Fly Fish Montana ...

The lake trout, or mackinaw trout, comes in a wide range of colors, from gray to brown to dark green. The distinguishing feature is the light yellowish or white spots that cover the body, from head to tail, and dorsal and tail fins. The other fins are unmarked and lined with white. The tail is sharply forked.

Characteristics

The lake trout grows and matures more slowly than other fish. After one year they are about six inches in length and when mature range between 19 and 23 inches, usually at the age of four to five. Typically, lake trout run between 5 and 30 pounds. The world record is 72 pounds. The Utah record is 51 pounds, 8 ounces, and was caught in 1988 in Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Smaller lake trout make excellent meals. Larger fish tend to take on an oily taste.

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.

A Sound Sleep and a Single Fish

BLOOMINGTON, Md. I like a good sleep as much as the next man, but is even the soundest snooze worth a three-hour drive, particularly with gasoline at $3 a gallon?

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