On this Quest

 that was a pretty quick two years...You see, on this day two years ago me and MP off loaded from the Alaska Ferry Kennicott and next thing you know we were in an old white truck driving through Saturday morning traffic on the interstate being passed by Subaru after Subaru. I was a little freaked out. Then we hit Moootana and stopped for a selfie at a rest stop and it was 100 degrees. I was really freaked out. Then we got to Missoula and my truck made a huge puddle in the street....I was Ultra freaked out....it turned out to be the air conditioner's normal ice build up melting, mmmm...man did I have a lot to learn. I traded this view

For this view, sunrise from our house

I'm going to do one of my lists in a bit but first I want to tour the state. We've been everywhere and around here there's a lot of 'everywhere'....these were just the last few weeks when we ventured to central Montana to see Ackley Lake where they put Tiger Muskie in to eat all the suckers and now it's a Montana big fish secret place. 45 incher caught the week we were there. Here's our set up, pretty sweet eh ?  We're still working on the bed situation, although it makes a huge bed it's harder than a Mike Tyson left hook. 

Ackley Lake...to semi-quote Chick Kishbaugh " I fished for Muskies and they were unaware of it. But a gorgeous 3000 acre lake in the middle of....no where.

The closest town is Hobson which for a small one is really nice. I gotta buy mooo juice for my Danish in the morning and the it's just killing the lady at the little store....she's just got to finally ask where we're from. The right answer is anywhere besides California and we have a good laugh with her. I ask if typically a person can get one of the 17 camp sites on a week day and she tells me there is nothing ' typical ' about  Ackley Lake, or Hopson for that matter.  Even the Elevator is nice in Hobson

Then ya got Geraldine on the way north to the Big Mo. The vista's are incredible and when they built the mountains they decided to just stop half way up. Weird.

Here's pic of me and MPeasy in Fort Benton where they say Montana started...I don't know about that but the story they tell of ' Ol Shep ' who waited his whole life along the railroad tracks for his owner who had died to come back will bring a tear to your eye. Every town's got a claim to fame, I traded the World record King Salmon for Ol Shep......jeeez  Louise. That would be Ol Shep in the background.

You tell me....what does the Hotel at Boulder Hot Springs remind you of ?  I'll give you a hint. Red Rum , Red Rum , Red Rum, Red Rum....Still ain't got it ?  OK, another hint " here's Johnny".

ahhh, the OverLook....Don't quit reading I'm doing a list and then I'll finsih off another exciting chapter of Mile 14 with a song.

Things I miss about Alaska.

1. Sound Off :  KSRM's daily call in radio program.  The content is really drivel and of course the same people call in all the time, BUT, it can be entertaining and sometimes semi educational. AND when Bob Bird and Jesse  Borkman go to moralizing the world there's something strangely rewarding in saying " I can't listen to that #%&*! anymore " and then turning it off..

2. Salmon :  I know, I caught enough of them for a lifetime so it's not that part...I guess it's just the value of it, the culture of it....it was my whole life. I miss handling it, eating it, talking about it....all of it. Sure could use a fillet or two if anyone can help.

3. Trusty Hardware : The worlds largest selection of Qwikfish Lures is a beautiful thing... And man oh man I could use me some large spools of line and a couple 3 dollar head lamps...Oh, and some discounted P-Line Lazer Minnows....

4 : Hobo Jim.....Damn that broke all of our hearts.

5 : Watching MP flit around in her greenhouses in the morning with her robe on.

6 : The Arthur clan and all our  friends .

7 : Being Alaskan....I'll stop with that one but you know being an Alaskan ( and I guess I always will be ) has a certain shtick to it. It's being a bit different, a bit independent, a wanderer , a risk taker...an Alaskan.

Lately I've learned a lot about ageing, looked it right in the eye. I have new hearing aids, gonna be 69 years old in a few days. My friends are dying. But this song that Toby wrote for Clint is my mantra. Ken Smith told me he's felt that way for years, it's the only way...there's only one direction and that's forward . That's why I'm here typing as I gaze out at the Little Belt mountains on the two year anniversary of our exit and then entrance from one life to another. Just another refuge searching.

Ooooooop's, we're baaaaack !

 Well, I have to apologize, that's the longest I've ever gone in my years as lead writer at Mile 14 without a submission. I'd tell ya the dog ate my homework or that I had a baby and have been busy but....well, some of that is true. MP is in her 3rd week of knee replacement rehab. It's kind of a teamwork deal so it has been busy. This surgery has been like a miracle. We thought her first knee went really well but this one is incredible, she's off the cane now and real soon we'll be hiking and talking and holding hands just like always. It's good....And then Ernie drove over to fish and visit for a while and I learned a lot about time management and this new retired life of mine....I can still put em to sleep..

And fishing, well we've done a little for sure. Now this ain't the biggest Wally in the ocean but It's my first ever and without Ern showing me how to rig the bouncer to let the bait trail and to find them on the machine ( without just crowding next to the best boat on the Lake ) I'd say it's an achievement and the start to great things and dining. It looks to me like we're going to have to get busy. As good as the white meat looks on those Wally's we're gonna need 42 of them per meal.

I was in need of leadership and Keith gave me some good advice....he said it's like salmon fishing, if you can use bait do it because it's always better with bait. Although their brains are miniature it's not hard to tell real live squirming worms and leeches from plastic. So me and Ern go for a hike after a nights rain and the crawlers are every where, and free. Fish on, all kinds. And I learned you need to keep them healthy and fresh, ol slimey likes his wigglers wiggling .

Of course those are Big mouth Bass, I like that better than ' largemouth Bass ' . We also caught us a bunch of little panfish called Pumpkin seeds. People say they're excellent table fare and the volume equation is about 87 per meal....no worries.

That trout that Ern is holding was caught on the groceries as well. Mmmmm I began to notice as the week went on that after spending an entire social security check on crankbaits and plugs we ain't caught a fish on them lately...OK, it's the simplest of explanations - with all fishing you only catch them on what you're fishing with and where you're at. Great wisdom huh ?

And even Tom Beneventi can catch em when you got the right fresh wiggler in the right place. I didn't mean to infer that he's not a great fisherman, but you decide. How many fishermen do you know who's favorite lure is a Daredevil ( I didn't even know they still built them ) and when he casts the Daredevil it looks a bit like Bruce Jenner throwing the Shot Putt.

I hate to use up the ' we didn't catch any fish...but...) photo's but we are getting some incredible nature. Yup, the Deer will climb a mountain to drink and the Eagles here are to far from the dump to commute so they fish pretty darn good.

It's been rainy and on those days me and Ern just kinda ' get around' . I wanted to go to Toston on the Missouri where my Dad used to take me trout fishing. We would go to a place where there was a big round spring with crystal clear water and a bank lined with watercress. It was about 100 feet around and the outfall ran under the railroad tracks and then just a short distance into the river. We would see large trout that had found their way into the spring and were impossible to catch as the water was so clear that you just couldn't trick them. Well after a absence of 50 years it was difficult to find and was farther down the rutted road than I thought but we finally found it...the area is just gorgeous and the geology kind of unique.

So I tell Ern " yahoo we found it ".....there's sign...And the sign tells you about the 1995 ' Big Springs Spawning Channel Project " .....gawd...no big clear watered hole. Just a channel exactly one back hoe bucket wide that runs parallel to the river for fifty feet or so with a kind of oily looking swamp water effect. Ahhhhh, to improve on mother nature, genius. Oh and you can kind of tell by the sign and the over all use or lack of at the area that the project is just a stunning success, or not.  There ain't a sign in Montana safe , the shot gun hole is the best on this particular sign.

Oooooop's , I told myself I'd quit being so critical of fisheries managers, I gotta relax that deal....but it's just sooo easy. Sorry Montana F.W.P. , ( fish wildlife and parks ) 

On the business side of Mile 14 : I'm flattered that so many people are entertained by my ramblings. I'm really sorry the blog languished a bit bit I WILL get 2 post's a month done . Ern is leaving in a couple days and me and MPeasy are going on a maiden voyage of our new Cab over camper. It should be blog worthy as we're either going to love camping or she'll go crazy in the close quarters with me and stab me with a butter knife while sleeping....guess we'll see.

By Catch

 Spring has been slow to come here in Moooontana. But finally we got us the storied non freezing nights and 60 to 70ish days so we just got done with our first two days of chasing. Every fishery has a rumor mill and I'm sure this one's alive and well, I'm just not connected to the coconut telegraph here like I have been in Mexico or  Alaska. I just gotta meet the right people, the guy that knows the guy that knows....So in my search for Wally's, the southern Halibut I have to rely on what Keith tells me and You Tube video's.  I start on a point, 12 to 16 ft. of water . I got live bait and the Berkley flicker shad as well as a Hot an Tot and Medium diver Chartreuse plug. We troll 3 minutes and one of the 4 rods goes off.  The fish is heavy and fights pretty good at first and then kinda lays down like I've been told the Wally will do. I'm excited, my first Wally .....turns into a trout,, but a nice one.

mmmm....it's on the chartreuse Wally plug so I cut out the Hot N Tot and put on another Wally plug. In another ten minutes MP has another but bigger trout to the boat. So, I change out once again and now I have all plugs out one of which has been hanging in my garage peg board for 25 years that a customer gave me because it said ' salmon on it. The third fish comes to that plug and I'm kinda dumbfounded, do you suppose these trout will eat anything ?

So having 3 or 4 to the boat and several misses in less than an hour guide # 003 decides to take my own advice that I offered to the young guys time and time again on the world famous " do what you do and always trust your own intuition "....So, next thing you know I'm salmon fishing again. MP and I decide to run just three rods ( in this place you're allowed 2 a person , I know that seems strange but what isn't around here ) and I'm pulling all salmon plugs, Hot Shots , Mag Lips , Tadpolly's and my best catcher turns out to be a gold Wiggle Wart just like the one I snipped off Herb Good's line at Stewart's Landing Boat Launch 40 years ago.  ( and that's another story ) . As the years went on we used them for trout when the beads and flesh flies weren't working so I shouldn't have been surprised. And lucky me, I got boxes full of them.

So eventually we get down to fishing just two rods and have many trout to the boat that are 3 pounds. Even on the world famous that would be a pretty good two hours of fishing. Of course we all know MP being the original mind wanderer is usually only good for a couple of hours so we're getting ready to call it quits and have a beer at the 19th hole. Here's another typical.

As I'm putting the gear away a boat pulls up kinda close and wants to talk, get a fishing a report. I tell them they gotta get closer because I left my earing aids at home. They've got a brand new boat and when I tell them I don't have the foggiest idea what I'm doing they say they don't either. But I report there seems to be a lot of fish around and they're only down about 10 feet and they love Alaska salmon lures. I offer to give them some but they say they got a Qwikfish or two and some Lazy Ikes. 

Being a little compulsive ( I like that description a lot better than using the word ' anal ' ) it takes me a bit to clean all the lures off and put them nicely away, dried off of course. Then I gotta lock the rods into the rod holders so they sweep back behind the boat and look cool when I run back. Just as I leave I look over and snap this pic with the telephoto....they catch a  nice trout and I watch them release it. I idle within ear shot and tell them I'll have the pics for sale in the lobby this evening.....they say " we'll see you then "......this is kinda fun.

And it's BEAUTIFUL

 

 

Invasive Species ?

 His world had gone from sailing ships

to raking mom's backyard.

He never could adjust to land

although  he tried so hard.

We were both growing older then

and wiser with our years.

That's when I came to understand the course his life still steers....

                                 Thank you  Jimmy Buffet

Where do I start ?  Well....I used to trap this 

And now.... I trap this

I thought Beavers were a pain is the ass until I got to really liking the beautiful mature landscaping here at Mile 14 south. These Gray Squirrels they tell me are invasive and let me tell you....there's lots of them. Being a guy that's killed just about enough stuff for one lifetime I've been relocating them, so far 4 family units worth and counting.  Single handedly I've jumped the numbers up in the little  town of Rimini enough that I'm afraid somebody will see me and punch my lights out, afterall, it is Montana. Yikes, here I am, after invasive fish, trapping invasive rodents...I'll tell ya what's invasive...ME ! Here's a pretty cool pic of me releasing one to his new home so he can reunite with his sister squirrels that I took there last night. Boy howdy they sure run like they're on fire when you let em go.

Now, where I come from they think Pike are invasive and god help ya if you if you get any Elodea or Pike in your favorite  fishing lake....but squirrels ?  I don't know, does anyone really believe that someone somewhere in time that was moving to Montana from Missouri said  " ya know honey, lets make that place a little more like home ands take a few of them Gray Squirrels with us " .  I don't think so.  So, having seen the sun set a few times I'm convinced that no matter what or where it is that this invasive species deal is phoey, bunk, B.S... It's all a big make work project for the ' scientist's '  If  they didn't want Walleye in the Missouri river they shouldn't have let the other ' scientists '  Dam the entire river up. And if somebody could convince me that these mysterious ' bucket biologists ' we hear so much about are responsible for all these invasions then I might become one myself....We need something with a bit more tug around here, maybe some Skamania variety Steelhead. I mean if we're gonna sponsor an invasion let's at least think about....do ya suppose those Zebra Mussels could be sautéed with a nice garlic rue ?.....okay, heard enough , right ?

So for Wally's I'm investing. I got jigs in all sizes with and without stinger hooks. I got lead for Lindy riggin that goes from 1/16 th of an ounce all the way up to 2 ounce. I've got the funkiest sinkers that have a coat hanger sticking out of them and Ernie says I need a thing called and Erie Dearie.  And scents....you know I believe big time in that. I got me some anise water soluble spray with instructions to ' apply liberally ', well that's music to my ears . But before adulthood my bait was strictly organic. I'd let them sardines just juice and juice away until opening the cooler for a new bait could wake up a snoozing fisherman. I was kinda surprised when I broke camp that nobody seemed to want that Igloo cooler, jeez...Now that's fishing...

And the wildlife here...the uninvasive that is or would the word be unvasive ?  In any case, we got lots to see. But instead of this

we got this....same thing but different

We'd go sailing back on Barkentines

and talk of things he did

Tomorrow was just a day away 

for the Captain and the kid

 

I'm just missing one thing....

 and that's EXPERIENCE....and I ain't got none of that on my new pursuit to  feed the Mile 14 staff here at the mid-america Bureau fresh caught Walleyes that are purported to be the best table fare available in these parts. I've been watching YouTube video's and Keith Holtan who's caught as many Walleyes in his life as he has salmon shared some tips with me on how to get started. So please any of you that know the way please chine here after you look at what I got and what I ain't....I need all the help I can get.

Organization ✔

Hard Baits ✔

Soft Baits and jig heads ✔

Rapala's ✔  this is a tuff one. I only got a few and people just rave by their effectiveness . Keith told me that when a certain model came out they were in so demand that resorts in Minnesota rented them out.. I don't know an X-rap from a blasting minnow so...I got just a few that were in my Dad's tackle box  I'll pull them around while I do some old fashion Sea Gulling as we call following and copying other anglers like happened to me for years on the world famous. And oh....they're really expensive so I guess the message to the person that lets me live here is this.....we gotta start over , her friend Connie calls it ' shooting the locks off your wallet '. 

Boat ✔ did I ever tell you that this is the 7th boat of my life ?

Luck, Moe Joe, Momentum ✔ I've always been pretty good with that part and of course a little common sense will help...fish where the fish are, right ?

Research ✔  mmmmm...well.....the other day as I was out Sea Gulling right after Ice out I can't help but notice boats in our closes Lake , lots of boats.  It's connected to the Missouri system and is real shallow and the water warms first I would guess. I know they catch Walleye at the opening to this lake so it stands to reason that in the spring the fish migrate there to spawn.... But, and this is a big but, I  run into this sign that kinda puts me in a predicament , I ain't never seen anything like this in my nearly 69 years on the planet.

Yikes....it's kinda like the warning about Great Lakes Salmon ' quit eating it if your lips start tingling '. So my strategy is to fish upstream and get the Walleye as they head to this area...and besides after looking at the water real good I just can't do that to my new favorite boat's water pump. To say the least the water is ahhhh...thick, even cruddy and well you can read.

So here's pic of our new house I took the other day so you can see what life is like here in our new era. I like it.

And when people come over, and I hope they do, the first thing they see is this. It's about us, our coat of arms so to speak. Thanks baby for the art, let's go fishing !

Lets Re Set

 Before we jumped the jet for Moootana we were having supper with old friends who in this strange covid era had other health problems as well as difficulties getting their usual place to stay in Mazatlan.  Feeling just tired they told me and MPeasy that they being in their seventies were thinking that this was probably the last year for them in Mazatlan. They'd been coming for over 30 years and  were talking about pulling the plug....yikes...They love Mazatlan, who doesn't ?  So , I encouraged them to not be hasty and think it over, maybe all we really need is a reset, ya know, kind of start over . I told them that for us that I feel like somebody kinda stole two years of our lives. I know we can't get any of that back so maybe rather than slow down our goals and adventures what we really need to do is stomp down on the gas pedal a bit. And that's what we're doing....By the time we left Mazatlan our friends agreed to see us in MZT for another supper  in less than a year 😎

So that's the plan....what we really need are first's and not last's...Just yesterday I trimmed my first ever hedge, now that ain't a fun or adventuresome thing but...hey, it's new to me and me and MP had fun working together on it. This years first's,  and we'll see how many we make, I hope all and more.

1. My first Walleye's. I made that plural cuz I'm intending to learn that deal and you know me, when I do it will be like a Space X launch. Every ardent fisherman I know speaks about or knows about those fish so there must be something to it.

2. Our first drive to Mazatlan. Next fall we're road trippin for sure. Last year we came close with a trip to Green Valley AZ but next season we're going all the way...We'll stop and get our Mexican insurance and our FMM and our T.I.P. and enough cold Coca Cola's to give for propina's to every toll collector we meet along the way. 

3. Our first lower 48 salmon. Yup, they got em down here to and if we had to list what we miss about Alaska I guess eating, catching, talking and smoking salmon would be number one. They got em close by and I know how to get em.

4. MP's first Mariner game ( I've been to just one ) . They spent some money after coming so close last year we gotta go see it up close and personal. We'll get out to Seattle and visit all our friends in Squim and then grab Samuel John King and get us some of those right field baseline seats on a Thursday night game that starts at 6:00.  Pass the garlic fries !

5. My first real musical gig. Now I've played music for hundreds of people and even in a few fairly large venues but I'm feeling like I can do some good and of course have some fun. The Senior facility that MP's mom was at was looking for somebody to come in and play for the residents and I think I'm just the right guy...Not going to effect my tax situation but I'd bet ya I can get some cookies out of the deal.

So you get the idea. Speaking of music, here's a song I just love. The lyric is so simple that it's pure genius. It's what all of us older people in the new covid world are kind of feeling. The song was on the soundtrack of the movie Crazy Heart . Somebody told me one time that I reminded them of  Jeff Bridges character in the movie, well I don't think that's true but if loving that music is a reminder well then maybe it is. It's written by Ryan Bingam. 

In one month I'll have the new suspension in my old white truck so we'll have the camper on and ready to race. The ice is just about all out on the lakes so I'll get the boat over from HamBone and be out pretty soon. and I will, I really will do at least a couple posts per month, just squeezed in under the wire this month but hey, it's been busy. Hope ya all come back !

Fat Tuesday

 As you know, Mazatlan has the third biggest pre lent Carnaval in the world only behind New Orleans and Rio De Janiro. We've gone to the parade on Fat Tuesday every year since we've started coming to Maz. But there seems to be a view in the gringo community that the crowds are huge and unsafe and there's pick pockets and thieves preying on the unsuspecting....I won't say if that's true or false, I'll just say we go every year. As we walked out of the building on our way to the bus we bumped into a couple of friends who saw the folding chairs and beer cooler and said " oh, you're going to risk it "? Well....mmmm....what the real risk is in not going. What you risk is becoming an old cautious ' watch it on TV ' kind of couple and me and MPeasy ain't headed in that direction. Here's my favorite float of the night

The celebration like everything here  so family orientated. Every year we get adopted by a family that we end up sharing some real estate on the sea wall with. So here is pic of our new friends from 2022 who we had cheeto's in pepper sauce with and shared many a chuckle...Pura La Vida my friends.

I really didn't get the electro shock deal until the young guys who gave it a try went into hysterical laughter. Yup, at Carnaval you can  buy just about anything including getting hooked up to a car battery for 2 minutes. Me and their mother were watching with kinda ' I can't  believe this ' curiosity when they get the Mom to join hands left and right to complete a circuit ...she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as the young guys.

Parade food is outstanding and most everything comes with some kind of pepper sauce. A big thing is simply opening a bag of chips or better yet Dorito's and pouring your chile pepper sauce in . Kinda messy but it's sooo good.  I'd of jumped on this guys Tamales if I hadn't just woofed down a bacon wrapped hot dog with chili/mayo and grilled onions.  When it comes to protection from this pandemic that's changed all our lives you can't have to much. I got him to pose for this pic and it's typical, everyone is so engaging and fun.... I like that real good. And oh...he had free Wi Fi.

Now speaker scooter man took up  some real estate near us and we were liking him pretty good even if he was the loudest thing in ear shot...and that's saying a lot. But he just rested and recharged then moved along to continue what we know about Carnaval...you can be any thing or anybody you want. He was obviously a gadget guy, coolest watch I ever seen.

This new Lumix camera of mine is good for fishing as it's waterproof and shockproof but for quality shots I'm not so impressed.  My 'good' Lumix that died had a telescoping lens and low light sensors which took cool night shots....So these float pictures are a little disappointing but trust me, the floats are huge and each tows a generator for music and lights, very spectacular. This years Parade theme was Countries around the world or something similar.We had Marilyn Monroe in the smoke and the Beattles playing ' A Hard Days Night '....and a Mazatlan Venado ( Deer ) that shot confetti out of it's mouth.

So you're thinking " he ain't got no fish pics this edition ".....WRONG. I gotta tell ya about our new friend Dave. He's been fishing in front of the house here for a couple weeks . He sits in a fold up chair and has a cart for his stuff and mostly bait fishes although he keeps another spinning rod ready to cast with....but I'd never seen him use it. well the other morning I was casting long and hard because on several occasions I had seen the close white water ' get nervous ' with that tell tale that signals Robalo are chasing bait onto shore. So Dave gets out of his chair and grabs his spinner and on about the third cast he's on...He hollers, the fish jumps, I put my rod down and grab the gaff just in case and before you know it he tows this beauty up the beach....it's the magic of fishing. It was his last day in Mazatlan and the biggest Snook he'd ever caught or even seen. He was soooo excited and I was sooooo happy for him.  Well done Dave when you read this....and you flat  out earned that fish ....that's why we do it 😎