The Ignorant Angler

You run into some pretty neat stuff while heading to the field.  Sometimes it's the high point of the day.  Take this image for instance.  It was recorded on film.  Ah, the good old (if not less convenient) days of photography.  I was driving through the Gallatin Canyon.  A bunch of bighorn sheep were milling along the side of the road.  I found a nearby turnout and pulled over.  Sheep were busy grazing, some were in the river. Eventually, it looked like they wanted to cross the road.   One ewe, then another.  Up and over the barrier.  Maybe the grass was greener.  Maybe they just wanted to live dangerously and dodge traffic.  It's a tough way to make a living.

At last we've entered the days of seasonal tease.  Spring, with all it's daily vagaries.  One day stunningly beautiful, sixty degrees, warm to the face.  The next elicits a response of…"Are you kidding?"  Snow, blow, temperatures plummeting into the teens.  Yes, spring in Montana.  Wonderful.


The last stretch off from work was fruitful from the standpoint of getting out and poking around.  I went five for seven as regards days fished to days off.  Not a bad average for someone swinging a bat or wielding a fly rod. 
The pontoon emerged from it's bag in the garage and made it's maiden voyage of the year.  I was relieved to find that it still held air and had not acquired any new leaks.  An overcast day, punctuated with the occasional squall, made for pleasant floating conditions.  Midges? Yes!  Gobs.  Clusters. Truly something to behold.  Trout enthusiastically sipped the floating masses of bugs.  A short cast to a recent rise with a midge pupa was often rewar…