Everyone has different objectives when they visit a Wild Place. Some go to escape, some go to return, some go to get exercise, some go to fish or photograph or climb or rest, and some go to play with gear. I love playing with gear at home, in my backyard. I loathe having to mess [...]
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Big River Fly Fishing: Why Tenkara Beats Western Methods
The big brown’s first aerial leap from the depths of the Madison River made me smile. The second one made me laugh. The third one, at the end of a run in strong current, reminded me that using tenkara gear and methods for big trout in big rivers is as applicable as the practice of [...]
Kebari (Tenkara) Baetis – A Reverse-Hackle Emerger
Since it’s high baetis season in Southwest Montana right now, I thought I’d share what I’d fish with during a baetis hatch if I could only have one fly: the Kebari (Tenkara) Baetis. The pattern is presented in the order of construction, and as typical of tenkara flies, is tied reverse-style. Hook: standard wire, straight-eye scud [...]
Tenkara Fly Fishing and Packrafting on Montana’s West Fork Bitterroot River and Rock Creek
Brian and I have been friends, and fly fishing partners, for a long time. We’ve spent a fair bit of time logging trail miles and floating together, always searching for streams off the beaten path that hold big trout. We like to spend our Spring Breaks in Western Montana. Sure, the beaches are a bit [...]
Tenkaranicity
“There’s more to life than fly fishing. In fact, real life offers, and demands, a lot more. And that’s a good thing. Because fly fishing can get really boring. Unless, well, you’re actually fly fishing.” – An anonymous truth ~ I love to fly fish. The satisfaction I get out of casting a rod, or [...]
Jorden Lake: A Different Kind of Special
Jorden Lake is perched near the western terminus of the Beartooth High Lakes Trail, which you’d infer to be popular simply because the trail is named on the old USGS maps. In July, I walked the High Lakes Trail west from Island Lake and saw only 9 people, 6 of which were day hikers near [...]
Lake Chain Packrafting
Slow paddling through mountain lake chains offers a unique type of solitude and an entirely different way of seeing “routes”. In recent years, it’s become one of my favorite ways to travel through the mountains. The Martin Lake Chain in the Beartooth Range is a case in point. A traverse of this basin by foot, [...]