The first time I've gone fishing was last year when a friend of mine took me out on the Madison and we did dry fly fishing in flowing water. Dry fly means that the insect-looking fly at the end of the line never sinks and just sits on top of the water. We tried that approach this time as well, at the reservoir, but it wasn't working, so Seann switched our flies for ones called nymphs, which mimic the immature larva stare of bugs and slowly drift down through the water table.
After some time and FIVE unsuccessful bites I finally caught my first of the day- native cutthroat trout! YES!
Soon after, Kyra got one as well, her very first fish ever. I had a few other bites and caught another, smaller one, but we let it go. We each had a fish by now so it was enough for lunch. I almost caught another BIG one, but as Seann was reaching for him he got away with the fly in his mouth.
I can see why people get addicted to fly fishing. Its so much fun! And if you're not catching anything then it becomes a mental game of trying to figure out what it is that the fish will go for. Awesome.
Our lunch that day was glorious. We proudly baked our trout, after butchering and cleaning them. Onions, jalapenos, salt and pepper, a lil bit of olive oil and lemon juice. Amazing. It felt great eating something that I killed and butchered, fair and square.
There were a lot of people, mostly from all the farms around the area. Lots of WWOOFers, lots of delicious food. Great times!
This morning we slept in a little bit in order to recover from the night before and around 9 o'clock myself, Kyra and Leslie headed out to the nearby Crazy Mountains for a hike to Cottonwood Lake.
Leslie attempted this hike just two weeks ago and encountered snow almost right away, which got deeper about 2 miles in and made the ascent impossible. Last night we got word from the WWOOFers at a nearby farm that they hiked up to the lake that day and even though it was still pretty snowy it was doable.
The hike to the lake was about 5 miles one way. Started out pretty mellow, along a forest service road. About 2.5 miles in the road ended and the trail turned into a single-track and went STRAIGHT UP A STEEP HILL. I've never seen a worse trail. It was super steep and became a rut from all the water flowing down it. Bad planning. After the tough ascent the trail leveled out slightly and the snow began.
During this hike we had to cross 3 rather large,deep and fast-moving creeks. The first two crossings we actually took off our shoes and waded across barefoot. By the time I made it to the other side of the creek I couldn't feel my feet because the water was so cold.
By the third creek, the deepest and fastest one I didn't even bother taking off my shoes. Boots stayed on and got soaked since the water was knee-deep. Either way I would have gotten my feet soaked going through the numerous snow fields.
The views were unbelievable. It looked like a picture out of Glacier National Park brochure, but its only 30 minutes from our house! The lake itself was mostly frozen and snow covered.
What an amazing hike. As Kyra pointed out this is my last Montana hike for a loooong time. I'm glad We went to Cottonwood Lake and I was glad for the company that I had. Perfect!
And now onto making granola and doing a yoga class with the housemates in our backyard.
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