Prairie Pike

Landed this prehistoric looking pike (Esox Lucius) in a no-name crik on my brother-in-law’s ranch in south central North Dakota last weekend. He devoured a no-name fly tied on a stinger B2 hook with mostly yellow bucktail and a bit of flash. Earlier he inhaled and broke off a tandem hook fly (two B2 stingers tied in tandem) made mostly of rabbit strips and miscellaneous leavings from a spent dry fly cape (sort of like the old fledgling). I had forgotten to tie it on a wire leader with 1X mono and he simply shook it off like it was dental floss. Later in the day I walked other parts of the creek and picked up a number of hammer handle northern pike, a 14-inch walleye, and a small mouth bass.

 

Ernie, my brother-in-law’s dog, kept watch for the wily coyote while I fished.

A couple of other prairie pics from spring in North Dakota

 

Prairie Violet (Viola pedatifada L.)

 

 

Prairie Chickweed (Cerastrium arvense L.)

 

Hope all prostaffers are well. Next up, Craig Caddisfest! I'm driving to Craig, MT later this week to fish on the Missouri and take in Caddis Fest and all the festivities.

 

JUDGMENT DAY

3/17/2008

Judgment Day by the Chief


Saint Peter stood, at Heaven's gate,

Where all souls come to learn their fate.

Saying to some souls, "Enter in!""Go to Hell," to others, "you are steeped in sin.

"When up from earth, with a great riffraff

Came all the members of the RBF Pro Staff.

The angel Gabriel, peering out,Said, "What, the devil, is that ungodly noise about?"

"Gabe," said Pete, "There's always lots of ungodly noise,

At any get-together of the Pro Staff boys --

Those are anglers and they all tell lies.

About the trout that got away, their fierceness and their size --

They want to have a summit here, for our brooks are full of ungodly trout,

But I won't have any liars, and I'll keep those characters out;

No liars enter Heaven, and I'll most distinctly tell

The whole danged Pro Staff, to go to Hell."

Then, at a little distance from the precious pearly gate,

The Pro Staff fellows paused to talk and cogitate;

The gang just back from a western horseback fishin trip

Let a few choice words rip.

But Goose said, "This is the only way --

"You'd best leave this to me boys," he said.

"Just let me handle Pete and in a flash we'll be inside upon that Golden Beat;

I'll show him that he's one of us, because he used to be,

Himself, a brother fisher, in the Sea of Galilee--

Goose proclaimed with a hardy laugh

That Pete would be an honorary member of the Pro Staff.”

"Agreed! Agreed!" the Pro Staff cried, but the Chief said, "Wait!

"Amend it thus provided that he doesn’t fish with bait."

Saint Peter observed the Pro Staffers and he waved his hand at them.

"Come in! Come in!" he shouted, for he was now a Pro Staffer, too,

And he knew that they, as a whole, were a most harmless crew.

Saint Pete declared that “fishin requires sufficient libation.”

So they passed the pretty blue bottle in celebration.

So all the Pro Staffers got to heaven, thanks to the Ambassator of Good Will and Pete

And their last field testing report reads, "Fishing here is neat."

-----------------------

The Chief

Follow Up

Bowhunter asked for more pics. Here you go. Without commentary.
Currently listening to Tom Waitts and "Saturday Nightt"

Miscellaneous

Just realized that I had not followed up from the last post about our trip to Montana in September. We had a great time at my nephew's wedding near Craig, MT. After that, the better half, Cricket the Flysfishing beagle and I spent some time around Bozeman and the Gallatin river (mainly Gallatin Canyon) and YNP. Here are a few pics of the trip without the annoying self referential comments by me.
Hope you enjoy the pics.

Matt (Agrontrutta)

Gallatin River near the park entrance at West Yellowstone

Carnivorous consequences near the Gallatin.

The Better Half passing time along Gallatin Canyon

The Better half and Cricket the FlyFishing Beagle along the Gibbon River, YNP.

Gibbon River, YNP

Madison River, YNP

The barn at Armstrong Spring Creek

 Huckleberry, the resident hound at Armstrong Spring Creek

A prize Yellowstone Cutt from Soda Butte Creek

Moonrise on the Yellowstone River as viewed from our cabin at Yellowstone Valley Lodge. The better half and I had chills (followed by hot flashes!!) viewing this.

A Guide's Wedding

A highlight of our recent 2-week excursion into Montana was my nephew’s wedding on the banks of the Missouri at Flatwater Lodge about half way between Great Falls and Helena. For those familiar with the locale, Flatwater Lodge is halfway between Cascade and Craig.

 

 It was a very low key affair with the bride wearing white, the groom in the traditional tux, and all of the wedding party in black and white converse tennies. All of my family was there, the groom’s mother (my sister) from Bozeman, my next oldest sister from Beech Island, South Carolina, my oldest brother from Tucson, Arizona, and my baby brother (and his lovely wife) from Fargo, North Dakota. My baby brother was kind enough to stop by home and pick up my dad and bring him along. Dad is 96 years old and doesn’t look a day over 85.

Dad

The groom (Mike) is a flyfishing guide on the Missouri River and operates out of Craig, MT. Thus, most of the attendees were either guides, flyshop owners/workers or clients. His lovely bride is a local caterer and a lot of her clientele were in attendance. The day turned out to be a fantastic late summer Montana day. Luckily, a cool front came through and changed the wind direction, which took the smoke from western fires to the north and away from us.

Mr and Mrs

The Happy Couple



 

 

The highlight of the wedding feast was the whole hog cooked over buried coals. That, combined with the smoked brisket, salsa, chicken, and assorted beers, spirits, etc. made for an enjoyable evening.

Whole Hog

Wedding Cake

So, where does a newly wed guide take his betrothed for a honeymoon? Well, Argentina, of course, to visit friends and flyfish! The lucky couple will spend most of November in Argentina with friends.

Next up: Gallatin Canyon and the value of Airbnb

Yeats on Trout and Fishing

You know it’s been a long winter when you end up reading the collected poems of William Butler Yeats. Although most of his poems are inscrutable to me, there are a few lines that resonate with my inner fisherperson. A selection:

“In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams”

From “The Stolen Child’

 “And when the white moths were on the wind
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.”

From “The Song of Wandering Aengus”

 “I’ve stood as I were made of stone
And seen the rubbish run about,
It’s certain there are trout somewhere
And maybe I shall take a trout
If but I do not seem to care.”

From “The Three Beggars”

“I choose upstanding men
That climb the streams until
The fountain leap, and at dawn
Drop their cast at the side
Of dripping stone”

“To young upstanding men
Climbing the mountain side
That under bursting dawn
They may drop a fly”

From “The Tower”

I hope soon to seek slumbering trout and give them unquiet dreams.
Matt

What I did This Summer

It started on Memorial Day weekend with a well-intentioned trip to the North Platte River in Wyoming. I had a business meeting in Colorado the following week so I thought I would stop in on my brother-in-low in Casper and spend a pleasant few days on the Miracle Mile. We met up and spent an enjoyable afternoon near the Mile and caught a fish or two. On the way home the smell of hot brakes and the telltale pulse of warped rotors signaled trouble. Suffice to say that I was lucky to find a brake shop open on a Memorial weekend Sunday but unlucky in having to spend $1300 on brakes, rear axle seals, etc. Anyway, after the repairs I was able to spend another day fishing on the mile and at Gray Reef.

 

North Platte River, Wyoming

 

A second opportunity presented itself in July with a business trip to Billings. I had read of the Boulder river south of Big Timber from tales of Wade Rivers so I booked a cheap motel in Big Timber, MT for a mid-July weekend. Unfortunately, my early summer luck followed me. Heavy summer rains had made for an extended runoff period and the Boulder was boiling cauldron of churning waters at most places. And, the Yellowstone was the color of a chocolate malt from Meyer’s Dairy in State College. I was able to find a couple of relatively calm area in the Boulder where I did not have to risk life and limb to wade or catch a fish. It’s a beautiful valley, but I did not run into Tom McGuane.

Boulder River, Montana

 

 

Lions Head, Boulder River Valley

 

Boulder Bow

 

Boulder Valley Eatery

 

 

Lastly, the better half, Cricket the flyfishing beagle, and I were able to spend an enjoyable vacation during the first week of September in Paradise Valley south of Livingston at the Yellowstone Valley Lodge. Incredibly, the Yellowstone was still running high and off color from recent rains. However, DePuy and Armstrong spring creeks were in perfect condition.

Yellowstone and Depuy Confluence

 

We also spent enjoyable days on the Gardiner, Lamar, and Soda Butte in the Park. It was hard to wade out of Soda Butte on the last afternoon after fishing brown drakes to willing Yellowstone cutts.

Armstrong Spring Creek

Lake on Beartooth Plateau, 10,500 feet

Gardiner River

Better Half and Cricket the Flyfishing Beagle on the Lamar YNP

Soda Butte

Soda Butte Yellowstone Cutt

Absarokee Sunset

 Well, that was my summer (or most of it). Now its just waiting for that white stuff to fall from the sky and the temps to fall into the negative region.

The road goes on forever and the party never ends!!
Best to all
Matt