Drift Boat

The why behind the will

/ Leslie / 2 Comments

 

Recently I was able to attend a guide school with Confluence Outfitters, in Northern California. At this top notch school, I was able to hone my skills with some of the industries finest guides. Dax Messett, Andrew Harris and Gino Bernero helped me develop my instructional skills as well as fine tune my rigging techniques and angling skills. For anyone who is aspiring to become a fly fishing guide, there is not a better program out there. Three different perspectives from industry experts and hands on experience is essential in developing a well rounded perspective of what it means to be a guide. After all, guiding is much more than getting your clients into fish; and I love that Confluence recognizes this and encourages its students and clients to be stewards of the water,  promote responsible angling and instruction based guiding.

 

Rowing practice!

 

To many people the choice to pursue guiding is bewildering and invites a diverse range of queries. Why would someone who has a variety of other skills seek out a career being fly fishing guide? Have you really thought this through? Young lady, why don’t you find a nice boy and settle down? Ha. A week immersion into the life of guiding and I’m 500% sold that this is it for me. Personally, the tedium and melancholy that go hand in hand with working a typical 9-5 corporate job simply does not exist when I’m on the water. And I don’t expect it to be a walk in the park either. I am very aware that this is not an easy path to venture, but I have never been afraid of a challenge or hard work.

 

We don’t see fly fishing guides towing their drift boats with Ferarri’s, so clearly it’s also not the hefty pay checks that have drawn me in, like a moth to the flame. Being outside, meeting people from all walks of life and creating a memorable angling experience for someone is absolutely priceless. I could go on and on, but it simply comes down to the fact that at the end of the day, I cannot imagine doing anything else. There has never been anything else I have wanted to pursue as much as becoming a fly guide (career wise… or pretty much anything else actually, except maybe more fishing….).

 

 

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Paying it forward

/ Leslie / 2 Comments

A few days before I headed into Ennis, MT for the Fly Fishing Festival, my fishing buddie Annie stopped by Beartooth Fly Fishing just outside of town. She came back to the ranch later that evening with rave reviews of the shop, their personel, and one of the guys’ phone numbers for me to call when I got into town. She’d mentioned I would be passing through and one of the associates she had talked to, Dan Greene, offered to take me fishing on the Madison while I was in town.

After shooting him a brief text explaining who I was, Dan and I meet for a beer to chat and arrange fishing plans. We schedule to meet early the next morning at the shop to float a section of the Madison.

A lovely sunrise greets me on my drive to the shop

A lovely sunrise greets me on my drive to the shop

My alarm beeps at me and after a few sleepy yawns in the pre-sunrise dawn, I pop out of the tent and put on the coffee. After all, there are fish to catch, so I’m not inclined to linger over lost sleep. Twenty minutes later, I am on the road to the shop. I head inside and am greeting by fly fishing mecca (custom rods, flies galore, gear…) and a dozen or so smiling faces; its hardly seven and these people are all fully awake. One of these days I will learn the art of being a morning person. Until then, I will just have to rely on copious amounts of coffee; the fish aren’t going to wait for me to sleep in.

It’s a misty morning, and there is not a fish rising or a bug hatching. I gear up with a few nymphs and load into the boat. I hook into a few fish almost immediately, but they don’t find their way into the net. It’s already turning out to be a great day. While we drift down river, Dan tells me about his passion for fly tying and shares his adventures of extreme skiing in Big Sky and all the bones he’s broken; a tail bone here, a disc there…. nothing too serious. Lol. It amazes me that he is still fully hooked and amped on the coming winter season. An adrenaline-junkie fly fisher, who would’ve thought?

A healthy brown :)

A healthy brown 🙂

 

 

We put in the anchor at a bridge to wade, and both Dan and I land some nice fish. We hop back into the boat and push off again. Another rainbow downstream, we decide to stop for lunch. Dan made some pretty awesome turkey sandwiches and we sit on the bank and watch other drift boats float by as we eat.

Such a pig, look at that belly!

Never met a fish that had rolls before. What a pig!

While we sit there, I thank Dan for taking his day off and going fishing with me. His reasons are simple and the philosophy behind it makes me smile. A) He’s been fishing new places before and people have offered him advice, fishing tips, and taken him under their wing; he thought it would  be nice to pass along the favor. B) he laughs that another day spent on the water is a good day. You can be sure that this has inspired me to pay it forward next time I happen upon a fisher in uncharted waters.

Not expecting to be floated down the river all day like the queen of the nile, I offer to row the boat after lunch. I’ve never tried it before, mainly because I haven’t fished many rivers where I was on a boat. A few zig-zags down the river and some unavoided rocks, and I finally start to get the hang of it. Rowing a drift boat is seriously fun. A bit of a work out, but made enjoyable by the breath-taking vistas and near proximity to fishing.

What a view!

 

Nice work Dan!

Nice work Dan!

 

It is near dark when we pull into the boach launch, and I smile at a great day spent fishing from dawn til dusk.

Thanks Dan for being such a positive, stoked guy and taking this gal fishin’. You have a friend and fishing buddy whenever you make it out to the West Coast 🙂 Until then I won’t forget to live life large!!

Crashing guides’ day off

/ Leslie / Leave a comment

I certainly have been fortunate to meet some wonderful people on my journeys. This past week, I enjoyed the fly fishing festival in Ennis, and met some pretty awesome people. After my arrival into town and checking into camp, I decide it’s time for a bit of dinner and a cold one. I meander down to the local watering hole, the Gravel Bar. I recognize quite a few fishing folks who must be in town for the festival; identifiable by the fishing shirts and hats with various fishing logos.

I’m too late for dinner, but an ice cold PBR hits the spot. The vibe is divey with a hint of country. The live music in the background starts peoples’ feet a tappin’ and soon, quite a few people are dancing. Sipping my beer and enjoying the local vibe, I’m content to catch up on emails, listen to the music, and watch the swing dancers swirling and twirling around the room. I walk up to the bar to order another beer and one of the guides comments to me how us “kids” are always on our phones these days.

Reluctantly, I put the phone down and look up to see the commentator is not much older than myself. All the usual pleasantries are exchanged, and am soon I am cracking jokes and sharing fishing stories with Dario, Jordan, and the rest of their motely crew of fishing bums. A small world, it turns out that Dario is originally from Reno, about 20 minutes away from the town where I grew up. Impressed that I’m out here on a solo trout bum mission, they invite me to fish with them the following day. Hmmm, I’m supposed to work the next day, but I’m sure I can manage something.

The gang is headed to a concert in Virginia City, 30 minutes down the road, and invite me to tag along; but its getting late and if I’m going to figure out a way to fish and work tomorrow,  it’ll mean an early morning.

I walk back to camp, and fall instantly asleep. The blaring of my alarm wakes me at 6 am followed soon after by gun shots. Drawn in by the tasty willows, a mama moose and her calf have wandered into camp. The game warden scares the moose off with a few warning shots.

My boss kindly agrees to let me work a halfday, and then finish my hours later in the evening when I’m done fishing. Dario and Jordan to pull up as I close my computer; looking a little tired (hungover), but ready to fish.

On the drive to Wade Lake, I am regaled with tales of the previous evening at the concert. Apparently I missed a pretty good time. Quickly launching the boat, we get ready to head out and fish. The three of us and three dogs. It’s a full boat, but the more, the merrier! As we’re pushing off, Jordan waves to the boat next to us. “Hey man, you missed a good concert last night!” “Dude, I saw you there!” he responds.  Oh man, I did miss a good night!

 

Gorgeous!

Gorgeous!

 

The water out on the lake is clear and turquoise. I can see the bottom easily in the flat shallow section we will be fishing; I also spot fish cruising. The clearness of the water and the technique of spotting fish from a distance and casting to them bring to mind fishing the flats for tropical fish. The first few casts, and wham, double hook up! Both Jordan and I haul in two nice fish!

 

IMG_0240

 

The rest of the day the fishing proves to be slow, but guides day off still manages to be a success. After all, when the fishing gets slow, that means it’s time to crack open a beer and enjoy the sunshine. Thanks again dudes, for taking this gal fishin’!

 

Dario and Jordan are guides for Wild West Fly Fishing out of Bozeman. If you’re in the area, take a trip with them, and tell them Gal Gone Fishin’ says hi 🙂

 

I’m on a boat!

/ Leslie / Leave a comment

Well, I definetly got my fishing fix for the week. I took my first float down the lower section of the Yuba river. Not only did I get to check out a new section of the Yuba, but I also had my first drift boat experience. Kick ass! I loved how much water we covered but didn’t neglect wading; stopping a few places to hop out and get wet.

The weather was spectacular, if a bit windy at moments, but that just allowed for some Belgan casting practice. A bonus for that day was hooking my first fish of the year on a dry fly (a PMD). Yewwww, it’s sexy watching a fish explode on a dry fly!

Jeff caught two nice rainbows and Jordan was an incredibly skilled skipper; also super patient… the wind combined with my bouts of general spaziness made for a few epic tangles!

A whole day spent fishing, taking in the sunshine (I’ve got a super hot forearm burn to prove it!), and hanging out with some pretty awesome dudes. Life doesn’t get much better than that. Its safe to say that life is always good, when you’re on a boat.