"Summer, how do I hate thee?"

[Whatever]

Let me count the ways!

You cannot find a campsite anywhere in Western MT right now. The tourons have invaded and occupied my ancestral homelands. Evidently, under quarantine, the thing to do is buy a boat, a motorhome and "escape". Between the jet skis, speed boats, water skiers, and the "splash and giggle" group, I am relegated to fishing the bigger (anything with a boat ramp) lakes for a few hours in the morning, or the last hour of daylight. I use my canoe on the smaller waters to escape the hordes, but that is discounted by sharing the water with all the other locals doing the same thing.

I am concerned that we will not get the Labor Day evacuation this year, as so many cannot go back to school.

The Chamber of Commerce has been advocating the "shoulder Seasons" to tourists for years. The shoulder season in Montana this year will fall on a 
Thursday.

[Sphynx]

12 minutes ago, Whatever said:

Let me count the ways!

You cannot find a campsite anywhere in Western MT right now. The tourons have invaded and occupied my ancestral homelands. Evidently, under quarantine, the thing to do is buy a boat, a motorhome and "escape". Between the jet skis, speed boats, water skiers, and the "splash and giggle" group, I am relegated to fishing the bigger (anything with a boat ramp) lakes for a few hours in the morning, or the last hour of daylight. I use my canoe on the smaller waters to escape the hordes, but that is discounted by sharing the water with all the other locals doing the same thing.

I am concerned that we will not get the Labor Day evacuation this year, as so many cannot go back to school.

The Chamber of Commerce has been advocating the "shoulder Seasons" to tourists for years. The shoulder season in Montana this year will fall on a 
Thursday.

I've always enjoyed MT, got room for one more? Lol

[papajoe222]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 'shoulder season?'

I can relate to your frustration. With only one or two exceptions, you've described the lakes in SE Wisconsin. There was a time not to long ago, that we only had to deal with the mayhem on the week-ends which was okay with me. Now, however, I'm limited to night fishing.

 

[Whatever]

Sphynx, come on over, you are welcome to camp in my pasture. And borrow the boat.

 

Papa Joe, "shoulder season" is the term the marketing fools (chamber of commerce) use to denote Spring and fall, rather than peak tourist season (JUN, JUL, AUG). Sep has always been my favorite month, as it cools off, fishing improves, the tourists are mostly gone, and the weather is usually good. Usually is not an absolute, as it starts snowing also. Mar and April are usually cold and wet, May can be great in a good year. When it is not cold and wet.

 

Does anyone in Texas need a roommate for the winter?

[BrianMDTX]

I have always wanted to visit Montana. It’s like my dream. 

 

BTW...I live in Texas lol. 

[Whatever]

I sense a relationship here, Brother!

(but our bass are dinks)

[Big Hands]

5 minutes ago, Whatever said:

Sphynx, come on over, you are welcome to camp in my pasture. And borrow the boat.

 

Papa Joe, "shoulder season" is the term the marketing fools (chamber of commerce) use to denote Spring and fall, rather than peak tourist season (JUN, JUL, AUG). Sep has always been my favorite month, as it cools off, fishing improves, the tourists are mostly gone, and the weather is usually good. Usually is not an absolute, as it starts snowing also.

Truth or fiction: I've heard that the locals refer to the tourists that show up in the shoulder season as 'newlyweds and nearly deads' ?

 

 

[Whatever]

Big Hands,

I am laughing as I have not heard those terms yet, but "tour-ons" (a tourist/moron cross) has been popular for years. My personal favorite has always been "weenies".  If we migrate south in the winter, we morph into snowbirds. As well as weenies and tourons.

I have done a fair amount of travel around the world, but never as a "Tourist". I have always been a "visitor".

Seriously, we all travel, and all fit into those categories at some point. Montana has no monopoly on clowns, and we export as well.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, Whatever said:

Montana has no monopoly on clowns, and we export as well.

Yup ~ 

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

I have not enjoyed the surplus of stupidity I've experience on the water this year. I've seen more "This could end up bad", situations on the water this year than I can remember in the last several years. Lots of way too small vessels on way too big bodies of water, even inflatables, usually with no pfds. Lots of people with no idea how to operate a boat, flying around the lakes putting other people at risk, it isn't even fun some days.

 

I was on the water for a quick trip yesterday morning when we had an extra body at work and I wasn't needed for my scheduled OT. Fishing the bathwater hot water, pea soup green with an algae bloom, cheese mats almost black and no signs of life in them, rods all over the deck, I found my mind wandering to colder, simpler times when I only needed 2 or 3 rods on the deck and fish jumped in the boat.

 

 

[BrianMDTX]

7 hours ago, Whatever said:

I sense a relationship here, Brother!

(but our bass are dinks)

But your elk, whitetails and muleys are not! 

[Whatever]

LOL. No, they are usually not. I watched 4 WT bucks cross the pasture last week, and although still in velvet. they all had good racks.

[Krux5506]

Same thing in NY. I only fish this time of year early mornings for a few hours then head back in when the boat traffic gets annoying. The dog days of summer is my least favorite time to fish. In the past couple years I've come to terms with it and just have kinda taken a break until the weather (and water) cools back down. 

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, Whatever said:

I sense a relationship here, Brother!

(but our bass are dinks)

We have a Montana member that catches bigger bass than I do in TN, he just sent me some pics of monster bass yesterday 

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, Whatever said:

LOL. No, they are usually not. I watched 4 WT bucks cross the pasture last week, and although still in velvet. they all had good racks.

I’ve watched too many Milk River videos lol. It’s become an obsession! 

[A-Jay]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I have no enjoyed the surplus of stupidity I've experience on the water this year. I've seen more "This could end up bad", situations on the water this year than I can remember in the last several years. Lots of way too small vessels on way too big bodies of water, even inflatables, usually with no pfds. Lots of people with no idea how to operate a boat, flying around the lakes putting other people at risk,

 

Blue you nailed what used to be my job description.

Except there was sort of a fun part - fixing it.

One Boatnick at a time. 

A-Jay

[Mobasser]

I hope to go to MT someday. I'd like to fish there. As far as dog days fishing, I really don't mind. Bass seem to be easier to.pattern and locate for me in the hottest months

[Koz]

I've been tempted to fish some of the bigger lakes this summer (Jocassee and Murray) but have opted for the smaller reservoirs where boating is limited to paddle power or trolling motors. We went to Table Rock State Park last Monday and my son and I were the only two kayaks on the water. We went to Croft State Park later in the week and their were only a handful of kayaks and boats on the water. The fishing wasn't great, but the weather was calm and sunny so we at least enjoyed our time on the water.

 

As for Montana, I was there once when I lived in Wyoming for a while. I remember driving across the state line and the highway sign said there was no speed limit but asked that you drive at a reasonable and prudent speed.

 

I think my idea of reasonable and prudent wasn't what they had in mind. ?

[Whatever]

28 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

I’ve watched too many Milk River videos lol. It’s become an obsession! 

Brian, you do realize that Milk River is not technically in Montana? We consider everything East of the Rockies as "West Dakota".

Edited July 28, 2020 by Whatever
message sent premature

[Born 2 fish]

9 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 'shoulder season?'

I can relate to your frustration. With only one or two exceptions, you've described the lakes in SE Wisconsin. There was a time not to long ago, that we only had to deal with the mayhem on the week-ends which was okay with me. Now, however, I'm limited to night fishing.

 

I hear you I live in Kenosha County it’s horrible.I just sold my boat so I’m boatless so now I’m stuck on shore for a while.

[Sphynx]

10 hours ago, Whatever said:

Sphynx, come on over, you are welcome to camp in my pasture. And borrow the boat.

 

Papa Joe, "shoulder season" is the term the marketing fools (chamber of commerce) use to denote Spring and fall, rather than peak tourist season (JUN, JUL, AUG). Sep has always been my favorite month, as it cools off, fishing improves, the tourists are mostly gone, and the weather is usually good. Usually is not an absolute, as it starts snowing also. Mar and April are usually cold and wet, May can be great in a good year. When it is not cold and wet.

 

Does anyone in Texas need a roommate for the winter?

Lol, naw, if I were to come to MT again I wouldn't even unpack my bass fishing gear, a once in a lifetime opportunity to hook into those trout out there would mean fly gear and spinning tackle for the days that are way too far beyond my abilities to cast with the present wind, MT has some phenomenal trout to catch and the bass out there would take a back seat to pike for non salmonid species since I've never lived where pike are and only fished Minnesota the one summer. 

[Bankc]

Make lemons out of lemonade.  Start up a fishing guide business!  Take your kayak, and make it a kayak fishing guide.  Lots of people have them now, and I can't say as though I've seen too many kayak fishing guides around.  Just take them on a river or small pond and show them around.  It doesn't matter if there's anything to catch.  You can blame it on all of the people showing up and fishing out the river or the weather or whatever.  They're tourists.  They wouldn't know either way.  Collect your money, invest it in new gear, and in a year or two when all of this is over and back to normal, you'll still be fishing that exotic, new fishing rod, handmade handmade by a blind monk in the far off mountains with an unpronounceable name.  That's how they do it in Maine, whose population is like 90% tourists in the summer, every year.

[gim]

10 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 'shoulder season?'

I thought he was talking about hunting season until he clarified.

 

Boat and RV sales here in Minnesota are at an all time high.  A lot of casual people have turned to the outdoors in an attempt to "socially distance" from others.  Unfortunately, when you get people that really don't know what they are doing, you can run into the problems that people have already stated.

 

The recreational traffic isn't anything new this time of year.  The pontoons, jet skis, wake boats, and tubers will fade away when the water drops below 70 degrees, which is usually around mid September.  I hate them just as much as the next guy but its something you just have to learn to expect and tolerate in the summer.

[Fin S]

Yeah, I've cut way back on fishing right now. It's just not as relaxing and enjoyable with all of the traffic. I try to take a weekday off every now and then, but it'll be October before things lighten up around here and I start hitting it hard again.

[NYWayfarer]

If possible I am on the water with my Kayak by 6am and off the water between 11am and Noontime.

 

This weekend I avoided a water skiing family on Saturday by leaving at that time. Their wake actually helped push me towards the exit ramp.

 

On Sunday while I was paddling to leave 2 groups of 3 kayak paddlers (no fishing gear) launched with no PDF's and as I was pulling my boat out of the water a guy with a  Jet Ski was preparing to launch. Glad I avoided that mess.