Welcome to Montana!
And, the valleys where the Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Ruby rivers come together to form the Jefferson.
It's an extremely..." Magical Place"
A place where free spirits still run free, unfettered by the clutter and ticking clocks of society.
A place where overcrowding means a cattle drive slowing the already slow traffic through the middle of town, prompting friends to stop for a relaxed drink in a local bar.
An environment where mother nature knocks at your door and says " come on out, it's time to play", or "you better stay in today because I'm in no mood for your infringment".
A locale where "the impossible" exists,... because "we" simply can't comprehend the alternative constraints.
A venue that entices friends to go out in the evening and peruse a snowfall like hatch of aquatic insects, while eyeing the water for telltale riseforms from a bridge, and finalizing the mental mapping for the next mornings fishing.
The normal time clock that governs fishing, hunting, visiting here, or living here, fades away unless one can't seem to notice their own biological clock ticking away, reminding us that every second spent in this amazing place is important, and possibly life changing, in that a more important sense of time, space, and purpose of being, exhibit themselves, asking us to take a more careful look at the passing of time, and its' relationship to the adopted reality forced upon us by that so-called " outside world" with its' self imposed digital sundial.
This valley where the Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Ruby rivers converge to form the Jefferson river, has a clock which is owned and operated by its' first residents, the Sun, Moon, Moose, Elk, Deer, Bear, and... yes, even the Fish. Telling us we need to be more understanding and tolerant of their time clocks, the heck with ours, we need to fit in, we're the newcomers who need to be able to play at a rate of time that coexists with the wildlife and natural world we wish to experience and interact with.
This new "sense of time" is what prompted me to build a bamboo flyrod that thumbed its nose at the traditional "ways and techniques" of construction. The "rules" were all broken, the books all burned, adherance to the past was flushed, forgotten, avoided, eradicated. The new clock had taken over. I realized a need for a bamboo rod that weighed less and had exceptional power to cast when natures clock was telling me to "pack it in", "tuck my tail between my legs and go running", "it's windy and raining,... go home"!
There were many days when natures whims won in the beginning, but understanding that the laws of physics are based upon natural phenomenon, the clock came more into focus, and the equillibrium of the time versus physics equation,... and fishing itself,... fell slowly and predictably, more fully into its' place, with natures timing, and a natural progression in the world of bamboo rods.
Time was now more equal between the fisherman and nature. Long days on the river were more pleasurable in all but the worst situations. Days of sore elbows and bruised egos are all but gone with respect to bamboo rod performance. It is ultimately still bamboo, just... Faster, Lighter, Stronger, and "it's now... time to go fishing".
If you plan to come for a visit. Please visit the Ruby Valley Inn pages. A fantastic, comfortable, very western fishing environment, with demo rods. Truly an amazing taste of Southwest Montana, with the Ruby, Beaverhead, Big Hole and Jefferson rivers only 10 to 20 minutes away, you're positively in store for a treat you'll surely enjoy!
©2005Beaverhead Rods LLC. - Site design and maintenance - Wayne Maca