The BilletHead's Ride again. 2016 Adventure The offical report.

[ness]

Every one of the streams looks excellent. Great write up too. I sure look forward to these installments.

[Johnsfolly]

BH - I'm loving the reports! Of course I am with Ham on the trout versus other fish. I'm wondering on how many 4-6 inch rainbows I would have to land before I began rummaging around for a weighted nymph to catch some of those sculpins or if I could use a small piece of worm for any of the chubs in those creeks.

Keep it coming! did you see any dippers? A small brown to black bird that creeps along the rocks and often dives under the water to catch invertebrates.

[BilletHead]

    Yes we seen dippers, many of them. Fun to watch.

BilletHead

[Chief Grey Bear]

Have you received the adoption papers I had sent to you yet?

 

[Flysmallie]

9 minutes ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

Have you received the adoption papers I had sent to you yet?

 

You did tell him that we were twins right?

[BilletHead]

           Yes we did Chief but Sadie ate them,

    Now a night in the town of Butte and a stop in  Livingston then up the Yellowstone Valley and Pine Creek,

Well after deciding not to venture any further up the South Fork of the Flathead we dropped back into Columbia Falls area. The slow dirt road really ate up time but hey we had no immediate plan. Stopped off at one of those tourist traps looking for grandchild stuff. First place nothing, second place was where we found out the real scoop on the endangered huckleberry. Huh you say? Ok going in it was huckleberry this and huckleberry that. A big glass window separated us from a huckleberry processing area. A cute looking gal working in there and grinning at the folks peering in. A family at the counter buying stuff. I listened as they and the owner were discussing things. He told them the season was about over but he had pickers out still looking. They asked well what are they worth. He responded I buy choice berries for 78.00 DOLLARS a gallon! My jaw dropped. Their eyes all got big. One of them said they had picked a bunch days before. The owner asked where they had got them. Fellow said in Idaho in a state forest. Owner grilled them again and said he would call his pickers to jump over there to look. Unbelievable I thought. Now I know why those folks in the junky vehicle with Washington plates were out in the boonies. Making Christmas money picking huckleberries. Figured out the hand full I found and ate came to ten bucks worth. Went down the road a bit further to a fruit stand. Flathead cherries and huckleberries advertised. As I said last year in my posts Flathead lake is so big it creates a micro climate. Major cherry groves are strung along the East side of the lake and cherries were in season. Talked to the girl who said they had picked that morning and right there next to the stand was a young man dumping five gallon buckets of cherries onto a sorting table as he sorted he washed them. We bought a couple of big bags and they were the best cherries I think I have ever eaten. Not picked early, not trucked across the country etc. I asked where the huckleberries were. She said pickers out now, should be back soon and how many do you want? I said thanks we got to go and off we went. Down the road we went along the East side of flathead lake spitting cherry pits out the window amazed at the loaded cherry trees, so loaded branches touching the ground. Really neat. Worked our way south to I-90 and headed East stopping at a KOA for the evening. Kind of bummed s I pulled into the campground not fished for the day. Then we seen a small creek behind the KOA. When Pat checked us in I told her to ask if there were any fish in it. She came out and said yes they guy said that there were brook trout in it. Hummmm? After setting up we walked over to see this town walking and biking trail along the creek with busy noisy I-90 on the other side. I looked for a trail through the willows and high grass, making it to the water. Peered into the mossy trickle. Back for a shower and dinner. Then Pat says you going to try? I don't know. She they says I am going to take Sadie for a walk you might as well string up and try as we walk. OK you twisted my arm. Well guess what I caught some and missed some. Who would of thought it.

  Bicycles, joggers and walkers looking at me like I was some kind of crazy man.

    Next morning up at dark thirty and on the road before sunrise still heading East towards Livingston.. Checking the map along the way making a short plan,

BilletHead

Coming up the FFF conclave and Pine Creek

 

 

[Johnsfolly]

Small stream brookies, gotta to love those little fish! They look fantastic (purists look away) and they are delicious. I get the feeling that you have a lot more to tell. Keep those posts coming.

[Ham]

49 minutes ago, Johnsfolly said:

Small stream brookies, gotta to love those little fish! They look fantastic (purists look away) and they are delicious. I get the feeling that you have a lot more to tell. Keep those posts coming.

The sign on another creek they fished sad the limit on Brookies was 20 fish. 20? Are they so small that you eat them on a cracker?

[Johnsfolly]

They were pretty small (4-8" fish) and pretty abundant in the streams that I fished in WY. Also they are not native to western streams nor as revered as the cutthroats. So that likely went into the limits. 

[ness]

They're a nuisance -- compete with the natives and crowd them out.