The Lakes around Marion, Montana

The new kayaks worked out really well up here.  We were able to use them on several lakes - McGregor Lake, Little McGregor Lake, Middle Thompson and Lower Thompson Lakes, and Little Bitterroot Lake.  McGregor and Little Bitterroot Lakes were the deepest at 250 ft or better at the deepest places!  McGregor is spring fed and the water is cold and clear.  We could see down to about 35 feet!  Next time we come here we should bring

snorkeling gear.

Steve jumps in McGregor Lake for a cool off dip on a hot day.  That's some cool spring fed water! 

It was even hot enough for Gari to get in the water!

Steve got cold and got out of the lake for a warm up on the dock.

There were a few fires in the region while we were here.  One was right across the lake from our RV Park.  We were never in danger, the firefighters were on these fires as soon as they were detected.  We watched for several days as the air assault drenched the fires with lake water.  Below is a view of the fire directly across from the dock.  That is too close for comfort!

We saw a seaplane and a old Huey helicopter working to fight the fires.  The seaplane flew right over the RV Park then cleared the trees on the bank of the lake by no more than 20 feet and dipped down to refill his water tanks, over and over again.

Getting close to the surface all the while watching out for pleasure boats!

Almost touching...

Contact! The pilot powered along like this for 10 or 15 seconds then started his pull up...

...and lumbering away under heavy load from the lake surface, the tanks in the pontoons spilling extra water on the way up.

Today is the helicopter's turn... here the pilot maneuvers the water bucket down to the lake surface.

After finding the target, the pilot releases the water load on the hot spot!

Gari gliding across McGregor Lake one perfect morning.

An early morning put in at Bosiverts Park on McGregor Lake.

Steve saddles up in the 10 foot Yak.

Steve leading the way out on McGregor Lake this morning.

Steve observing the Loons on the lake that morning.

Nice wild Rainbow Trout we caught that morning.  That was one delicious fish!

Little Bitterroot Lake was another very deep lake that was nearby.  We understand that Bitterroot is also over 200 feet deep in places.  We saw very few fishing boats, or boats of any kind for that matter.  The fishing boats that we did see were fishing with deep water down-riggers, but we didn't see anything being caught that particular day.  We understand there are some very large trout and salmon in Bitterroot Lake.  We trolled spoons and spinners that day and didn't get a single hit.  Nevertheless it was a gorgeous day on the lake.  Gari trolls along the west shore.

We paddled our kayaks over 6 miles that day.  We nearly paddled the length of Bitterroot Lake and back.  Steve keeps his socks on under his river shoes to prevent sunburn on top of his feet!

Gari paddles back to our put in site on Bitterroot Lake.  The trip back was a little up hill as you can see in the picture below.

The water in Bitterroot Lake was also crystal clear and cold.  You can see the rocks on the bottom in the picture below, which were in about 25 feet of water.

Little McGregor Lake.  This little lake was walking distance directly behind our campsite.  We walked to this lake many evenings after dinner.

Gari scores the first trout on Little McGregor Lake.  She works magic with the Money Clip spoon bait.

Looking east from the west end of Little McGregor Lake on a very still day.

The cliff wall on the north shore of Little McGregor.  This was a popular fishing spot and beautiful as well.

Kayak perspective looking east along the cliff wall.

There was a Loon pair that we saw most every visit to Little McGregor Lake, as well as heard their lonely calls at night.  This pair had a single chick later into our visit.  They wouldn't let us get close enough to the little one for a decent picture.  These are fairly large birds, their body's are every bit as large as a Canadian Goose.

Gari paddles out on Lower Thompson Lake.  These lakes were a little farther from our campsite, but we still fished here several times during our stay in Marion, MT.

We were told there was a gut that connected Lower Thompson to Middle Thompson Lake.  Of course we had to check this out.

We didn't know what wildlife we might see in the shallow wetland area, so we stayed close going through the gut.

Gari works her Money Clip spoon magic on Lower Thompson Lake.

A day of clouds in our coffee at Lower Thompson Lake.

Steve trolls two lines on Lower Thompson.

Gari catches fish on Lower Thompson.

A nice Cutthroat Trout caught by Gari on an F4 Rapala.  Steve caught a Northern Pike here on Lower Thompson, but didn't bring a picture.  We believe him, sure we do!