Hunting season starts tomorrow here in Montana. Since I was lucky enough to draw this early season archery tag for antelope, that means that my days off will become even more of a debate. With so much to do in only two days off (not to mention all the work I have to get done at home in those days) what do I choose?
Fall is by far and away my favorite season in the mountains. The air feels crisp and sharp after a long hot summer. The weather turns, and you can break out a good coat again. The big browns start to spawn, the fall mayflies turn on, and the air is filled with the sound of bugling elk.
There is no other season so filled with recreational activities. Spring has incredible fishing, but that can be affected by runoff and your hunting options are limited. Summer brings with it the tourists and low water, two factors that make fishing hard. Winter… Well, winter is winter. It’s the season to hunker down and tie flies and dream of chasing bonefish in the salt.
But fall is special. I grew up fishing hard in the fall. Mark and I spent many, many rainy days on the Firehole swinging soft hackles. We would enjoy the relative peace and quiet on the river after a busy summer. By about the first week of September, most of the crowds are gone. Sure, the college kids show up about that time, but those of their rank that do make it to the river seem to only hit the popular accesses and then only to smoke weed and drink too much.
Any free time in the fall was spent on the river. And the fishing is so worth it. If you want to catch the brown of a lifetime, fall is the season to do it. Some of the best hatches and dry fly fishing I’ve ever seen have been in the first week of October too. It’s not to be missed.
But this year I wonder how much fishing I’ll be getting in. Last year was the first year I got the opportunity to hunt much, and that bug bit hard. It is something so different than what I’m used to, so new and exciting, it’s hard to not want to spend the entire fall in the woods.
Since last year I purchased a bow, and am now able to hunt the early archery seasons for antelope, deer and elk. Not to mention the fact that upland game bird season open on September 1. Not gonna lie, my thoughts have been much more on that than on the river lately.
The choice really is simple. Would I rather chase this:
Or these:
Decisions, decisions….
Wildlife pictures by Shane Rickert.
