Home / Fly Fishing Montana / Upper Missouri River Drainage
To reach the upper Missouri River from Three Forks to Great Falls, take Exit 278 from Interstate 90 to Highway 287. The mileage from Three Forks to Townsend is 31 miles, and it is 65 miles to Helena. The information covering the Upper Missouri River Basin follows Highway 287 north to Helena and then Interstate 15 from Helena to Great Falls.
The Missouri River provided a corridor of trade amongst the indigenous tribes along its 2,466-mile journey to the Mississippi River. Later, trappers, traders, gold seekers and settlers would follow this river thoroughfare to the gates of the Rocky Mountains and to the present-day town of Three Forks, where the Missouri is formed. From the days of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the mid 1900s, the mighty Missouri River shifted and changed channels. Many of the original campsites of the Lewis and Clark Expedition are miles from the present riverbed. The Missouri River claimed many steamships as they plied their way up the river as far as Fort Benton. During the Depression, taming nearly 2,500 miles of the Missouri challenged the Corp of Engineers to safeguard against flooding and provide safer passage for boats plying the lower river.
The Fort Peck Dam and Reservoir, the second-largest earth-filled dam in the world, commenced construction in 1933 and was completed in 1941. The 250-foot earthen dam, with a mile-long spillway, generates 185,000 kilowatts of electricity per year. At peak performance the generating plant discharges up to 250,000 cubic feet of water per second. Just a few years after its completion, the next ambitious project for the Army Corps of Engineers was the Canyon Ferry Project.
The Bureau of Reclamation"s Canyon Ferry Project, authorized by Congress under the Flood Control Act of 1944, was completed in 1954. The snowpack drainage area covers 15,760 square miles. Canyon Ferry catches the annual spring runoff to prevent flooding downstream, generating 425 million kilowatts hours annually, as well as providing irrigation water and recreational opportunities. The concrete dam is 225 feet high and 1,000 feet long at its crest. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers estimates that the project has prevented $93 million in flood damages from 1950 to 1996. The first and smallest of the dams is Toston Dam, which is a large diversion dam 20 miles north of Three Forks. The next downstream dam is the Canyon Ferry Dam, followed by Hauser Dam and then Holter Dam.
For opponents of the damn Corps of Engineers, one only has to look to the Big Horn River and the Missouri to be reminded that cooler water in the summer and controlled flows in the spring provide great trout fishing opportunities. The added benefits of the upper Missouri system of reservoirs is the spring migratory spawning runs of rainbows in the 6-to10-pound class, along with the fall browns, which exceed this weight. From each impoundment, huge trout head upriver looking for spawning beds between dams. Few places in Montana offer the fly fisher such opportunities for trophy-sized trout as the upper Missouri River.
 Missouri Headwaters State Park
Three miles east of Three Forks, the park is open year-round and offers 20 campsites for both tents and trailers. Water, toilets, hiking trails and a rough boat launch are also available. Three Forks KOA Kampground is a few miles south of Three Forks on the road to Ennis. Drouillard Campground and boat ramp on the Jefferson River provides a primitive campground or resting spot just off Interstate 90. Take Highway 287 south for one mile and make a left turn heading east to Three Forks, which is three miles. The campground is less than a half-mile and is to the left as you cross the Jefferson River.
Canyon Ferry Lake Recreation Area
Canyon Ferry Lake offers 13 campgrounds and nine day-use-only sites. Half of the campgrounds are fee areas, which provide water, toilets, tables, grills and boat ramps. All of the campgrounds are on a first-come basis. Three of the campgrounds offer group-use sites. Most of the campgrounds are accessible from Highway 12 / 287, the main route to Helena. If you are a tent camper, head towards the dam and turn south on West Shore Drive, one mile past Yacht Basin Marina, to Fish Hawk Campground, which is restricted to tents only and offers six sites, and more importantly, shade and toilets, although it lacks water. The eastern shoreline has four campgrounds evenly distributed (Jo Bonner, Hellgate, Goose Bay and Confederate). Follow the East Shoreline Drive, which may be reached off Highway 12 just outside of Townsend or the Highway 284 cut-off towards Helena, or cross the dam and pick up the East Shore Drive by Chinamen's Gulch. Shade is scarce along the lake, but campers may find both shade and a little more tranquility at Jo Bonner Campground, which is just a few miles south of the dam on the East Shore Drive. The Bureau of Land Management has published an excel-lent map of the Canyon Ferry Lake Recreation Area. Write:
BLM
7661 Canyon Ferry Road
Helena, Montana 59602
For fishing licenses and up-to-date fishing information contact:
Yacht Basin Marina
3555 West Shore Drive
Helena, MT 59602
(406) 475-3440
Kim's Marina
8015 Canyon Ferry Road
Helena, MT 59602
(406) 475-3723
Goose Bay Marina
300 Goose Bay Road
Townsend, MT 59644
(406) 266-3645
Trident (Headwaters State Park) to Toston
One would only have to look down from a helicopter during spring and early summer to understand the powerful forces of spring run-off, which shapes the meandering channels each year. Once the Missouri is formed from the Jefferson, Madison and the Gallatin, the newly-formed river is big, flat and turbid. The riverbed, up to 100 yards wide in some places, is scoured each spring leaving be-hind bleached banks with few trees. Bank fishers at the headwaters are synonymous with bait fishers, and in truth, these leisurely, arm-chair fishermen pull in an occasionally large trout with their patience. For the summer fly fisher, however, thermal heating on the lower Madison coupled with the heat of summer in an arid area drives water temperatures to the critical low 70s. The area features dry hillsides with sparse junipers, eroded riverbanks and low vegetation. This seemingly barren stretch, however, does contain a healthy population of large rainbows and browns, as well as impressive numbers of whitefish, carp and rough fish. The problem, however, is that in proportion to its size, the trout get scattered over a large volume of water. In my mind, this is not a viable stretch of water for the one-time fisher wanting to fish Montana's mighty Missouri.
Missouri Headwaters State Park is reached from Exit 278 on Interstate 90 at Three Forks. The only public river access between the park and Toston Dam is the Fairweather fishing access in the Clarkston Valley, which is nestled between the Belt Mountains and the Elkhorn Mountains. The boat launch has been washed out at Fairweather. The water slams into a five-foot bank, making it next to impossible to stop and unload your craft. To reach this fishing access, drive by the Trident Plant at the end of the park, cross the railroad tracks and follow the county road 1.9 miles to where it forks to the left. From the Trident Plant to Fairweather Fishing Ac-cess is a distance of 11.3 miles. Norman Strung in his book, Fishing the Headwaters of the Missouri, recommends big streamers for the pools and deep holes. He also suggests trolling the streamers by casting upstream as you float downstream. At the same time twitch or jig the streamer with an upward motion of the rod tip. Launching from the boat ramp in the state park, the float time to Toston Dam is a long day with an early start, if you don't have an outboard to push you along. Toston Dam backs up water for almost five miles!
Most fishers fish deep with heavy spoons or Rapalas, streamers, night crawlers or sucker meat.
MM 90: Toston Dam
From Highway 287 look for the dirt access road on the eastern side of the highway. Follow the road five miles to Lower Toston Dam Recreation Site, which offers a boat ramp to the river, outhouses, and picnic tables. Above the dam is another boat ramp with a picnic facility. I feel it is only fair to say that this site is generally unattractive, but I am reminded that beauty is in the eyes of the be-holder. Just above the dam the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on July 25, 1805. According to the historical marker, Lewis and Clark had been looking for this spot from the description given to them by the Mandans in North Dakota. The Indians had de-scribed significant landmarks and cliffs for the Little Gates of the Mountains, the second chain of Rocky Mountains that approach the river. The more notable Gates of the Rocky Mountains are located approximately 60 miles downstream.
Toston Dam to Townsend
Located about halfway between Three Forks and Canyon Ferry, the dam stops the fall spawning run of brown trout. This section is popular with anglers during the fall, but it is closed from March 1 to June 15 to protect the spring spawners. Some of the local sportsmen motor upriver from Toston Dam for a day of fishing and duck hunting (Blast and Cast). What the area lacks in numbers of fish is made up for in the solitude above the dam. Fishing from the Toston Dam to the bridge at Toston is popular with bank fishers and floaters. From Toston to the Deepdale Access, however, is restricted to float fishers, as the river flows through the scenic Toston Valley and heavily posted lands. This entire section of river offers broken water, riffles, runs and pools. Below the dam from Canyon Ferry to the Deepdale fishing access, large numbers of migrant browns make their runs and provide fall fishing for anglers seeking trophy sized trout.
MM 89: Crow Creek
The road leading to the fishable sections of Crow Creek is just across from the exit to the small community of Toston. Public fishing begins in the Helena National Forest above the town of Radersburg. Unlike western Montana, the up-per Missouri River does not offer an abundance of good fishing creeks. For this reason, Crow Creek, Beaver Creek and Little Prickly Pear Creek get fished fairly heavily during the summer. In spite of this pressure, Crow Creek offers good fishing for 7- to 10-inch rainbows and brookies, with the occasional fat rainbow.
MM 81.5: Deepdale Fishing Access
Deepdale provides a lovely campground under a canopy of cottonwoods. In addition to the campground, a cement boat launch is provided.
To access the Missouri River as it enters Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Townsend, look for the bridge crossing on High-way 287 after the intersection with Highway 12. This section may also be accessed at the Indian Road Campground or the Cottonwood Campground west of town. This section is popular for both the spring and fall spawning runs, but be sure to check the fishing regulations. During the heat of summer some of the trout at the southern end of Canyon Ferry move upriver to escape the thermal heating on this shallow section of the reservoir.
Deep Creek
From Townsend take Highway 12 east until the highway meets the creek as it drops down a steep canyon. The lower section flows through private property. The canyon section offers small pocket water for small rainbows and brook trout, but the highway is right next to the creek.
Canyon Ferry Reservoir
Although fly fishers have good fishing during the spring for rainbows around the marinas and campgrounds at the upper end of the lake, the lake is best fished from a boat for rainbow trout, brown trout, perch, ling and walleye. Late April through the month of May is generally considered the best fishing from shore and boat. Plentifully stocked each year and drawing anglers year-round, Canyon Ferry is one of the most heavily fished reservoirs in the region. During the summer months, when surface action slows, boating enthusiasts enjoy this 25-mile-long stretch of water, which includes an island offering overnight camping.
Beaver Creek
The easiest route to Beaver Creek is to cross Canyon Ferry and turn left to the base of the dam, which provides a campground and boat launch. Follow the York-Nelson dirt road north until it intersects with the Beaver Creek Road. Turning left will lead to the mouth of Beaver Creek at the Missouri, which is a popular spot during the spring. Turning right will take you to the headwaters in Refrigerator Canyon. Beaver Creek, along with Little Prickly Pear Creek, is one of the more popular creeks in the area and offers 10 miles of good fishing for 8- to 12-inch rainbows, a few good browns and a host of smaller brookies in the upper stretches.
Canyon Ferry to Hauser Lake
From the base of the dam to Hauser Lake, a little more than a mile in length, boat fishers seek out good-sized rainbow trout from the comfort of their boats. This is big water. Holding large numbers of both resident and migratory trout, the area is heavily fished. Those fishers willing to face the blustery winds of fall may be rewarded with trophy-sized browns moving up from Hauser Lake. Hauser, like Canyon Ferry, offers year-round fishing with 3,700 acres of water
MM 70: Silos Campground
One mile off the highway, look for pronghorn antelope grazing in the fields. In addition to the BLM public campground, campers may also camp and shop at the Silos Campground and Grocery, which also provides boat rentals.
White Earth Campground
Just a few miles north on Highway 287 is the White Earth Campground. Exit at Winston and take the Beaver Creek Road 5.5 miles to the lakeshore campground, which also offers a nice boat ramp.
MM 51.6: McClellan Creek
Folks, unless you have small children and you are visiting or live in the Helena area, pass this one up. It is a tiny creek that flows out of the mountains west of Helena to join Prickly Pear Creek just south of East Helena. Drive eight miles back into the mountains to reach public lands. The creek is small and produces very small brook trout and rainbows.
Helena, Prickly Pear Creek
Here is a little brushy creek outside of Helena, which offers both small trout and a few good-sized migratory trout. More aptly described as a "crick", this small body of water wanders out of the mountains sandwiched between Interstate 15 and old Highway 15 through mostly residential developments. Nonetheless, access is available in isolated spots from the old Highway 15 south of Montana City.
Eight inches deep and eight feet across during late summer, Prickly Pear Creek's best lower access is at Ash Grove Corridor. From Montana City, follow the road that crosses over Interstate 15. The road swings away from Interstate 15 following a narrow ravine east of the Interstate. Ash Grove corridor is a trashy, willow-lined section of the creek above the ARCO Plant property. The best fishing is from the mouth of McClellan to Ash Grove.
The road and creek continues down through the rolling hills to meet East Helena. This loop road exits right across from the Conoco gas station in East Helena. One of the state fish biologists that I spoke to told me that the creek has been losing ground on the numbers of migratory fish moving up the creek from Lake Helena, but the opportunity still exists for landing something much larger than a resident dink.
Helena-Area Mountain Lakes and Smaller Reservoirs
Spring Meadow Lake State Park
This park is located on the western edge of Helena and provides fun fishing for children, as well as offering swim-ming and wildlife viewing. The lake is encircled by a nature trail. The 30-acre spring-fed lake provides good fishing opportunities for perch, bass and rainbows. The lake is open to non-motorized boats only. Take Highway 12 west and turn north on Joslyn towards the Country Club.
Northern Pacific Reservoir (Quarry Pond)
From East Helena take McClellan Creek Road, which is the loop road to Montana City that joins Interstate 15. Look for the gravel road turn-off and procede another half-mile to this 15-acre reservoir, which lies close to Interstate 15. The reservoir offers good fishing for 7- to 10-inch rainbows.
Park Lake
A small three- to four-acre alpine lake, Park Lake is nestled in an alpine setting less than 15 miles from Helena. The lake fishes well for stocked rainbow trout in the 7- to 12-inch range, along with some fair-sized grayling. The lake is restricted to non-motorized watercraft and offers 22 camp sites. Travel south on Interstate 15 to the Clancy exit. Follow Lump Gulch Road (Forest Service Road #4009) to the lake.
Interstate 15 – Helena to Great Falls
Hauser Lake
From Interstate 15, 13 miles east of Helena, turn off on Exit 200 to Hauser Dam on Lincoln Road. Hauser Lake is a popular summer recreation lake. Just six miles down from Canyon Ferry Reservoir, this 3,700-acre lake offers good fishing for trout, kokanee, walleye and perch. The only campground on the lake is Black Sandy Beach Campground, and it should be considered a boater's campground. The campground offers 30 campsites, toilets and a boat launch. On the route to the dam, you will drive by Lake Helena. Lake Helena is a 2,100-acre Bureau of Reclamation reservoir. It is carp-infested, as well as holding tons of rough fish. It does have some numbers of rainbows, but local fishers generally shun this algae-infested impoundment. From the Interstate to Hauser Dam is 9.5 miles.
Trout Creek
Reached from Hauser Lake from the York Bridge crossing onto the York-Trout Creek Road, the creek passes by many new residential houses until the visiting angler reaches the canyon section. The creek offers fairly good fishing for both rainbows and brookies. The creek may also be reached by taking the York Road at the base of the Canyon Ferry Dam.
Hauser Dam to Upper Holter Lake
Although never really a secret, this section enjoyed relatively little pressure through the years. During the past 10 years, however, increasing numbers of fly fishers have congregated on this four- to five-mile section both for the spring run of rainbows from March to mid-April and the fall brown runs, which generally run from mid-October through the end of November. Fish with a nymph and a strike indicator during the spring. During the summer dry-fly enthusiasts will find excellent evening hatches, and standard attractor patterns work as well. The road dead-ends at the dam with limited parking, but an outhouse is provided.
The Montana Power Company provides access to trails on both sides of the river downstream from the dam. Fishing is excellent until June when large volumes of water are released from the dam due to spring run-off. Large migratory rainbows from Holter Lake move through this stretch. On an exploratory trip in late March, I walked down the eastside trail about a half-mile and watched a lone nymph fisherman land a hefty rainbow on a very cold, blustery day. Perched on the trail high above him, I could see three other large rainbows in the shallows within 20 feet of where he was standing. They all ignored his offerings until he nailed a big hen. The trail leads down the east side about three miles to Beaver Creek, which is the next access point that may be reached by road. (See directions from the Canyon Ferry Dam.)
Holter Lake
Leave Interstate 15 at Exit 226 at Wolf Creek, which is about 28 miles north of Helena. Holter Lake, covering over 4,800 surface acres of water, winds its way a number of miles to the Gates of the Mountains and then beyond to Upper Holter Lake. The lake is best fished deep with trolling methods. Access to the lake for shore fishing is pro-vided by the Beartooth Road on the east side of the lake, which also provides campgrounds and boat launches. The section known as the Gates of the Mountains provides spectacular scenery of towering cliffs that rise above the water to merge with Montana's Big Sky. Upper Holter Lake may be reached from Exit 209. Holter Lake, considered the most scenic of the man-made lakes, is surrounded by the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area on the eastern side of the lake and the Sleeping Giant Wilderness Study Area on the western side of the lake.
Holter Lake provides three campgrounds on the Beartooth Road on the eastern side of the lake. The first of these campgrounds is Log Gulch Campground. The camp-ground offers 80 camping sites, the majority of which are most suited for tents. Many of the sites have shade and a swimming area.
Exit 226: Holter Dam (Wolf Creek) to Craig to Cascade
State fish biologists sadly noted the presence of whirling disease in 1999 on this most famous stretch of the Missouri River. Since other areas of the state have not been decimated like the Madison River debacle, devotees have taken a wait-and-see attitude. Typical catches range from 10 to 16-inches, although 16- to 18-inch trout are not un-common. During the spring when the dam spills over the top, still-water fish drop over to visit their river cousins, and local anglers congregate in large numbers to greet both of them. From Holter Dam the river freely courses its way 90 miles to Great Falls. The best blue-ribbon trout fishing is found between the dam and the town of Cascade. Punctuated by few riffles, the river is wide and flat and holds an abundance of rainbows and smaller numbers of browns. The water slows as it nears the Smith River, and the river loses both clarity and riffles. Trout populations plummet from this point downstream.
From personal experience, I would have to say the Missouri River challenges first-time visitors a great deal more than other famous rivers in Montana. Float fisherman will have the greatest advantage due to the sheer size of the river. Fish the scum-lines in backwater eddies, weed beds and the tail-end of islands. Pods of trout will follow these shifting scum lines, which channel the bugs in a large rotation. Sometimes a raft or a drift boat will actually depress or break up these slow patches of foam and disperse the feeding trout. Look ahead and see if it is possible to drop anchor or beach your boat. Start with the tail end of the foam and work your way forward. Look carefully for noses and the tops of dorsal fins. Lunkers like these Lazy-Susan luncheons. During early summer don't hesitate to try smaller attractor patterns such as a Royal Wulff, a yellow Humpy or a Renegade during the evening hours.
Known for its prolific hatches, the early season is best fished with Wooly Buggers until the arrival of the Baetis hatch in April and May. Baetis like the slower water in the weed beds along the banks and will typically emerge during midday with an evening spinner fall. Stick to a size 18. When I have to scale down to a size 20 Blue-Wing Olive, I instead switch to a size 20 Parachute Adams. Following on the heels of the Baetis hatch, as is typical of most Montana rivers, is the arrival of caddis followed by PMDs. These two hatches are the most important summer hatches followed by the appearance of Tricos in the latter stages of summer, which emerge in the morning with the spinner fall typically an hour or two later between 8 and 10 am.
As is typical in most flat-water rivers, long leaders and small tippets prevail, along with sighs of disappointment when a fat rainbow pops off in the deceptively strong cur-rent. During the dog days of summer, hoppers and droppers work best, although I must confess that I personally search out other waters during those blistering hot days. With the arrival of fall, the Baetis re-emerge along with the tactic of tossing wooly buggers and streamers.
In his excellent book, Flyfisher's Guide to Montana, Greg Thomas reminds visitors that the vagaries of fishing the Missouri are most often attributed to water releases. A rapid raising of water level alters the feeding response of trout, which leaves them sulky for a day or two. The same is true on free-flowing rivers and streams. When the water crests and then drops gradually for a day or two, the fish go into a feeding frenzy. Thomas reports that the best flows for float fishing range from 5,500 cubic feet per second to 8,000 cfs, which is about four to five miles an hour. To optimize your fishing chances, he recommends calling one of the local fly shops for up-to-date information.
Interstate 15 – Exit 226 (Wolf Creek): Little Prickly Pear Creek
In all of my forays to the Missouri River, I had never once stopped to fish the Little Prickly Pear Creek or read about it in the numerous fishing guide books that I have acquired through the years. Perhaps a few of my disappointing days on the Missouri could have been redeemed on this fine little creek. The creek is host to both migratory spawning rainbows and browns, along with a serious population of rattlesnakes. Sadly, the creek turned up its first reporting of whirling disease in 1999. The creek opens on the third Saturday in May and is good fishing for large rainbows returning to the river in the lower section from the town of Wolf Creek down to the river. Popular patterns for these spring spawners include Woolly Buggers, leech patterns and large Yuk Bugs. The creek is closed after Labor Day to protect brown trout spawning beds. Above the town of Wolf Creek, Little Prickly Pear Creek has fewer public access points as it moves through private land, except where it parallels Interstate 15. Fishing is generally considered good from the mouth of Canyon Creek to Sieben. Keep in mind, however, that permission is needed to fish private lands, and landowners no longer have to post their lands to warn against trespassing.
Canyon Creek
A tributary of Little Prickly Pear Creek, the creek may be accessed along Highway 200, the Lincoln Highway. Although small and running mostly through private property, the creek is good fishing for 7- to 9-inch rainbows hiding under the brushy overhangs. The creek enters Little Prickly Pear Creek five miles north of Marysville.
True Confessions of a Fly-Fishing Guide: Natural Selection
A while back I marveled to a colleague on the complexities of matching up 20 fishing clients with 10 guides in less than 30 minutes. Typically the clients are guests of a CEO, ducking out of a convention or involved in a seminar where the "bottom line" is a code word for dropping a Wooly Bugger into a deep pool with a sink-tip line. Rolling up to the hotel parking lot and joining the ranks of the other guides and their rigs, I was always amazed at the process that matched 30 men for a day's outing. Social Darwinists would have a field day watching this natural selection.
On a personal level, I had already discovered a form of this "natural selection" between men and women by way of the "Invisible Velcro Patch Natural Law of Selection". I believe that dysfunctional adults wear an invisible Velcro patch attached to their shoulders. Healthy males and females have tiny patches enabling them to thread their way through a crowded dance floor. Confident of finding their soul mates, they hum the refrain, "Some enchanted evening, you will find a stranger across a crowded room." Their search for a soul mate and their ultimate success is principally the result of a small patch that doesn't reach out and grab weirdoes, losers, neurotics and other dysfunctional individuals. Dysfunctional individuals like myself, on the other hand, have invisible flaps the size of a mud flap on a 16-wheeler. Thwack! We have a match. We have lift-off! Mission soon to be aborted.
I have suffered through this matrimonial, mating phenomenon more times than I care to admit, but it is even more interesting to watch the natural selection take place in a parking lot where 20 powerful titans of capitalism match up with 10 self-assured Montana river guides. The consummate guides arrive early and position their rigs after first reconnoitering the layout. When the men file out after breakfast, these professionals efficiently scan the group, weeding out the unworthy neophytes. The tailgates of their trucks are down to display hundreds of fly boxes holding a myriad of traditional patterns, as well as their own secret killer flies. They shake hands with the first group of men and casually dismiss the gawkers and gushers. They know their man when an individual picks up a pattern, inspects it carefully and comments, "Have you ever tied the thorax with rabbit fur and used partridge feathers for the tail rather than mallard fibers?"
The joke tellers and football fanatics match up quickly. These extroverts bond instantly. On any given day on the river with a large group, you can hear laughing and joking all day. I was always envious of these men. Regardless of how poor the fishing was, both clients and guide enjoyed each other's company, as if they were long-lost fraternity brothers. Another quick match-up is made between the high-performance salesmen and the hyperactive college guides. These guides attend college one semester a year with a lot of cutting classes during the Skwala hatch. They are passionate and intense about the sport. Witty and self-assured, they work the parking lot like evangelists. Pro-active and assertive, these young men resemble a more sophisticated version of Mike Fink, the famous river boatman. "I can catch more fish than anyone in Montana. I can thread the eyelet of a size 22 Adams at sunset. I can out drink, out fish and whup any man who says the contrary." Well, exaggeration aside, they exude charisma.
The quiet, confident guides in the Henry Fonda tradition patiently wait for their men. Before anyone notices, these stoical men part from the group and quietly go fishing. My tactic was to wait patiently for the newcomers to the sport who were seeking a teacher and instructor. I never could seem to play any other role so comfortably. It was usually thrust on me. "Go talk to Dave Archer over there. He's a schoolteacher. He'll get you all set up…. You don't know how to cast! Well, hell, you're in luck. There's a schoolteacher right over their leaning up against that Avon. He's fixing someone's old fly fishing outfit that the guy inherited from his grandfather when he was 10 years old. As soon as he is finished, ask him to teach you to cast over there on the lawn. He's your man!" I was always the last one to roll out.
Sadly disappearing from the guide ranks are the old timers who seem to be guides transported from a Faulkner novel. They don't mix well, and their rig and boat usually display signs of use and abuse. The antithesis of a yuppie fly fisher, they wear worn, old denim shirts or threadbare western shirts with a circular, worn spot in the shirt pocket that holds their chew. Rarely do they adorn themselves with the accoutrements of fly fishing. They stand by idly working a pinch of Copenhagen waiting for their guys to show. The wad of chew keeps their jawbone and cheek constantly in motion. Almost as predictable as Old Faithful, their left shoulder dips slightly, they pull down their head in a slight, downward dip and launch a brown luggie. Puuut! Launched from the side of their mouth, the brown spittle bursts from the side of their mouth, stalls in mid-flight and plops unceremoniously on its unintended target.
When they talk to a client, their jaw rotates in a circular fashion as they squint their eyes a bit. If they are interested in what you say, there is a slight nodding of the head, which precipitates a premature release. Puuut! Quietly intense, they capture the persona of a frontiersman. Many clients find these guides' demeanor appealing, especially after spending years confined in a high-rise office building. "Puuut! You pilgrims ready to catch some fish?" Once on the river the clients succumb to their piscatorial prowess. "Shhh, over there. See him? Not the little guys flashing at the tail end of the log. The big guy next to the rock below the log. See ‘em. Yeah, Old Brown Bart. You son-of-a-bitch. You outsmarted that New Yorker last week, but I got me a Bostonian who's gonna stick you!"
"Yeah, I see him," says the client, hands trembling.
"OK. You're only going to get one cast with no margin of error for slop. You've got to make a reach cast up against that log, but not so close to the edge that your fly gets sucked under. Puuut! Yeah, easy does it. Mend that line just a little. YEAH! Fish on! Puuut! Hey, you in the back, you ready to catch a fish?"
Gender Equity and Fly Fishing
Few co-ed sports or activities exist free of sexual tension. If social scientists are correct in their assertion that humans dwell on sex, in some form, six to 10 times an hour, few co-educational activities escape this human tendency for mischief, miscommunication and wanton reveries of the mind. Fly fishing, on the other hand, is as pure and tension-free as one can imagine. An increasing number of women are joining the ranks of fishermen, creating such gender free words as fly fishers and just plain fishers.
Any fly fisherman worth his salt will confirm the intense concentration one must possess with a well-presented fly on or under the water. This rapt attention precludes any possibility of conjuring a sexual image or a dalliance of the mind. If you have reached your 50s and wear trifocals like I do, you will confirm my assertion that a day on the water casting precludes any chance for the mind to wander, even if you are surrounded by a bevy of beauties from a famous modeling agency in New York.
A number of years ago I was hired to join about five other guides to guide a number of models from a famous New York agency who were guests on a rather exclusive ranch in western Montana. We were told that only a couple of them had ever fished, but all of them wanted a float fishing trip rather than a scenic float trip. We chuck-led and joked about the daunting challenge of instructing the nuances of fly fishing to pampered models, models who most likely had not had an outdoor adventure in years. After checking over miscellaneous equipment, we waited for our cover-girl clients. Leaning against the rafts and drift boats, the guides started reminiscing about celebrities and movie stars they had guided. I remember being quite surprised with the list. Finally, the models ar-rived. We were shocked. In moments each of the guides had regained his composure. We promptly went to work preparing our assigned beauty with both equipment and advice.
Proclaimed as some of the most beautiful women in the world, they presented themselves. They were strikingly plain-looking. Perhaps it was a joke, I thought to myself. Uncombed hair, no mascara, and zinc oxide in place of lipstick, these cover-page women further disguised themselves in old shirts and pants that I wouldn't have bothered to save for a fiberglass boat project. They joined us for a day of float fishing on Montana's famous Rock Creek. Gender issues slipped into the curling foam on the backwater eddy, as we slipped our crafts into the current and began our search for sipping rainbows. Floppy hats, bulky vests, ballooning waders and polarized sunglasses keep men and women focused on life's second-greatest pleasure.
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