Monday, May 28, 2012

The Cheddar Biscuit!

In the Fall of 2007 I found myself at Magnolia Fest.  A four day long outdoor music festival along the Suwanee River in Florida.  I was there camped out with a dozen or so friends, listening to live music from the likes of Toots and the Maytals, Railroad Earth, Donna the Buffalo and many more.

As with any good camping trip of that size there must be several chefs.  One morning I was put in charge of breakfast and set out to make a Toad in the Hole.  For those of you that do not know a Toad in the Hole is a piece of toast with a hole in the middle and a fried egg on the inside.  that alone makes a fine breakfast but my goal that morning was to be a bit more creative.

I had the idea to fry one side of the egg and then flip it and throw some cheese on and another piece of bread to turn it into a grilled cheese(sort of).  The first few were a little rough around the edges but soon I mastered what became known as the Cheddar Biscuit.

Its been five years since then but it is still a staple to my camping breakfast menu.  I have made them for friends all over the country and even clients on the river.

The cheddar biscuit is very simple and that is the beauty of it.  You can add multiple ingredients to spruce or spice it up but I prefer mine simple.

Ingredients
Wheat bread
Sharp cheddar cheese
Free range eggs
Thick cut bacon
Salt and pepper







Butter

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A deLIGHTful Day!

The fishing over the past two weeks has been hit or miss.  With mostly sunny days and freezing or "just above" freezing nights the rivers have sustained a murky tint.  When a couple of cold nights backed up to each other the river cleared allowing a "summer like" feel to the fishing.  Clear waters and productive fishing were exciting while they lasted.

Last week I had the pleasure to take Riq De Paiva down the river.  Riq was a tarpon fly fishing guide in the Keys for 12 years and now is a professional photographer with multiple Saltwater magazine covers.  He is also a Pilot by trade.  I was put in contact with Riq through the Glacier Outdoor Center Fly Shop Manager John Mallison.  Riq lives in Kallispell and was in town and looking for some guys to take him out on the water.  In all the years Riq has been throwing a fly rod he had only once before targeted fresh water trout.

The three of us met in the parking lot of the Fly Shop and headed towards the river.  It was looking to be a beautiful day at the put in.  There was great clarity(6-7 feet) and not a cloud in the sky.  As John and I rigged our rods Riq made it clear he just wanted to shoot photos.  We encouraged him to throw a fly rod but he insisted on just taking photos.

Within the first hundred yards of the float we were into fish.  One fish actually came up and swiped at the bobber.  I started to throw my 3 weight with a dry and had some success.  While nymphing an eddie John hooked what we thought was a big Cuttie.  It turned out to be a 21 inch Bull Trout that ate a stone fly imitation.  Which is not that common.

As the fishing got better we got lazier.  We floated down river towards the take out fishing less and less and we finally put down the rods and sat back to take it all in.  It was a great opportunity to have Riq in the boat with all of his years of experience.  I hope that I get to "fish" with him again some day.

















All photos by Riq De Paiva.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Fishing Report 5/2/12





With most of the Flathead River System blown out, the fishing has been pretty absent.  High river levels and a complete lack of visibility has created a lot of time at the vise.  Fellow guide Adam Pate and I decided to see what the South Fork had going on since it is dam released.  We were treated to a beautiful float but the dam was releasing a lot of water so the fishing was still tough.

Using girdle bugs and a variety of worm patterns seemed to work well.  The fish we found were sitting in the slow water and no fish were found or seen in the main current.  I imagine most stonefly nymph patterns would work with enough patience and streamers might produce an aggressive cutthroat or a hungry lake trout.  When the sun came out some fish started to rise but very infrequently and most were dinks.  Small mayfly and midge patterns should show results.

I think the the South Fork is the way to go until we get some drier days and colder nights.

The Blackfeet lakes have been fishing well using scud patterns in a variety of colors under a bobber.  Slow stripping seems to work best.

Cheers

Above is a video Adam thew together from out first trip down the South Fork this year.