Moore Montana Property Mike Moore     Broker Ranches, Bare Land, Equestrian Properties, Recreational Vacation Properties, Residential, Land/Home Packages, Conservation Easements, Fishing/Hunting Properties, Commercial and Investment Properties, 1031 exchanges

Trapper Peak Bitterroot Range highest point

This news letter is designed from my perspective---If you enjoy the allure of a high alpine, wilderness basin,  the haunting melody of an elk bugle, a four pound, tail walking rainbow trout or the challenge of sleeping in a wall tent in a remote hunting camp---please read on.  I will try to keep you abreast of my activities as well as local area events on a monthly basis. 

Fall is the best time to be in Montana

 The Bitterroot Valley begins to shed it's drab summer wardrobe each Fall, beginning Labor Day and lasting 6 weeks.  As warm sunny days and cool crisp evenings replace the dog days of Summer, I have begun to think about putting the golf clubs away for another season, (yes, we play golf, seasonally in Montana. As a matter of fact it is not unusual to be able to play golf in Hamilton well into November, in most years).  Montana's archery big game season began  September 3 and ends this weekend October 16.  I was able to hunt during the peak of the rut and saw many nice bulls, got up close and personal with a few but  I did not harvest an elk.  I have heard reports of a large 360 class bull taken in the Sapphires and another "pretty good bull" taken on the West Fork of the Bitterroot.

"Gumbo, gumbo and more gumbo!" was all I heard from people that headed East for the Antelope opener last weekend.  Gumbo is a local term describing the clay soil of Eastern Montana after a rain.  It sticks to everything and can make travel on some back roads impossible.  I have seen it stick to antelope's feet and I often wondered how an animal so encumbered can move so fast over such uncertain footing.  Never the less, the antelope harvest success rate, from most reports, was down 20%-30% compared to lasts year.

The Bitterroot River is running very low, but in spite of lower than normal stream flows, many fisherman are reporting  success--Rainbows and Browns up to three pounds with an occasional fish topping five pounds.  The dry flies of choice are mahogany dun, blue dun, fall caddis, H&L variant, Royal Wolff and fall caddis.  When water temperatures dip below 50 degrees the fishing has proven to be a bit difficult and the fish less active.

Personally,  I am gearing up for the opener of big game rifle season, October 23.  My wife and I are packing a load of horse feed to our Elk hunting camp this weekend in preparation for the opening week.  Joining us on our yearly hunt will be our two sons, our daughter, and our son-in-law. We will be setting up two wall tents, packing in on horseback about 5 miles.  The camp is located about 1/2 mile from the nearest water source and one of the daily chores, in Elk camp is to saddle up the horses and take them to water.  Our "privy" is located just above a draw where deer and elk have occasion to pass through so don't forget to take your favorite weapon when you are taking care of business---just don't get caught with your pants around your ankles!