Jack fished Doc and Bo Oldstone for a couple of days. These photos are on the Clark Fork River. They fished for trout and pike and caught both! You can probably tell that this was a bright, hot day.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Fly Fishing the Clark Fork River with Doc and Bo
Jack fished Doc and Bo Oldstone for a couple of days. These photos are on the Clark Fork River. They fished for trout and pike and caught both! You can probably tell that this was a bright, hot day.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Meet Jacob Shemper - Captain with Key West On The Fly
Jacob shared these photos with us and if you frequent this blog, you know I can't resist sharing fishing photos people send in. These are great. Thanks, Jacob.
To the left is a photo of Dan and Jacob Shemper sharing a brotherly moment with a very nice Bitterroot rainbow trout in Montana.
Below is one of Jacob's fishing clients in the LA Marsh near New Orleans.
Our connections with Jacob are fly fishing and music. Jacob attended the University of Montana, was a guide in western Montana, and currently is a fly fishing guide in Florida and Louisiana. His next event - his wedding in Montana and Jack will be playing music for it.
Jacob is a Captain with Key West On The Fly. You can see their website at http://www.keywestonfly.com/.
About Jacob: If Shaun White can be nicknamed 'the flying tomato,' then surely Jacob may be known as 'the fly fishing tomato,' a quote by Captain John O'Hearn.... Click Jacob Shemper's Guide Profile and scroll down (there are 4 captains listed) to read more about him.
Jacob is a Captain with Key West On The Fly. You can see their website at http://www.keywestonfly.com/.
About Jacob: If Shaun White can be nicknamed 'the flying tomato,' then surely Jacob may be known as 'the fly fishing tomato,' a quote by Captain John O'Hearn.... Click Jacob Shemper's Guide Profile and scroll down (there are 4 captains listed) to read more about him.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Big Hole River with Dave and Gary
Dave and his friend, Gary, met Jack on the Big Hole for a few days. The water levels are dropping some but the fishing is great. Always there is the spectacular scenery.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Dancing Trout Ale helps celebrate Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited's Success and Future on Sept. 12, 2009 in Missoula
A message from our friend, Jerry O'Connell:
For the past 20 years, our Big Blackfoot Chapter Trout Unlimited (BBCTU) has done more watershed restoration and preservation than any other chapter in the US. It has gained national acclaim and recognition for the hundreds of miles of restored and protected tributaries of the Big Blackfoot River. Over the years, BBCTU has set the standard for designing, managing, and executing boots-and-shovels projects at the grass roots level.
BBCTU has done all of this without a single fundraising event. However, we feel it’s time to break that tradition as we celebrate these two decades of progress. Thus, we’ll be holding our 20th Anniversary Party on Saturday, September 12, 2009, complete with bus tours of some of our projects, cocktails, a pitchfork BBQ and an auction with some very unique items (need a steer?). It’ll be at the Rolling Stone Ranch in Ovando, right in the heart of the Blackfoot Valley.
Please come! Pass the word to your friends – the more the merrier. You can call me (244-5612) or the BBCTU offices (677-6454) to make reservations. It’s a bargain at $25 each (or $50 will get you dinner and a Monte Dolack print of the Blackfoot). Email Jerry at joconnell@blackfoot.net.
Merle's note: What a way to break tradition. If you can make this event, DO IT! It will be an amazing gathering loaded with fun and you will mingle with some of Montana's interesting, caring, socially and environmentally involved people.
About Trout Slayer and Bayern Brewery
The original brew was called Trout Slayer Ale but in 2007 on the 20th anniversary of Bayern Brewing, the oldest brewery (and in my opinion the best) in Montana decided to give Trout Slayer Ale a new face to best reflect Bayern Brewing’s environmental company philosophy.
Their search for a more appropriate name kept them coming back to “Dancing Trout.” Whether as a fishing term or in various spiritual expressions of music and dance, Dancing Trout became a symbol of celebrating life and the lifestyle embraced by Montana.
So, they also endorsed Montana Trout Unlimited. The name change to Dancing Trout Ale was not merely a cosmetic one. They knew that it was time to brew a beer with a cause. They presented the idea of making Bayern Brewing’s Dancing Trout Ale the official beer sponsor of Montana Trout Unlimited (www.montanatu.org) and were met with the organization’s immediate support and enthusiasm. Bayern Brewing pledges a portion of all merchandise and every case of beer sold to Montana Trout Unlimited to support the preservation of Montana’s trout habitat.
To order Dancing Trout gear click here
To order Dancing Trout Ale online click here
For a signed print of the original Dancing Trout artwork contact Kate at
406-543-0054 or kate@montanatu.org
Bitter Root TU Commissioned Artwork by Monte Dolack
By the way, visit another post about Dancing Trout on the fantastic Missoula beer blog, the Grizzly Growler.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Lower Bitterroot on a Hot August Day
The lower Bitterroot is wider, flatter, slower, and shallower then the upper or middle Bitterroot. We were actually looking for Pike on a bright August day, yet in the morning, we had trico fishing, later we had hopper fishing. We did throw to some pike, too, and though they chased the flashy wet flies, we never pulled a pike into the boat.
We did see floaters (meaning warm water), birds, and we caught rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout. I rowed for Jack quite a bit, so my camera was put away. I didn't take as many photos as I usually do. These photos give you the drift of our trip on Friday.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Jack's Fly Fishing Day on the Big Hole
Jack had a travel day home and decided to wade fish the Big Hole on his way. Here are a couple of the fish he caught on his Scott rod. You can visit the Scott website at http://www.scottflyrod.com/.
Here is more contact information:
Email: info@scottflyrod.com
The Scott Fly Rod Company
2355 Air Park Way
Montrose, CO 81401
phone:
toll free (800) 728-7208
fax:
(970) 249-4172
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Fly Fishing the Big Hole River with Joe
Joe and Jack spent a few days on the Big Hole River. Jack loves guiding this river in August. It is a nice time to be in that high, lovely valley.
All the photos were from Joe's camera.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Fly Fishing the Blackfoot River with Jack and Nick
Nick Stipech is a talented Missoula area guide and Jack loves working with him. We all had an open day so we fished the lower Blackfoot River on Friday. Fishing with guides is the best way to really know their strengths and match them up well with clients.Our day started out nice, but we got a big rain and wind storm about noon and had some rain, wind and clouds through out the rest of the day. We caught fish on dry flies and streamers. Our faithful companions Freda and Flicka came along. We used Nick's RO Drift boat, had plenty of room and skimmed over most of the rocks.
The slideshow below shows the trip and some of the features of the lower Blackfoot. It is beautiful!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Fly Fishing the Blackfoot River with John
Yesterday Jack fished the lower Blackfoot River with John. The fishing was very good and of course the BIG ONE got away. There are rocks to dodge so photo taking wasn't Jack's priority but here is one of John's trout in a photo. I could adjust the color but I didn't. The reflection from the sunny day on the water makes the fish glow.
John loves our Cheasapeake puppy, Freda. You can see her nose in the lower right of the photo.
It is raining again today, off and on, and probably will be raining tomorrow. The weather is beautiful for August. The rivers are recharging, the foliage is still green, and if you know where to go, the fishing is great.
Jack is fishing the Bitterroot today. Even though it isn't the best fishing because of the recent surge and some turbidity, the clients chose to do a stretch on the middle Bitterroot. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some photos and a report on the fishing there.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Big Montana Rain Storm in August
This summer has been busy and the fishing has been great. One nice thing is that we haven't had many wildfires so the air quality is very clear. I am enjoying that! Our rivers levels have been ample though in late July, the water temperatures were creeping up. But now, we have had cooling rain, a little too much rain as the river has been running a bit muddy from run-off sediment.This last week we had a pacific and a canadian weather system collide over our big sky and it dumped record breaking rain amounts. The Bitterroot and Big Hole doubled their water levels. The fishing hasn't been very good except on the Blackfoot River. It fished well yesterday.
I am posting a few photos taken at Victor Crossing on the Bitterroot a few days ago to give you an idea of what our river looks like right now. As the storm passes and the sun comes out, the river should clear and the trout will be hungry.
To see graphs and other information from the USGS site click Wapiti Waters Stream Flow Links.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Fly Fishing the Blackfoot River with Alan and Carol
Carol from Milwaukee and Alan from Big Fork and CA fished the Blackfoot River with Jack on Wednesday. They started early so they could beat the heat and I think it paid off. Looks like the catching was good. I know the scenery was.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Fly Fishing the Big Hole River with Doug and Jack
Doug Nation and Jack Saunders fished the Big Hole River with Jack on Monday. They didn't get photos of the biggest fish Doug caught or of Jack Saunders' fish, darn it. But they all had a great day of fishing and catching.
All three, Doug Nation, Jack Saunders and Jack Mauer are past-Presidents and active members of the Bitterroot Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Doug is currently Chairman of Montana Council of Trout Unlimited.
Click this Montana Trout Unlimited Newsletter link for the newest newsletter online.
To read about Montana Trout Unlimited see the website http://www.montanatu.org./
To read more about Bitterroot Trout Unlimited see the website http://www.brtu.org/
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Fly Fishing the Big Hole River with Joe W and Gregg
Jack has been enjoying the Big Hole this month. He had an especially fun day with Joe W and his friend, Gregg. They came over from Washington to fish a few rivers in Montana. Today was the Big Hole River.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Great Food for Great Fly Fishing in Montana - Farm to Market food store in Hamilton, MT
Wapiti Waters is all about fly fishing and all about great lunches on the water. We shop at many stores in the Bitterroot Valley and the Good Food Store in Missoula. Our newest favorite is Farm to Market in Hamilton, MT. If we can't pick from our garden, Farm to Market is the next best thing.Terry and Roxane Hunt have operated Farmers Produce in Hamilton for the last eight years, and in that time they have noticed that customers were interested in products that are local, from Montana or at least regional. The Hunts decided to give the people what they want: a place to buy local and Montana-made products that saves the consumer money by minimizing transportation costs and bolsters local agriculture.
They opened their new store, Farm to Market, in the old Loonies and Toonies building in Hamilton and feature local and regional produce, a Montana meat market, a fresh fish market, a bakery featuring Missoula-baked goods, a deli and a gift shop.
With their styling of each department, the store is fun, economical, full of choices and is all-the-buzz with shoppers these days, even the young professionals. My young dinner guest last night was asked to bring corn. He arrived with Farm to Market corn spouting his appreciation of the market and its great produce as his favorite Hamilton food store.
All the beef in the meat and fish market section comes directly from actual ranches in the Bitterroot Valley. And they carry pork, chicken and eggs, all of which will come from within the state, much of it from nearby Hutterite colonies.
The store’s fish market features only fish shipped fresh from the Oregon and Washington coasts and the produce shop carries what fruits and vegetables are seasonally available locally like spinach, garlic and apples. Other produce comes from Washington’s Yakima Valley. In the dairy section, they carry local milk from Lifeline Farm Creamery in Victor.
The store’s deli offers sandwiches and a large salad bar. The gift shop carries only products made in the USA, including southwestern tribal jewelry, and features Made in Montana products.
We do our best to provide great fishing and great food. Farm to Market is a key ingredient for the great food!
You can find them at:
Montana Farm To Market
302 N 1st St, Hamilton, MT 59840
(406) 363-3854
1-click directions
See more photos of Farm to Market and some of our lunches in the slideshow below.
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