The image above shows current snow water equivalent by river basin. Notice the dates range, 1981-2010. These percentages would actually be lower if the data included the 1970's as Montana received more snow back then. Earlier today, it was raining. Yes, raining in...
The fish gods must be looking out for me, as I have managed to convince another group of anglers to travel down to the Argentina for a visit with the good folks at Pesca Patagonia. Some of you know my buddy Justin Spence from his famed fly shop here in West...
Yellowstone's winter season in the Interior is now a month from shutting down. Where does all the time go? I have been guiding five days a week again this season for Yellowstone Alpen Guides, making this my 9th year and never have I enjoyed guiding as much as this...
I finished up guiding a little over two weeks ago, but there's still plenty of paperwork piled high that needs some attention prior to the arrival of the new year. As of late, my time has been spent walking the rolling hills of eastern Montana behind the German...
Statewide, there are fishing regulation changes that are coming down the pipe and frankly, I don't really care for all of them. I will not go into any other regulation changes other than those here on the Madison River. First off, I am not a fisheries biologist,...
Flows and the damn Dam River flows in the Madison Valley, from Hebgen Dam to Ennis lake, are sitting pretty good right now as we shift from summer to fall. At the Kirby Gage, she's registering at 994 cfs. Over the past few weeks, the heat and high sun have been...
Headed for the beach.... In just a few hours I will be hoping in the truck with Jonathan Heames and heading north to Bozeman. Tomorrow morning, the two of us depart for Miami, where, once we land, we'll rent a car and drive south to the Keys and Captain Greco's...
Spring in Montana has been more like summer during the last week on the Missouri River. When I arrived, we had some snow showers and cooler weather, but lately, I've been donning sandals and getting my feet wet. The early morning river temps have been a little...
It seems as if the folks in Helena who represent the good people of Montana aren't listening very well these days. Below is a list of fishing access sites, FAS, that the State of Montana leases out from private property owners. HB 403 has limited MT FWP's ability to...
This past winter I started an Instagram account to help promote the business and also cause I really just love taking pictures. What I like most is that Instagram is about capturing images of everyday life with your phone. Taking photos, for me, goes back to...
Way back in late August of 2008, Hebgen Dam broke. The day it happened we sat there and drank beers, watching the lake drop six inches in 24 hours. A month later, PPL Montana got the situation "under control", but none of us thought it would take this long to...
The Madison has been fishing quite well this winter. Some days have been better than others, but hey, that's fishing. Yesterday, I fished the West Fork area, Lyons Bridge and Reynolds Pass. I had to work a little bit, but caught plenty of fish on nymphs like the 3$...
For three weeks now, the Madison River drainage has seen mild daytime temps and hardly any snowfall. The valley is void of snow and it seems more like April than February. With that in mind, I must say, Winter will return. The boat ramps in the Madison Valley are...
Guiding for Yellowstone Alpen Guides during the winter months provides ample opportunities for photo graphs. While I am in no ways a professional, I thoroughly enjoy keeping my camera on hand everyday and taking advantage of my time in Yellowstone National Park's...
Best Book of 2014: Wait for Signs, by Craig Johnson Good books mark my life by chapter and verse. I own many of them. We moved last spring, a little deeper into the forests of Horse Butte. When we bought our new place, I refused to consider living there until I found...
Yesterday we woke to 35 below zero, for the second day in a row. Yes, that's cold, but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. There's a reason that this area was the last place, in the Rockies, to be civilized. This type of weather keeps the riff raff from...
The valley is void of snow. Not trout though, they are there. It's been warm thus far in December and the rest of the week looks to be fabulous fishing weather. All this snow melting and general warmness has given me the itch to fish and with a world class trout...
Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. I did not serve in the United States Military, my grandfather did in World War One. I have no possible idea what his experiences were like as he passed before I was born, but sitting on my desk are two spent .30-06 cartridges from his...
I woke this morning in a haze of confusion, unaware of where my head had fallen the night before. Something had just bumped into my legs and was hovering over me. My eyes opened up to see the shaggy face of a dog, now inches from my nose. Moments later Stella wet...
We've been fishing streamers and dry flies for the past two weeks or so. Some days have been banner and some days we scratch out a good day on the water. Those who keep their head down and strip it with fishiness have been rewarded here on the Missouri River. The...