Listening

Big Hole River 541 cfs—Maidenrock

Dry fly fishing remains very good especially mid morning. Yesterday in the heat of the day it slowed up considerably but still enough action to stay on top.

I have been getting lots of calls regarding spruce moths and if they are out. There are a few but nothing like the last couple years. Caddis patterns worked the best yesterday morning. Lots of action and lots of misses. Big brown trout in super shallow water where most folks don’t fish..

About this listening to your guide thing. Adam commented that if a guy is stubborn and wants to cast where ever to let him as he is paying the bill. I disagree–if you let a client cast willy nilly all over the river you are no longer a guide but just a boat jockey. In my boat I treat every one the same like the farmer couple from North Carolina to the multi millionaire from Ca. The farmer couple have been with me before and they know the procedure. They also cast very well and and get results. Now comes Sean the rich guy and it’s first time with me. For the first hour he was casting all over the place. If I pulled the boat to the left bank he would turn and cast right. Finally I kinda barked at him and angled the boat to where this little side channel was coming back to the main channel. I told him to cast into that channel, he did and I said cast again ten more feet. He did and I said there, there and wham, an18 inch brown trout ate his fly. He looked back at me and said I think I better start to listen. He admitted he pretty much shined me on the first hour as he thought it was just more of that guide bull shit which he experienced before. At the end of the day he was telling his pals I called ten fish within a second or two. Actually it was only five.

Another good example is Wally who has been fishing with me for a few years now. He is an excellent caster and fly tyer and likes to use his own flies. When I tell him to put the fly six inches from the bank he’s got it there. The other day he pulled some nice browns from water that was so skinny you would not believe a fish would be there. A month ago a couple of his pals came along, brought there own boat and decided not to use a guide and fish on their own. It was one of those days when the fish were super tight on the grassy banks. If the fly was a foot or more off the bank they wouldn’t hit it. Wally had a great day as he had the fly inches from the grass. His pals caught one whitefish for the entire day. An angler hires a guide for his expertise. He is not right all the time but most of the time. A good guide is always looking down river for rise forms or likely spots where he knows the fish should be. Bottom line is to have fun, and to have fun—LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE.