My Billings Gazette

As noted in my Montana Outdoors column the other day, the annual drawings for Smith River float permits has been completed.   A total of 5,704 people applied for the 915 available permits. All launches were booked from April 15 through July 19.

What always interests me, however, is not just the number of people who apply, but who the people are.  This is often typified by the youngest and the oldest.  This year, the youngest permittee is 3 years old. The oldest is 76.

Now, I'll admit, I've met some pretty tough 3-year-olds and, frankly, there are some 76-year-olds that I wouldn't want to mess with either.  But  it's a pretty sure bet that neither of these permit-holders are going alone.  And if they do, their rowing time will be small.

One of the problems with the Smith River is that in the trendy talk of today, it takes a village to draw permits.   The more family members or friends you can get to apply, the better the chance you'll get drawn.  If it's just you and your partner, your odds are minimal.

Perhaps what we need is a new rule that whoever draws the permit has to row the first five miles of river.  And, row the last five miles of river, too.   Why?  It would even out the odds a bit for people who really want to float the river, but don't have a village to help them pack the ballot box. -- mark 

Young Roland Garfield and his 11-pound and 10-pound Fort Peck walleyes.

It's one thing to get outfished by a full-blown adult.  But to get outfished by a 10-year-old?  That's just not fair.

Elliot Garfield, of Wolf Point, e-mailed me these photos of his son, Roland, with a pair of walleyes that the youngster caught through the ice at Fort Peck this winter.  Both are really nice fish, but the amazing one is the 11-pounder which was only 29.5 inches long.  It looks like the fish swallowed a football.

Garfield noted in the e-mail that at the tender age of 10, Roland already has six walleyes to his credit that run 10 pounds or better.    In the walleye world, a 10-pounder is considered the benchmark of a trophy walleye.  And few adults anywhere would be able to match what this youngster has already accomplished at the age of 10.

Yeah, yeah, I know.   I'm just being envious.  -- mark

It was a busy week in the press release business for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks information officers, trying to keep up with wolf attacks on livestock.  There were five press releases in all, finishing with a double on Friday.  (Sort of makes you wonder whether FWP took Wednesday off – no wolf press releases that day.)

FWP has been cranking out a steady stream of these press reports.  They come from here, there and everywhere across the western half of the state.  Here’s this week’s sampler of locations:

Friday, March 27:  A wolf or wolves yesterday killed a calf on private property west of Augusta near Smith Creek, state wildlife officials reported.  The wolf or wolves involved in the incident are unknown. The Monitor Mountain pack’s radio collar was not heard and the new Benchmark pack that has a territory near the site does not have a collar yet.

Friday, March 27: A wolf or wolves killed two domestic calves and probably killed another domestic calf on private land near Grant southwest of Dillon. USDA Wildlife Services confirmed the depredations on March 17 and March 22.  This is the second incident in the area since February. One domestic calf was confirmed injured by wolves in Feb. 13.  It is not currently known which wolf or wolves were involved.

Thursday, March 26: Wolves killed a calf on private property near Philipsburg this week.  USDA Wildlife Services confirmed the incident on March 24.  Due to a history of repeated livestock depredations in this area, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) authorized the lethal removal of three wolves that are believed to be responsible for the depredations.  The wolves involved in the incident were likely remaining members of the Skalkaho and Sapphire packs.

Tuesday, March 24: Wolves killed a calf Monday in the East Boulder River drainage south of Big Timber, federal Wildlife Services officials have confirmed. The landowner and Wildlife Services were given authority to remove one wolf if it appears again on private property.  The nearest known pack of wolves is the Baker Mountain pack, which was monitored in a nearby drainage Saturday by biologists on a routine tracking flight.

Monday, March 23: Wolves killed a calf on private property north of Avon last week.  USDA Wildlife Services confirmed the incident on March 19. Tracks of four wolves were present at the depredation site, and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) believes the wolves are not part of a named pack. Wildlife Services is attempting to collar and release a wolf on site to better determine what wolves are in the area.

These reports used to create quite a furor when they broke into the news.  Now, it’s pretty much a ho-hum deal unless the wolf report comes from your neighborhood.  With the number of these reports – and the frequency – it makes a person wonder what all the fuss is about among people who worry about having wolves in the future.  It appears they’re all over the place.  And there’s no doubt that they’re finding things to eat. -- mark

The Montana Senate voted 27-23 on third reading today to approve Sen. Debby Barrett's Senate Bill 217 and pass it on to the House.  The several-times-amended bill would reimburse livestock owners for brucellosis testing in areas where elk populations are over their herd objectives.  FWP would pay the bill for the testing.

This feel-good-bill for livestock owners is actually a feel-bad-bill for all hunters, fishermen and anyone else interested in fish and wildlife.   FWP is funded with hunting and fishing license dollars.  If any of those dollars are used for non-fish and non-wildlife or non-sportsmen uses,  FWP will lose $18.7 million per year in federal funding according to the bill's fiscal note.  It will also spend $1.4 million in hunting and fishing license dollars in 2010 alone.

That will result in the removal of 128 full-time-equivalent jobs in FWP and cut about 25 percent from the department's total budget.  The amount it takes from operations and maintenance may be more that 25 percent by the time it all shakes out.

Hopefully, the House will realize that when it deliberates on the bill.  The Montana Legislature has a reputation of giving knee-jerk approval to any bill helping farmers or ranchers.  But this time, they need to take a look at all the other people who are going to be affected by this.

If the livestock owners need the help, it would have been far better to have all Montanans help them -- not just one group and not at a price this high.  -- mark

Driving past on I-90, it's hard not to notice that things are busy around the new Cabela's outlet in Billings.  A 200-person staff has been hired.  And, the official opening has been set for 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 14.

The Billings Cabela's is going to have 80,000 square feet of floor space and include the company's standard two-story-high indoor mountain, complete with a running waterfall, pond, wild game mount display and a 7,000-gallon aquarium stocked with fish.

Perhaps the most interesting fact to come out of one of the company's press packets, however, is that the company's research claims that the average customer's stay at a Cabela's store rund 3.5 hours.   Also interesting is that the company figures that half of its store customers come from more than 50 miles away. -- mark

The 2009 edition of Spring Mack Days on Flathead Lake is just two weekends old, but already the catches have been noteworthy.

For example, Mo Fisch Charters captain Bob Orsua caught a 43-inch, 33.1-pound lake trout during the first weekend of the month-long, Friday-through-Sunday derby.  It's the biggest lake trout ever entered in a Mack Days event.

Then, there was Joe O'Hara's catch.  O'Hara, of St. Ignatius, put himself in the running for the smallest whitefish caught with a 6.75-incher (173 mm. long).   And yes, there is a prize for the smallest whitefish.

Spring Mack Days will continue for three more weekends.  Entry is free.  Go to MackDays.com for more information on the $45,000 event. -- mark

Matt Kimmet  photo

Matt Kimmet, of Laurel, took this mountain lion early in the winter.

Scott Minkoff photo

Kasey Nemitz Minkoff, sister of Meg Nemitz, shot her first deer last fall while hunting near Miles City her huband, Scott Minkoff.

Warren Nemitz photo             

Meg Nemitz, sister of Kasey Nemitz Minkoff, shot her first deer last fall while hunting south of Billings with her dad, Warren Nemitz.

This seems to be the time of year when nice days sort of sneak up on you.  Take Sunday, for example.  It wound up being a nice enough day for Billings angler Doug Haacke to head up Rock Creek, in Carbon County, and come back with a report good enough that it found me telling myself, "Darn, it WAS nice.  Why didn't I go fishing, too?"

This typically dawns on you when you get an e-mail, like I did, on Sunday evening from Haacke -- after the nice fishing day was done, the temperature was dropping and a cold rain was falling outside.  Haacke wrote:

"Enjoyed a great day on Rock Creek today, which I fish every year on this date, and normally get my butt kicked. Today was different, and although I didn't set any records, I got a dozen trout to hand, and hit the Rock Creek slam (which consists of at least one brown, rainbow, whitefish and brookie). One snaky brown was especially gorgeous (see photo).   Owls, turkeys, whitetail, geese were in great abundance, and a three-year-old, brown-colored black bear who last year only earned the status of 'ain't he cute,' has grown sufficiently in size and girth to warrant the status of 'poop your pants.'"

Oh well, scary bear or not, I was envious of Haacke's day.  And it reminded me to keep a close watch on the weather forecasts at this time of year.  There are good fishing days to be had, if only you're ready for them and then go. -- mark

Greg Tullett is my hero when it comes to the state record fish department.  As I talked about in my Montana Outdoors column, Tullett caught the Montana state record-tying pygmy whitefish last week.

Most people might not be too impressed that the record weighed just 0.23 pounds --  just 3.7 ounces.  They might not be too impressed that it was just 8.25 inches long.  But there are great things about this.

I'm not someone who normally gets fish mounted.  In fact, I don't have a single one and my wife is very satisfied with that fact, considering our little house and all her stuff up on the walls.  But if you catch a state record, it's almost a requirement that you get the fish mounted.

Then, you consider that taxidermists typically charge by the inch of a fish's length.  Tullett has it made with his 8.25-incher.  He has it made, too, that it's pretty easy to find a spot on the wall for an 8.25-inch-long fish rather than a giant lake trout or pike or walleye or bass.

Yes, many may not think there's too much glory in a record pygmy whitefish.  But when it comes to a fish mount, it certainly has its advantages. -- mark

Jason Lenoir photo

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