Montana Jim : Extra Edition

Winter is gone!

The spring floods are now spiking the river, running high, fast and what I call murky. Friday the 13th was my last good fishing day on the river, made a nice catch on a rubber legs nymph. Nothing like the tug of a cut throat to raise my feathers.The weather was picture perfect, warm, sunny with no breeze. I enjoy poking around, walked through the thick woods following game trails, I came out on a slough, still half frozen. Bugs were moving under the water, a clear sign that the river is warming.

I saw a hatch coming off the water but no fish rising.

I was happy that I had made a catch earlier, so no skunk, and I was in a great mood the entire day.

My long time friend Wayne Kennedy sent me his pictures from eastern Washington. Wayne is a class A fly fisherman. We have spent many days on different rivers, enjoying good company while fishing together.

So today I took off for the mountain that overlooks the river, testing my strength and endurance. To have the best season possible, exercise is extremely important. My muscles needed a push, my heart needed to work and my breath needed tuning.

I climbed, rested, and climbed again. I had time on my side, and pacing myself was the only way I would make it to the top.

Once a couple of white tails watched me, probably wondering if that old man was really a threat.

As I gained altitude, the view became the center of my attention. So much to see from the top, I lingered for a while, wondering about the springtime about to overcome the landscape. Knowing that the few green sprigs of grass would soon give rise to lush green carpets, I took in the view that is the end of winter!

The Blackfoot River winds through some of the richest landscapes in the world.

The spring runoff this season will be slight, perhaps much less than last year. The hatches will be similar, but they will be different and nature's cycle will decide what will be.