22 April 2010
Written by
joe (
)
Published on April 22nd, 2010 @ 12:20:26 pm, using 697 words, 41 views
From the previous blog we will continue with Joe the somewhat hungover guide preocuppied by Ms. Chewbacca from the Top Hat Bluegrass bar beginning their fishing day with Bill and his wife Rosie.
As I pull up to the front of the shop I notice Bill and Rosie are pretty organized and seem to have everthing. Always a good sign and some mornings is a contrary position to my a.m. circumstance.
Joe - “Do We have everything? Licenses? Rain Gear? Reels?"(Lunch, Dishes, Flies, Water, Propane, Floatant)
Rosie - “We are good. I checked it over, hard to keep Bill organized with fish on his mind.”
Joe - “Let’s roll I want to hit Kona bank with the first fly.” (Sounds like a cool gal.)
The next ten minutes of conversaton will focus on where are you from, how many kids, how long in town, etc. Then Bill is going to go for the throat at some point and figure out what how bad a newbie guide he drew and just dropped $450 a day to fish with.
Bill - “So how long have been in the guide business?” (Please at least a second year guy)
Joe - “Well, I guess I should let you know right now. This is my first day of guiding. If you guys see a river that looks good please let me know and we’ll give it a shot.” (Game on, your move Bill)
Bill - “I figured as much when you called my fly rod a pole and my floating line funny colored string.” (He IS a young one, kinda of prickly fellow. This might work out after all.)
Joe - “And I will need some help getting the boat in the water, either one of you know how to back up a trailer? Whenever I spin the wheel it goes opposite of where I want.”
Rosie - “I can back one up, but I heard you Montana boys don’t take well to gals driving your trucks.” (Smart ass, kid)
Joe - “Well I’ll give it my best, the river is big enough eventually I’ll hit water.” (This might work out after all, they have character.)
Rosie - “Thats exactly what I tell Bill when he is casting.”
Laughter and the ice is broke. No body trusts anybody yet, but at least we have a chance before the flies get tied on.
Joe - “Actually guys this is my first year guiding. I am born and raised here and while I’m not the boatman that I wish I was, I will work hard for you guys and I seem to find adequate numbers of fish. (That’s the truth and either way you are in my boat for the day, so lets make the best of it.)
Bill - Works for us. (Yeah, you can kind of see the local inbreeding around the eyes. I am 100% sure that is stale whiskey.)
In the end the gig is trust. If you have been guided with a good professional that calls the eat right before it happens and for seemingly no reason changes the fly and produces another off water weirdo lay trout, then you understand water trust.
When we say 5 feet off the log and twitch it twice. We mean it. 3 feet won’t get bit and 7 feet is over the dink trout. Exactly there in the magic trout shoebox where it happens. If you trust me you will be ready. If you don’t, the dry fly gobble will come as a surprise and you will tell me he missed it, or it just rolled on it, or it was a short striking trout nibbling the legs. Either way you don’t get the trophy trout picture and I don’t get big tip.
And if you put it in the magic water shoebox and it doesn’t happen, then I haven’t earned your belief. I accept that. Somedays those little finned bastards beat me.
Rightly so this guiding game is two way street. If either party checks out its a solo dance.
A grown man in waders dancing by himself is an uncomfortably grim sight, especially if they are playing sentimental 80’s music.
www.classicjourneyoutfitters.com
09 April 2010
Written by
joe (
)
Published on April 9th, 2010 @ 10:24:04 pm, using 809 words, 64 views
I am a veteran Western Montana guide. The best part of that career choice is it removes any worries of having a heavy income tax burden. It is a hustling life that you are guaranteed to get paid in experiences far more that 401ks. As it turned out, its not the spiritual journey that lured me in when I was young, but it has answered a few questions I was asking. After ten years of it being 100% of my family’s income, I looked around at the other vets in the game and they seem to have the same glazed look of knowing something that you don’t, but they aint going to bet the farm on that secret nugget either.
Han Solo is a fly fishing guide, Luke Skywalker is not. Chewbaca is a granola gal from Missoula that probably can do more shots than you at the Top Hat Bluegrass bar on a weeknight.
My first year guiding I worked in the small fly shop in Missoula Montana. It was run by an older angler from New Jersey whose opinions were always right and given at a high volume. Quite a demanding fellow but knowledgeable to a fault. His lead guide was a veteran who really put alot of fish in the boat. I on the other hand was newbie guide who was born and raised in the Bitterroot valley trouncing through its waters, but didn’t know shit about producing trout for clients. That is an important distinction to all aspiring guides; you catching trout by yourself should be a no-brainer, try finding a fish for some New York City Personal Injury Lawyer who can’t get it past the oar and argues with you that actually drag makes them eat because he read an article in Fly Fisherman magazine one time - Day after Day, after Day, after Day. So you think you are good, newbie guide?? Here’s the hamburger caster, better get good at teaching and wear a WIIIIIIIDE brim hat and duck like a bobble head on crack.
Vet guides get vet clients and newbie guides get the young couple from Pennsylvania who want to try fly fishing for the first time on their way to Yellowstone Park and their disinterested I-Pod in the ears, texting, eye rolling kids.
But every once and awhile a quality angler that knows what good guides are slips through the cracks ends up with a newbie guide.
Oddly, by chance or luck my first year guiding had more steaks than hamburger.
Anything in parenthesis (are thoughts) the rest I actually said.
The classic young guide meeting experienced client moment; and like two circling dogs they go subtlely towards the river.
Me - Good to meet you, my name is Joe. Easy to remember me - just another Joe the guide. Looks like we are together today. (Kind of looks like an angler, please give me an angler today. I neeeeeeeed it. One more day of bobbers and I am going to lose my mind.)
Clients - Yes, I am Bill this is Rosie my wife. (They gave me a young one. A young one!, Please let him be native Montanan. Maybe not, they smoke and are 1/2 inbred.)
Me - Nice to meet you. Do you guys have gear or do you need rental rods? (Please have your own gear. Did I pack Advil in glove compartment? Ms. Chewbacca pounded me with Jagermister and then left me hanging last night.)
Bill - We have plenty of rods. 9 ft 5 wts good? ( I think I smell stale whiskey, maybe not. Please not a smoker.)
Me - Exactly, those will be perfect. (I kind of smell like whiskey, probably shouldn’t have have hung in there with Brooks for the last pool game last night. That bastard is probably still asleep right now.)
Bill - Have they been up lately? (Please don’t say dropper fishing has been hot. If I ever see another Montana trout with a bead head something stuck in its beak it will be too soon.)
Me - Yeah if you can make the shots. Nice question, that means we are doing the Lower Clark Fork. (This guy might be a player. No Bobbers on the Blackfoot, thank you Lord.)
Bill - Sometimes the fly ends up in the right place. (Kind of an arrogant fellow, maybe we have a chance at good day. Yeah, that’s definitely whiskey and cigarrettes alright.)
Me - Sweet. I’ll grab the rig and we’ll load up. (I wonder if I am really going to be able to shoot the nasty heads up on the tailout on Kona Bank. How cool would that be?)
Bill Whispers to Wife as I go get the rig - I don’t know about this Joe the Guide, but at least they have good lunches here.
So the dance begins.
www.classicjourneyoutfitters.com
Permanent Link