FOUR FIVE CONQUERORS?
Woke For July 3 ?
exclusive or inclusive ?
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| A NATIVE AMERICAN SACRILEGE ? |
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.. Some interesting facts:
1) Washington and
Jefferson both held slaves,
2) Lincoln, though he led the abolition of slavery, also approved the
hanging of 38 Dakota men in Minnesota after a violent conflict with
invading white settlers there,
3)
Roosevelt, a good Republican, is reported to have said, "I don't go so far as to think that
the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every
ten are." He also said, "the most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian.” {
LINK}
.. For many Native American people, including the Lakota,
Cheyenne, Omaha, Arapaho, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache, the monument is a
desecration of the Black Hills, which they consider sacred. Lakota
people know the area as Paha Sapa — "the heart of everything that is."
.. So, of course, our president a good Republican, has scheduled a major event at the monument. We have had our head shaken by this juxtaposition of perceptions in this time of conflict, pandemic and, national unrest.
.. Unlikely as it is, many fly fishers, feather merchants, fishing web sites, and YouTube channels avoid comment on the reality of this moment in history; we are fully cognizant of the sociopolitical atmosphere surrounding us. It is troubling! We cannot avoid comment. Silence is not enough.
.. For this celebration of Independence Day, we're trapped in a little tourist town with 1/4 of the shops closed. Montana is not fully "open" yet. Entitled visitors from around the world are trouping through our village. There are very few face masks present. The grocery store aisles are full of normal appearing folks searching the empty shelves.
.. The surreal aspects of our daily existence are entirely missed by those entitled visitors = fly fishers included. We've lost our part time gig due to closures. We're free to observe from our car, porch, patio, and occasional forays into the grocery store, post office, hardware store and gas station = such an awakening. May this never happen again!
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| CADDIS TO GO |
.. Yesterday's mid-day thunder boomers brought some hail and cool rains to the neighborhood. The result was a brief respite from the warm weather and a moderate period of excellent evening catching.
.. The Firehole River will be fishable for the coming weekend. Catchable is another question. Temperature spikes to 70°F are already here. Early morning is best - very late evening is a fair bet as well. Stick with soft hackles in the shadows. Don't spend any effort with surface flies unless the critters are crawling in your ears. If so, they are probably caddis of one sort or another.
.. The
Madison River has fared better this year. Catching has succumbed to the "
Madison Holy Trinity" =
caddis. PMD and, soft hackles. A dozen of each should endear you to the local counter help. Remember that surface flies may be drowned and still catch those pesky trout.
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| COACHMAN HACKLE |
.. Early morning should find you parked in a wide dirt spot on the
Gibbon River. Get there early and pound the riffles and dark slicks with large nymphs.
.. By noon time refugees from the other rivers will inundate the road and the parking spots. When it becomes elbow-crazy a small movement can continue your catching,
.. The meadows around the museum of the ranger and, upstream are full of brook trout and the occasional grayling. This is a good place to practice your stealth stalking skills. Just about any fly on the surface will bring strikes. Good, long drifts, are best. Don't be too quick of wrist. The little fish often miss and come back for seconds.
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.. With a few neighbors and, no dogs, we're headed to a secluded bend on the
Notellum River at the edge of the park boundary. A small fire just beyond the park line and a few steaks, (nearly a week's rent,) along with a cool one and great fellowship with young skeptics and old grouches should celebrate our independence.😎😎😎😎
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| WALLPAPER: CANNELLINI SOUP WITH BACON GARNISH |
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