July went by in a blur up here in Big Sky Country. Boots on the ground at the end of June, just in time to catch the mythical salmonfly hatch on a few of the famous Montana rivers, and the fishing lived up to the hype. I hooked the biggest trout of my life, again and again. Did I land all of them? Absolutely not. The first week, I didn't even have a net, and that cost me a few fish. I'd get them in right to my feet, getting a good look at them, but they'd break off as I'd try to hold my rod high and reach down to grab the fish, or, to be more honest, to fumble with my phone to try to snap a pic to taunt my friends. Angler of the Year, indeed. Seasoned guides will tell you that most fish are lost in the first 30 seconds of hooking a big fish, or in the last 30 seconds before landing it, and it's true from my experience. I'd say I landed less than ⅓ of the big trout I hooked into. Probably closer to ¼. Definitely made some mistakes trying to overpower a few of them, letting some get downstream of me in swift current, etc. Some of these trout are seriously wily critters. And I suppose they've got to be to survive in these wild ass Montana waters, with eagles and ospreys and otters and bears and such always trying to eat them, in addition to the Okie angler trying to take their picture to let his friends know he can outfish them any day of the year on any body of water.

So yes, the fishing has been fun. The weather has been interesting. Late June/early July was cool and rainy. Then it got hot. Real hot. There were 3 straight days where it was hotter up here than it was back home in Austin. Smoke from the fires in Canada and California rolled in, and there were some smaller fires burning closer that thankfully have been contained. But August still awaits, so everyone is hoping for cooler temps and more rain.

The shows have been good. Took a hot minute to get back into the groove of playing solo acoustic. My fingerpicking was rusty. Keys that I used to do some songs in no longer feel right. Some arrangements feel stale. So, adapt & improvise, right? Indeed. Finding the songs that connect with the crowd night after night is one of the more interesting challenges a folksinger faces playing for mostly tourists hellbent on beating the crowds into the national parks in the morning, or getting on the river before everyone else. I've been coming to Montana for 12 summers now, and its fascinating how the dynamics of the tourism industry work. We'll leave the anomaly of 2020-2022 aside for now, but every town I'm in, I take note of whether or not they have hotel vacancies and how many business have Help Wanted signs in the windows. 

Now here we are (or here I am anyway) it's the last day of July, I miss playing with my bands but I'm having a blast roaming around this big beautiful state, singing songs & fishing my tail off. August should be more of the same and as always, I'm grateful for this life and being able to do what I do the way I do it. I'll check in here again eventually, but as much as I hate to admit it, Instagram is probably the best bet to follow along with the action from home. Come find me @johnnydango, and I'll see ya on the river…