Guiding Again

Had another trip yesterday. It went well. Picked up the client at the fancy guest ranch on the West Fork then drove up stream to Appleberry access.

It was going to be a nice day. The river is still dropping very fast at this point and fishermen have been waiting not so patiently is some cases for the fishing to really take off. I would say the the fishing is defiantly picking up, but not on fire yet. It is going to be any day now.

Anyway, the bigger fish were eating yesterday and the client certainly had his opportunities early on in the float.

Meanwhile, I keep at it switch fly's a few times, getting response from the fish each time. After a short time of wade fishing we continue the float and arrive at one of the best holes in the river as we approach everything looks great. The boat is set up, the fly's are ready, and so is the client. So we enter the sweet spot and get a good drift through Moose Hole and nothing. You can imagine my surprise. I row out into the back eddy, walk the boat up for another try. Again a perfect set up and this time another perfect drift, but this time closer to the willows. Would you believe it we drift the entire hole again and I begin to think out loud to myself, your kidding, nothing. Then at a the last possible moment, as the fly starts to drag, we get a rise.

This looks good. The client is excited about something. So I drift a little further not really in a hurry, because most times all the excitement a little over done. It was not until I jump out of the boat with the net that I begin to realize what just happened. My eyes can barely believe the fish in the net. It is a baby that runs the length of my net, which when taped is exactly 20".

It was a good day.