As a fishing guide I sometimes pressure myself to feel
success through the number of fish my clients catch. No matter their attitude I am determined it is a bad day if
not enough fish are brought to hand.
I try not to be a “fish counter” but honestly everyone is guilty of it
even if only just for a bit.
My first day guiding this year started with a phone call a
week prior. It was my first day
back working at the Fly Shop (Glacier Outdoor Center) and I took a phone call
inquiring about learning to fly fish.
Tami was from North Dakota and had been obsessed with the idea of
learning to fly fish since she first read The River Why in 1988. Her opportunity finally arose when Tami
along with her husband and three sons decided to travel to Big Mountain Ski Resort
to snowboard. Since Tami was
not interested in skiing or snowboarding she decided to look up fly-fishing in
the area.
Luckily She came across Glacier Anglers and I was available
to take her call. The trip was
then booked and that was that. The
ensuing week went by quickly followed by a weekend at the Montana Sportsman’s
Expo in Kalispell and then a short trip to Missoula for a relaxed birthday
celebration. Once back in West Glacier
it was clear that the river in its current state was not fishable due to
muddied waters. Each day that week
I watched as the river slowly regained isn’t beautiful teal green winter
color. By Friday things had shaped
up and the fishing seemed to be ON.
That morning as I was throwing the cooler in the drift boat
at the put-in the day looked to be a glorious one. We had blue skies and no wind and it was apparent that Tami
was already having the time of her life.
After a casting lesson on the first short stretch of river
we were on our way to having a great time. The sun
was out and it was starting to warm up.
We had a few nibbles at first and then while I was making hot tea in the
boat Tami yelled, “I have got one!”
I looked up to see her rod bent and line tight. We were able to see the fish before it
wrapped the line around the oar and broke off. The day was still looking good.
Then the snow squalls started rolling up the river one after
another. They would usually last
for 15-20 minutes with 10-15 minutes of sunshine in between. It got so cold I ended up giving Tami
my gloves, jacket and warm hat and using my spare clothing for myself. We started to see less and less
fish activity. The fishing was also
tough in itself. With a steady
upstream wind and bouts of heavy snowfall motivation was being tested. I took out some hand warmers for her to
use when she wasn’t fishing. At
lunchtime we had still not gotten a fish to hand and the weather was looking
worse. The squalls were more
frequent and were lasting longer.
As I was putting away the leftovers from lunch Tami let me
know that she was ready to call it a day.
The cold weather, wind and snow had finally pushed her to the edge. I compromised with offering to let her
not fish until she saw a spot that she could not resist. Once we were on the water it took 10
minutes for her to start fishing again.
While getting closer to the take-out the idea of not getting
a single fish to hand was starting to form in my mind. Considering the circumstances one might
realize it’s a possibility, but I couldn’t. Tami was here to learn how to fly fish and to hopefully see
the beauty of a trout in her own hands so by golly that’s what she was going to
do.
About 2 miles above the take out we floated toward a tree in
an eddy that I knew had to be holding a few fish. I instructed Tami to cast as close to the tree while trying
not to get caught in its limbs.
The flies landed about a foot away and with no current we sat and
waited. I watched the bobber as it
was bumped once then twice and I yelled set just after Tami pulled up on the
rod and connected with what looked like a trout.
As Tami fought the fish she listened well as I instructed
her in keeping the rod tip up and the line tight. Slowly but surely she brought the fish right into my net and
it measured out at 16 inches. The
amount of excitement in Tami’s eyes cannot be explained. When she looked down in the net she saw
something she had dreamed about over two decades ago coming to fruition.
Its those moments that help me realize the importance of my
job. Guiding can be a very selfish
career; after all you are getting paid to take people fishing. But if you look past the first few
pages you will see the effects this sport has on every person that encounters
it. Fly fishing makes you happy,
it can be as simple as that.
After all, its not about how many fish you caught. Its about the journey to catch those
fish. Thanks Tammi for being such
a sport out there. Can’t wait for
our next fishing trip in the summer!
