Page 50 - Flathead Beacon // 12.7.16

MOUNTAIN EXPOSURE
OUTDOORS IN BRIEF
MEETING TO DISCUSS FOREST DESIGNATION FOR LAKE COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT
The Lake County Commissioners and the Lake County Conservation District are hosting a public meeting Dec. 7 at the Swan Lake Community Center, 22778 Montana Highway 83 to discuss multi-year planning e orts centered on a 60,000-acre section of Flathead National Forest that could see increased commercial timber harvest.
Local environmental groups, residents, lawmakers and other stakeholders are invited to attend the meeting and discuss an ongoing study and whether it should progress or be terminated, according to the conservation district.
The conservation district has studied whether it should seek Con- gressional approval of a “conserva- tion forest” in the Swan Valley, which would allow the state of Montana to manage a section of federal lands in trust for the conservation district. The Flathead National Forest would retain management for recreation, out tters and grazing. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation would manage
timber harvest under the Montana Environmental Protection Act. “All net revenues generated from proac- tively managing the conservation forest would be invested in conserva- tion work in Lake County,” the Lake County Conservation District states on its website.
Swan View Coalition, a local envi- ronmental group, has raised opposi- tion to the potential proposal, say- ingthenewdesignationwouldallow increased timber harvest and would amount to a “takeover of national for- est lands.”
Curt Rosman and Susan Gard- ner, supervisors for the Lake County Conservation District, as well as Toni Burton, an associate supervi- sor, expressed their opposition to the proposal in a letter last month. They cited local opposition to transferring control of federal lands and said the proposal “is also a time consuming detour from our responsibilities as a conservation district and will ignite new controversies.”
The Dec. 7 meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.
OUT OF BOUNDS ROB BREEDING THE WINTER SEASON
THE LAST FEW YEARS I’VE HAD something of a y shing existen- tial crisis. I’ve always been a bit of a diehard dry y guy. I wasn’t a purist in the sense that I looked down on other techniques. It’s just that I liked shing on the surface.
Who doesn’t? The sight of a dry y oating along in a foam line, then disap- pearing into the maw of a trout is, well, the reason we were put on this Earth, isn’t it?
That used to mean that once winter rolls around, I’d put the y gear away until the skwala hatch on the Bitterroot turned on in March.
If you want to sh in the winter, you have to be willing to nymph. I was ulti- mately led astray by the Professor, whose less-re ned sense of propriety allowed him to move from the elegance of dry y shing to bottom-dredging with nymphs without the briefest hesitation.
Once winter turned wicked, the Pro- fessor started adding split shot to his leaders and catching sh deep. I was obliged to follow.
I don’t cover as much water in the winter as the sh will stack up in deeper pools and runs. In addition to the split shot, I usually sh a large nymph, maybe a No. 6 or 8 bead head, tailed by some- thing smaller. If I’m in a shameless mood that second y will likely be a San Juan Worm. If I’m shing in mixed company I’ll go with something more legit. Maybe a small chironomid pattern, No. 18 or 20.
I’ve even added a dedicated nymphing rod to my arsenal, and that’s something I thought I’d never say. It’s a 10-foot, 4-weight, but if you ask the Professor he’ll tell you I have a love-hate relation- ship with that rod. The length is handy when I’m high-sticking nymphs, but it’s
action is slower than I prefer and it’s a lit- tle on the heavy side.
The weight is self-explanatory. If I’ll be holding my rod at ear level for hours tracking the drift of my nymph, I want the lightest setup I can a ord.
That slow action is another matter. You don’t really cast a heavy nymph rig so much as lob it upstream, but that noo- dly stick takes a lot of e ort to load.
My dry y rod is a 9-foot, 5-weight, and it’s faster than I ever imagined I’d like. But I’ve learned to appreciate its power when I want to put some distance between myself and my y. And when I use it for nymphing, that rod lifts my nymph rig out of the water so e ortlessly it makes casting that 10-footer seem like a trip to the gym.
Winter shing requires proper cloth- ing. The key is layering. Put a good wick- ing layer against your skin, some heavy eece over that, and cover it all with an outer layer that will break the wind. Wad- ers take care of the bottom half. Up top I have a nice Gore-tex shell with plenty of big pockets and attachment points so I can use it like a vest. A knit cap is a must, and I sometimes wear gloves, but I’ve just never found a pair I’m totally comfort- able with. Carry a hand towel to dry o and you may not need the gloves anyway.
Another winter y- shing tip: when it’s cold enough that it starts freezing up your guides, just dip your rod in the water and wiggle it until the ice melts. Fish until you hear your line grinding through ice guides, dip and repeat.
Remember, this isn’t the season for dawn-to-dusk shing marathons. Get on the water for a few hours, then retire to your favorite pub for happy hour.
We all love to sh, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
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Rob Breeding writes, teaches and watches his kids play soccer when he’s not shing or hunting. He lives in Kalispell.
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DECEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM