SELL IT !!

LAND FOR FREEWAYS

Our G'munt At Play

rural vs. urban  ??

MONTANA'S  GIFT  TO  AMERICA

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.. The leaked presidential infrastructure plan is available on line. We're hoping it really is  just a draft with talking points only.
.. View the Fact Sheet PDF Here - 1.  View the Funding Principles Here - 2.
.. Below we've highlighted an interesting obnoxious shitty way to fund the bridges, water supplies, roads, airports, electrical distribution, and other bits of our crumbling infrastructure.

AMERICA'S GIFT TO THE WORLD

.. We're quite sure that there will be much pork to be consumed across the nation in celebration of the proposal.
.. We anticipate that the proposed federal contributions to the projects will go up and that the proposed private contributions will go down.
.. We do need help for our dated and obsolete infrastructure: no question about it.
.. We also need the adults in the room to take a stand on the way we go about the help. We question weather a philandering con artist and dime store cowboy have the answers that America needs.

RESOURCES

>> AXIOS
>> CNBC
>> FOX BUSINESS NEWS
>> MOLDY CHUM

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.. We've had some snow in dribs and drabs and the high country is piling up nicely. The temperatures have been moderate and seasonal or, slightly on the less cold side.
.. Even the neighbors with legs that wobble less than ours have been out in the real world of catch - release - and - brag.

RIGHT SIZE SMOKER

.. Winter fishing pressure from visitors has slowed over the last decade or so and now there are two feather merchants completely closed up.
.. Catching success has been mixed. Ice fishers are stocking up on 'smokers,' (Mountain Whitefish,) while stream fishers are still pestering spawners from the rivers.
.. Should you happen to know where Indian Creek joins the Madison River you might easily take a fish every 10 minutes.

A PINK FEATHER DUSTER

.. Both trout and mountain whitefish use the lower reaches of this ephemeral creek and hang out until Spring around it's mouth.
.. Our ice rink is slick and fast, the town roads are in excellent shape, trinket and T-shirt shops are open and, visitors are strolling the walkways. The only hazard in town is the skiers who insist on walking six abreast in the road - such is life.

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.. It's early and we're having a midlife morning so perhaps we'll shovel in the dark, warm our buns by the stove, contemplate the universe and have an early breakfast. Or, try to get a couple of hours of shuteye.

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WALLPAPER:  RIB STEAK AND EGG

All Past Is Prelude

CLANDESTINE MEETINGS ?

Grumping And Groaning

your license to whine

PUBLIC  MEETING

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.. So it comes down to this. The final public input meetings for the proposed Draft Madison River Recreation Environmental Assessment, (EA.)
.. This debate and proposed action started with conversations in the plush digs of wealthy Montana landowners way back in 2011 and 2012.
.. The EA will address the means, modes, and density of recreation on the upper Madison River and the regulation and enforcement of those means, modes, and densities.

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IN  HELENA

.. Although this is the least important public meeting from a public perspective, it is the most important meeting from the perspective of the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks, (FWP.) It signals the last public meeting prior to the release of the EA in November.
.. AND, unless FWP staff have been totally asleep, the EA is mostly complete.

RECREATION

.. Should you choose to attend one of the three scheduled meetings, (see below,) there are several things to keep in mind:
1, The waters of the state of Montana are owned by the citizens of the state. Not just fishing guides, not just fisher folks, not just landowners, not just float tube riders, not rafters, - all the citizens and their varied recreational predilections.

RECREATION

2, The FWP is a combined agency that is charged with multiple responsibilities. Rightly or wrongly the State Legislature and recent new constitution have lumped diverse responsibilities into a single agency.
3, Citizens of the state of Montana are the employers of the bureaucrats that hold their position in FWP. Those bureaucrats are accountable for their actions.

RECREATION

4, Citizens of the state of Montana are also accountable for their own actions and participation, (or non action and non participation,) in the EA process.
5, Both citizens and bureaucrats have a tough job. Both must uphold their rights and duties. Without due diligence there is no license to whine on the part of the citizens.

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.. Should you choose to practice due diligence it behooves you to do it right. Try the following:

USE  IT

A, Take a pencil and paper to write down what you think was being said and by who. Write down the names of the bureaucrats in attendance.
B, Use your smart phone's camera to record things that are important to you and your concerns. Don't erase it.
C, If you have pressing questions or concerns that you want addressed in the EA - write them down and give them to one of the bureaucrats with the admonishment that they should be addressed in writing in the EA. Keep a copy and record the name of the bureaucrat that you gave them to.
D, If you ask questions rather than making comments be sure that the question is answered with specific responses to the question that was asked. Beware of weasel words: maybe, probably, possibly, try to, explore, address, many, often, science says,  etc. Note the name of the bureaucrat that answers the question.
E, Followup. Make the phone call to make sure that your interest and concern is, indeed, addressed in the EA.

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RECREATION ?

.. Be sure that you know the scope and extent of the planned regulatory scheme and enforcement policies. Be sure that you understand just "WHAT IS BEING REGULATED" and planned for.
.. Ask the question. Do not assume that you and the bureaucrat are on the same page and speaking the same language. If the bureaucrats are masquerading as experts you should be the expert.
.. Know the law and know the way that Montana implements the EA and EIS process. Don't you overstep the legalities and don't allow the bureaucrats to short cut the process or the intent of the law.
.. Practice and demand honest and civil and pertinent questioning and answering.

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 RESOURCES

>  Montana FWP Telephone Numbers,
>  Original Montana Open Meeting Act (PDF),
>  Montana Open Meeting Code Annotated (2015),
>  Memo Introducing Montana Bureaucrats to NEPA (PDF),
>  Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA),
>  Official MEPA Guidelines (PDF),
>  Montana Secretary Of State Environmental Review Requirements,
>  Guide To Montana Environmental Policy Act (PDF),
>  Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (website),

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 MEETINGS:

BOZEMAN: August 29, Hilton Garden Inn, 2023 Commerce Way, 7:00 - 9:30 PM.

ENNIS: August 30, Ennis Elementary School cafeteria, 7:00 - 9:30 PM.

WEST YELLOWSTONE: August 31, Holiday Inn, 7:00 - 9:30 PM.

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READ THIS

It's All Atypical

DIFFERENT STROKES

Not Soup To Nuts

but cheese to ice to flies

NOT A CORK BUT, A $500.00 ROUND OF BLUE STILTON CHEESE

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.. “Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.” . . . Thanks Will.
.. The growing midwinter madness is becoming very apparent in our little village. It's a time when diversions reach proportions seldom seen in rational humans.

RICH FOLKS VISIT YELLOWSTOME

.. Visitors are strewn from pub to pub. The most popular watering holes are those most easily accessed by snowmobiles.
.. Dog sled teams are running the trails and their enthusiastic yapping punctuates both day and night.
.. The very wealthy and very affluent visitors with large amounts of discretionary cash have reserved their guided visit to Yellowstone National Park.
.. At over $125.00/day/each person, (not counting food, lodging, souvenirs, or a night out with the family,) the park becomes an elitist retreat during the snow season.
.. On the other hand, our frozen reservoir is now populated with little clusters of dark specks. No, not penguins, but ice fishers: normal folks enjoying the outdoors and the bounty of introduced fish. There are tracks and trails frozen in the surface from snomachines on their errant travels. There are bits of humpy color that delineate shelters of all kinds: - tents to tarps to shanty's.

JIGGLE A STIFFY

.. The neighborhood fishers, (fly or otherwise,) are all checking their thrummin' rods, tip-ups, bobbles, and maggot supplies. Their taste buds are also undergoing a metamorphosis. Pizza, beer, burgers, and brats are giving way to Stilton cheese, mixed grills, quiche, and baked Alaska.
.. Two glorious rounds of Blue Stilton Cheese have arrived in our village. Wonderfully ripe and smelly as all get out, they are - yum! These will be shared at secret locations, augmented by sauteed pears, apples, walnuts, and shortbread - some Vintage Port and Tawny Port bottles have also made their appearance.
..This is the time of year when the rich folks pretend to be normal. The poor folks pretend to be rich. The average folks go about their business working hard and servicing both groups.
.. Ice hole fishing has been very good this year on Hebgen Reservoir. It has drawn quite a few of the neighbors. Even, it has indeed, sucked in a pile of normally sane fishers of the fly. Giant Whitefish are the prize. They smoke nicely and supplement the standard winter fare of canned fruits and vegetables.

HAPPY AND HEADED FOR HOME

.. Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout over 18" are also kept for the smoker.
.. Much of the ice hole fishing is targeted at finding good places for the upcoming Cabela's NAIFC Tournament. This years event takes place next weekend.
.. In addition to the standard rigs that include meal worms, maggots, and hamburger bits, there is one fly making a good showing on the frozen lake = chartreuse green stiff hackle flies have brought to hand some real trophies.
.. These flies are fished by the true experts. They demand a skilled hand to impart the enticing action required to stab a 22" Brown Trout in the lip.
.. Over the past few years the response to this tournament has been so overwhelming that there is a limit of 150 teams this year. In addition to the nationally sponsored teams, each pub is sponsoring a couple of teams. Some restaurants and motels are sponsoring teams. Interestingly there are no church-sponsored teams.
.. At this writing, (like right now,) there are a handful of spots still open for the $14,000.00 to $21,000.00 pay out anticipated for this year's tourney.

KIDS OF ALL AGES ATTEND THE FREE ACTIVITIES

.. Check the Official NAIFC Site for details. Continuing and up-to-date reports about conditions and techniques, and other stuff is available on the Official NAIFC Facebook Page. Even the Montana Outdoor Radio Show is getting in on the act.
.. Of course it's not enough to have just an ice fishing tournement on the weekend. The West Yellowstone Fun Run for sled dogs is also on tap. Check the Official Fun Run Page for details. National and International teams are entered and the local pubs, restaurants, motels, and no churches are sponsoring our neighborhood teams as well.
.. Throughout the weekend will also be activities for the very popular KIDS 'N' SNOW events. There are ice hole seminars for the kids and free fishing gear as well.
.. Bring the youngsters and enjoy all the happenings: ice fishing, sled dog rides, ice skating, snow sledding, etc. Attendance and observation is free for all ages and all events - including the churches.

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WALLPAPER (LOAF #9): FARMHOUSE RUSTIC WHITE

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT

PARKIES VISIT WEST

Current Status Report

who'll show up this time?

HEAR YE, HEAR YE,
NPS HOLDS FORTH IN WEST YELLOWSTONE

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.. The last time this happened very few folks showed up.
.. Of course they wailed and whined about the actions taken - when they were taken.

Dead Lake Trout Dumped (nps photo)

.. There are new regulations to explore. There are progress reports about the conservation plan to be presented.
.. And, there will be some interesting notes revealed about the future actions that are in the planning stages but not yet carried out.
.. Additionally an early season report about the Lake Trout reduction efforts will also be presented.
.. Dear to the hearts of many fly fishers is the holy and religious practice of releasing all fish that have been caught.
.. For some the catechism also includes cursing the native Mountain Whitefish. The removal of limits on non native fish will be a topic at the meeting.
.. The new regulation for mandatory harvesting of non native fish in the Lamar River Drainage will certainly be a point that draws attention. This is a regulation that trusts the public to help in the conservation efforts. Do you trust fly fishers to abide by the regulations?
.. Some fly fishers understand the need to protect genetic integrity and diversity. Others believe that miscegenation is the way of the future.
.. It's an interesting time for the National Park Service and the giant industry built on fishing in Yellowstone National Park.
.. Tonight at 7:00 PM at the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone, Montana the assembly will take place. We'll see if the religious realeasers can ever stomach the concept of killing some to save others.

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A BEAUTIFUL NATIVE SALMONID: THE MOUNTAIN WHITEFISH

Not Quite . . .

IT ONLY GOT TO 47° F

Winds Were Manageable

neighbors vacate town

THE NEIGHBORS PAUSE IN THEIR LABORS TO QUAFF A BREW OR TWO

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..Sunday was another pleasant and unseasonably warm day. The thermometers in town ran to 47° F and not a bit more. We were hoping for another 50° F. The day was "Squinty Bright," and sun block was a definite must.
.. Some of the brave neighbors probed the estuaries along the shore of Hebgen Lake for legal open water: it's a sport for the young and thick of body. Rumors of open water at the mouth of Grayling Creek persist - SO?

Size 20 winged midge with outriggers

.. Ice fishing is still in full swing and, (depending on expertise,) some fine trout dinners are being gathered up.
.. Smokies, (whitefish,) as well, are running to 3# and seem eager as the ice-out approaches.
.. The water around Campfire Lodge is getting a pounding - all the way down to Quake Lake. Fish are being taken on just about any subsurface offering in the size 10 to 14 range. Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Prince Nymphs, Feather Duster Nymphs, Shop Vac Nymphs, and winged midges, (size 20 - 24,) are getting drowned in abundance.
.. The extended forecast calls for a few more gentle days with some mixed rain and snow about to show up in the neighborhood.
.. There is a steady stream of cars running from town to the little bits of legal open water. There are quite a few non-recreational snowmobilers headed to the major estuaries as well.
.. The fisher folk of our village have abandoned their 'stool-warming' at the pubs during mid day and can only be found with their prehensile cheeks squoze down after dark - - SPRING FEVER HAS ARRIVED !

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With the last few weeks of salubrious weather the Madison River is already bank-full

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Tough Neighbors

FOG DOWN BELOW

Cold & Clear At Home

new snow helps

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.. We traveled over the hill to the lowland Madison River. The morning fog persisted for some time and then turned to light snow.
.. There were very few midges visible but fish noses dimpled the surface near $3 Bridge and took our flies frequently enough to keep us in the water for about three hours.
.. The trout were happy to eat a size 12 soft hackle. When the noses disappeared from the surface we switched to a large, (size 8,) bead head Prince Nymph and continued to have some fun with the local fish.
.. There were mostly Rainbow Trout with a couple of precocious 10" Brown Trout in the mix. Two giant Whitefish, (maybe 16") took the nymph out near the large boulder in a typically "trouty place."
.. The Reynolds Pass fishing access is plowed closed and the early vehicle tracks are not visible under the newly fallen snow. The 6" of snow we just received is a blessing and is keeping the snow water content high for the coming spring.

.. Back up in the Hebgen Basin the neighbors are still visiting the trout on the Madison River.
.. Between The Lakes, the Hebgen Tailwater has been lightly fished after the first rush that came with the first snows a couple of months ago.
.. Just a few neighbors are paying their respects to the trout and the fish are being most accommodating to the few locals that take the time to visit.
.. The kind folks at Campfire Lodge have kept the road to the river nicely plowed and are willing to listen to requests for parking. There is also a nice wide pull-out at the Cabin Creek Scarp Area.
.. The local offerings are the usual mixed bag of nymphs, midge clusters, emergers, and attractor dry flies. There has been a recent abandonment of San Juan Worms in favor of a mashed and drowned Adams dry fly.
.. Drowned dries are in the giant size range, (8 & 10,) and are purposely mangled and rumpled prior to casting. It seems like a waste of good hackle to turn these beauties into a submerged stiff hackle - but then, if it works . . .
..We occasionally get to visit with the local fly fishing guides.
.. They are constantly touting the latest and greatest places, techniques, and flies.
.. They catch scads of fish as testified to by the fish porn on their cell phones and videos from their fancy cameras. Good on 'em.
.. Most of the neighbors that fish in the winter seldom darken the doors of the feather merchants. They drink their suds in quiet corners of local pubs and don't seem to associate much with the elite pros. They catch scads of fish too.
.. They don't usually carry cell phones or cameras. They talk about the weather, the local politics, and mundane topics that fill the life of the working stiff. There is definitely a non-meeting of the minds between these two cultures.
.. Each of the groups could probably learn much from the other. Sadly, we doubt it will happen. On the one hand there's just too many flies to invent and, on the other there's just too much work to be done.

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Small Monsters

THEN AND NOW

Denizens Of The Deep

and, a montana record too

.. From the Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia comes news of a predator that lived 505 million years ago.
.. The fossil was first described about 100 years ago. It's fragmentary nature left it to rest in the 'unremarkable' category for nearly a century. It was misidentified as everything from a jelly fish to a sea cucumber.
.. Recent re visitations of the fossil, in the dusty drawers of the Smithsonian Institution, and a new specimen, have revealed it to be a monster predator from the Cambrian.
.. This thing was a giant among the life of the time and is, in fact, a member of the largest living group of animals the arthropods.
.. The Hurdia, (sp), probably fed on other, smaller predators and marine worms. Details of this monster were published in yesterday's issue of Science; a synopsis is available HERE. Although size doesn't matter, this thing may have reached a whopping 16 - 18 inches.
.. A similar predator was recently caught by a Montana fisherman. The Pygmy Whitefish, Prosopium coulteri, (Salmonidae), tied a state record and weighed in at 3.7 ounces.
.. These predators usually grow to sizes in the 6 - 8 inch range and are preyed upon by other fish.
.. The Pygmy Whitefish usually preys mainly on zooplankton. A July-Dec. Flathead Lake study showed these foods to be important; Daphnia Thorata-70%, Epischura-13%, Organic debris-10%, and chironomid larvae-6%.
.. The invasive shrimp found in many of Montana's cold lakes are now a new food source for the Pygmy. They are growing larger because of the change in diet and we can look for the state record to be broken again in the near future.
.. The current record has stood the test of time, as the previous record was set in 2005. You can read the whole thrilling story of the battle with the fish in the Montana Standard.
.. The fisher that caught the monster has revealed the technique for taking the trophy: a glow hook and maggot. Eric Tullett, of Kallispell, Montana is justly proud of the catch.

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.. Pygmy Whitefish images courtesy of Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks.

Just Another Day In Paradise

LOW FLOWS AND GOOD HATCHES
Some Reports Are Glowing
Gibbon & Firehole Hit Record Low Flows
90 days of low precipitation forecast

.. The Caddis Flies are bailing out of the Madison River and Firehole River in record numbers. The hatches of multiple species start about 11:00 AM and continue until dark, (later?) There are reports of trout to 20" at the Barns Holes, and many of the neighbors report that the Mountain Whitefish seem to be less cooperative and fewer than recent memory recalls.
.. Yesterday the Gibbon River hit an "all-time" record low flow of 93 cfs. The temperature for the same period spiked to 73 degrees Fahrenheit. This may not seem too significant in light of fact that only five years of data are available.
.. On the other hand, with 16 years of data to view, the Firehole River also hit a record low flow of 256 cfs, and spiked to 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
.. Not to be out done, the Madison River near West Yellowstone is within 20 cfs of a record low flow of 317 cfs; a number not seen since 1931, (can you say dust bowl?)
.. This is data that is more like late July and early August than mid June. The neighbors wonder just how long the good fishing will last, and if this is the year that the NPS will close these two rivers to fishing. Only time will tell.
.. The NOAA 7-day forecast shows just a slight cooling trend and a minimal chance of significant precipitation. Severe weather and thunderstorms are forecast for the next week. The fish are going to have to endure some very high stress conditions as this season progresses.
.. NOAA produces an Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service for Yellowstone National Park. The picture for the foreseeable future does not bode well for the rivers in the park. The three month precipitation outlook is for a 33% - 40% lower than average precipitation.
.. Right now is the time to fish the plunge pool below Gibbon Falls. There is little water, the holes are apparent, and the fish are concentrated. It's a gentle walk and the spray will keep you cool. It's possible to take Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Brook Trout from this location. We've heard of Grayling here but have not verified it. Maybe today; right after the biscuits and gravy.