PRATICAL TIPS FOR MAKING A GOOD CHOICE

Choosing a Fishing Lodge

So, you’ve finally decided to take that fishing trip of a lifetime--to Alaska, Canada, Patagonia, the Caribbean or another exotic location. Now, be sure you choose the right lodge.

The cost is always key, of course, but hardly the only concern. Regardless of your passion--bonefish, tarpon, muskie, salmon, monster rainbows or pike, whatever--you don’t want your long-awaited (and deserved, right?) vacation to turn into a stressful and costly disappointment.

If you’re a do-it-yourself type of guy, this column isn’t for you, but if you decide to stay at a fishing lodge and have a guided adventure, finding the right outfitter and avoiding problems along the way can be challenging. I’m hardly an expert, but I’ve stayed at a dozen or more lodges through the years.  Along the way, I’ve picked up a few tips that might be helpful.

MICROBREW MONTANA

First Brewers Octoberfest a Hoppin’ Good Time

For craft beer lovers, Bozeman was rocking Friday night, October 23, when about 900 people crowded into exhibition buildings at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds for the first-ever Octoberfest sponsored by the Montana Brewer’s Association (MBA).

All seventeen brewery members of the organization were on hand featuring their favorite brews, 54 choices in all, and since I was among the 900, I can testify to the fact that the crowd loved every minute--and every ounce--of it.

SASKATCHEWAN FISHING LODGES

Foster Lake Lodge, Five-Star Dining Spiced with a Little Fishing

After visiting about a dozen fishing lodges in northern Saskatchewan, we’re starting to notice a lot of similarities, especially the fishing and environs, but we had no problem seeing how Foster Lake Lodge stands apart from the rest.

The lodge is located on Middle Foster Lake, which is just another amazingly pristine wilderness lake loaded with lake trout and northern pike, but the only lodge on this sprawling shield lake is like no other fishing camp or resort in the province.

BEAVER CREEK BREWERY ROCKS

Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door in Wibaux, Montana

Have you ever tried to convince yourself that you had a bad idea; that wouldn’t turn out as planned; might even be dangerous; and definitely wouldn’t be fun.

That’s how Gene Colling and I were feeling as we inched into Wibaux, Montana. We were on our way to Minnesota for some muskie hunting, and I’d convinced Gene we should take the opportunity to see the only microbrewery I hadn’t visited while doing my Microbrew Montana Series last year.

He agreed, somewhat reluctantly, and I had to admit, the first impression wasn’t great. Wibaux, population 481, like thousands of small prairie towns, looks a little rough around the edges as it tries to find a way to survive.

But those concerns vanished as soon as we walked through the door of the Beaver Creek Brewery.

NOT FOR THE LIMP-WRISTED AMONG US

Muskie Hunting for Beginners

If you’ve spent your outdoor life with flycasting for trout or chasing elk out here in the New West, you might be asking: What’s a muskie?

Steelheaders might object to this answer, but to me, the muskie could be the ultimate freshwater game fish. It’s sort of like the great white shark of freshwater, a mythical and mysterious apex predator that fascinates us--some of us, at least, those of us with a fishing problem.

Catching a muskie has always been on my life list, and this was the year I decided to do it, but it didn’t quite turn out as I expected.

YOU CAN'T KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS SECRET

The Other Libby

When you hear the word, Libby, what do you think?

Not good, eh?

The micropolis of far northwestern Montana makes a lot of headlines, but it seems like it’s never good news.

When I bring up the subject down at the coffee shop or taproom, most people start talking about asbestos, the corporate greed of W.R. Grace, and people gradually dying because of it…or about a remote timber town swamped in the wake of the implosion of the wood products industry, closed mills, unemployed loggers…or about red-necked, AR-15-toting, arch-conservatives hiding out in remote cabins, driving around in camo-colored Jeeps, scouring the skies for black helicopters….or an Appalachia-esque community fraught with economic despair that doesn’t welcome outsiders.

SASKATCHEWAN FISHING LODGES

Twin Falls Lodge, A River Runs Through It

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”

That’s Norman Maclean’s frequently quoted brilliance from his book, A River Runs Through It, and what you can’t help thinking about when staying at Twin Falls Lodge in northern Saskatchewan.

It isn’t Montana’s Blackfoot River Maclean made famous, but the mighty Churchill River, which flows freely through a series of sprawling lakes long-gone glaciers gouged out of the Precambrian Shield. These lakes essentially become wide spots in the river. The Cree name for the river is Missinipe or Great Water, and I couldn’t imagine a better description.

PARADISE FOUND

Cycling Kootenai Country

Attention road cyclists. Where can you ride 90 miles straight on smoothly paved, pothole-free roadways; almost devoid of motor vehicles; all lined with fantastic scenery, but no fences, telephone poles, or buildings?

We cyclists all know the answer to that, right? Not many places. But I found one right here in northwestern Montana.

Having been an avid cyclist for decades, I'd frequently heard about the terrific cycling opportunities in Kootenai Country, but for some reason, I never made time to experience it. I finally had my chance this summer.

ROADHOUSE REBORN AS BISTRO

The Not-So-Dirty Shame Saloon

For decades I've been hearing about the Dirty Shame Saloon in Yaak, Montana. Some of the stories I heard sent a shiver up my spine and made it sound like one of those rowdy roadhouses of the Deep South where hippies entered and never were heard from again. It is, so the stories go, the type of establishment non-locals might want to avoid, especially if you're decked out in Lycra, and if you dare enter, don't accidentally have eye contact with the wrong person or his girlfriend.

Finally, at least two decades late, I had my chance to check it out, and it was almost a disappointment to learn that, nowadays, the most dangerous thing in the Dirty Shame Saloon is Double Haul IPA.