I noticed yesterday while flipping through the channels between football games that there were very few programs having anything to do with 9/11. This struck me as strange as it seems in the past there were always a bunch of programs leading up to the anniversary. We are 16 years out from that monumental day, a day that was much like this day with bright blue September skies above.

I saw a  smattering of “Never Forget” profile pics etc. on Facebook this morning but the conspicuous absence of news stories and special programming dealing with this fateful date in American history have me wondering if perhaps we, as a nation, are starting to forget. Or is it that we are being conditioned  to forget? I don’t know the answer and I’m not much about conspiracies but I do know that this is a day worth remembering, no matter what your political stripes.

I am a million miles away from where I was in 2001 and I have zero interest in politicizing this day. This is a day nearly 3,000  people lost their lives. It’s a day that caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage and a day that forever altered the collective American Psyche. That day changed the world forever and while the immediate aftermath seemed to draw us together as a nation, it feels like part of the consequences of this event include the planting of the seeds for the polarizing journey we’ve embarked upon as a country which has brought us to where we are today. We are divided as a nation (though I don’t believe nearly as much as what the media would have us believe) politically and philosophically with a few small minority groups expressing their views very LOUDLY and  exerting entirely more influence over the majority than they should ever be able to.

I expressed similar sentiments on this blog last year at this time and my feelings remain the same. This is a day that I recall the events of 16 years ago like they happened yesterday. It’s a day I reflect on the journey I’ve been on for these years and a day I mourn the deaths of those who died on that day and also  mourn the losses I’ve experienced personally since 2001.

To me it’s a day to count our blessings as well and to be thankful for everything we have. Our families, our friends, our livelihoods….all of the things that make us who we are.

Draw your loved ones close, hold them tight and celebrate life as you think back to how it felt that day.

I met Peter the first year I was out here when I was working for Montana River Outfitters and I liked him from day one.

Peter and his friend John were a major component of a group which takes over the majority of our lodging every summer at Wolf Creek Angler. If you’ve ever fished anywhere near the second trestle below Wolf Creek Bridge during mid June to early July you’ve likely met both of them.

From their friend Matt who’s been joining them on the Missouri since 1994;

Peter loved to fish the 2nd RR trestle below the Wolf Creek bridge. He would literally stay there for hours on end. John told me a couple of times Peter stayed there all day. He would put in at Wolf Creek, row down to the 2nd trestle, fish all day then row out to California Island at dark to take out.

John and Peter have been coming to fish Montana since 1988, originally to the Big Horn then splitting time between the Horn and the MO’ and finally settling exclusively on the Missouri.

Al, John and Peter on the porch at WCA photo by Matt Hanist

Usually between mid June and early to mid July we play host to an awesome group of anglers from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. They fish hard and they spend evenings on the porch talking about it…..LOUDLY!

I’ve come to consider all of these folks good friends and when I talk about how my favorite part of my job is getting to see the same guests and clients year after year, Peter and the rest of these guys are a major part of what I’m talking about.

Peter passed away last week. He will be missed on the MO’ and on his beloved Delaware.

I’ll miss having him around here at WCA. I’ll miss the ball busting and the laughter and I’ll also miss having him around to man the grill at our annual fourth of July cookout. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.

Rest in peace my friend.

Yesterday, what started out as quick probe into the back-country on the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park turned into what I would describe as a hellish march to the edges of human physical capability. Okay, so maybe not that bad, but it was tough none the less. With high water plaguing much of the state I figured my best bet for a day off would be cruising down to Big Sky and hunting down some high alpine lakes with my buddy Will. Truth be told, he called an audible in the morning after conferring with a friend of his so instead of a quick walk into one lake, we’d take our chances on one tucked deeper into the canyon. In hindsight, not the best of ideas.

I can’t tell you the exact location of the lake, because we never made it. The road the trail jumps off has seasonal motorized restrictions, meaning no cars past a certain point, before a certain time.  Not like it would have mattered anyway; within the first few bends beyond the gate blocking us we hit the snow line. At first it was just giant, mostly ice balls strewn  about, but the higher we climbed up the switchbacks, the boulders transformed into drifts consuming the entire road. By the time we neared the ridge where we were to turn off, the snow had become a little too much for the both of us. Post-holing for the better part of a half a mile was enough. We retreated down the hill back to our car, passing fresh bear tracks along the way.

Back at the car we reverted back to plan a). Drive into the lake, catch Cutties. Wrong again. The second go round we actually made it to the lake, only to see  that it had turned in the last day or so. Minimal visibility and close to zero room for a back cast made the choice to abandon Lake Lame an easy one. Needless to say, not exactly a productive fishing trip. On the flip side, I’ve had worse days. Looking back now I’m calling the failed outing a success. Time spent exploring new country with a good friend on a shit road, in his car isn’t a bad way to wast an afternoon.

Will and I have had our fair share of misadventures over our relatively short time as fishing partners. Within the last two years alone we’ve dodged Moose in Wildlife Management Areas, thwarted an attempted robbery in Twin Bridges, patched a few flat tires on dirt roads, iced down swollen knees in spring creeks and on one occasion, Will came close to buying the farm in a side channel on Rock Creek. The bottom line is this, at the end of the worst of days, we laugh, imbibe and go to sleep that night no worse for ware. Save the quarter sized blister currently pestering my right heel. Whatever, that too shall pass.

~Cheers, Chewy.

I’m back in the shop today after a week in Michigan, our annual spring break destination. Most people tend to migrate to the warmer regions of the globe for spring break but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure it was grey and cold and dreary for the majority of the time we were there but I’ll trade sunshine and hot weather any day for the once a year opportunity to reconnect with friends and family back HOME.

You Can Never Go Home Again!

We’ve all heard it said many times that you can’t go home and there’s nothing like a homecoming to prove the point. In some respects you really can’t go home but it doesn’t take long to discover that home is not so much a place as it is our existence in that place. It’s the collective of the people, the relationships and the experiences we’ve had in some geographic location. Take away those things and you are left with a physical place upon which our existence, or lack thereof makes not a shred of difference.

Places consist of landscapes and structures to which we may grow very attached but the reality is these things in and of themselves are not our homes and once we leave them behind the only connections we have with them are the ones in our minds. We are the essential component of the thing we call HOME.

Most of my trips back to Michigan over these past several years have been an emotional roller coaster, a case study in existential angst. There are places we’ve returned to because it seemed like the right thing to do only to find that these places held no special magic. After repeated attempts with the same results I concluded this time around that it’s ok to close the book on some of those chapters.

Thankfully there is still plenty of HOME left. Family and friends  (and rivers) still remain and we will return time and again to experience HOME in new ways, creating new memories and riding the waves of emotion. It’s fun to be there and hard to leave and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So this is home in 2017…

A Huge Thank You to Mike Batcke at Stealthcraft Boats for the use of a boat on my beloved Pere Marquette River and as always a big thanks to Brad Turner aka The PM Angler for sacrificing a day of income to row me down the river.

It feels great to be back in Montana and despite my assertion that landscapes have no hold on us the mountains and rivers   have been calling  for as long as I can remember and while I cherish EVERYTHING that makes up my collective home, there is no place I’ve been  that feels as much like home as this.

Now back to fishing the MO’.  Up to date fishing report coming very soon.

We’re continuing to enjoy the spring-like weather this weekend with temperatures forecast to be near 50 again today. We flirted with 60 degrees yesterday topping out at 57 here in Wolf Creek and the word from the river the last couple of days was that the fishing is definitely starting to pick up.

We’ve reached that magic 36 degree water temp (currently 36.5) so expect things to only get better as the water continues to warm and the fish snap out of their winter slumber and go on the hunt for calories.

Traffic is concentrated in the canyon right now but we’ve heard good reports all the way from the dam to Prewett.

We’ll see a brief cold snap on Monday but then right back to 40’s and 50’s through the end of next week. We’ve got plenty of lodging available all week long and more opening soon! It might be just be the perfect week to book that spring special guide trip.

We’re definitely transitioning into spring mode here on the Missouri and if the initial response to our Spring Special is any indication it’s going to be a BUSY spring at WCA.

Just as an aside, some Montana news as history was made this week  with Congressman Ryan Zinke  being confirmed as the 52nd United States Secretary of the Interior, becoming the first person EVER from Montana and the first Navy Seal to occupy a Cabinet position.

No matter what your political stripes this is a big deal for the state of Montana. We congratulate him and wish him the best of luck in this position where he will continue to serve this nation as he has for most of his career and while we will keep a close eye on what’s going on in the Department of the Interior, just as we should with every other department under every administration, but we will judge Zinke’s job performance by his actions rather than by the letter after his name or by his back cast.

Spring is in the air and we hope to see you soon at Wolf Creek Angler.