MTM

How about a talk area. Were you can talk real time with others on the board? Ron

Good on Ya my Friend. "May The Good Lord Take a Liking to Ya" Roy Rodger's. Ron

You have a Bluegill pond close to hand? You don't have to be catching trout to have a ball fly fishing. Carp do a good job of pulling your string to. I caught one of about 7 lbs one time and had a ball playing it. I had Gary Borger in my boat some years back and he caught one of about the same size and he to had a ball playing it. Bass, Crappie ???? It is all about having fun. Ron

Dan Baileys puts out a nice ladies wader. You might want to take a look at them. I have two pair of there waders and they have done well by me for two sesons so far. No leaks. Seem to be very well made to. I have also had Simm's guide waders. Being an Outfitter I got a great dael on them. Lasted two season's. Good for a guide using them but I do think they are a might spendy at lest the new ones sure are at $700.00 a set. Ron

jscheetz- Introduce or reintroduce does it really matter. They use to have wolves in Central Park at one time I don't see anyone trying to reintroduce them there? LOL As a matter of fact I have to go in on Tuesday for an MRI. I am having problems with bad pain in the top of my head. Goes from C-1 through my left eye and they think it is a pinched nerve or swollen disc? I will know more later. I have not been able to fish much this year do to the medicine they had given to me. I couldn't get into the sun while taking it? They said it would not be a good idea? Don't know enough about it to make a comment. I just hope they can get me back half way to normal. LOL What ever that is. Ron

You are misreading me. I do not mind people moving here but why do they move here to try and change what we have to what they moved from? My point is if you check it out there isn't much if any cutting being done on National Forest land anymore. Check it out for yourself. Most all cutting being done here is on private land. That leaves all the forest land to burn when they do nothing. Like I said if you do an overlay of what has burnt in just my area you will see that there isn't all that much left to burn. When do you hit a middle ground? when it has all been burnt? You can not even get the Greens to look at anything Period. They will sue and that is there answer to it all now days. That is a fact. I will repeat they will not let them cut anything without suing. As I see it there is a middle ground that can help us all but I say money is the answer to this on both sides the Greens are making a ton of it by suing and the logging companys are making it by clear cutting. The local people are taking it in the shorts from both sides. That is my point of view. I told the guy that is the head of the local logging company some years ago they should have been selectitve cuting years ago. If they had they would be like Germany and still be cutting forest's that were 150 years old. You own these forests as much as anyone does. The difference is that you are not here breathing the smoke that is so think you can't see a half mile and you aren't worring about your house burning and losing everything and you aren't worring about friends that are fighting those fires and may be killed like happened in the Firdley Fire. That is the difference in my view between the people that live here and those that just visit. I would in no way ever try and tell you how to run your state I don't live there and I don't know enough about it. But in the west people figure that becasue we don't have a lot of people we are a bunch of dumb hicks that don't know much. I spent most of my life in the forests and the streams of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and I do know what is good for these states and what is bad. Is it good to let it burn and waste? Is it good after it has burnt not not let them cut the dead standing timber even though they know it will become a bigger fire hazard by not letting them cut it? Is it good to not let them replant and reseed areas that have burnt? To much building isn't good for any area period. Take a look at the National Rivers Org and you will see that the Great Yellowstone River right were I live is now on the top 10 most indangered rivers list because of all the building they are doing. Nope it has nothing to do with how many are moving here does it? Look at what just one builder has done in Arkansas. Just like the wolves I think they are a neat animal but you are going to tell me it is OK to introduce them into and area were you "KNOW" they are going to be in trouble from the start? Everyone looks at this country and thinks "big sky country" it is but it isn't because of the forests we don't have half the forests you do in the east, it is just open land. When you let it burn and don't even try to do anything to help it dosen't take much to kill it all off. 1.3 Million acres just this year. The most ever. Add up the previous 5 years and see what you come up with. That is what is happening because of money hungry people. They make people believe that you "Can't cut anything" or you will lose the whole World. I say BS. There can and should be oversite. But they can't even agree on that. They don't want to because it may make them look weak. There needs to be something done but nothing will be until it is all gone. Just like in any city, there has to be 20 people killed at a bad corner before they will put up a "STOP" sign. That is my view. Ron

jscheetz In truth the wolves that were planted here are the same as in the east. That is one fact. The other fact is that we have a guy here that was rasing wolves and letting them go without permission for a number of years before they planted them. That is a fact to. I know I saw a few way before they planted them. Bet you never herd that one? I was an Outfitter for over 37 years here and I know I can show my wife wolves just about anytime I want to take them. But having medical problems now will not let me take them. I guided the back country around the park for many years and I also know what the Green groups have done and not done. I would have told my wife what was going on but they never asked before the fact. I agree with you that the Large Logging Companys would cut what ever they could get away with. But there should be over site and there is now but they still can't cut "ANYTHING". They are sued every time the try. I suggest you take a look at a map and overlay the burnt areas in just the past 8 years. I bet you will be amazed at how much timber and land has been layed to waste. There really isn't that much land left to burn in my area. If you take in the 3 fires this year down valley, The Fridley Fire from a few years ago and the Yellowstone Fire and the others of that year. So in everyone's view that dosen't live here and are from states that it has no effect on it is there opinion to just let it burn. And when there isn't any left to burn we will all be happy because we wasted a resource that could have been used for the good of all. Given people job's and helped maintain our forests if done in the proper way. Help keep the price of a house down. But when they won't let them do "ANYTHING" that says one thing to me. Someone is getting rich off of keeping or forests in this kind of shape. Nd it sure isn't the Logging Companys. One other point. We have a lot of Califorina people that have moved here and built homes in an around the forested area's and it is real funny how they are all for the "LET IT BURN" way until it is comming at there house then they raise hell with the Forest Service for not protecting Better. They don't trim and cut a break around there homes or nothing. How about the Big Fires in the Jackson Hole area a few years back when the forest service foamed those million dollor homes to protect them from a big fire down there. We the public paid for it to at about 28 thousand a house. They didn't do that when it was the small guy that has lived here for his whole life. By the way that was not during the Bush period either. The Game and Fish Department gets call after call from people that have built homes in the mountains and the deer, elk and other animals are eating there plants to the ground. They are told "TOUGH" LOL. Or how about over on the Big Hole River were the ranchers have sold back there water rights so the river has some water in it to protect the fish. They sure didn't have to but they understand a few things about nature. But are made to look like they don't like the land. Now it seems there are so many large homes going in over there that they are causing the same problems because they want to water there lawns and fill there pools. One other point a fast one. Several years ago they had a large meeting of experts on wolves in the park. I was working in the local sporting goods store and a guy come into the store one night and we were slow and started talking. Come to find out he was the head of the Michigan Wolf Program. Now these are his words not mine. Believe it or not. He told me " This has to be the worst place I have seen to try and introduce wolves into. For one thing the animals the wolves will be feeding on will Migrate out of the park in the winter time and will go on to private ground. Which means they will start to kill cattle and other live stock. (This has proven true) Another point is that there is just to much building going on all around this area for the wolves not to get into trouble with man. All you have to do is take a look at the Grizzly to see that. In Michigan were we have our wolves there is less than a person per square mile and most of the land is think forest and swamp land. Perfect to them. here you have mountains but there is a lot more private land than were our wolves are. They are going to get into trouble and I hate to see that". His statement not mine. The wolves are here so there is nothing more to be said about them excet that it is a shame to see them killed just so someone can say "we got wolves there". You know like the one they let go and it came out of the park and killed 14 sheep in one night. Then they had to get a chopper and dart it, take it back into the park. Told everyone that they would feed it road kill and it would no longer kill sheep. After feeding it road killed deer and other game for a few months they let it go again and the next night it was at the same ranch and killed another lot of sheep. By the eay it was said it cost the public about 100 thousand for that one wolf to try and make a good wolf out of a wild animal. Just showing what is really happening out here. Not saying all the wolves are bad for they are not. But you never hear those things on the news just like you never heard a word on the national news about the fires out here until they were so bad that they have to report on them. I won't go into the reason why they don't report on these things until they are forced to. All I am saying is that there is no "MIDDLE GROUND" anymore and the forests and the people that "LIVE IN THESE STATES" are taking the brunt of it all for the good of WHAT? It sure isn't for the good of our forests or the people that live here. I am done. As it does no good to argue over things like this anymore. I know were it is leeding and I hate to see it coming. Ron

My only problem with the green Group's is that there is "NO" longer any middle ground. It is all "My way or the Highway" They can't let anything go through if they do then they admit defeat and will lose donation money's. That is the base of the whole problem. I know what has been tried and what they have taken to court and it is everything that has anything to with cutting any timber of public land. You would be surprised at how much private land gets cut. The is because they know if they don't get it cut is will be wasted and will be a source of fires in the future. I will really worry about it when it get's closer to my house so far so good. But I sure hate to see all of our forest's burn and go to waste just so some groups can look good in the news. Sorry but living here for most of my life gives me an insiders view of these problems. People that have summer homes here are on there own. I worry about the fire fighters that may lose there lives to protect those peoples homes. I won't get into the Wolf thing except to say they introduced them as indangered and they are not. It was all a lie so that they could get them introduced into the park. Period. There are over 3 thousnd in Minnesota, Several hundred in Wisconsin and several hundered in Michigan. And many thousand in both Canada and Alaska. It was a lle hiped up so that people got there way. I like the wolves but there are right ways and wrong ways to do things. Lying is the wrong way. Just an opinion. It is also funny that some of the people pushing the hardest are now making a lot of money each summer taking people on Wolf trips into the park. Funny how that works out isn't it. My wife and her sister paid a guy $200 each to go on a day trip with him to see wolf's and didn't see a thing. I didn't know about this until it was over with or I would have told them a few things about what is going on. It seem they know were the wolves are at all times do to the radio colors they are wearing. This guy knew that he couldn't show them wolves that day but he still took there money. Enough said. Ron

Gavin- Just an update on the fires on the Boulder. It is now headed right for Brokaw's place do to a wind change. Here is the paper on it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14815242/ It amazes me how fast and far these fires can go in a day. The Fridly fire that we had a few years ago went from 3,000 acres to over 29,000 acres in one night do to the wind comeing up real strong. I was on Depuy's spring creek that next day and it looked like and Atom bomb had went off. I could see the Boulder fire today from my house over Livingston Peak and it is a little over 10,000 feet. So it is getting bad again. It is supposed to rain by Thursady and be real cool over the weekend which will help a lot. I think I said that in an avarage year we have snow around Sept 19th. Well it is a might early and well needed. Ron

I don't have that problem as there isn't any stores like that within about 800 miles of my house. So I don't have to worry about my spending to much moeny in those places. But I do have four fly shops in my town. Ron

Phil you are lying through your teeth You are like me and would allow any person to fish your river if asked and they took care of it. Ron PS: And probably tell them what was working well.

My home state Montana has been to the supreme court twice on this same issue and won both times. It is a Federal Law and as such can't be over ruled by a lower state judge but for his home state. In other words it may be ok in his home state but it won't hold water in the whole USA.. That is the information I have recieved. This judge is probably just like other law makers in Louisiana paying off contrubutions by this decision. Just a guess mind you. No one could be that stupid. Or could they? I know they are in Massachusetts. Isn't that were they are taking those homes from people and the citys are selling them to the rich so they can build high rises and make million's? I think you get the idea were things like this come from. What a pain in the butt. All Louisiana is going to have to do is to take this to a higher court and they will throw it out. They have to it is the law of the land. Unless the Supream court changes there minds? This is not a federal judge is it? I don't think so? Ron

John Some years back when the FFF first came out with the casting program so you could become an instructor I to thought what the heck I would get in on it. I had some heavy guide bookings about the time they were going to give it to all that wanted it and couldn't make it. I found out I could be qualified by another insturctor. The FFF were charging $50.00 at the time if I remember right. But because I couldn't make that first casting I had to go through someone that had it already. I called one of the "BIG" names and he told me he wanted $300.00 to get me qualified. Well I thought about it for all of 30 secounds and told him I didn't need it that bad. That was before they got a little better control of there "Big Named" casting instructors that thought they were about the best thing along with buttered toast. I had given many casting demo's at some of the big shows on the west coast and rocky Mountain states along with Canada. I was also ACA and did some compition csating. No one ever asked if I had the Certificate. I just didn't think it was worth that much and I never got one. I still don't think it is that important. But a lot of people like to have them and I can understand that. Looks good on a business card. It just made me mad that someone would try and take advantage of something like that. As you know it was the Folks that own and run the web-site FAOL are the ones that stared that program and they never thought people would try and soak others for that kind of money. Good to see they have got it undercontrol a little better. I still think that a one time fee is a fare thing not having to pay for it year after year. I know of at least 20 guides out here that would buy one if they had a one time fee on it. But as you know what with insuracne, licensing, boat up keep and on and on it is just another expense that they don't need to stay in business. It costs a lot more out here to be a guide than back in your neck of the woods. Over a Thousnad just to get you outfitters linense and over $300 a year after that just for the states license. Plus insurance and on and on. Like I said it is a hard thing to swallow each year when you know you didn't forget how to cast from one year to the next. Ron

I was a guide and outfitter for more than 37 years. I am now retired do to medical problems or I would still be doing it. I believe if you are new to an area be it lake or river a guide can help you out in many yeays. The problem is getting a good one now days. Out here we have more guides than you can shake a stick at and all are not very good at there job's. Seems it is the "IN" thing to do now days. The best thing I can tell you is to check the guide you may take out. It will pay you in the end to spend a little time in doing so. A good guide will teach you a lot during a day of fishing. Go with an open mind. They should also be able to talk with you and make a joke now and then. And they should know when and were to catch fish at all times. I am not saying they should produce fish all the time but they should have an idea of what is going on and were it is happening. No one can catch them all the time. That is why it is called fishing not catching. But a good guide will catch fish a lot more often than others in his or her area. I can say that I think I was a good guide. I never had one day that a client didn't catch at least one fish. "Knock on wood". I came close a few times but they all caught at least one fish. Remember to tip your guide if you have a good day. If he didn't do his or her job do not tip them. The didn't earn it. Guides are getting real expensice out here almost $400 a day now. If it were me going to be taking a guided trip I would check them out real good. You can cut costs if you take a partner that is willing to split the fee's. Just to give you an idea of how guides can work. The Bozeman Montana guides fish the Madison or the Yellowstone rivers if they are float fishing. They have to drive about 30 miles one way and about 50 the other to get to those rivers. So when they get there they take floats that end up in town or very close to it because of the gas prtices LOL. In other words if the fishing is best way up river or way down river you may not get to fish the best sections because the guides don't want to spend the money for the gas. What I am saying is to take a guide that lives close to the river he or she will be guideing. You will get better service if you do. One other point. Be willing to learn and listen to your guide. I have had people that told me right out. "I am a good fisherman and you don't have to tell me anything" After two days of catching not to much one of the guy's asked me what he should be doing. I told him and he caught some nice fish that day. His buddy with the great skills had to much pride to ask. Use your guide that is what he is for. Pick his or her brain. It will pay off not only on the river you are fishing but other rivers you may fish. If you go have a safe trip and catch one for me. Good Fishing Ron

Why didn't you call the warden or the Sheriff? I would have and not thought another thing about it. If you let people get away with things like that then they will do it again and again until someone does turn them in. You have to take some responsibality and call the law when it needs to ne done otherwise you are not helping anything. I have done so two times. Once they never showed up and the other time the guy's braking the law ended up paying about $300 in fines. Just watching them and getting mad about it isn't helping you or the problem. Ron

No you can't blame it all on them but you sure can blame a lot of it on them. They won't budge and it is costing us all the money to fight the wildfires because of there stance. You say cut fires breaks? Well I have seen that done and the fires get so big they jump them. There is no one answer but doing nothing sure isn't one either. And that is what is happening with the Green Groups. They will not let "ANYTHING" be done period. A few years ago a Company offered to go in and cut all the burnt timber after one of the big fires we had out here. They were going to use Choppers to do the logging, no roads built, replant and seed and help claen up three very important streams used for spawning, but nope they were sued and nothing will be done with that timber. It will lay and rot and be a bigger fire hazard. everytime a Company or the Forest Service trys to get something cut, even though it may need to be cut very bad they are sued. You are correct in saying the Logging Companys won't go in and brush the timber out for nothing and you sure can't blame them. They have to make money like anyother business or go out of business. But they would go in and do the brushing if they were given a precentage of the timber. I know that for a Fact, and it sure is better than letting "ALL" of that timber go to waste. This year they are saying will be the largest areas ever burnt by fires in this country. And most of it is just a waste of timber. Also what people can't understand now is Just letting it Burn anymore just can't work. There are just to many homes being built all around the forests in this country. You can no longer just let it burn unless you want to loose most of those homes. I myself could care less if a bunch of rich peoples homes get burnt. I care about the fire fighters that have to defend those homes and the lives they lose in doing so. My insurace agent told me that his coumpany will not even insure a home built in the forested area anymore. That Company is State Farm. But they keep right on building them. Like I said there is "NO" middle gorund in this anymore. Not with the Green Groups there isn't. I know for a fact that several different Logging Companys have tried many times to do things so that both party's could say it was being done in the right way. But the Green Groups won't budge. It is all "my way or the highway". And something that is not being said and should be is that the upper group of people running these Green Groups are making "BIG" money doing it. Check the leaders of these groups pay out sometime. It might suprise you how much they make. I know it did me. So I believe they are in it for more than just our forests. It may have started that way but it is all about the money anymore. Same as PETA. Check out what the head people make in that group. AL- I know by your last statement you have never fought a wildfire or been around one. They put them out all the time out here. You just never hear about it. It dosen't make good news. Not enough hipe. Heck I didn't see a word about this fire on National news until it got to be over 150,000 acres. They didn't think it worth reporting until they could hype it some. Never even herd about the other 6o some flires going on around the west either. Funny? I wounder why they wouldn't even report on something distroying so much of our country? I know of aboot 6 fires that have been put out this year in our state. But when they get to be the size of the state of Road Island it is a might hard to get them out without some help from good old mother nature. Come on out an give fighting fires a try sometime. They are always looking for help on the fires out here. I think you will have a different opinion if you do. I know I have helped fight several of them in years past. It just isn't much fum at all. Ron

You might try your local shoe repair shop. IF you have one. Tell them what you would like done to them and I bet they can do it. I might suggest having them glue then sew the felts on. It may cost a bit more but the felts tend to last a lot longer. You may have to furnish the felts to? We use to glue outdoor carpeting to the bottms of our boots back when. Just give them a good coat of Barge Rubber Cement let it set up then another coat both on the boot bottoms and the felts. Then put the felts in place and wrap them up with cord up and done the boot. It lasted about 1 1/2 months of hard guiding. But that was before you could by good felt to. Ron

Thanks Phil. I to like to look at old pictures like that. They are neat to look at. I bet you could buy that property cheap back then. I know what is costs now LOL. If we only knew then what we know now we would all be rich. Thanks for posting them. Ron

Rolan- I live North of Yellowstone, Henry's Lake is to the west of the park. But I guided out of Last Chance in the late 60's for Will Godfry. I use to fish Henry's lake a lot back then. And the story's are true. I know I had days in June when the Damsels were hatching that we took many fish up to 10 or 12 pounds. Never got a Brookie over 5 pounds though. Mostly the Rainbow Cutthroat High bred's. The fishing has come back some but nothing like it was back in the 70's. But it is a lot better than it was in the late 80's and early 90's. The word got out about the large fish being caught and people from Utah flocked to Henry's and just filled there coolers till they over flowed. The fish and Game left the limit at 15 fish. I watched one guy fishing he had three kids and his wife and he had a cooler that must have had 60 pounds of filets. The Game department finally got some smarts and put a low imit on the lake. That is why it has come back. I live to far to fish it much. It is about 2 hours from my place to the lake. With gas the price it is and being handi-caped I now stay closer to home. But I would like to fish it agian sometime. Ron

I believe that you see a little of that on most streams. I know I have seen fish like that on the Yellwostone, Madison, Missouri and other streams out here. I think there are some that are just unhealthy and never grow there bodys like a normal fish does. At least I can tell you for sure it is a case of there being other fish like that across this country. I know of a fish that was caught here in the Yellowstone and there is a picture of it in Dan Baileys fly shop that was about 7 lb's with a head on it that belonged to a much larger fish. I would say about 12 lbs or so. Mother nature ain't she different. LOL Ron

Phil you are correct that lighting is the cause. The smoke was even worse here yesterday if that is possible.. I have to stay in do to my health problems. Real pain in the butt. I had a firend e-mail me a map of the area covereed in smoke out here. I was going to post it on here for you folks. But for some reason I never recieved it? If you look at a state map the only areas not cover with smoke is the far eastern edge of the state up to about 20 miles from the state line and a very small area in the far northwest corner of the state. Idaho and a lot of Wyoming are having the same problems. All we can do is hope for winter to start early to put them out. That is the word. It will take winter to get a lot of them out. Not good. We normally get our first snow about Sept 19th of each year. It is a high up snow but it sure would help with the fires right now. Ron

I get a number of them given to me each year. And I do try them all. I guess I am just old in mind as I still like the old Peach Colored 444 Cortland lines. They have a great surface on them. They don't get hard and stiff in cold weather and they last forever. I also like DT lines on all my rods upto a 6wgt Then I like to go with a WF line as I will be fishing larger streams, wind and lager flies with that type of outfit. I must have 20 of them around here. You just can't beat them. There are other good lines out there two but not for the same price. Just an old guides opinion. Ron

Gavin is correct- I live about 50 miles due north of Yellowstone Park, I guided fishermen in it for many years. The best advice I can give you now is to stay tooned. Ask the same questions next spring to me on here and I will do all I can to help you out. But if it were me and I wanted to come at that time of year and stay in the park I would get reservations within the next 3 months or so. They tend to fill up very fast and early in the park. Here is a start for you. http://www.nps.gov/yell/ That is the Park Web-Site. You can take a look there and get an idea of what, when, were and how. My wife and her sister go in the park each year and hike and sight see. They book there lodging about Oct. or Nov. of the year before. So you can see it takes an early booking to get a room or space to stay. 2 Million people a year could be the cause of it LOL Ron

The one on the Boulder is near the natural bridge park. That is above his place a bit. Ron

I use to hunt Dove just after I was first married. Love to shoot them. I remember reading in Outdoor Life many years ago that the avarage is 25 shell's to 10 dove. Sounds about right to me LOL. I sure miss doing it. I use to take a couple of young guys that were in High School. They were the grandson's of a good friend. I remember the one brother use to load all of our shells for us. I also remember him laoding just enough powder in his brothers shells that the BB's just made it out the barrel. I had to break that one up LOL. It was sure funny at the time. Ron