It's true. The caddis are just starting on the Lower Madison and this post spawned buck was kind enough to eat a pupa I threw at him. I did see some fish on the emerging caddis but with high sun and the wind blowing an easy 30mph, I just couldn't get it done and honestly; there are too many days in the year to feel the need to punish myself in those kind of conditions. Give it a week and I bet you'll see the kind of hatches the Madi is known for where you're afraid to open you mouth for fear of eating a heaping helping of bug protein. We usually call it the Mother's Day Caddis Hatch but this year I think mom might get her present a few weeks early.
So with the wind blowing like it was, I decided to take the .22 for a walk in my favorite little whistle-pig wallow. The problem is, when I got there, there was a sign at the gate getting onto the state land stating there was a "Public Use Restriction." As I looked down the sheet it also stated there was to be no "Recreational Shooting." The reason give at the bottom just said, "Cattle."
That really ticks me off. We pay for the up-keep of state lands through taxes. We pay for the fences and cattle guards. We pay for the noxious weed control. We pay to restore the banks on the rivers when the cattle destroy them and we pay for each of those cattle getting killed by lions, bears, and wolves because they can't fend for themselves on our lands. And in return, we get pennies per head as a lease for their cattle destroying our public lands. And now, we can't even use our public lands in a legal manner? That's bull shit. I'm sorry but it is.
Keep 'em where they live...
Sorry, I flew off the handle a little bit but it is frustrating and I know a lot of ranchers that allow public hunting and there does seem to be some reciprocity in those cases but a lot don't and we really don't have a say in their leases they have with either the state or the feds. It just seems like there is less and less land to hunt and to shoot and it's not because of the bleeding hearts out there. It's because some folks want to secure as much of the public lands as they can for their own benefit and we, as sportsmen, take the hit. I don't want Montana to end up like Colorado or Texas where you have to be rich to hold a lease just to hunt. I want us to have the public lands to use responsibly and not be told we can't because it's not in the best interest of a few ranchers.
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