've decided that there are other places to fish. I will have to walk a little further to get away from the butts.

There weren't many people in sight when we got to the river. I wasn't sure who the other 3 guys were, but once we started to fish I recognized that they were the same ones from yesterday. They had changed their shirts and hats, but they hadn't changed their ways. It was obvious that they were all 3 friends, hence the reason they were keeping each other's fish. Rick and I immediately caught fish when we got there and they asked what we were using. I was vague, but answered "a PMD." I was fishing with dry flies and the lead guy kept asking me if I saw fish rising. I wanted to say "Of course", but I said "No, no fish rising here." What else was there? When you fish with dry flies 99% of the time I fish to a rising fish. Doesn't everyone? I guess not this guy.

Once we realized who they were I started to watch if they kept their fish. There are slot limits and you can keep certain types of fish, but in the few hours we were there I didn't see them keep fish. The same guide floated by and had words with them again today, this time about parking their vehicle at the boat ramp, right under the large "No Parking" sign, making it difficult to launch or retrieve a boat. Most of the time the ramp is very busy and for someone to park their vehicle there makes it difficult to maneuver with a boat trailer. Very rude indeed.

I just found them obnoxious and oblivious to any river etiquette. Many times they walked through rising fish that I was casting to while others hesitated to even walk along the bank near my casts. I had to stop fishing or I would have hooked them. And yes, it was obvious where I was casting. It may sound trivial and it's hard for me to explain, but believe me, it takes a lot to rile me.

It was late and I eventually told Rick I was ready to go. As we were leaving a couple other fishermen who had witnessed their actions made a comment to me that I'd had some nice fish working and it was too bad that those other guys had ignored where I was fishing. Some people just rub me the wrong way and I've decided that I'll move away from them tomorrow if they're still around. I've had enough of the butts.