Page 57 - Flathead Beacon // 7.20.16

MOUNTAIN EXPOSURE
OUTDOORS IN BRIEF
5K In Bigfork to Support Cross Country Program
The sixth annual Bigfork River Run/Walk 5K is Saturday, July 23. The event is the sole fundraiser for the Bigfork High School Cross Country program. Participants will run along the scenic Swan River Trail. Handcrafted Morley Canoe paddles will be awarded to the top female and male nishers. Handmade wooden medallions will be awarded to the top three in each age group. Ra es prizes will be given out after the awards cer- emony. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. Cost is $17 for runners 13 and older, and $12 for under 13. Same- day registration is $20. For more information contact Jill Morley at 212-6760 or sign up online at www.406running.com.
Rebecca Farm to Host ‘Farm to Market 5K’
In conjunction with The Event at Rebecca Farm, the Farm to Mar- ket 5K will take place to help sup- port the ght against cancer. The race is Sunday, July 24 at 9 a.m. Participants are invited to walk, jog or gallop a 5K on the Rebecca Farm cross country course. Cost is $20 per person and $15 for rac- ers under the age of 12. The race will be limited to the rst 250 participants. After the race, enjoy the nal day of competition at The Event at Rebecca Farm, one of the largest equestrian triathlons in the world. Also browse the trade fair on-site. During The Event, spectators will have an opportu- nity to donate to HALT CANCER AT X while parking. This donation is not a requirement for runners or spectators. Rebecca Farm is located o Farm to Market Road at 1010 West Spring Creek Road.
Going on an adventure? If you would like to be featured in “Mountain Exposure,” email information to news@ atheadbeacon.com.
OUT OF BOUNDS ROB BREEDING
HOOKING INTO ISOMETHING WILD
HOOKED INTO A FREIGHT TRAIN the other day. I never saw the sh, but I suspect it was a beauty judging
by the rate at which it nearly emptied my y reel.
We were shing the North Fork of the Shoshone River upstream from Bu alo Bill Reservoir. The river was lled with big cutthroats and rainbows, sh that had moved up the river to spawn in the spring and were now ltering their way back down to the lake. The river was still high with spring runo , though not as high as it usually is this time of year, and the shing had been excellent, albeit a bit perplexing.
We were catching trout and the sh were the sort that would make anyone happy. Papa Bill sat in the front of the boat and landed a half-dozen rainbows, cutts and hybrids that ranged up to 22 inches. Back in my guiding days, it was the kind of day that might have earned a crisp C note for a tip.
This trip was just for fun, however, and I’m not sure how much actual guid- ing I was doing. The river was new to me, at least as far as oating goes. There isn’t any big whitewater on the North Fork, but it’s tricky enough water that I had my hands full on the oars.
We didn’t catch sh in the usual places. Nice shy-looking runs along deep banks, or slow dark water next to downed trees — the kind of places you can normally count on to hold trout — didn’t produce sh. But then out in the middle of the river, where none of us expected much, Papa Bill would hook up with a doozy.
The randomness of the sh led to my unscienti c conclusion that these had to be spawners from the lake rather than resident sh. Rivers in the Rocky Moun- tains don’t produce many 22-inch trout, and the sh that do grow to such size tend to be older, secretive, and di cult
Rob Breeding writes and teaches when he’s not shing or hunting.
to catch. You simply don’t hook riv- er-grown trout like that drifting a No. 10 Copper John in the middle of the river on a sunny July afternoon while you fumble for your beer.
The resident trophy sh were prob- ably lurking deep, rolling their eyes at their clueless lake-bound cousins stu- pidly falling for the amateurs crowding the river. Soon the ri ra will clear out, the residents must be thinking, and it will get back to normal around here.
Since we were shing in Wyoming through private property, opportunities to stop and wade were few. But the river occasionally intersects random BLM par- cels or state-owned land that has been set aside for river access. On one such piece we pulled out and I got a chance to work a small side channel that had produced sh on a previous trip.
No luck this time, or so it seemed. After a few dozen drifts, none of which produced, my strike indicator nally dipped and I set the hook on something solid.
I soon learned I was just a helpless observer in this event. The sh, which remained deep and unseen, ripped o a 50-foot run to the head of the side chan- nel, then turned and ran back to where the water poured into the main current. Once in the current I knew my chances of landing the sh were slim.
Of course the current’s where the sh went, making a beeline downstream for the lake. It got into my backing, and quickly reduced that to just a few scant wraps around the spool. Facing the loss of not just the trout, but my y line as well, I stopped the spinning reel and broke the sh o .
Almost certainly the freight train was another tourist, a mackinaw that had fol- lowed the spawners out of the lake for an easy meal.
We need your help:
Please do your part to stop the spread of zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species in Montana waters.
It’s quick. It’s the law.
And you could win a prize.
Clean, drain, and dry boats, trailers and fishing gear after each use, and always stop at roadside watercraft inspection stations.
Learn more: fwp.mt.gov
JULY 20, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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