October is the month of letting go and surrendering. The days are growing quickly shorter and the year begins to taper off towards its end. By the time the month has run its course the beauty of early fall has passed and the days will often be grey and somber. Along the river bottoms the groves of cottonwoods stand bare and stark and the ground is littered with fallen leaves. The geese will be moving south from more northerly latitudes and they’re a good sign that the inevitable is at hand. Winter is long in this land and no matter what the calendar says it stretches from near the end of October into March.
By now splitting and packing in firewood is a daily routine. The garden is pretty much done except there are still some carrots in the ground and the kale and chard are still yielding fresh greens. But the watering is over. The soaker hoses are rolled up and put away to keep them from freezing. Now you take what you can get from rain or snow and what moisture the ground has retained. At some point manure will need be hauled and spread to refresh the soil for the next cycle.
The fish are on the move
October, however, if you are a fisherman, initiates a special time. It is the fall classic of fishing events; the spawning season for Brown trout. And that means big fish, likely the biggest of the season. In October and into November the Brown trout are on the move and the Rainbows follow them to take advantage of any spawn that might get caught in the drift. The Yellowstone River can be good. It’s close to home. But sometimes a change of scene is good and distant waters hold a special allure. There are noteworthy rivers in the Montana neighborhood that flow into large lakes. As a rule lakes grow larger trout and when they run up the rivers to spawn inordinate numbers of big fish can be found.
The crowds of summer fisherman are gone and the waters are left to the locals and a few traveling anglers “in the know”. But this can be fishing to test your mettle. It can be cold. It can snow. The wind can be icy. Cold feet, frozen fingers, ice in the rods guides, and ultimately shivering and chattering teeth are the norm. Frequent dashes to sit in your car with the heater blazing is part of it. Coffee from a thermos never tasted so good. If the fishing is slow nagging thoughts about how nice it would be with a book by the woodstove at home begin to invade your mind. And it grows difficult to summon the will to head out for a fourth or fifth trip. At least more so as the years go by.
Fall fishing can be cold
Fall fishing is hit and miss, trial and error. It necessitates moving around looking for concentrations of fish. But when you find them and score a few takes the cold and suffering absolutely evaporates and you are alive and fully living in the moment.
Getting out in this season is a good time to study the subdued colors and think about your palette differently. Being out is an opportunity to sneak about and eavesdrop upon some angler in an appealing composition with the camera. Hopefully there will be a winner or two for a fishscape.