Triple play pike day

Marshall and Jack both think pike fishing is a ton of fun. Jack took Marshall to some of his favorite holes today and the success was amazing. Three pike. I think that is a record for Jack's boat on the Bitterroot. Yes, they kept them, yes they will eat them. As you can see, it was a beautiful fall day on the Bitterroot.

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Dr. Fauci fishes the Blackfoot River with Wapiti Waters

Dr. Fauci with a trout from the Blackfoot River

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci MD, director of NIAID for the NIH since the early 80’s, spoke August 11, 2011 at the Performing Arts Center in Hamilton, Montana just 50 miles south of Missoula. The Division of Intramural Research (DIR) is a branch of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and more than 20% of DIR's research is conducted in western Montana at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton.

When Dr, Fauci came to visit, he also got to fish. Marshall Bloom, associate director of RML, set up an afternoon of fishing with Jack Mauer, fly fishing outfitter for Wapiti Waters in the Bitterroot. This is the second time in the last few years that Fauci explored western Montana rivers with Bloom. Fauci knows that the beautiful Bitterroot and surrounding areas are parts of the draw for RML's talented scientists. He wanted to see some of it for himself. In fact he said to the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI)  that "over the last 20–25 years, the potential liabilities of the physical separation between RML and Bethesda have morphed into assets, where the beauty of western Montana and the collegial working environment couple with state-of-the-art facilities to make RML highly attractive to world-class researchers and an integral part of the DIR."

Read more about RML and the campus at "Rocky Mountain Labs: NIAID’s Montana campus" by Karen Honey published February 2, 2009 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).

Read more about Tony Fauci at the Director's Page on the NIAID website. He has dedicated his career in public health to becoming a top 10 expert in the world about AIDS policy and research His research in includes learning more about the understanding of how HIV destroys the body's defenses leading to the progression to AIDS. You can read more by visiting Anthony Fauci's biography on Wikipedia.com.

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Fly Fishing - trico-pico day on the Bitterroot with Marshall

Marshall with his pike from the Bitterroot.
Photo courtesy of Marshall Bloom.

All photos are courtesy of Marshall Bloom. They used his camera. This is a day on the lower Bitterroot. They were looking to fish tricos and to catch pike. Looks like a pretty successful and beautiful day. Thanks, Marshall, for the photos! By the way, grilled elk steak was the main course for lunch. Yum.

See all of Marshall's photos of pike and the Bitterroot River below.

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Tony Fauci fishes the Bitterroot

Currently working for National Institute of Health (NIH) as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Anthony (Tony) Fauci was on a visit to Hamilton, Montana. The Division of Intramural Research (DIR) is a branch of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and more than 20% of DIR's research is conducted in western Montana at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton.

Read more about RML and the campus at "Rocky Mountain Labs: NIAID’s Montana campus" by Karen Honey published February 2, 2009 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).

When Tony came to visit, he also got to fish. Marshall Bloom, associate director of RML, knows Jack and set up an afternoon of fishing.  Everyone needs a break and Marshall wanted Tony to see what is in the lab's backyard. Tony knows that the beautiful Bitterroot is part of the draw for RML's talented scientists. In fact he told the JCI that "over the last 20–25 years, the potential liabilities of the physical separation between RML and Bethesda have morphed into assets, where the beauty of western Montana and the collegial working environment couple with state-of-the-art facilities to make RML highly attractive to world-class researchers and an integral part of the DIR."

Read more about Tony Fauci at the Director's Page on the NIAID website. He is a personal hero of mine for his contributions to the understanding of how HIV destroys the body's defenses leading to the progression to AIDS and that is just one aspect of his work. You can learn more by visiting Anthony Fauci's biography on Wikipedia.com.

Big Fish - Good Start for Fishing with Wapiti Waters in 2009

This photo is from the middle Bitterroot River near Florence, Montana. The river has been coming up a bit. Near Florence on March 20 it was around 800 cubic feet per second (CFS) and today it is about 1100 CFS. The air temperature is averaging in the lower 40 degree marks and the water temperature is hovering around 40 degrees, too.

The fish are feeding and believe it or not, we like a little cloud cover (which we are getting). If the sun is out, it might feel a little warmer, but it is too bright for the fish to want to feed. The wind is the big comfort factor, if it comes up, it feels much colder. Dress in layers, go out for shorter floats, bring hot liquids and you can experience some great fishing!

See the slideshow below for a few photos taken from March 19 through 23. Jack has been fishing with John Hickman, Jeff Rogers, John Wilson, and Marshall Bloom. It is a nice start to our 2009 season. Tomorrow we have a group coming in from San Diego. Let's hope we get a little warmer weather as is predicted. The Bernard group has been coming for years and they always catch fish! They will be staying as usual at the Bitterroot River Lodge.

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To see our webpage with links to USGS streamflow information go to http://www.wapiti-waters.com/stream.htm.

Fishing the Blackfoot River in Late August

Jack fished yesterday with Marshall Bloom and Mike Connell on a lower stretch of the Blackfoot River. It was a beautiful day, but no photos were taken. The Blackfoot is a great choice this time of year because the water is a little cooler and there are decent hatches happening. As a bonus, you can't beat the scenery.

Jack is fishing the Blackfoot River next two days with Lyle Cunningham from Arizona. They will be camping tonight and I can't wait to see photos and hear about the trip. I will be posting photos from the trip soon.