It’s that time of year again here in Southwest Montana. The weather is warming up, the snow up high is melting, and the rivers are all high and dirty. Yep, runoff is here.
Sure, tailwaters like the Lower Madison are still running reasonably clear, and there are a lot of lakes and ponds to fish. With all the fishermen in the area going to only a couple of places, it does get a little crowded sometimes.
The weather has been playing a cruel game with us. It’ll be warm for a few days, which pushes flows way up, then it will be cool and rainy, resulting in rivers dropping a bit and clearing up. This gives all us suckers false hope that “oh, its not too bad out there!”. I wish it would just be 80 for two weeks and get it over with.
One of the salvations from both high water and the crowds are the mountain lakes. The ones you have to hike a couple miles to get back to. Most people don’t want to walk more than 100 yards, much less any distance uphill. And fortunately, there are a lot of options to pick from.
So, for the next few weeks I think it’s time to put away the waders and break out the hiking boots. I haven’t done much lake fishing, and I’m sure there will be a learning curve in there somewhere. But half the fun is learning something new, right?
The map is out on the table behind me, the hiking boots are by the front door, and I’ve got a pack loaded with rain gear and 6-wt sitting by the desk here. Don’t forget the bear spray…
