The Big Hole River in late August

These photos are from the Big Hole in August, but I just found out I can share them. So, here they are. Jack loves fishing the Big Hole and so do KJ and Tom. They drove over from near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and spent a few days with their family. They fished a couple of days with Jack, too.

See below for a slideshow of five photos.

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Lower Bitterroot in mid-September

Paul was back in the valley this month. He brought his nephew along in the boat with Jack. Again, nice fish were caught on this beautiful day. We had fires in the Bitterroot and near Missoula, but as you can see, the air quality was good.

Bitterroot River in early September

Catching up on a few photos from early September. Gary and his friend fished with Jack years and years ago on the Big Hole River. This September, Jack had an opportunity to guide them on the Blackfoot and Bitterroot. This REALLY fat cutthroat was caught by Gary on the Bitterroot River.

Hope they come back next year. It was nice weather, great fishing and fun to catch up.

Important dates in September for trout

• 9/10 Bitterroot River Cleanup 10 am to 4 pm followed by BBQ for volunteers at Anglers Roost (south of Hamilton). Call Don at 406-363-3146 
• 9/14/17 National TU's Annual Meeting in Bend, Oregon Visit www.tu.org for details and registration.
• 9/23 32 Annual Bitterroot TU Banquet 5 pm at Bitterroot River Inn in Hamilton, Montana. Contact Marshall Bloom at 406-363-3485 of drtrout@mtbloom.net. 
• 9/24 Montana TU's State Council Meeting 9:30 am at the Double Tree in Missoula. Contact Kate Grant at 406-543-0054 or kate@montanatu.org.

Great September fishing on the Clark Fork River west of Missoula

Trout from the Clark Fork River - beautiful!

This has been a crazy summer for many people for many reasons. Mike fishes with Jack quite a bit each summer. He and his wife have a home in Hamilton. This summer, they had to be out of Montana more than usual. Today, Wapiti Waters floated Mike and some friends on the Clark Fork and you never know how it might fish. They hit it just right. Mike said it was one of the best days he has had on a Montana River. His friend, Jim, thanked Jack for sharing that day on the river with him. They deserved a great day and got it. Thanks to the fishing gods and the recovery of the Clark Fork after removing Milltown Dam.

Shields on the Big Hole and the Blackfoot Rivers in August

Brown trout caught by Jim

Jim and Naomi fished with Jack a few weeks in July. Now these photos are from August when they came back to fish the Big Hole and the Blackfoot rivers. What is great about the Shields is that they have fun no matter what the weather or the fishing have to offer. But, as you can see here, they always catch really nice trout. I have to say either Naomi catches more trout, or Jim takes more photos...not sure which. Jack sure had a good time fishing with them.

See more photos in the slideshow below.

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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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Upper Bitterroot River in July with the Shields

Jim and Naomi are fishing three rivers again this year, the Bitterroot (pictured here), the Big Hole and the Blackfoot. We will try to post the other two rivers soon, in August. Stay tuned because they always catch spectacular fish. Here are more photos of trout - of course caught by the Shields!

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This is a slideshow of Jack getting the raft over debris/hazard while Jim and Naomi were out of the boat. Thanks Naomi for taking the photos! Jack is pulling and pushing the raft over a downed cottonwood. Thank goodness it wasn't too big. Good job Jack. You didn't even lose your hat or sunglasses.

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Westslope cutthroat trout

Westslope cutthroat trout from S. Fork Flathead River

These photos were taken in the world-class Westslope cutthroat trout fishery in the South Fork of the Flathead River, Montana, USA. The Westslope cutthroat trout is one of two subspecies of native cutthroat found in the state. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the population of Westslope cutthroat trout in the South Fork is the strongest and most vibrant in Montana, and perhaps in the entire West.
Put in was Big Priairie, take out wast Woodfir Creek just north of White River.

Father and daughter fishing the Bitterroot

Daniel and Leslie fished with Wapiti Waters on August 1. Woody Hayward was their guide. They were nice enough to send us these photos. The are from Wisconsin and were in Montana on a father/daughter trip. Leslie enjoyed fishing so much, she now wants her own gear. Dan is delighted. He is looking forward to more fishing and quality time with his daughter.

Woody working on the boat with Leslie looking on.

Leslie at lunch, Woody walking up from the river.

Sweet little trout!

Thanks Leslie and Daniel for fishing with Wapiti Waters. Hope we see you both again soon.

Big Hole River in late July

Scott Warren guided with Jack on the Big Hole River. The photos show this young woman with her first trout EVER. Pretty cool. And, she caught more fish that day including a brown trout.

Paul on the Bitterroot River, again - keeps coming back

Paul is the brother of my great friend Nancy. He lives in Washington State but comes to Montana to visit Nancy and family. He has many talents and loves to fish. The photos are from his camera and since Nancy was on this float, I think she probably took them. Thanks Paul and Nancy!