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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast we are doing something for the first time ever! We are doing a Montana Outdoor Podcast Double Feature! That’s right, you will be able to watch and or listen to two different podcasts this week. This half of of our Double Feature is all about Region 2, located in the central part of Western Montana. Rigger heads to Missoula to talk to MT FWP Regional Access Manager, Trenton Heisel. Trenton gives some awesome advice about gaining hunting access in the region and outlined all the different hunting access programs there. On top of all that Trenton gave all kinds of inside info about where you can find Elk, including where you might find some nice bulls, Muleys, Whitetail, Black Bear, and the list goes on and on. All and all Trenton will get you dialed in for hunting success in FWP Region 2. The other half of our double feature has your host Downrigger Dale talking to FWP Wildlife Manager for Region 1, Neil Anderson in Kalispell. He will tell you what the hunting will be like in Montana FWP Region 1 located in Northwest Montana. Be sure and listen to both of these podcasts and become a Region 1 and 2 hunting genius!

Links:

• Click here for more about Region two.
• Click here to access the FWP Hunt Planner to plan you hunts in any region.
• Click here to get all the block management info and BMA maps for both Region 1 & 2!
• Click here to learn about winning those Griz Football tickets that Trenton talked about. Plus, other prizes in the "Its Up to Us" promo.
• Click here for Deer, Elk and Antelope regulations. Click here for Upland Game Bird regs and here for Waterfowl regs.
• Click here to get the Wolf Hunting regulations for Montana.
• You can click here to get the Region 2 Hunting Forecast.
• Click here for the Upland Game Bird Season Outlook for Montana.
• Questions, click here to email Trenton Heisel in Region 2.
• You can email Downrigger Dale when you click here.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast we are doing something for the first time ever! We are doing a Montana Outdoor Podcast Double Feature! That’s right, you will be able to watch two different podcasts this week. This half of our double feature (the one you are looking at now) has your host Downrigger Dale talking to FWP Region 1 Wildlife Manager Neil Anderson about what the hunting will be like in Montana FWP Region 1 located in Northwest Montana. This podcast is all about what Region 1 is like, it's terrain, size, how much public access there is and how much private access is there through block management and other access programs and more. Plus, you will learn all about what you can hunt in region 1 and where you can find those critters, from Black Bear, Mule and Whitetail Deer, Elk, Mountain Lion, Upland Game Birds, Waterfowl and Wolf. Region 1 has some great opportunities including one species that you can harvest 30 of if you do it right! The other half of our podcast Double Feature is all about Region 2, located in the central part of Western Montana. Rigger heads to Missoula to talk to MT FWP Regional Access Manager, Trenton Heisel. Be sure and watch that as well. You can find it right here on this site. Watching both of these great podcasts will for sure make you a Region 1 and 2 hunting genius!

Links:

• Click here for more info about Region 1.
• Click here to access the FWP Hunt Planner to plan you hunts in any region.
• Click here to get all the block management info and BMA maps for both Region 1 & 2!
• Click here for Deer, Elk and Antelope regulations.
• Click here for Upland Game Bird regs and here for Waterfowl regs.
• Click here to get the Wolf Hunting regulations for Montana.
• Click here to get the Region 1 Hunting Forecast.
• Click here for the Upland Game Bird Season Outlook for Montana.
• Questions? Click here to email Neil Anderson in Region 1.
• Course, you can always email your old buddy Downrigger Dale when you click here.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale starts his annual series of Hunt Preview Podcasts. That’s when he talks to Wildlife Managers and other folks with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks to find out what the hunting will be like in each of the 7 hunting Regions across Montana. In this first podcast in the series Rigger talks with Scott Thompson, Wildlife Manager for Region 6 located in northeast Montana. When you listen to this podcast you will be able to find out not only what the hunting opportunities are in Region 6, you’ll get a whole lot more, from how the populations of Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetails, and more are doing, in fact, wait until you here about the Pronghorn, aka Antelope population numbers. We think that might shock you! Well, actually there are likely several things that may surprise you in this one! Rigger’s guest Scott will also give you some ideas of which hunting districts might be the best to find those critters as well as some great information about Upland Gamebirds and Waterfowl! On top of all that you will also get great information about the terrain, the amount of private land and public land hunting opportunities and the list goes on and on. So, if you are planning on hunting in Region 6 this year or just ever wondered if that part of Montana might be a good place for you to try for the first time or heck, maybe you are just curious, this is the absolute perfect Podcast for you! So go ahead and mash that play button to become the most informed hunter in Region 6!

Links:

• To learn more about Hunting Region 6 click here. Be sure a scroll all the way to down for info on all species in the region.
• Click here for some hunt planning tools!
• Click here for the 2025 Hunting Forecast for Region 6.
• How about a Hunt forecast for Upland Game Birds and Waterfowl? Click here for that!
• Click here to send an email to Region 6 Wildlife Manager Scott Thompson.
• As always good old Rigger is standing by to answer your questions and he would love to find out what you thought of this podcast, click here to do that.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your Host Downrigger Dale had a great discussion with Greg Lemon, the Head of Communication and Education for the FWP. The main topic they covered was hunting land access. Most all the research on this topic has centered around two main areas, how do we get more land access and how do we keep the access we currently have. The number one reason we don’t get access or lose access boils down to one thing, hunter and landowner relations. The sad fact is it only takes one bad hunter to lose access for all the good hunters. When you listen you'll learn all about the growth of and the current plans for a program called, It’s Up to Us. Respect Access. Protect the Hunt. This podcast will give you some great information on that program and will give you some ideas on how you can help weed out the bad actors and how you can get even more access for your future hunts. When you listen you will also learn about some incredible incentives that Greg and his crew have come up with to entice us all to learn more ways to protect the access we have and how to get more. In fact, you can get a free three-month onX Elite membership (some restrictions apply) just for watching a video and taking a short test! Plus, you will be entered to win some great prizes! If that weren’t enough there are a bunch of companies and individuals that are investing a TON into this including Montana State, University of Montana, onX, Maven, and VIAM Outdoors and the result is you will have a chance to win all kinds of prizes just for simply taking a little time to learn all about the “It’s Up to Us” program. So give it a listen!

Links:

• Click Here to lean more about the program.
• Click the links below to get even more info about all different hunting access programs:
  • Black Management Program
  • Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program
  • Other Public Land Hunting Opportunities
  • Montana Cadastral Maps
  • Montana Hunt Planner
• Click here to take a quick test and get automatically entered for prizes!
• Questions for Greg Lemon? Click here to send him an email.
• Let Downrigger know what you thought of this Podcast or to ask him any questions, click here.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale was on a quest to answer a question that not only he has been pondering but so have several other podcast viewers and listeners. Can someone who has never fished in any Mack Days Lake Trout Fishing Tournaments on Flathead Lake, make a decent amount of money fishing their first Mack Days tournament? Rigger got a hold of Tournament Director Cindy Benson and posed that question to her and asked her to find some first timers and ask them to come on the Podcast. So, Cindy introduced Rigger to Ryker Bair and Patrick Casey, two different fishermen who’s first time giving Mack Days a try was last year during Fall Mack Days. And well, you just need to click here to watch or listen here! Yes, Rigger got the answer to his question, but he also got a lot more than that. He got two different approaches to competing in Fall Mack Days for the first time. This Podcast is perfect for anyone that wants to learn a ton about making some money fishing in the Mack Days Tournament that started September 4th and runs through Sunday November 2nd. And yes, you can join in the tournament anytime you want between the 4th and November 2nd. Find out all the different ways you can make money and how to do it whether you have never fished the tournament before or maybe you haven’t tried it in a while and you will learn you don’t have fish everyday to make some dang good money. Plus, this tournament is without a doubt the most fun you will ever have fishing in a tournament! In fact, you will find out the word “fun” gets mentioned a whole lot in this Podcast! So, click here to watch or listen here and then go make some money while having a blast fishing!

Links:

• Click here to learn all the details about Fall Mack Days on their website.
• If you want a quick look at the basics of when and where and such click here.
• Patrick recommended you stop in a chat with Dick Zimmer, The Mackman, at his tackle shop. Click here for more info.
• Click here to learn about campgrounds around the lake.
• Cindy Benson is an incredible Tournament Director, and she is happy to answer your Questions. Click here to email her or give her a call at (406) 270-3386.
• Downrigger Dale is happy to help find info for you as well! Click here to email him.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale talks to angler Audie Stein about is frightening brush with death in one of the fiercest windstorms Fort Peck Montana has seen in a very long time. It was the evening of August 7th and Billings resident Audie Stein was camping on his lot that he had purchased near Fort Peck. He had towed his 40-foot travel trailer on the lot that soon he would be building his new home on. In fact, he was a bit excited as it would not be long, and the foundation would be poured, and construction would begin. Audie noticed a huge ominous looking cloud (see photo above) on the horizon and pulled out his phone and snapped a picture before going into his travel trailer for the evening. There was no wind blowing however so Audie did not have any reason to be alarmed at the time and said to himself “I’ll just keep an eye on it”. Little did he know that in just ten short minutes from that time his evening of hell on earth would begin. You need to click here to watch this podcast right now gang or listen right here. Pardon the pun but this Podcast will blow you away! If you can watch this on YouTube as you will get to see several pictures. We are positive that you will wonder the same thing we did when we saw the pictures. How did Audie survive?! Well, click here to watch now and you will find out!

Links:

· What did you think of this podcast? Click here to email Downrigger Dale and give him your thoughts or ideas for future podcast topics!

· Catch up on all the Montana Outdoor Podcasts on YouTube by clicking here.

· What to download the Montana Outdoor Podcast so you can listen while you are driving to your next adventure. Click here to listen all past Montana Outdoor Podcasts!

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale had a great conversation with Ross Tate who is also known by anglers on Flathead Lake as the Whitefish Whisperer. Click here to watch or listen here and you will understand that Ross is called that for a good reason. There are very few folks out there that know more about how to catch the Lake Whitefish in Flathead Lake. This is a great opportunity for anyone who has ever wanted to learn how to catch the Lake Whitefish also referred to by many on Flathead as the Lake Superior Whitefish. If you have never caught one of these fish, you might be wondering what is the big deal about catching Lake Whitefish? There are two main reasons. 1. They are quite possibly the best eating freshwater fish anywhere on the planet! And 2. Pound for pound they are one of the hardest fighting fish you will ever catch! There are only a few times of the year that the lake whitefish can be found and caught. Now is the time they come up to feed on the freshly hatched perch fry, but it takes a special technique to find and catch the HUGE ones and you guessed it, Ross is one that truly knows how to do it! If you can try to watch this one on YouTube by clicking here. That’s because Ross shows all the lures he uses, and he shows the rod and reel that delivers the perfect action to get the job done. Plus, Ross even describes the perfect way to clean Lake Whitefish so you and have perfect boneless filets. If you can’t watch you can listen here and you will likely get the just of it and you can also click the link below and Rigger will email you some videos and pictures. Don’t miss this one gang, it is fantastic info that will get you (pardon the pun) hooked on catching Lake Whitefish!

Links:

• To learn more about Flathead Lake and its Campgrounds click here.
• Click here to find the tackle Ross talks about from Dick Zimmer.
• Ross & Rigger also talked about having info handy if you are stranded on Flathead Lake. Click here for one of the companies that can help.
• Rigger also mentioned that you can contact the Coast Guard Auxiliary for a free boat safety inspection. Click here for that.
• Do you have a question for Ross Tate? Click here to email him.
• Click here to email Downrigger Dale.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale has another great conversation with FWP, Game Management Bureau Chief, Brian Wakeling, this time about Montana's Elk Shoulder Seasons. These seasons are already underway in several hunting districts and will go on and off through February 15th, 2026. Just that statement right there is confusing. Thus, there are a whole lot of hunters that pass on giving these elk harvest opportunities a try. Rigger has received a whole lot of emails from many podcast listeners and viewers complaining about that. Folks have said things like "I have a helluva time figuring out what tag I even need in Shoulder Seasons near me" or "Antlerless elk!? Does that mean a cow or calf or what" or "just when I thought I had it figured out, I head out and the landowner said, "hey you can't do that here now that was for last week!" And the list goes on and on. That's why your host Downrigger Dale said "not this year, all that confusion needs to be cleared up and Brian Wakeling is the perfect guy for the job. Brian is excellent at explaining everything you need to know about Elk Shoulder Seasons. During the podcast Brian even opened the 2025 hunting regulations and showed some examples of where to look for Shoulder Season info and more importantly what all that info means. Once you listen or watch this podcast you will be walking around with a big beautiful light bulb above your head! True you won't be bringing home a trophy mount, but you will be able to fill your freezer with delicious elk meat! That is way better than sipping on a mug of tag soup! So what are ya waiting for ya brilliant meat eater? Go mash that play button and listen or better yet watch and learn all about it!

Links:

• Click here for a web page were you can learn even more, and it has some great hunt planning tools!
• Click here to look at last year's Shoulder Season performance data that Brian gave us.
• For a copy of Montana's Deer, Elk and Pronghorn hunting regulations click here.
• To send Brian Wakeling a question click here.
• Click here to email Downrigger Dale.

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.