I left work
on Friday afternoon to head down home. Here I would be rebuilding some stairs
with my cousins. I would be also assisting helping my cousin with other chores
and yes, a little fishing would take place.
I arrived on
Friday evening and then we would go to see our much younger cousin graduate
from High School. O-the memories that came back to be about my high school days
…lol… I could not wait to escape high school.
Saturday we
all would demolish the ramp up to the house and get everything set up for the
reconstruction of the stairs. It was not difficult but making sure it was structurally
sound was a wee bit frustrating. We all put our minds together and made it
happen. Now Henrietta Hippo could dance
a jig upon the stairs, and they will not fail.
We would go
up and take care of my cousins’ horses and look at the minor barn roof repair.
I have thought
of a new phrase for horses. I will call them Pasture Puppies from now on. These
creatures are inquisitive, nosey, ornery, and just like to get into trouble. We
will call them the three stooges.
Saturday
came and went with the aleve I needed to take to survive the next few days.The pond fishing was amazing. I used flies
and jigs. I could some enormous Bull-Gills.
Sunday came
and we putzed around the house fishing and helping to take care of the Pasture
Puppies.My family has been raising quarter
horses for over 100 years from our rough calculations this weekend.They are amazing animals, and they really don’t
know how big they are from the way they act at times.
Monday, we
woke up and my cousin per his amazing ways made breakfast. The food was epic
chip beef gravy over toast and my goodness if you did not get enough to eat it
was only your fault!
So, my
cousin told me this morning that three stooges got loose into the big barn from
the rear pasture.
My older
cousin opened the barn door and came face to face with these three.
Photo Credit SJ
They stood
right there as if to say to each other “act like nothing’s wrong, O-hi how are
you this morning”. I am glad my cousin did not get hurt by them and they went
back into the rear pasture of the barn area.
Photo Credit SJ
Photo Credit SJ
We arrived
today and made the roof better. Meanwhile the three stooges were curious and
getting in the way every way possible. Thusly I am calling them Pasture
Puppies.
Well, I know
its early still and September 16th is long off, but I need to
prevent a vacation! @##$ nightmare.
I am very
fortunate to have a backup plan. I just got off the phone with a few friends
because I needed to talk about my fishy trip vacation dilemma. I have budgeted $6.00/gallon
for fuel, and I don’t have a crystal ball to tell me that this will not happen.
So, if Montana fall through, I am coming back to Maine to fish for Bert!
That’s the
easy part, but what I wrestled with is when do I make my back up reservations
for a place to stay in Maine? Well, I decided to stay at the same place I did last
year. My friend who I was traveling together with to Montana I said hey if this
falls through lets go to Maine.
He has never
been up there, and I thought what a treat it will be.
Bottom line
my backup vacation plans are made, and we will play the waiting game.
To not be
able to have a vacation is not an option lol and that’s my bottom line. I
know I am very fortunate to be in the time and place in my life.
I will be headed to this Lake every morning for a week! It should have lots of gills in the shallows. It will be a great start to the mornings! I will post pictures.
In 128 days,
I will be headed to Montana for fourteen days. When we plan a trip there is a
host of things we need to prepare for and some people my say I go a little over
the top.
Here is an
example of the amount of effort and detail I put into a trip. We will be
leaving on September 16that zero dark thirty and driving to Eureka, Montana arriving
on the afternoon of the 18th. We are driving because we will have
access to two watercrafts while we are there. One craft is in the Helena and
the other in Eureka.
While in
Eureka we will be guided on the Flathead River most likely the Middle Fork. I
am sad because I wanted to fish the North Fork of the Flathead, but she will be
very boney “low water”. The Snow melt will be done when we show up.
The first
day of fishing on our own will be Tuesday the 20th. This will be a
lake float. We will be on Kintla Lake in Glacier Park. It will be an awe-inspiring
outing. This Alpine Lake will have some
amazing views and vistas.
The 21st
we will either the Bull River, Middle-Fork of the Flathead, or the South-Fork
of the Flathead. It is important to know far these other rivers are to make the
best possible decision for the moment.
For example,
The Bull River is 99 miles away and 200 round trips. The Middle-Fork is 216
miles round trip. The South-Fork is 320 miles round trip. So, who knows how we
will be physically from the previous days fishing?
One needs to
remember you are on vacation and the urge to do everything is a reel
issue.So, one needs to write stuff out
to categorize it. I simply make things into categories. The first category is
what do I want to accomplish and how much harder would it be to accomplish this
versus the others? How much time will it take to affectively accomplish said
task? Do you have the time to complete the task?
At what
sacrifice would it take to get everything you want done? Here is an example. It
will take us 30 hours to drive to Eureka, Montana. We could drive 15 hours at a
time. We have decided to make the trip out there in 2.5 days.This real and not being foolhardy. We will arrive
in Eureka safely.We will be traveling
Friday and arriving there sometime on Sunday.
You need to
be reel with your self because no one wants to set themselves up for failure.
Monday, we
hook up with a guide to float the Flathead River.
Tuesday, we
will drive 225 miles one way to float and fish Kintla Lake.
Wednesday,
we will float the Bull River and drive 99 miles one way.
Thursday, we
will go to Glacier Park and drive the Road to the sun.
Friday, we
will float and fish river to be determined.
Saturday,
drive to Helena.
Sunday, we
will float and fish the Big Mo.
Monday, we
will float and fish the Big Hole.
Tuesday is a
calamity day.
Wednesday,
we will start the trek home!
I have used
my Garmin 64sx and basecamp to calculate all the routes for floating. The last thing I want to do is blow the takeout!
Ouch!
I have been
in contact with several fly shops in the area that will shuttle our truck for
us. The cost is between 27 – 57 dollars which is reasonable.
I have
calculated all the costs for me and its at almost 4,000 dollars. This price tag
is worth every penny. The memories that I will make and the rawness of seeing
mother nature will be amazing.In all
with driving out and back we will be gone for 14 days!
I hope you
enjoyed the little story/fish travel thoughts.
So through
our lives we at times go through transitions. I went through a phase where I
wanted a floating craft to go fishing. I first got a Bucks Bag I had a Bighorn like
this https://bucksbags.com/product/mustang
This was
bullet proof and I have no clue why they went out of business!
A reel good
friend of mine JS hooked me up with a great deal on this lil feller.
It’s a Water
Skeeter – Water Bug Float Tube! I will be using this in still waters from
Conneaut Lake, Lake Erie, and a few others that I will not name! lol
These two rivers have their own unique personalities.
I was in zero hurry today to get to the river’s edge. I woke up made breakfast and coffee. I generally don't fish these rivers in the spring with fish sex in the air. I needed to feel a tug on the end of my line and there was the possibility of a Walleye on the swing in which is always fun.
I got to the Grande River, and I was minding my own business and saw some new posted signs that had not been there last year.
Being a survey technician, I know where the boundaries are for these landowners. I have pulled their deeds at the county seat and read them is how I know their boundaries. I noticed that the new posted signs were on an island.
I thought that was odd because his property goes to the center of the river and does not include the island. So I did not to push my luck I steered clear of his land.
I was getting ready to leave and a person " a fishing guide" pulled up to my car. He was pulling a trailer for a raft for his clients.
He asked me how long I was going to be parked there. I said I was leaving. I also asked him who he was guiding for. He told me and I pointed out the new posted signs. I told him that the sign was new and to please respect the landowner’s sign. He said they were wading the river down to this area where I was parked. I asked him if he had a raft and he replied no, and I thought odd you have the trailer for it on your vehicle.
I told him good luck and called the guy he said he worked for. I did not call to be a tick I called as a concerned sportsman. I explained exactly what was said and what I saw and asked him to respect the landowners’ rights.
So back to my story I went down stream to one of my favorite fishy spots. Here is one of my favorite holes.
The cf/s was approximately 500. The gradient of the river here is steep. The riffle here at the head of the pool is 3 feet deep and running along an undercut bank. The elevation difference between the top of the riffle into the pool is approximately 4 feet in 100 feet. The water temp was in the 40’s and felt good!
The river has algae blooms that turn the river into this strange brown slightly tannic color as you can see in the photos. The edge of the river is clear, but in anything over 2 feet deep you can see this brown color from the algae.
I would lose three flies here swinging into the head of the pool. I lost two of them on some submerged wood and the other I lost to a rock.
I had a light tip on as a 114 grain of T14 on my Scott switch today. the flies of choice were my punk rock cheerleader and one muted brown tube fly with a cone head. I would use 24" of mono to ensure I would not blow my anchor.
When I lost my fist fly, I came back to sit on a piece of driftwood. I was minding my own business yet again and felt something watching me. You know how you get that feeling. Well, I saw something keep going up and down off in the periphery of my left eye.
So, I sat on the ground and all I had exposed to it was the very top of my head so I could see what it was.
Well come to find out I was playing peek-a-boo with a River Otter. This river has them everywhere. He or she was to far away to really see it good. After I fished the pool from top to middle, I walked over to where I thought it was. I saw they had an otter slide going to the river and I was close to it I had interrupted their plans.
It was time to leave the Grande River and press onto the Fuego River. This river is a lot different than her easterly cousin.
I arrived to a part of the Towpath system and got rigged up. I always chuckle as all the looks I get while walking to the river which the access is a mile from the parking lot. Lol
So, picture this a a person with a backpack, wading staff, a 10’6” rod, and a huge blue reel on said rod walking on the towpath!
I arrived at her rivers edge, and she was nice and green with a good strong flow. The cf/s was 560 and was awesome for swinging as you can see by the photos. The water temp was in the 40’s and felt good!
I was able to traverse the river, but mother nature reminded me that she’s in charge. This river is plagued by shifting sand and rock bars. You need to be careful because these new rock bars and sand bars are always moving down here in the lower river.
They have lots of air trapped in these bars and you can sink. Yes sink, so watch your footing. I generally fish by myself and doing this I put myself at risk all the time and I use extreme caution.
I covered all the holding lies and feeling lies I could read out of her emerald body. I called it a day and walked back the wagon. The blue bird skies were nice, but not great for fishing.
The carbon
fiber pattern was a nice touch for the added cost. As you can see from the photos
its an outstanding product. I have ZERO affiliation with these folks. I am just
a first time consumer of their product.
