Bucket Fishin'

Waylon found himself a deer to chew on

Willie, Waylon, and Zeusy Fruit

Sometimes it's nice just to get out to the river or pond and sit there. We call that "bucket fishin". All you need is a bucket, some worms, and some beers. A few funny puppies don't hurt either.

Put it in the bucket, son.

Dry Fly Outfitters - Missouri River Fly Fishing Guides

Zandy and client with a nice tailwater Rainbow

My old buddy Zandy got his outfitter's license after guiding on the Mo for about 10 years, and started up a Dry Fly Outfitters. He just launched a new website recently...check it out when you get a chance! Here's a few links to the new site...

Missouri River Fly Fishing Guides

Fly fishing on the Missouri River

Fly fish the Yellowstone River

If you're coming to Montana and want to poke some big sippin' browns on the Missouri River, he's the guy to help you do it!

I'm getting a little antsy to fish, I think some guys are heading over to the the Big Horn in two weeks, hopefully I'll have some trout pics to show you soon.

One of Zandy's clients with monster Missouri brown!

Powderfin.com Receives 2009 ECO STAR Award!

Last Thursday was an exciting day for Powderfin.com, as I travelled over to the Capitol building in Helena to accept an Eco Star award. This was an award given out by the Montana State Extension Pollution Prevention Program to small businesses in Montana who are "taking environmentally responsible steps to reduce waste and maximize efficiency, and/or your organization has sustainability at the very core of its mission". I'm proud to say that both of those descriptions apply to Powderfin, and it was an honor to be recognized!

I set up a Powderfin.com table in the Capitol Rotunda, showcasing some of the green products Powderfin sells, then met and talked with other Eco Star award recipients from all around Montana. Governor Schweitzer (sporting his signature bolo tie and accompanied by his dog Jag) was the key speaker, and gave a short but pertinent speech about protecting our lands before taking a few photos with the group.

It was nice for Powderfin to be recognized for our dedication to waste reduction and use of re-used and recycled materials. We will continue to improve in this area as we face the challenges of growth!

Bourbon Street Bowl Bash

It's been tradition around here for the last several years to get some wild caught Gulf Shrimp from my cousin's in South Texas for my Super Bowl Party. Since the Saints were in it this time around, some friends and I definitely thought it would be fitting to have a New Orleans themed party.... much like most of the rest of the world did, I'm sure. So we got 5 beautiful pounds of 10/15 brown Gulf Shimp shipped in from Riviera Red's Seafood (http://www.shrimpfishcrab.com/).

Here was the menu:

Shrimp Boil - shrimp, smoked sausage, potatos, onions, carrots, corn

Jambalaya in the crockpot

Bread Pudding in another crockpot - try this... even if just to make your house smell unreal!

Fried Oysters

Fried Catfish

Raw Oysters

Pulled Pork sammies - Colin used his Memphian skills the day before and smoked up about 6 lbs. of butt

Homeade slaw

We had this house of mine smellin' like an Oyster Bar, but it was worth it. Super good time, and nice to see the Saints perfom well and bring it home to their deserving fans.

That should mark the end of the gluttony season for this guy. It generally starts at Thanksgiving and ends at the Super Bowl. Probably sounds familiar to most Americans. I'm looking forward to getting some flies tied this week, and heading to the Big Horn at the end of the month. Hopefully we'll get lucky with some decent weather and hungry trout.

Bridger Bowl's Birthday - 1-15-10

I took Friday off on Jan. 15th to spend my b-day on the hill, and quickly learned that it was also Bridger Bowl's Birthday. Lift tickets were only $15 if you carpooled with 3 or more people. What a great idea to encourage carpooling, not to mention keep some vehicles off of the road to Bridger....with is often full over over-zealous skiers and riders who will risk their and other's lives when they pass you on the road, only to pull into the space right in front of you. Makes no sense. Anyway..... It was a beautiful day on the hill, pretty busy for a Friday, but I'm glad it was. It should have been busy for $15 a pop! There was some birthday cake at the mid-mountain lodge, and one of the nice fellas at the cafeteria bought me a beer since it was my b-day too. Not bad at all.

We're seeing some good accumulation of snow up there, which is what we want for a healthy run-off and hopefully 3rd straight solid fishing season. Cheers to Bridger's 55th, and of course to MLK Jr.!