Were all looking for something when we going fishing. For some it’s catching a fish… For some it’s a bunch of fish…. Others like to catch big ones…. Fish dries….. Fish nymphs…. Others just like to be outside… or a get away from everything. I’m kind of the later type… When I go fishing I dont really think about anything other than what’s going on on the water. From the bugs, to fly selection, tippet size, dry fly floatant, flies I’m going to tie after a day of guiding, helping improve someones cast or if anyone is going to like lunch. Life is pretty good when you on the river… Or lake! Say what you will…. You have the opportunity to learn something new everyday your on the water. Your always going to learn something about fish, bugs or yourself.

Today while fishing Rogers Lake I got a text from a friend of mine and told me I should share this video. It was a pleasant surprise…. Reminded me that we all should take some time and enjoy the beauty of where we live! The weather feels great and Montana is waking up! We all love fishing rivers….. But there blown out….. The lake fishing is great and there is always something to learn for us river guys. Dont let this time slide by without getting some great lake fishing in. Go fish an old lake… Go fish a new lake… Go fish a lake that you never would fish before…. I bet you can find some beauty above and below the surface!

What’s going on the Flathead River System? It’s warm, maybe some rain and the river is raging! How raging? How about flood stage? You heard me… Flood Stage. the Main Stem of the Flathead is running at 49,00 cfs. What does that mean? Lots of water is what that means. Imagine a Freestone maxed out with water and thats what is going on in the Flathead. Please exercise caution when around the river. There is a lot of debris in the river and it is pretty dangerous. Lets just take an example. 1 CF of water weighs 62 lbs. We have 49,000 CFS moving down the river. That puts the main current at just over 3,000,000 lbs of force at maximum current. Can you say trouble? Stay out of the water unless you know what you are in for. Day and night time temps are going to drop over the next few days and the river should slow down a bit… But we are still a bit away from fishing conditions. Stay tuned for more on Flood Stage 2013!

Ahhhh… The good old days! Remember when all you had to do was watch Bugs Bunny, get to school on time and go fishing? Life was good back then. A few days ago a friend brought up an old Bugs Bunny skit… Trout, Trout, pretty little trout, one more splash and come right out. At times it seemed like a fish call… Flies in the right spot, great drift…. Then… An eat. Not every time but enough for it to stick in your head.

It’s funny the memories that fishing brings back. From grandparents, to siblings, to old dogs, to getting skunked for weeks on end to catching fish. Life has a funny way of getting in the way of fishing. Then life has a funny way of bringing you back to fishing.
So wait no more! Get out this weekend and go fishing! Then… Rent some Looney Tunes and get a case of beer!

Here is a great video for all you Steelhead fans out there! Wait… Bull Trout? Wait? Char? What’s going on here!

Sunshine Sunday…. Not much sun in these parts today but at least it’s not snowing or raining! We should get some well deserved sun in a few days.

Wait no more… It’s Sunshine Sunday! Where it’s sunny every Sunday! Check out Dan Gates Tenkara Journal, great video about fishing Tenkara style. What is Tenkara? The translation of the Japanese word is ‘From Heaven’. A simple no frills approach to catching fish with flies. There are a few Tenkara websites out there if your interested in finding out the more about this new approach. There are lots of jokes floating around about Tankara but…. It takes all kinds to make this world go round. Switch Guys, Single Handed Guys, Dry Fly Only, Streamer Only, Nymph Only, The Guys Who Like To Get’m No Matter What It Takes, Lake Only, Beaders and Swingers. We are a crazy bunch of humans that all come together for one thing?

Is this Montana?

It’s late….Almost Thursday… Still it’s Hump Day… Here is a great video to get you fired up for some fishing! Beattie does a great job on this one about the Midwest. Midwest? Gotta watch out for those guys? How about some Smallie Action? Flathead? You know it! The lower Flathead is full of them… Lower, as in below Kerr Dam… The Montana State record Smallie is only 6.66 lbs? Pretty easy to beat if you put in your time on the lower river…. Just food for thought on this Hump Day of all Hump Days!

After spending an hour looking for a good video for Sunshine Sunday I came across this video. It brought me back to fishing the California Coast in my 13 foot Boston Whaler. I used to fish for Calico’s, Olives, Blacks, Blues, Vermilion, Ling Cod and Halibut on the fly. Lots of times you had to get your boat close to structure and be on your game! Spill overs and cliff walls held lots of fish. Anyways…. Here is a good little video from The Calico Syndicate!

Once again it’s Wednesday! AKA Hump Day. Wednesday, or the hump of the week, is the absolute best day of the week. The day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive! A particularly good hump day can last you the rest of the week, and by Doomday morning (Monday) you survive by anticipating Hump Day. Nothing goes wrong on Hump Day. Most other days can be defined by Hump Day. Tuesday is the day before Hump Day. Thursday is one day after Hump Day. Except Friday is WOOOH!!! FREEDOM!!! Day, Saturday is Mostly Hungover day, and Sunday is PreDoom day.
 
So one would think that there is no day better than Hump Day? Wrong! Any day you get to go fishing is better! How about fishing on Hump Day? Sounds even better! Here is a great video to get you charged up for you next Best Day!

Another Sunday is almost behind us and it was a tough day to find some sunshine? Where was it? I looked everywhere, in the shop and there was none to be found. Crazy! After getting a great fishing report today, dries and piles of Cutthroat I began to look even harder. I finally found some! How could I ever live with out the iphone? Crazy!

Rad Man Enjoying Some Sun…

I have to be honest… This was from a few days ago. Today was not all that great…. Clouds, rain, snow, rain, clouds… Well you get the point. There is a lesson in there somewhere? You cant wait for a perfect day to go fishing! You gotta get out and get after it! Your not always going to catch piles of fish… Take some time to try and figure things out. Remember the thrill of the chase? Keep trying, keep looking, fishing different flies and 1 new spot everyday. If you do this enough you are going to figure some things out. Remember this on the next crappy day! If you dont know… You wont konw!

Another week ticked off the calendar and one week closer to summer! This week I found a great video from Louisiana after Hurricane Issac. Issac was a strong slow moving cyclone that did some serious damage in late August, 2012. The boys from Shallow Water Expeditions did a great job on this video, great eats and good music. Does it ever get old watching big fish eat top water flies? I might have to say no!

There you have it… Sit back, crack a beer, drink a 12 oz double mocha(haven’t had my coffee yet today!), tie some flies or just drool over the eats on the video!