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Craig makes hay while the fish fly
CRAIG, Mont. (AP) The midafternoon heat is intense in this little town and the fishing is a little slow, but Mike Bushly is still upbeat.There's air conditioning inside The Trout Shop, an emporium loaded with cool fishing stuff fly rods, vests, waders, flies, ventilated clothing and a well-stocked deli offering drinks, sandwiches and chilled salads. Even the thick fleece-lined jackets have a perverse retail appeal.And Bushly has plenty more reasons not to sweat. The shop and the small community that surrounds it are awash in anglers ready to spend cold cash chasing big trout.This is our Christmas right now,'' Bushly said.While the stretch of the Missouri River between Holter Dam and Cascade lures plenty of Montanans through the year, the summer months bring anglers from all over the United States and around the world to the broad, cool river.A group of anglers from France just wrapped up seven days of fishing on the Missouri.
On Pine, trout still plentiful on hot days
WELLSTON -- The middle of a hot summer is not especially the best time for trout fishing. Still, four of us were virtually rubbing our hands together and snickering over our prospects as we launched the boat on the Pine River here in the early morning. It was completely overcast and even intermittently raining. The weather gods were smiling upon us. Or so we thought. But at 9 a.m, after two hours of fishless angling, we had to reassess our mindset. I was tossing big Rapalas -- No. 11s or No. 13s -- out of the front of the drift boat with Bob Fisher, who is soon to become the former co-owner of Baldwin Bait and Tackle. His soon-to-be former partner, Steve Fraley, was switching off rowing and throwing streamers from the back of the rig with his soon-to-be new partner John Karakashian.
Gearing up: It's tiny, light and casts well; whether it catches fish is up to you
At first blush, the Compact Pen-Sized Collapsible Fishing Rod and Reel from gofastandlight.com looks like something Ron Popeil would hawk on an infomercial. Though it costs about the same as the Pocket Fisherman (Pocket Fisherman is $20; Pen-Sized Collapsible is $19, including a choice of reels: spin, fly or casting), this tiny gizmo might really have some backpacking applications. We took it along on a six-mile hike into the Echo Lake chain and cast it a few times. It fits quite nicely into a pack, and the rod expands to 36 inches. It weighs only 2 ounces (about the same as nine quarters, according to a news release). Granted, this isn't something you're going to use at a Bassmaster's fishing derby, but its compact size and light weight underscore the company name: Go Fast and Light. Did we catch anything with it yet? Well, uh, no.
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