Posts from — May 2008

Despite being more or less a working weekend there was still a few hours of fishing. We saw a lot of muddy water between Kalispell and Anaconda, mainly the Clark Fork which was running bank full. We ended up lake fishing of course and it was pretty good going. It was a battle of the elements, everything but snow and it was close by.

The afternoon started with rain and wind. Fishing was lousy for me, a lot of casting practice. I was out fished by my youngest son yet again. To make matters worse the jet boat freaks with skis, tubes and boards began their summer assault on the lake.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sold out yet again to the jet setters by dropping wake restrictions. If you are a smaller fishing boat you might as well hang it up when they hit the water. Your boat has just become a pylon on some water skiers slalom course while you bob up and down like a lost bottle cork. You are now entering “the wake zone”.

I was getting a bit agitated when the weather took a turn for the better and again the forecast proved to be meaningless. At least it was turning for the good. Amazingly enough, even the jet boats disappeared and soon there was nothing but birds, evening sun, a flat lake, and the occasional kerplunk from someones bug hitting the water.

Alas, proof there is some justice still in the world! The motor heads had gone home in the rain to eat pizza and watch “American Idol” and had left us in peace with a golden moment at the end of the day.

I think you get the picture. Rain through Monday, showers from there. While the media seems to think that rivers have stabilized or subsided a little, I think you would have a hard time telling anyone living and working along them thats the case. In fact they are probably thinking about flotation devices and sandbags.

From Moldy Chum, these short takes on industrial fish farming in British Columbia. These films, produced by Calling from the Coast, are a nasty little pill we need to be giving anyone who supports open water fish farms. In B.C., fish farming by Cermaq, a Norwegian company, has infected wild salmon with lice.