Making like a fly on the wall and listening to conversations in fly shops (or for that matter anywhere) can provide worthy entertainment these days.
Having a wife and two adult kids immersed in the industry right now quadruples the volume of ‘shit you hear in a fly shop buffoonery’; when gathered in Livingston for Jake’s wedding we shared some doozies over beers and burgers one windy evening in the Chico bar (hence the image of Chico above – if you’ve not been been it’s got to be on your list.)
One of the best recent comments shared was this one, something along the lines of –
You should never fish without a guide, ever. Fly fishing is too damned dangerous, especially in mountain streams you don’t know and haven’t fished. People really can’t catch fish without a guide on big rivers…
After a good laugh we moved on to other stories (like there are no trout larger than 18 inches in Montana), though later I ruminated on the guide comment and couldn’t help but compare and contrast with our own experiences.
Don’t misunderstand, we have a truckload of guide friends, and find most fly fishing guides to be incredibly skilled fishers, working day in and day out with the patience of Job, the ear of a good bartender (or psychiatrist), able to teach the unteachable, and put fish in the net 98% of the time.
Most of our guides friends are in fact what we’d consider to be fishing compadres, guys and gals we head out to enjoy the river / bay / bayou with, catch fish and drink beer with; we respect the hell out of what they do and send potential clients to the best of the bunch pretty much two out of every three days in the season.
That said, I can make one hell of an argument that you’ll never progress as a fly fisher until you spend the bulk of your time on or in the water sans guide.
Certain of my friends would suggest that’s because I’m a cheap bastard, and while that’s true, the simple truth is to progress as a fisher you need to be able to read water, weather, bugs and maps, rig your gear, even pack and plan a lunch and hydration on your own. We expected our kids to be able to do these things by the time they were 8 (ok, maybe 9), though somehow these skills seem to have eluded a fair number of adults today.
It’s one thing to boat big rainbows on the Missouri when your guide anchors out just off the feeding lane and you throw tricos to feeding fish all morning long; it’s quite another to get there yourself, solve the rowing or wading and casting logistics, match the hatch and get it done.
Keep booking those guide trips, but plan at least as many non-guide days (if not 2 or 3 for every guide day) as well. You’ll be a better fisher for it and learn some indelible lessons along the way.
As to never fishing without a guide? Bullshit. As to fly fishing being too dangerous to fish without a guide? Bullshit. And as to not being able to catch fish without a guide? Bullshit.
What say ye about fishing with guides?
