Big Mo

It has been a crazy few months for this featherhead! I am so far behind on the blog. But - although it's been a bit crazy it has been a few of the best months in my life as far as my river addiction goes. I've gone through guide training, shadowed some of the best guides in the state, guided on some corporate trips (to include one client that didn't speak English (do you know how to describe a drag free drift without using words?), and have guided my own trips. Unreal! I've also started teaching the Orvis 101 and soon 201 classes out of Angler's Covey as well. Dream come true. The guys at the Covey have become my extended family and I couldn't be happier to be working in this scene. So needless to say my little journal has been neglected. But there are a few good trips that I really want to write up first of which is my first trip to Montana!

I had an opportunity to get out to Great Falls Montana on business and I figured there was no way I was going to be in Montana and not take a day to fish. I figured why not start with the Missouri. I read up on a few sections and emailed a few outfitters and I got a really quick and honest reply from Garrett Munson Montana Fly Fishing Outfitters. I received a few reply's from other outfitters just telling me what I wanted to hear but Garrett gave me the scoop on current conditions and where the best fishing was. Easy decision, sign me up.

Garret hooked me up with guide Darrel DeLeon and we hit it off. Darrel lived in Colorado Springs for a while and knew a lot of the same guides I do. This is actually Darrel's first year guiding on the Missouri but it sure didn't feel like it.

We launched just below Holter Dam and Darrel rowed us way out to the other side of the river to hit a good run. My first impression was that the Missouri is really crowded. Lots of boats. Darrel stated it was a slow day that day actually. I'd hate to see a busy day. Good thing is that Darrel knew some good runs that were wide open. Most boats were hitting the same channels but we got out on some freshies and hooked up almost immediatley.

The bows in this river are friggin strong! Really fun fish to fight and catch. We had a few very large jumpers hooked up that I just couldn't land. We did wind up catching a ton of nice fish throughout the day. We even got into some great dry fly action further down from the dam. We caught mostly bows but right at the end of the day we landed this nice brown.

The day went in a blink of an eye and it was super fun. I'd recommend Darrel to anyone. He taught me some really good fish fighting techniques that I've used since. Always something to learn in this sport and Darrel was a great teacher. Hope to fish with you again Darrel!

First Guide Shadow Trip!

Had the pleasure of shadowing Mr. Jon Kleis on a guide trip up to Elevenmile Canyon last week. After attending the first Angler’s Covey Guide School, I have a goal of shadowing at least six guide trips and this was the first of those.

We showed up at the shop early and met up with father and son Rick and Ben. These guys are from the east coast but Ben now lives in the area. They mentioned that they had both fly fished before but had not been up to Elevenmile Canyon.

I followed Jon and group up in my truck. We were doing a half day trip and I decided that I’d stay and fish in the afternoon.

After a quick drive into the canyon we were out rigging up. These last few weeks have given me the chance to really learn from a bunch of different guides. It’s interesting to hear how different guides describe different things. I remember during Julie’s session at guide school she mentioned that you should have five different ways to explain the same thing. Good piece of advice. I’ve seen this work first hand a few times now. Guides will say something and sense that it didn’t really click. They’ll put it another way and the light bulb goes on.

I may need wader stilts

It was awesome listening in on Jon's pre-cast block of instruction. I could tell that Jon had done this a few times before. He has a really good way of covering what is needed without going into the weeds. In other words he leaves room for learning. I think I’m going to incorporate that into my guiding style. Go over what is needed and let things play out on the river.

After that Jon got Ben and I into position and took Rick downstream. It didn’t take long and Rick was hooked up. That was the queue for Ben and I. Ben hooked up shortly after that. It was really interesting watching Ben as things started to come back to him. It had been a while since he fished and I could see him become more comfortable with the rod. Just like riding a bike!


After a quick break to let a thunderstorm pass, we hooked up a few more times. By the end of the trip Ben, from what I could tell, was back where he was the last time he fly fished. He was casting calmly and letting the rod do the work, he was getting perfect downstream sweeping hook sets (perfect way to describe a hook set that I learned from Jon this trip), and was keeping even pressure on the fish after hooking up.

What an awesome morning. I swear it felt like just a few hours on the water. Time flies when you’re having fun and I think everyone was getting a good dose. Couldn’t have asked for a better group to shadow! Really hope we all get to fish together down the road.

That afternoon was just icing on the cake. I stayed behind in the canyon for a little fishing. I ditched the indicator and started picking out individual fish. They were more than willing to hit a leech pattern or Barr emerger. It was a beautiful afternoon. Couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Photos by Jon Kleis