Would've been great to be out on the Madison today, or at least this evening. Beautiful day here in SW Montana. Just the kind that makes you think there were some Midges hatching and probably a few trout eating them too.

Seems like I'm in the shop a lot more than usual this winter - which is probably a good thing. It's always great to talk some fishing with the hearty anglers of winter around here, knowing that the warmth of summer and hoppers will be here before we know it. Unfortunately though, today I got to spend the majority of the day freaking out about our computer crashing every 45 minutes or so. Think we have it narrowed down to an issue with Outlook, but it's always a something.

New website is just about here, probably be up and running next week. The store is almost put back together as well following our dismantling of this and that and moving more slatwall pegs than our walls should be able to hold. It's coming together nicely though as the guys in the shop have been uber-helpful with all of our winter projects.

FYI - the sunset tonight was absolutely amazing.

More Spring Thoughts

Guide trip bookings have been coming in pretty regularly, which is a good thing for all of us at Fins & Feathers. I know most folks think that we are rolling in the dough on guide trips, but this just isn't the total reality. I mean honestly, I made a lot more money selling carpet and worked a lot less back in the day! Interacting with other anglers, sharing a few things, making friends on the water, all in some of the most amazing fly fishing settings anywhere are really the things that keep us all going.

The bookings for May on the Missouri are looking solid and I'm pretty much booked up with just the first week of May and the week after Memorial Day left. There are some weekend dates in there, but I'd prefer to keep the trips to mid-week as it always seems to be a little quieter.

The Dearborn River opens with the general season on the 3rd Saturday in May. This is an amazingly picturesque river worth the trip for the scenery alone. The timing has to be just right as it's a 20 mile float so there needs to be enough water to keep things moving along and if there isn't enough...it's a total pain in the ass. The river is one of the main tributaries to the Missouri below Holter and makes for a great middle day option for a 3 day tip up to the Craig areas.

As far as a guide trip here, it would be a mid week thing before or after Memorial Day. It's a great DIY float with a few camping options along the float (but it does get pretty crazy with recreational rafters and floaters on the weekends, especially when it first opens). It will wear you out on the oars on a single day float so I'd plan on taking a long day and camping at Mid-Canon on the Mo at the end if your in DIY mode. There is also good water up above wherever the hell it is we put on...at least another days worth of water.

Snow and Ice

Ended up going to the Upper Madison yesterday with the intention of fishing somewhere around the West Fork. We drove all the way up there and couldn't find anyplace to pull off the highway as there is a ton of snow up there. Crazy snow on the ground once we got up to about Palisades. Not just talking about it would have been hard to get to the river, I mean there was no shoulder on the highway and none of the pullouts were anywhere near being usable.

So we headed back down and drove into Story ditch where the wind was blowing 20 mph and snowing like hell. Ice shelves kind of made it tough too. We ended up at Varney and got a few fish on nymphs, but the water is very cold and there were ice chunks breaking off the shelves as the day got nicer.

The river is very jammed up below Burnt Tree and the Ennis FAS is completely under ice except for a channel that is running on the east side of the camping area. It looks like a total mess.

Getting ready to head out for some fishing today and typing here on the computer seems like amore prudent expenditure of my time today. I've been trying to get out for a couple of weeks now but other responsibilities and a bout with the flu bug have been keeping me away from the river. So, I'm going today...weather be damned.

It kind of feels like those mid-summer mornings except that it's not summer, the sun just came up, there's snow on the ground, and it's around 25 or so outside. So, why does it feel like summer? Right now, as I do just about everyday in the season, I'm trying to figure out where the hell to go! It's looking like the Upper Madison is probably the choice as it comes down to the lesser of all the evils. The wind is only blowing 15-20 in Ennis this morning versus 20+ just about everywhere else. I could complain, but then again I could be in New Jersey on this fine Saturday morning...wondering what the fishing in Montana is like right now.

Photos

As most of you know, I've been trying to sort out how to operate a camera the last couple of year...with very little success I might add. Be that what it may...I have nevertheless dumped mucho mucho pesos into this whole endeavor and even more of time. Mostly because it seemed interesting and a natural extension of what I already do...FISH.
So, I've had a great time with it, learned a lot, read a lot, and have a plethora of amazing photo equipment and very few decent images. I've taken the better images that I have and have put them online as a portfolio for the time being. The plan is to add more as I go and to begin marketing them more heavily in the next year. At this stage, I just wanted to have a portfolio online. The web hosting service I'm using also does printing and rights management so I should be able to add that stuff as well once I get things organized better.
In the meantime, if you want to check it out, go to http://finsandfeathersphoto.photoshelter.com/ . I plan on starting to upload the better images from my various shoots from here on out so check back every once in awhile to see what's been going on in that part of my life.

The weather has been perfect for winter fishing the last few days. Maybe a little windy, but I've heard good things about the lower and the Gallatin. Going to try to get out for an afternoon later this week if the weather holds.

Lite Blog

Yes the blog has been light as of late - but with good reason. I've just been busy and there hasn't been much to report on my end regarding the fishin' world.

Before I start with my BS, the New York Times just put an article on my wife's (Christine Foreman) research project in Antarctica. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/4manscience

We moved some things around in the shop which turned into a bigger project than we had expected, but it has turned out well. Charlie and I both had the flu the last week, so that's slowed things down. I've been working on building a photography website at night -should have something to show everyone in a few weeks.

Also I've been on a whirl wind tour of various sports bars around the nation fielding questions about my "road to glory" fantasy football season. It's been busy but I hope to pass on some of my gridiron fantasy knowledge and strategies to everyone next year for the one time price of $9.99 plus $14.95 S&H. But that's not all....order before 9 am tomorrow and I'll also include my best guesses at Hockey Success - a $4.95 value by itself...for free! To Order, just call Vann's Appliance Customer Service in Missoula and ask for "Rick."

Thinking about May on the Mo?

The hills are full of early snow and it just keeps coming! We are feeling as good about this coming season as we have had in year! Lots of cold snow is making for a terrific 2011 outlook.

Believe it or not, we have been getting new inquiries almost daily about fishing this summer and are already booking a few days. So, start looking at your calendars and lets get some things on the books before I become too overbooked.

I am planning on spending May up on the Missouri again this year. It;s the best time of year to fish the river there with virtually no crowds until Memorial Day Weekend, I've already got several trips booked up there and would like to end up with 20-25 days between May 5 and June 5. For many of you , this is new water and scenery...trust me that the fishing will be great.

It is completely worth it in terms of catching lots of nice -large Rainbows that end up getting pretty beat up later in the year. Either fly into Helena and rent a car or Fly to Bozeman and I can pick you up or meet you up there. My guests generally stay at Crosscurrent in the hotel rooms that sleep 2 and run about $99 a night. Let me know through e-mail what dates will work and I'll at least get the dates locked in...these trips usually book pretty quickly so I'd suggest setting something up in the next few weeks.

Our 2010 Rates are still in effect for 2011, so Missouri days run $450 for 2 or more days with me. $495 for a second boat, $495 for a single day. Includes lunch, flies and equipment if needed.

The New Year has come with some cold weather, making fishing a joke for the time being.There are still some ducks around and the upland bird season just wrapped up on Dec 31. We should start to get some pretty good midge fishing on the Lower as soon as we get a few days in the 30's.

Other than that, not much going on around here. Planning on doing some store reorganizing the next couple of weeks. Should have a redesigned website up by the end of Jan. New fishing report section and just general graphic upgrade.