I've been too busy working and having fun to post much lately...

I had to go work in Missoula for a few days earlier this week. On the way over as I was passing through Lincoln Montana I was reminded to just how dry this summer and early fall has been. Even though we did get a little rain the day after I took this photo we are still definitely not out of fire danger. This fire was burning straight North of Lincoln. The wind was really howling so I imagine it burned quite a bit of land before it subsided.


Once in Missoula life improved significantly. As I checked in the hotel the clerk asked if I wanted to be upgraded to a river view room for the same price. I'm like, OH HECK YES!!! So this was view from my temporary home for a few days. Yup, it was tough but I was up for it. Heck, the first night there my Cowboys even pulled a rabbit out of their hat and won their game. All was right in the world Sunday night.


Sunday night I was busy working and watching the game so I didn't have time to mess with the river. However the next day after work I headed down to the Clark Fork River just below my hotel room and fished for a couple hours. I missed a couple strikes and only landed one fish. I'm not used to having to share a river or creek with scads of people but such is the case in Missoula. One of the locals fishing next to me said the stretch we were fishing gets a tremendous amount of pressure and the fish as pretty educated. From what I saw over 3 days I'd say he was spot on. So when I was granted this jewel from the Clark Fork I was grateful. Just look at those colors!


Unfortunately I did not have time to fish Tuesday after work but I did stop in and visit the owners (Rich and Jeremy) and developers of the WaterMaster raft. http://www.bigskyinflatables.com/ They were a couple of great guys and I guaran-darn-tee you I will have a WaterMaster Kodiak Expedition grade raft by early this coming spring! What a great product they make. I don't work for the company and have no tie to them other than I'm just really impressed. Here is a photo of what the kick-raft looks like. With a weight capacity rating of 750 lbs a person could really haul out a lot with one. I'm thinking whitetails on the islands will be in trouble...