Bought some new white t-shirts at TJ Maxx in Missoula before driving to Dillon, MT. Hit a fly shop to get some last minute intel on the river I was going to fish next.....the Upper Ruby. To get to the Upper Ruby you need to drive roughly 60 miles on dirt roads. Huge tracts of Montana land is being bought up by wealthy out of towners. This is a large bone of contention with the native Montanians, who after the price of land is driven up, can’t afford to by land themselves. On the way, I believe I drove through wilderness owned by Ted Turner.
In Montana you are allowed access to any river as long as you stay below the high water mark. The problem is....... if the river I surrounded on all sides by hundreds of miles of privately owned land, one can walk a very long way from a bridge or other public access point to reach the prime water. In a sense, these ritzy out of towners are eliminating public access to some of the better rivers at an alarming rate. This is especially true of the Ruby river......hence the 60 plus mile drive to state owned land.
The Ruby didn’t disappoint.........and I think that on this day my love for Montana finally took top billing on the list of my favorite places to be and to fish. Montana is truly the most wild place I’ve ever been. It’s America’s 4th largest state but has one of its smallest populations. The views are stunning at every turn, the summertime temps are cool, and the fish are simply everywhere..... in every pocket, pool, and riffle, in every river.
Before bed at desolate Cottonwood Campground I caught a ton of trout all on dry flies.
In Montana you are allowed access to any river as long as you stay below the high water mark. The problem is....... if the river I surrounded on all sides by hundreds of miles of privately owned land, one can walk a very long way from a bridge or other public access point to reach the prime water. In a sense, these ritzy out of towners are eliminating public access to some of the better rivers at an alarming rate. This is especially true of the Ruby river......hence the 60 plus mile drive to state owned land.
The Ruby didn’t disappoint.........and I think that on this day my love for Montana finally took top billing on the list of my favorite places to be and to fish. Montana is truly the most wild place I’ve ever been. It’s America’s 4th largest state but has one of its smallest populations. The views are stunning at every turn, the summertime temps are cool, and the fish are simply everywhere..... in every pocket, pool, and riffle, in every river.
Before bed at desolate Cottonwood Campground I caught a ton of trout all on dry flies.
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