The BilletHead's most excellent adventure 2015

[BilletHead]

     Lancer,

Got a yearly license for Montana. When are we leaving?

BilletHead

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Marty,  Thank you so much for sharing this/these with all of us.  Loved what you did with the title.  (yea, I caught it).  Congrats on 38 years.  Great pictures and commentary to go with them.  You are a lucky man, I'm sure you've earned it just the same.  I hope you left the cairn. 

[jtram]

Excellent Report(s). Super jealous, I got a very short morning of fly fishing in last year on an elk hunt, first time west since I was a kid. You make me want to take a fall trip in a BAD way. Kudos and thanks for the pics!

[BilletHead]

     A thank you to all for checking this thread out and for the responses. Here are some final thoughts. Montana's trespass laws on water are neat and I wish we could adopt them here. As long as you enter the waterway on public access and stay below the high water mark regardless of the stream/creek/river size  you are good to go. This being said it is not always the answer. There are large private land holdings and some of the best water may be literally miles of wading to get there so not worth it in places. If deciding to keep fish streams are low bag limits except for brook trout and most places limit of twenty brook trout. Stocked lakes more liberal harvest. A Note that streams statewide are not stocked and have not been that way for many, many years so all fish in them are stream born whether native fish or introduced species. I like this train of thought. Wyoming waters are stocked off and on stream and lakes. I am sure just where needed? Wyoming Trespass is a no go and if even floating through private ground you cannot even drop anchor or even touch the stream bottom. Out of the hundreds of fish we caught we kept one meal out of a stocked lake but seen many fishermen/women string up fish for meals. This trip was not about big fish it was specific native in their native range. and we did it!

   For those that have not and are wanting or thinking of making a trip like this do so. The biggest expense is fuel. Camping can be cheap or free and tents work well. We seen some rather large family groups from all states breaking tents out of cars for the night especially those traveling in and out of Yellowstone Park. Were to fish? We did some research of the fish we targeted, streams in the areas on maps and even just seeing streams along the road. Get out tie on a fly and cast. You will soon know if there is something in there and even small waters you can step across have fish to be caught. If a couple of flatlanders in their mid fifties plus a year or two can do it most everyone can. Too much of a physical limitation will have some effect in some places. If it wasn't for a wading staff or the Mrs. and I navigating hand in hand or with arms locked in places travel in the creeks would not happen. Thank goodness felt soles were legal in both Montana and Wyoming or a slight slip would be disastrous on these bolder ridden waters. This time of the year waders are not really needed although wading boots and neoprene socks help. We did wader up a couple of times though. There were places we did not go without bear spray. We hear it works on mad moose too . 

      The need for speed! Some of the speed limits out there are down right crazy. I understand on flat out open spaces eighty MPH but on secondary highways with out shoulders it was seventy-five in Montana. Curves and hills up and down. There were suggested signage in yellow that say lower but the white law signs said seventy-five. We drove slow and easy but this caused folks making bad scary passes around us slow pokes. So to be kept from being ran over we soon started driving like the locals. Even doing this the bad passing stopped. I guess in big country you have to drive fast to get somewhere. There are roadside white metal crosses put out buy the transportation  department I suppose all over the State. I mean a bunch and there are places we seen multipile crosses like six or eight on curves where their had been fatalities.                                                                                                                       Any questions that I can answer just PM me and I will answer and even share places we went,

BilletHead

[Mitch f]

I think you pretty much raised the bar to an unreachable level for trip reports. Very very nice! It looks like you and Mrs. Billthead are best friends, it radiates through the pictures!

thank you so much for posting!

[Johnsfolly]

Marty - Fantastic thread. What a great trip! I am totally envious. I missed this thread before today. but was able to follow the whole thing in one sitting. I will go home to share with my wife. This is the kind of trip that I dream about and I want to put the fire under her as well. congrats on the 38th anniversary. My wife and I have been together going on thirty years this September, but only twenty of them as a married couple. I hope that my wife and I are having similar trips when we hit 38 years.

[Greasy B]

Thanks for bumping this thread, I enjoyed reading the last report and comments. 

[JestersHK]

Glad this got bumped as I missed it as well.  Thanks soo much for sharing this!  What an Awesome Adventure full of what looked like some great memories.  I'm jealous and hungry all at the same time.  You guys definitely are living right!

[Plastic_worm]

Exceptional!  Best thing I have read in a while.  Thx for sharing.

[bs1827]

Awesome thread Marty! I got a taste of Montana a few years ago and I have dreaming about going back ever since. Hope to make many, many more trips out there in the years to come.