Heading West

I'm on the road again. Heading to the land where the rivers flow to the mighty Pacific. More specifically, I am just going to cross the divide and hang out in western Montana and also Idaho. I have a few goals to attain. The first part of my trip will be dedicated to catching a few of the native fish species from the area. I hope to catch a Northern Pikeminnow (a.k.a. Squawfish), a Peamouth Chub, and maybe even a Largescale Sucker. There may even be some intentional angling for other species such as Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass. I won't have a lot of time to fish, however, as I am also expected to arrive in Idaho for an annual elk hunt.

This elk hunt is definitely a tradition. I have been hunting elk in the same place in Idaho for the last 10 years, and the season always begins on the 10th of October. It doesn't matter if the 10th falls on a Wednesday, that will always be opening day. I think I prefer the way Montana does it, making sure that opening day is on a weekend...as it is just more convenient that way. In fact, Montana took the extra step this year and changed the opener to a Saturday instead of Sunday. Amazingly, some common sense exists within our state government. One has to be careful about how many "traditions" to get involved with. Once a trip or hunt becomes a tradition, it has been elevated to a sacred level. That typically means that there is no way you are allowed to not participate on any given year. Well, at some point a guy can get overly committed. The danger really lies in not being able to fulfill all of these commitments. Not being able to attend one of these sacred events will inevitably get you in trouble with some of your friends, while an uncompromising attitude will just get you in trouble at work.

I leave early in the morning and will be away from my blog until the 16th or 17th of the month. I hope some of you will continue to visit, and maybe take this opportunity to visit the archives. I will resume blogging with a trip report that will hopefully contain photos of some new native fish species...and maybe a bull elk. See you soon!