Guide “Dirty” Mike Elliott fishes under a rainbow on the Madison River.
All photos by Tim Savard, Savard Hospitality Consulting
My friend Tim Savard had a long career as a photojournalist before he and his wife Lisa (with whom I went to middle school) built Lopstick Lodge into a first-rate fly-fishing destination on New Hampshire’s Upper Connecticut River. They sold the business last year and moved to Montana’s Rock Creek Valley, southeast of Missoula, full time.
This Henrys Fork. rainbow, caught by Pete Ingraham, measured a tick under 23 inches.
Although they checked out of the day-to-day life of running a lodge, they’ve kept a hand in the business through their new venture, Savard Hospitality Consulting, in which they share their knowledge of what it takes to run a successful fly-fishing business. As part of this new gig, Tim has started taking tons of photos again, and they reflect a love of the Montana landscape and an eye for composition that should make any fly fisher sit up and take notice. After seeing these images regularly on his Facebook page, I asked Tim if I could share some with you, and he graciously agreed.
Fall colors start to light up the Madison Valley.
Although they travel all over the state, the Savards love their home water, Rock Creek, best.
The end of the road in Harrison, Montana, with the Tobacco Root Mountains as a backdrop.
Dirty Mike with a bruiser of a rainbow from the Madison.
Lisa Savard casts a Spruce Moth on the West Fork of the Bitterroot.
Cattle and color near Jefferson, Montana.
That rainbow on the Henrys Fork made the trip. I was very lucky to have Tim along to photograph the beast – otherwise folks would think I was stretching the truth…..
Fires me up. Leaving Saturday to fish the Madison in the park. Fall runups. Can’t wait to get there. Two weeks of Shangri La