Montana’s version of coal mining occurred in the late 1800s in the Ruby Valley. Placer mining, basically dredging up the earth to find gold, made a few people very rich and left a swath of what was once a beautiful valley a patchwork of rock hillocks.
At one end of the Ruby Valley and north of the notorious Nevada and Virginia cities, is the town of Twin Bridges. Sitting along the Jefferson River this small town is home to a premier rod building company. Winston Rod Company makes some of the finest fly fishing sticks in the world and they do it all from a factory in this small Montana town.
Been there and got the hat.