Files
Download
Download Piece Here (3.5 MB)
Date Range
Fall 2018
Contributor
Donald T. Austin
Description
“My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him all good things-trout as well as eternal salvationcome by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.”
Norman Maclean
Dimensions
36" X 18"
Exhibition
Faculty
Material
Digital Inkjet Proof; Images produced with iPhoto 7+ phone camera; Typography and layout produced in Adobe Illustrator
Place
Clark Fork River, Montana
Provenance
Columbus, Ohio
Time Period
Fall 2018
For Sale?
Yes
Recommended Citation
Austin, Donald T., "Montana Rivers 1" (2018). Don Austin - Be Well Out Here: The Big Go West. 21.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/bewell/21
Comments
During the last few days of October, I made a solo trip over to the Beaverhead Mountains with the intentions of catching a fish. I arrived at the junction of the Big Hole River and the Continental Divide near Wise River, MT greeted by a low overcast sky, 34º outside air temperature and a sustained wind of 25 mph… not what you would call ideal fishing conditions. I was already cold by the time I finished suiting-up into my waders and rigging-up my fly rod. I looked up and down the river and didn’t see another soul. I made a dozen or so casts with no results. I switched to a different fly. A dozen casts on that pattern produced the same outcome. My fingers started to get numb. I climbed back into the car and turned the heat on full blast while I drove to the next hole down the river. A few dozen more casts and a couple of different flies yielded yet again, zilch… not even a bump. Fishing is like that sometimes. I took a few photos just before darkness fell. It was then I became aware of how isolated I was in a setting that was simply stunning. For the past three hours, I hadn’t noticed any other vehicles on the road that ran next to the river. I decided to head back to Missoula for a room and the hopes that a good night’s rest would bring a nice rainbow the next day.