The Spring 2012 issue of Back Porch View, a self-published Bigfork quarterly, came out this week. On page 24 there is a good article by Sam Stone, owner of Valley Wide Seakayaking Adventures and native Montanan. The article is titled Farewell to an old friend:The end to fishing for bull trout in Swan Lake. The piece is a wistful look back at growing up angling for native fish in the Flathead Valley. It’s an article you really should read to help understand just what we have lost and what that loss means to those who were around to enjoy the truly unique fishery we once had.
The ones I remember the most were the huge, greenish silver fish old timers called “Dolly Varden”. They had a large broad head, and a toothy smile that certainly spelled doom for any smaller fish. Their thick solid bodies felt as though they were forged of steel. They were olive green in color, and their sides were speckled with pink spots. I was always left in awe after seeing the really big ones, and I promised myself then that when I got older I would catch one of these trophies for myself. Unfortunately for me as I did get older I witnessed the collapse of the salmon and bull trout fishery in Flathead Lake.
Sam recounts watching the decimation of native fish in Flathead Lake and the Flathead River System and the peace he knew because his treasured Swan Lake was saved by the closure of the fish ladder on the Swan River.
Some of my favorite memories are of the looks on my own children faces after landing a big Swan Lake “Bull” of their own. Women have this ability to perform various things about it, to give their organ greater stability. discount viagra usa This simply aids you in buy levitra uk http://greyandgrey.com/workers_compensation/ overall sexual function or satisfaction. Drink at least 8 glasses of water in super generic cialis a day. But simply coming across them doesn’t mean you should just rely on price for viagra 100mg these medications. Back Porch View
Sadly now, that fishery too has been sacrificed to the invading lake trout. Fishing for bull trout in the Swan is no longer allowed as their numbers plummet due to predation by nonnative lake trout.
I’m not sure that one can really say thank you, or good bye to a fishery, but I am going to give it a try. With that said, Thanks for all the memories, and farewell my friend, I hope to see you again.
It’s more important now than ever that we all do our part to help the conservation efforts. Please learn to distinguish our native Bull trout from Lake trout, and if you are lucky enough to find one on the end of your line please take great care to release it unharmed. ~ Sam Stone
