Small Potatoes & Dandelions

As the weather warmed up the wildflowers started to bloom. Here in the campground the dandelions looked like a pretty carpet of bright yellow flowers. And I love the large puff balls of white seeds that they become. As a kid I liked to pick them and blow the seeds into the wind. Now I like to photograph them.

But when you're an adult you see dandelions as an intrusion into your lawn. And so the owner of the campground sprays the dandelions to keep them in check. And as an offer to help the campground owners with some of their yard maintenance, Rick volunteered to spray the intrusive pretty yellow flowers that become seeds spreading in the wind if left to their natural cycle.

Visitors from Idaho brought the campground owners boxes of fresh potatoes and they shared them with everyone. I wondered if they would taste different from the store-bought potatoes and they did. They were fantastic! Not only fresher tasting, but they are huge! Which reminded me of the saying "small potatoes." I wondered where the saying came from so I had to look it up.

small, insignificant; small or insignificant in quantity comes from the Irish potato famine from 1845 - 1849, as potatoes was the main food source in Ireland. Used to describe the small surviving potatoes that were picked.

I told Rick that for spraying the weeds he wasn't working for small potatoes. He was working for big potatoes!

Life is a highway...

Sometimes life is a busy interstate highway ~ which we try to avoid

Sometimes life is a scenic back road ~ which we prefer

 Sometimes life is a gravel road ~ more of these if only we had a jeep

Tom Cochrane music video on YouTube

It's not all about fishing

I think I'm finally getting used to just living here in Montana. We've been coming here for years for a fishing vacation, with the sole purpose to fish - and have fun. This is our 3rd full summer in Montana with our motorhome and I think it's really hit me that I'm not here to fish each day until I drop. Or until Rick drops. I think today was the first day that I just relaxed and chilled. Although we did go fishing.

The past few days have been great fishing and we've spent some long days on the river. We're non-stop fishers once we hit the river and start casting. No lunch, usually no potty breaks, no sitting out an inning to watch the others play their game, pretty much fish fish fish for 7 hours. I say it's a good thing Rick likes to fish because he'd be bored and lonely since I'd be fishing all day.

I planned to get to the river a little earlier this morning, but we visited with a neighbor camper and took some photos of one of his lake flies. Rick didn't have many chores this morning so we pulled on our waders and walked down to a deserted river around 11:00. It was overcast with high clouds and we fished almost by ourselves for a couple hours. With it being overcast it was impossible to see where the fish were sitting on the bottom. We like to sight fish even when nymphing. Not being able to see the fish is less fun and like casting with my eyes closed. Truly hit and miss. More miss today (hooked a few) and we both decided to call it quits early, but we left the door open to return later in the day if the sun came out.

Once back at home (motorhome is home), I put a pork roast in the electric roaster, fixed a snack of smoked trout from our neighbor, and just chilled. A storm rolled in and the sky darkened with clouds that promised wind, lightning, thunder and rain. As I'm writing this Rick is reading another book, but only after having tied some more flies. Flies that I'm sure we'll use tomorrow morning when I plan to be on the river bright and early. Some things don't change = tomorrow I plan to have fun and fish, in that order.

Another good day

Good fishing, talking with old friends, making new friends, sharing fish tales, and a great place to live. Again it was difficult to concentrate on serious fishing with so much going on around me. A couple times during the day we watched an eagle circle overhead and I wished I had the big camera with the powerful zoom lens. The picture is not good, but I have to include it. All I usually carry with me in the water is the waterproof Olympus SW 1050 and it doesn't have the best zoom. I took a couple shots, but stopped to just watch in amazement as it flew around in circles.

A family of merganser ducks came swimming up the river and they were so cute to watch. When they crossed the river the momma duck made the ducklings race across at high speed probably afraid of them being eaten by a big brown trout. Rick could see them racing back and forth across the river and thought it looked like a school of anchovies hitting the surface. When the ducks were across from us on the far bank they were diving for food and coming up with small fish. Then they would chase each other around trying to take the fish away. So cute to watch.

Now back to fishing. We're at a time when the conditions change by the hour throughout the day and flexibility is key.

A friend floated by that we hadn't seen in a long time. Mike Bias, Executive Director of the Big Hole River Foundation, biologist, and long time fly fishing guide, anchored his Hyde boat and we had a good catch-up chat. Check out Mike's webpage to contact him and see some of the adventures he has to offer.  http://setsetset.com/ Mike was fishing with another acquaintance, Guitou Feuillebois, and yes they were catching lots of fish. It was our good luck that Mike's clients had cancelled at the last minute and he offered us a couple yummy sandwiches, chips, salad and dessert that were meant for the absent anglers. Thank you Mike! Not only did the absent anglers miss out on a good meal, they missed a great opportunity to fish with a very experienced guide. We'd met Guitou (Ghee-two) last year and we'd shared some of our flies with him. He returned the favor and gave us a few of the flies they'd been using. I like sharing the good times and good fishing with friends. Yes, it was another good day.

Click on the start arrow at the bottom left corner of this slideshow window.

the Banker & the Fisherman

I stumbled on this parable while cruising the Internet. It struck a chord in me and when I read it to Rick, he liked it, too. So I'm sharing it with you.

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, "only a little while."

The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then?”

The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions. Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Who are you, the Banker or the Fisherman?

(Photo from one of our trips to Mexico)

Summer is HERE!

We've had a cool, wet, long spring, but I think it is finally summer here in Montana. I'll happily take 66 degrees over 106 degrees.

We've started to have afternoon thunderstorms with lots of lightning. Temps of almost 70. Gorgeous pink and orange sunsets. We've seen the PMD's start to hatch. Yipeee! Fish near the surface. And I've been bitten by my first mosquito! All sure signs that summer is here. And the fact that it's June 21st, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Oh Deer!

While on the river last week Rick noticed a deer on the edge of the river quite a distance from us. We were just looking around, not fishing, and I had my big Nikon camera with the more powerful telephoto zoom. I saw the deer, but could really see it after I took a couple photos. It was way upriver and we watched it cross the river.


There were no fishermen in sight and the deer took it's time and meandered along.

Just a couple days ago I was fishing towards the far bank, pretty much by myself, when I caught a glimpse of movement in the bushes. I stopped fishing and watched as a small deer, possibly the same one we'd seen upriver, made her way slowly towards the river. Rick was upstream from me, but he noticed that I'd stopped fishing and I motioned to the deer. Being farther away, he could clearly see it, waved at me, and continued fishing. I didn't want to scare it by casting and I was very happy to watch it wander along the upper bank so close to me. I carry the small Olympus 1050SW waterproof camera in my chest pack just for these times.

See what I mean about being distracted? I just have to stop and watch when an eagle flies in circles over my head or when the osprey hovers above the river before diving straight down to grab a fish. We stopped and watched as the the momma otter moved her babies one-by-one from their little cave-home in the riverbank up into the grasses. Even the red-breasted robin pulling worms from the mud is wonderfully distracting. Love it!

Just one more...

We'll leave after one of us catches another fish.

Another five, ten, fifteen more minutes.

You're not really that hungry are you?

We'll quit when either of us hooks another fish.

Just a couple more casts.

I'll fish my way out.

That one didn't count.

Let me know when you're ready. I'll just sit here.

Almost heaven

Almost heaven. Real close to paradise. Nearly nirvana.

How fortunate are we that we get to live in Montana and pursue our dream of fly fishing the entire summer in such a glorious place?

Today, although crowded most of the time, I really enjoyed myself and realized that everyone is here to have a good time. Some are driven to catch the biggest fish that they can. Some are here for the companionship. Some are here for the peace and tranquility of the great outdoors. Hard to find tranquility when it's crowded, but everyone was cordial, some were helpful, and a few were very friendly.

We made new friends and saw many old fishing pals that we hadn't seen in a long while. Because most of the other rivers in the area are "blown out", there were a ton of people here hoping to catch the fish of their life.

There were so many people upstream that it looked like a free casting clinic was happening.

It was sort of a slow fishing day for me, probably because there was a lot of activity going on around me. I was distracted, but mostly by the muskrat, river otters, and colorful song birds that live on the river. Not even the fish could keep my attention for long. It's wonderful being here.

Ups & Downs

What a day of ups and downs. We walked to the river (up) around 11:00 and found at least 3-4 boats at the ramp. That immediately meant a crowd from the beginning (down). We chatted with the guides for just a couple minutes as they set up their clients to fish just above the put-in area. We walked around the bend to find another group of fishermen, but not as many here as there were way upriver. (up & down) OMG there were a ton of people on the river! Like it was opening day! They sounded like they were cheering at a football game every time someone hooked a fish. Very distracting. (down) We separated and tried to find a spot without crowding someone else. A few of the fishermen went to be with their guides which opened up a couple slots and we started chuckin' & duckin' (up). Rick was a-ways upstream from me and I could see that he was hooking a number of fish (up), yet I was skunked for what seemed like a loooong time. (down) I eventually hooked a fish and played musical chairs with others for a spot as the guides floated away. I kept telling myself "Self, don't be grouchy, enjoy the moment" and I did. I love being on the river. (up)

A number of guides floated by, some anchoring but most continuing on their journey. I ended up in a good spot (up) very near a guide I know (Travis) who was teaching a newbie how to cast. I hooked a few fish, some taking my flies and I asked Travis if he'd like to move his client into my spot and he happily said yes. I wanted to do something nice, to feel good about helping someone. I even gave Travis a couple of Rick's secret tiny green nymphs since he didn't have any. After a little while I saw the newbie land a fish for a photo op. It put me in a better mood and I felt good. (up)

By this time the large group from way upriver moved next to us since they were being crowded by a couple more groups. (down) Although they were nice enough, they were very loud. (down) I prefer the peaceful rippling water sounds to the shouts and yahoos. (down) Rick convinced me to fish closer to him in an area I don't usually fish. That was fun and we love to fish together. (up) We were both hooking fish and tried to be very quiet about it so not to attract attention. Why do people think the only fish in the river are the ones we're catching?

Around 3:00 people started to leave the river and we were basically left alone. (up) I think there was one other guy fishing nearby when we both hooked and landed fish at the same time. (up)

We worked our way down river toward the boat ramp and saw a couple fishermen using spinning rods to drown worms. (down) They weren't catching any fish (up) and we moved out of their line of sight.

After we caught a few more fish we decided to call it an up day. It turned out to be a really fun up day. I'm looking forward to fishing tomorrow and hopefully a little more open water.

Every so often...

Every so often I hand over the camera to Rick and he gladly snaps a photo of me having fun while fishing.

Grip & Grin

Rick & his fish

Mic & her fish

I carry the camera in this family.