Some Pretty Pictures

 It always amazes me to see vegetation growing on top of rock. These photos are from Leigh Lake in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. The trail to the lake is a steep and strenuous mile and a half up. When we got over the crest and onto the last hundred yards of flat trail we almost missed the lake! Not really, but the winds died and the reflections played with our perception.

This spring we hit Lake McDonald in Glacier Nat'l Park and the water was dead calm.

The picture on the left is on the 5 mile steep and strenuous trail to the Mount Brown Lookout trail. This is me fishing at Snyder Lake, off the same trailhead to Mt. Brown.

This little lake lies just before Iceberg Lake, one of the most popular and beautiful trails in the park!

When you drive south of the park on US Hwy 2 there is a little waterfall on the south side of the road about mid way through the park. The falls actually fall from the mountains of the Great Bear Wilderness. A buddy and I climbed the fall last year and this was the view that we found!

 

This was a lake in the Jewel Basin. We fished near the outlet with limited success. We then moved to where a small alpine stream flowed in. At this junction we had much better success pulling in around a dozen fish in just a few minutes. 

 This spot, also in the Basin, is much better for wildlife viewing than fishing...

Trip Report: Brook Trout Bonanza

People generally don't take too kindly to brook trout around here. Cutthroats and Bull Trout are the native trout around these parts and anything else is considered undesirable. As such I decided to head out to a local brookie sanctuary to grab a few late fall brookies for the frying pan!

I cast a few flies at 'em but decided for the faster paced spinning gear. 

 After fishing for some time the snowflakes started to fly! We had no issues with the weather due to the quality of the fishing. We kept 7 nice sized males and released a few dozen smaller males. All females were returned to fight another day.

 My buddy hooked into the big fish of the day, a feisty 17 inch brown!

After a quick drive home we carved up the fish, breaded 'em, and fried them up in the cast iron frying pan. These were by far the best tasting trout I've had. I probably won't be getting out too often for the next few months but stay tuned, I would like to do some "how to" tying posts.

Trip Report: Kayaking for Cutthroats

Today I kayak fished the Flathead River. By paddling upstream and casting into current seams I managed to pull in around 7 trout and one whitefish.

 

The first one snapped on a small orange caddis. The next two both hit a purple parachute adams. Neither hit too hard but it was nice to catch a few nicer cutthroats! This river is tough.

  

After catching those three it started to rain. With no lightening or thunder I stayed out swinging my 9 ft lightening rod above my head. The fall colors were beautiful

 I hope to get out a few more times before winter sets in!

Trip Report: Whitefish Mountains Grayling

Today we took a drive through the Sillwater State Forest into the Whitefish Mountains and the Flathead National Forest. We brought the kayaks and fished at two lakes right off the road. The first lake sat at an elevation of around 5,600' and reportedly harbors abundant populations of Westslope Cutthroat trout and Arctic Grayling. 

 This lake had crystal clear water with a bluish green tint to it. I could see plenty of Grayling chase my spinner and check out my flies but only one taker.

 The Old Town Otter XT. The best yak in the game. Cheap, durable, and beat to hell.

This guy was really pretty. I didn't catch any more at this lake.

The wife and I paddled across this lake in search of a big 'ol cuttie. All I found was a small brookie willing and eager to take a deer hair caddis. He was not picture worthy.

 It was a little chilly but otherwise great day to explore this area! Maybe next time we'll catch a few more fish though...