Tuesday, September 30, 2014

093014

Sorry to all ye faithful for the absence of blogness the last few days. I had enough to deal with and the end of days in Missoula looked better with my eyes shut than looking at the computer. Rest of trip went alright, some crappy days, some good days but nothing like I had seen the last few years in terms of bigger fish…other than a couple of nice Bull Trout.
Lessons learned? Cloudy days are better than sunny and 85 degree days in the fall. Fishing is better around Bozeman than Missoula, less driving too. Drift boats are better than rafts. Missoula traffic is worse than Bozeman. Fisherman lunches are easier to find in Bozeman. Bozeman fish don't subsist on a diet of purple, shiny nymphs. Boat ramps around Bozeman are better. Missoula FWP people are really nice. Missoula does have a Hooters. I am more or less done with Missoula, not to the degree that I am done on the Bighorn as the Blackfoot and lower Clark Fork are both very cool rivers. The upper CF is kinda cool too. I'll leave the Bitterroot to the Bitterroot people.
Got back last night, worked in shop today, on the river the next couple of days and then a serious shop run as many of my employees leave me for a week in Belize.
Other thoughts? Streamer fishing is meant to be done with a 7wt. End of story. Tricos are stupid little bugs that no fish should ever focus on outside of August. Sqaure top oars are worth the money and Dexter, our Patagonia sales rep is a lifesaver and under-appreciated. I'm looking forward to wrapping up the last of the big push over thenext couple of days with some of my favorite people to spend the day with on the water. I hope the wind stays down, the clouds lock in, and the fish eat well. What more could one ask for?

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