Recently in F: Tips from Guides and Outfitters Category

Let me begin by saying that after 15 years of being a fly-fishing guide in western Montana, I offended a party of fly fishermen on my first spring outing of the season. They had come to fish the Blackfoot River, a little early, I might add. After three days with this very large party, their complaint against me was awkwardly relayed to me by the guide in charge. I was shocked. I must be honest in telling you I was hurt and angry, but then I had to realistically appraise my guiding skills and etiquette.

Had I become complacent and sloppy through the years? After much reflection, I had to shoulder most of the blame. We were fishing in coffee-colored water. Our Woolly Buggers, shackled and weighted down with lead, resembled some primordial serpent. The runoff was late and especially heavy. As a schoolteacher, I was unaccustomed to fishing in the manner that all of us were forced to fish; generally the runoff is usually over by the time school is out. Although my clients caught about the same numbers of fish as the clients in the other boats, I failed to be assertive and take charge, according to one of the clients.

On one of the days, I was encouraged into a friendly conversation on incompetent teachers and tenure laws. I threw caution to the wind and laid the blame on the shoulders of lazy administrators who fail to follow due-process procedures and document. This conversation followed a request by the client to exchange political views with a Democrat. The man had promised his wife he would yearly hold at least one civil conversation with a Democrat, and I was his man.

I thought to myself, don't get pulled into a political debate. In spite of the slow fishing, everyone seemed in jovial spirits, so I threw caution to the wind, again! I had broken another rule: Don't discuss your personal life, your politics or your religion. Apparently my behavior and views were brought up at the round table that night. On the third day I broke from the pack (nine guides) and headed for the upper Clark Fork. That was the day the fishing improved dramatically on the Blackfoot, and you can guess the rest of the story.
My worst offense, however, was reserved for the last day when I gave casting advice to an elderly gentlemen who had been fly fishing for 40 years and loved to either encroach on his partner's water or cast out in the middle of the river. I had become critical. I heard it in my voice. I drove home from the Blackfoot that fourth morning reflecting on the qualities that I admired in the top guides whom I worked with through the years, and I took stock of myself as a guide.

The following year, at age 52, I retired myself as a guide, knowing that I could no longer keep up with the younger, more passionate guides. Let me share with you the responsibilities of both the guide and the client. Hopefully, this will help you communicate with your outfitter in selecting a guide who is best suited for you.

Guide Responsibilities
1. Be an accomplished fly fisher, a cautious rower and an enthusiastic teacher.
2. Hold a state guide license and be trained in first aid and CPR.
3. Work hard to help your client catch fish. Never give up or become discouraged.
4. Be friendly and honest. Never inflate the fishing prospects, and allow a client to cancel a trip due to inclement weather or poor fishing conditions.
5. Be punctual. Be organized, and carry extra equipment and supplies.
6. Provide a classy lunch!
7. If you are with a large group and you are having good luck on a particular pattern, share with your fellow guides.
8. Know when to join in conversations and when to withdraw and allow privacy or just quiet time.
9. Ask the clients how much instruction they want. Gauge their response. Many clients find themselves invited on trips, and yet they are really not interested in learning a new skill, not to mention feeling the pressure from a guide. Many of these clients are content to enjoy the float trip in the company of their friends.
10. Never take for granted the natural beauty that surrounds us. Share in the wonders of nature and the catching and releasing of wild Montana trout.

Responsibilities of the Client

Be realistic in your expectations and as well as your fishing skills. As a guide of many years, I would just cringe when I had a client who booked a trip in the heat of August, had little or no rudimentary casting skills and fully expected to catch a trophy trout that day. A few years back I heard a guide good-naturally say to a client who was denigrating the river, "Well, the fish are here all right, but like a lot of folks, they're not hungry all the time. That's why they call it fishing, not catching."

If a guide tells you he wants you to cast no more than six inches from the shore, he's serious! If you didn't have the skills to do so he wouldn't ask you. A client who spends a fortune to come to fish in Montana and then winces when he looses a few bucks' worth of flies always puzzles me. If you're not losing flies, you're not fishing hard.
Also, dress appropriately. If you do not have waders, wear an old pair of pants and a pair of tennis shoes. At least once a year I would have a client who would show up in dress pants and Gucci loafers. Realistically, this limits the guide's opportunities to stop the boat and let clients wade fish favorite hot spots.

Speaking of flies... Please ask the guide ahead of time if you are expected to pay for the flies. Some shop guides merely add the flies onto your total bill and deduct any flies you didn't use that day. Some outfitters and guides make it a policy to provide the flies free in the hopes that the tip they receive will compensate their loss of flies for the day. Other outfitters and guides bill the client for each fly and leader used. I have worked under both systems. I will tell you honestly that many times I will have given up $20 worth of flies and leaders. As an independent guide, I paid retail prices for flies and leaders most of the time.

Regarding tips (no objectivity here!). Did you enjoy your day? Did the guide work hard at getting you over fish? Did you have a gourmet or lavish lunch? Was the trip well organized? I won't share trade secrets about how much the outfitter pays the guides, but I will tell you that the guide is responsible for all of his equipment and insurance. With few exceptions, the lunches are made by the guide or paid for by the guide. Shuttling the guide's rig usually costs $25 a trip. Boats and rafts are usually replaced within six or seven years at around $4,000. Trailers are forever breaking down. The season is very short. Up-front yearly start-up costs translate to three guide trips before the guide makes a profit. OK - guides do have a great job, but tips are greatly appreciated.

What type of guide do you want? Most people rarely make requests of the outfitter in selecting a guide. Are you new to the sport? Do you really want a day's worth of concentrated instruction? Some guides do poorly with beginners; others never know when to let up. Good communication between the guide and client easily resolves this dilemma. I generally push and demand a great deal up until lunch. After lunch I let my beginners just have fun. When they need instruction, I wait for them to ask for it. Ask your outfitter for the best instructor for a beginner, and if you are an accomplished angler, ask for the best guide.

Do you want a young guide who bursts with enthusiasm, rows the boat with a fierce macho pride, and jumps up and down like a cheerleader? Your outfitter has them. (God, I am getting old.) Be open with the outfitter regarding what you want in a guide. And finally, I would like to close with some advice to novices. Take a class before you book a trip. Check out a fly casting VCR tape. I recommend Doug Swisher's instructional tape on casting, as well as his book. But if you want to learn on your vacation, ask for a walk-in trip instead of a float trip. Trust me, you will learn more in one day of instruction on a creek catching dozens of seven-inch trout than you would spending a couple of days casting from a boat with no previous experience.

High Sticking by Wayne Eng

Note: As the blog editor for my local fly fishing club, I have included a club article to help those fly anglers who are new to nymph fishing.

Our guest speaker for the March meeting of the Klamath Country Fly Casters was Wayne Eng, a licensed guide who plies his trade on the Upper Sacramento River. Wayne cites Jim Gade, who fished these waters from 1949 to 2004, as to the origin of high sticking. "Native American Wintu women tied simple weighted flies for the trout because they got tired of digging for worms. Some of these weighted flies were adapted to a very short line technique we call today high-sticking, which was popularized by the late Ted Fay and his partner Joe Kimsey.... The technique was simple: a fly rod, a short leader, two weighted flies, which they drifted in pocket water on a short line. This system still works today as effectively as it did over a half century ago. Although we have tweaked the system with strike indicators, lead, and different bugs, the game remains the same--get your bugs down to the trout with as little line on the water as possible."

Pocket Water
"Pocket water is a mini-ecosystem, usually in faster water, created by big rocks or obstacles in the water. These rocks and obstacles create 'pockets', which provide three basic requirements for the fish: food, shelter and cover."

Rigging (See descriprtions at the end of the article)

"Strike Indicators are a visual aid to indicate the drift and take. Some usual materials are yarn, corkies, or colored line. One characteristic of yarn is that yarn floats higher for a more natural drift. It is easy to see, but sometimes yarn can be harder to cast. Some of the characteristics of a corkey is that they float lower, connect to split shot quicker, they are easier to cast, and they work great when a slightly faster than natural drift is needed. The placement of the indicator should be a little greater than the depth of the water you are fishing and above the split shot."

Reading the Water
"Rocks shape the river and create lies and habitat and concentrate the food source. Knowing how to detect feed lanes and see the rocks that create pockets will help you find the trout. There are two types of rocks you care about: primary and secondary. A primary rock is a rock above or just below the water that splits the river into right and left lanes (known as feed lanes), forming what looks like a big VEE in the water. Fish will be stationed in or next to these food highways. Generally, trout will be in the feed lane if it is slow, or they will be in the seam next to the fast water. A secondary rock is a submerged rock, which is a relatively tall rock in or near a feed lane that creates a cushion. This cushion provides a place where trout can hold with little effort and wait for food."

Presentation
"In this type of water, presentation can be more important than a specific type of bug. The reason is that trout are sometimes not as selective because they have little time to inspect the offering. By presentation we mean drift the bug in areas where the trout hold and in a natural manner so the trout think it's food."

The Three L's: Lob, Lift, Lead and Set
"Lob the cast. With a short line loading the rod downstream using water tension to cast, form a tent with the rod and fly line. Raise and rotate the rod hand and in a chopping motion, drop the forearm toward the target (usually slightly upstream). This will allow the flies to sink to the desired depth. After the cast 'lift' the rod horizontally so all or most of the line to the indicator is off the water, leaving a slight bit of slack for a natural drift. Lead the tip of the rod above or slightly downstream of the indicator. This position will help with the hook set. (When thinking of lead, think about 'Walking a Dog'. If the leash is too tight, you are choking the dog. If it is too loose, the dog can get out of control.)" The hook set is when the indicator does anything other than drifting naturally, such as slowing, dipping, pausing....When in doubt, quickly set the hook downstream by moving your rod tip towards the water. This will pull the hook into the trout's mouth and keeps the rig in the water and not flinging in the air. Remember that most tangles happen in the air and not in the water."

High Stick Rigging
(1) "The original rigging, according to Joe Kimsey who was Ted Fay's partner, consisted of a 7.5 foot 3x or 4x tapered leader. Attach a split shot for the water depth. After the split shot add a Dropper Loop. Add six to eight inches of leader material and attach the first fly. From the Dropper Loop (Google for instructions) continue for 16 to 18-inches to the terminal fly. Attach the fly with a Duncan Loop, which allows more movement in the fly.

(2) Select a 6 to 7.5 foot tapered leader from 3-5x. Add split shot. Add an additional 6-8-inces of leader and tie a triple surgeon's knot. Note: the first fly is treaded into the section of this portion of leader between the split shot and the triple surgeon's knot. In this manner, the fly may slide up and down this eight-inch distance freely. From the triple surgeon's knot add 12-14-inches of tippet and attach the terminal fly.

(3) Here is a simple but effective rigging. Add split shot followed by tying on a fly. From this first fly, tie another piece of tippet to the bend of the hook and attach the terminal fly.

(4) Dry and Dropper with Split Shot: Using a large buoyant fly such as a salmon fly or a grasshopper, add 24-inches of tippet to the bend in the hook. This tippet material should be 1 or 2x lighter tippet material. Add split shot in the center of this dropper tippet and a small bead nymph to the terminal end

(5) Dry and Dropper without Split Shot: Using a large buoyant fly such as a salmon fly or a grasshopper, add 10 to 20-inches of tippet to the bend in the hook. This tippet material should be 1 or 2x lighter tippet material. Add a small bead nymph to the terminal end."

Strike Indicator Placement and Split Shot: "The distance between the strike indicator and the split shot should is a little greater than the depth of the water you are fishing for running a 'tight line'. One advantage of a corkey is that it is easily adjusted for the water depth."

Wayne Eng, Licensed Guide
(530) 235-4018
kozmo@nctv.com

Tip from The Fly Shop / Redding, California

One successful technique to employ during October is a strike indicator, lead split-shot, a single egg pattern and one or two nymphs. A smaller version of this set-up can be successfully used in the smaller waters of the Sierra and Cascade Mountains.

By Doug Persico
About the author: Doug Persico is the owner of Rock Creek Fisherman's Mercantile, located at:
15995 Rock Creek Road
Clinton, MT 59825 (Exit Interstate 90 at Exit 126)
(406) 825-6440
http://www.rcmerc.com/storeindex.htm

Dead drifting a nymph on the bottom and fishing a nymph on or near the surface, either by itself or in tandem with another fly, are the two most productive methods of nymph fishing. Dead drifting simply means figuring out where the fish are holding on the bottom, weighting either the fly or the leader enough to get the fly down to where the fish are, and drifting the fly through the holding water until a fish takes it. Recognizing the take and setting the hook follow. Sounds simple, right? It is, until you consider such questions as, how do you know if you are deep enough, and how do you recognize the take.

The answer to the first question is easy. If you are getting hung up on the bottom and losing an occasional fly, you're deep enough. To answer the second question opens up one of the big debates currently in fly fishing -- are strike indicators nothing more than bobbers and an open acknowledgment that the fly fisher hasn't mastered his craft?

Most of my customers use strike indicators to recognize takes when dead drifting a nymph. Strike indicators are simply something the angler can see under any condition. They are attached to the leader far enough away from the fly so that they can be seen on the surface as the fly drifts on or near the bottom. The strike indicator telegraphs to the fisherman the fact that the nymph is no longer drifting. The angler must then quickly set the hook before the fish spits the fly out. Strike indicators are a valuable aid to increase productivity. As a fly shop owner, I make and sell indicators, and I consider them a valuable source of revenue for the shop.
The other method of nymphing used most often on Rock Creek is fishing a nymph unweighted either as a wet fly on the swing or as a trailer to a dry fly. To fish a nymph on the swing, simply cast across the current and start stripping line slowly in as the fly starts swinging below you. In most cases the fish will hook itself.

A technique that is becoming increasingly popular is to fish an emerger imitation in tandem with a dry fly during the hatches. A section of tippet is attached to the bend of a dry fly hook. The tippet section is from 16 to 18 inches long, and an emerger nymph is attached. The dry is drifted and catches fish in its own right as well as acts as a strike indicator for the trailing nymph. This method is proving itself deadly and increases in popularity every year.

For more information on Montana fly fishing, visit www.glaciertoyellowstone.com.