Hurry Up And Slow Down Now..

Where I come from, when you are in the middle of seemingly nowhere there is not a lot to stop for.

 I took the time this last week to stop my truck randomly and just use the Iphone to journal the week. On a dirt road south of Ruby Dam there were a few horses near the road just saying hello.  If you tip the  paint pony on it's head, the black marking looks like a seal or black lab laying down and turning its head. Driving along the Beaverhead River there was the Beaverhead rock. I took back roads and drove along it till it ended at private property on 4wh. roads. I stopped at a small irrigation dam/ditch 20ft wide and fished a pool under the little dam. Got 3 fish to rise and missed each one. These ditches, you would think, would not hold fish but trout have a way of making their way up rivers and streams and irrigation channels.. :)

 South of Alder MT on dirt roads there is a cut off seasonal dirt road "Sweetgrass" that runs 31 miles over to Dillon MT.  Unlike alot of dirt roads that cut through the mountains, this one stays down and cuts through private lands in the valley. It's a two hour drive to go that 31 miles on it but you definitely feel like you're in the old west on sagebrush and horse trails, and you see a few surprises on the way.  

Horses are one of Jane and I's fav. animals. Like boats, I love them but not enough to own one at this point in life. If you have one, I'd love to ride in or on it but otherwise I'll just take photos and marvel. 

 

Along these roads and at anytime around any corner you can run into someones cattle. They roam free on lands owned or managed by large associations and you do not want to be driving 50mph, come over a rise and owe a farmer for a cow and a fast end to a good trip. 25 to 30mph is about max.

At the top of the rise before dropping in to Dillion you come upon a large salt mine with those massive Cats and machines out of movies.

 If you didn't take this road you would never imagine this could be going on a few miles up a mountain.

Dillon MT is the home of the Patagonia Outlet store.  Yes you have to hunt for your sizes but holy cow it's like 50% off and another 40% on holidays:) When a rain jacket is 550. in the catalog and you can  get it for under 200. It's like your birthday.  Dillion is also a central point to float fish the Beaverhead River for big trout.  It's where last year I broke an oar on the first 1/4mile of a float and survived the day. 

In reality the fun of stalking a trout on a river you don't know and guessing on all the things it takes to land a trout is like playing keno..   I love catching native cutthroat trout but since they are forbidden from being eaten here in MT, I love me some rainbows and will eat a few every day I can in a pan or a camp fire.   For fish weapons, I've spent 30 years with Sage Graphite rods. Fast and smooth they are and great long throw rods at 9ft long.  Above you see a Sweetgrass 7ft 9" bamboo Pent rod and a Ross Evo. copper reel with a nice dinner rainbow from the Ruby River sitting in a handmade wolfriver fish net made by a couple in Wisconsin.  The colors of a rainbow vary from fish to fish and season to season but the taste remains the same :)

 In the south Ruby Valley this rainbow above was on one of Ted Turners regions. Had to climb down a bridge and get in the water to legally fish it and it was 95 degrees with no clouds so the fish were holding deep and you could see all those Turners monsters. I couldn't get one large one to rise all day for nothing. Just a few rainbows to catch and release there. 

Off of the Ruby River; deep in Mt. Lion and bear country, my partner Bruce and I would drive a mile to this ridge line overlooking everything to cook trout dinners and enjoy the sunsets. 

Thanking my friend Anthony for selling me his Rugar .357 and hiking holster, i feel much safer now carrying more than just my pepperspray while in these areas. 

Last week between 8 and 9:30pm I landed 13 fish. 10 Cutthroat 2 Brookies and here right before sunset with my headlight on my head to make it home, one nice rainbow for breakfast. I'm amazed how light it stays out in the evenings there in the summer.

At the end of the day, it must end like this. A billion stars, a fire with cedar, a beverage, a gar, a blanket, pepperspray with a pistol and a good evening prayer till morning.

Next week, Friends Along the Montana rivers..

Till then, dream big, live large and

Slow Down Now will ya!