"Wheeee, I am a Chessie" by amontanaview | RedBubble

Not much fishing going on here in January so I will go through some photos of Freda on the rivers. Here she is after getting out of the Koffler for a stretch. She needed to jump and run a little and what Chessie doesn't like water! This was in November on the middle Bitterroot River. I will be publishing a few more of , why not? She loves to go fishing, too.
"Wheeee, I am a Chessie" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

"When I say "come," she comes" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"When I say "come," she comes" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

This is actually from last year but I am posting it in a bid for snow. We are supposed to get a big snow storm tomorrow! I so, I will take for a snow walk!
Description:

We were out for a walk in a pasture at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains west of Victor, Montana USA. We were working on some commands and getting our exercise. was ranging a bit far out so I called her back in to me. Wow, she sprinted! Snow is flying.
I took the photo on the Aperture setting and hit the “auto” develop button in Lightroom. This was the result. Crazy eyes and color. I liked it so here it is.
Canon EOS 7D 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO: 200, 70mm
Canon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens

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Happy New Year

We want to wish you a happy new year and hope it is a rewarding and successful year for all. We are looking forward to lots of snow this winter that will translate into plenty of water in our rivers all year long.
Best wishes to you and yours from Wapiti Waters and Montana.

NWCC - SNOTEL Snow Water Equivalent Update for Montana

 Wapiti Waters is already getting client dates on the calendar for 2012 spring and summer. Bookings get us thinking about river conditions and that takes us to the question "how much snow will we have in the mountains this winter?" The forecast is for a lot of snow...we better get started. Not much snow yet but we have a few more months to go.

Click the title links to go to the original site. Click the picture to enlarge.
NWCC - SNOTEL Snow Water Equivalent Update Graph

NWCC - Montana SNOTEL Current Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) % of Normal

 

Ice fishing in western Montana - pike was the big catch

Five pound pike

Successful day on the ice

Ten pound pike!

Pictures say it all. Thanks for forwarding these photos to us Mike!

"Fascination" by amontanaview | RedBubble

da"Fascination" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Freda is pretty darn interested in this beautiful cutbow (hybrid cutthroat/rainbow) trout. Maybe the trout is more than a little nervous. The trout was caught and released in the Bitterroot River north of Florence, Montana USA.
Canon EOS 7D, 1/500s, f/5.0, ISO:200, 160 mm
SIGMA 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Aspherical DF Macro SLD Autofocus Lens

Geoff on the Big Hole River in mid-August

Geoff Fitzgerald fished the Big Hole in mid-August for a few days. He had a great trip and one reason was this year there was a lot of water. He ended up fishing mainly in the faster water. Geoff takes lots of pictures when out fishing. He photos are of anything unusual and occasionally of trout. He shared two photos from his August Big Hole River trip that illustrate both the unusual and trout.

Here are his descriptions of the photos:
"The brown in the pic was right below Jerry Creek Bridge and it was hookedon the first cast using a yellow marabou muddler.

The speckled egg on the algae mat was incredible, yet a little tragic; absolutely untouched and unbroken - must've rolled out of a nest near the bank (meadowlark nest perhaps) or on gravel bar (in that case possibly spotted sandpiper or killdeer)."

Anyone have any firm ideas of the species of bird egg?

Geoff, thanks for sharing. We love getting other "points of view."

"Virga over the Clark Fork River" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"Virga over the Clark Fork River" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

This was taken April 9, 2011 west of Missoula, Montana USA on the Clark Fork River. The camera is looking north and east at Montana Snowbowl Ski Area and the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. It was a gorgeous spring day and the fishing was good.
Virga is precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground.
Canon EOS 7D, 1/500s, f/10.0, ISO:200, 39mm
SIGMA 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Aspherical DF Macro SLD Autofocus Lens

"North Fork, Idaho steelhead hen" by amontanaview | RedBubble

"North Fork, Idaho steelhead hen" by amontanaview | RedBubble:

Fall is a great time to fish for steelhead in Idaho.

A beautiful female steelhead from North Fork River in Idaho. My first steelhead photo.
Cannon EOS 7D, 1/200s, f/7.1, ISO: 200

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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Woody Hayward with a nice trout on the Bitterroot River Oct 20

Jack with a pike he caught in the Bitterroot River

We love fishing in the late fall because we can find targets to shoot at, both trout and pike. The trout are usually noses and fins feeding on tricos and spinners. The pike are a different story. We look for them in certain slow water spots and try to throw big, gaudy flies. Once in awhile, we can actually see the big lunkers deep in the water. Seeing them doesn't mean they will take the fly, there-in lies the challenge.

Catching a big pike is a thrill. They are much bigger than most trout and are an effort to land. Jack caught this good sized pike October 12. Usually, I ask Jack to give them away, but on this day, our friend and avid pike fisherman, Eric, showed us how he fileted them. We cut up the firm meat into steaks, covered them with fresh, seasoned bread crumbs and baked them. They were delicious. I was pleasantly surprised. I am ready to go pike fishing again soon.

Here are more photos in a slideshow. One is of us releasing a decent sized trout next to the pike. You will see the size comparison.