Last year, late June found me in Western Montana near Missoula. The owners of a private ranch on the Clark Fork River had commissioned me to make a series of paintings of the ranch and the water surrounding it. I was included in a week long fishing party.
       The fishing party was arranged by one of the partners of the ranch to entertain a group of anglers from Scotland. They proved to be wonderful people from various locations and social statuses. They were all passionate anglers and the entire week was filled with tall tales, hilarious jokes, crazy antics, lots of laughter and gallons of single malt scotch whiskey. We had exciting fishing too.
       The larger rivers in the area were all "blown out" from lots of rain, which meant that almost all of our fishing was on the smaller rivers and creeks. We fished the Upper Bitterroot, Flint Creek and especially Rock Creek. We did a lot of our fishing from inflatable rafts reinforced with metal frames and equipped with oar locks and seating to accommodate a guide and two anglers. Salmon Fly and Golden Stone Fly hatches were on during our stay and the juicy insects falling into the water had the trout in a feeding mood. Since the trout were looking up for floating food, we cast huge 2 and 3 inch long imitations of these insects as we drifted past the slower water behind rocks and along the banks. We were often rewarded with violent slashing strikes from Cutthroat, Rainbow, and Brown Trout.
       The scenery was incredible too. With all the early summer rain, Montana was as green as I've ever seen it. The watercolors that I did while I was there vibrate with the contrast of those bright and varied greens against the warm brown and violet cliff faces. We had a lot of sunny weather. The famous big blue sky and the deep blue of the rivers added to the vivid sparking quality of the paintings.
       Some of the Montana paintings were purchased on the spot by our host and his guests. Others are available here for sale. If you are interested in having me come to your favorite sporting destination to capture the landscape and the action, contact me so that we can arrange a trip.

See also, The Russia Paintings & The Bahamas Paintings