The Great Migration

For those of you that are not tuned into the everyday goings on of my life, you should know that Montana is no longer safe; yet another Texan has migrated to the northern most southern state. For those of you that have been fortunate enough to gaze upon this states majestic beauty, then you will have no problems understanding why another Texan will now call Montucky home. What better way to welcome ones buddy than to put him on some world class fishing??

Late Night Blogging

So I know I promised that I would post more regularly and I have not made good on that promise. Between working and getting ready for the move to Bozeman I have had a full plate. Brandon arrived in the great state of  Montana this week and is getting used to cooler weather and the occasional rain cloud. Classes start on Monday but I was already booked to work so that will be the first blemish on my record at a new institution (don't worry Mom I don't actually have classes on Monday, it just makes for good reading).

Tonight was pork chop night here at the Roost and let me tell you that if you missed this you really missed out. Three inch thick chops cooked to perfection go down wonderfully after a long day on the river. Unfortunately I haven't taken any good pictures recently, not that there hasn't been anything worth taking pictures of; rather the lack of motivation to get up, open the camera case and risk falling out of the boat ruining my camera. So for the first time I give you a post without a picture accompaniment. But realistically, how do you follow the last pictures. I mean come on, those are fish of a lifetime!!

Catching Up

So I feel the need to apologize to my readers for the recent delay in post updates. I can't imagine the angst that must fill your heart every morning when you sit down at your computer to check in on the life of Bubba, only to see that Bub must be too busy to update the blog. So here we go: got hate mail from the last post, Dad came and caught a monster, guide day, guided some fellow Ags, Twin Bridges Rodeo, guide day, took three number seven split shot to the back of the head, guide day, went back to river X caught another monster, guide day, fixed a leak in the palace, helped Mike Z change a blown tire on the side of the highway after escaping certain death, guide day, caught a million on the Beav, day off fishing with Joe and Ke'lah, guided today and left out the boring stuff like doing laundry and washing the boat. I would like to promise you that I will be better about updating, but sometimes going fishing on a day off sounds better than sitting down to write. Again I feel the need to apologize for my selfish actions and will do better to keep everyone in the loop. However, if the posts are not coming fast enough and the material is not satisfactory please leave a comment; or if you feel that you have some insightful commentary please feel free to enhance the experience for your fellow readers. All that you have to do is set up a Google account and post!

Learning Right From Wrong

So from time to time when a fella catches a decent trout and it has been a slow day I will allow the client to hold the fish for the picture. Now this can be risky, in the event the unsuspecting trout ends up under neath the floor in the boat. Before I describe any further the gong show that took place with a beautiful specimen, I must clear something up right away. It does not work to the anglers advantage to grasp a majestic wild trout as if they were attempting to get the last drop out of their tube of toothpaste! Two reasons, the fish will wiggle twice as much, wouldn't you?? and fish, if you were not aware do not have an exoskeleton and cannot withstand 100 lbs. of pressure directly to the pumping station.

Now that I've got that out of the way, it is time to pick on a recent client. A client that supposedly had caught fish on every continent and in every country and most certainly did not need me to throw any pointers his way in the angling department. However, since I have put up with poor angling and what he considered poor fishing, it is my turn! First, his hook set resembled a ribbon routine from the 3rd grade class, his mend was actually the primary influence for character Zorro and his trademark Z. As unbelievable as it may sound this particular angler actually caught fish, one worth taking a picture of. Seeing as we had not been filling the boat with them all day I decided to let him hold the fish and take a sweet "dude" grip and grin. Needless to say Mr. World Wide Fly Fisher had apparently, similarly to his angling abilities, not perfected the art of gracefully holding a fish for a lovely memory. If memory serves me right, this fish bounced off of every surface within sight; the side of the boat, the bottom of the boat, top of the cooler, oar, all the while being batted around like a junior juggler for the Ringling Bros. This poor fish finally found the water and swam over to my feet, as if to beg for mercy. After reviving the fish, he sat in the shallows for awhile straightening out his life and recounting the events that had transpired. Needless to say that trout will think twice before inhaling a hot pink worm. So remember if your guide allows you hold the fish, be nice to it!

                                     No fish were harmed in the making of this post.

The Double Guide Experience

So yesterday I got the opportunity to hop in the back of Willow's boat with a great guy, Todd. After a few cups of coffee and the usual debate over where we should go and how we should fish, we were off for a marathon float. The day started with an exhilarating dive into the Big Hole River chasing my camera that floated out of the back of Joe's boat; apparently it takes more than 2 fishing guides to launch a boat. With a safe capture of the camera, protected by a bomber Pelican case, we pulled away and began pounding the water with less than optimal results. Of course, if you put 2 guides and a dude that can get'r done in the boat together, some meat is probably being tied to the end of the string. We turned a dozen or so on dries and big streamers, but after an hour of watching fish chase and failing to land said fish we reluctantly picked up the bobber rods. A slow start ensued, but thanks to Joe's astute guiding prowess and flawless fishing tactics it quickly picked up after stuffing our beaks with a fair amount of groceries. The remainder of the day was filled with good fishing and even better camaraderie. A short hail storm slowed us down for a minute, but we regrouped, licked our wounds, and commenced to slaying. All in all a great day to be on the water. Thanks to Joe and Todd for a boat load of laughs.

New Faces

I must begin today's post by relaying this extremely important message: Montana is awesome!! In the past week I have seen almost a dozen moose, bald eagles, forty-leven fawns in the river bottom and caught some absolutely amazing trout. The fishing has finally reached an acceptable level, one that is keeping me happy on a daily "guiding" basis. The fish have moved into the places where they are "supposed" to be and are starting to bite the flies that I select. All in all, the past few weeks have been great. The sandal tan has set in deep and is most definitely a permanent fixture, unlikely to fade with time. Yesterday brought some great clients in the boat, a father and son from Casper, WY. A trip that Rooster didn't want to take because he didn't know them. Turns out meeting new people is not always a bad thing. These guys can huck it! "throw it under that tree branch, but not into the bushes!" Ker-plunk!! A perfect cast every time!! and it paid off for them. These boys were used to mountain streams and 9 inch trout. Needless to say we did a might better than that, putting over 20 lbs. of fish in the boat before lunch!!

A day off to goof off

Well I've got a day off so I guess I oughta spend some time to let ya'll know how things are going. The short answer is GREAT! I spent most of the last 2 weeks guiding and had some great days on the water. All of our rivers have shaped up and a fella can pretty much go wherever he wishes and catch fish. A few of the boys ran to the Madison yesterday chasing a report of Salmon flies; meanwhile Mike Z and I stayed here in our home valley and fished the Big Hole. We found plenty of willing Salmo truttas (brown trout to the lay person) to bite the end of our string. The type of fishing everyone wants on their southwest Montana fishing trip, dry flies and streamers. I guess that is just all part of living the dream!

Its so Magical!!

If you have yet to see the "Double Rainbow" video on YouTube, then you desperately need to look it up and make sure plenty of your friends are around when you watch it. Coincidentally I had a client in the boat that had a case of the double rainbows. Of course you wont understand the hilarity of the situation until you see the video. He was completely amazed at the entire experience of catching a wild trout. He caught a few better fish, but this was the only one he could hold onto long enough to take a picture of. 

Smiling Faces

Contrary to popular belief, being a guide is not an easy venture. Dealing with high water, leaky boats, section closures and difficult clients. One recent guest pushed my patience and my gag reflex to the breaking point. An Iowa corn farmer, who's name will remain unknown for security purposes, consistently found something to complain about and displayed an attitude resembling that of sanitation engineer pulling the night shift at an all you can eat shellfish convention. He not only refused to follow directions, which were conveyed with the utmost respect; the kind of respect that Iowa's stealthiest corn grower has apparently come to demand from spouse,offspring and compadre. After three days of putting on a smile and doing everything in my power to keep this pleasantly pissed person from threatening my life and the lives of those in passing boats, convinced that every other boat on the water was poaching "his" water, I was finally greeted with a smile.

On the Rise

I've been spending quite a bit of time on the water these past few weeks and we saw the best fishing in the last few days. With plenty of the big bugs showing their faces, and their inability to dodge diving night hawks, the fish have been active. We managed to turn a handful on big foam patterns, but the fish really aren't keyed into the salmon flies yet.

While on the river yesterday the Big Hole rose almost 700 CFS and continued rising through the night. With temperatures holding in the mid 70's the snow will continue to melt and the rivers will once again rise this summer. Unfortunately there was a tragic accident yesterday on the river. A rafter turned over his raft and was never found, the other members of the raft made it safely to shore but the rower did not. The entire fishing community in and around Southwest Montana knew within hours and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims family. If you decide to float the rivers in the next week or two have an experienced rower in the seat, life jackets handy, and always keep your eyes down river.

Have fun and please, always be safe!

Week-In-Review

We had a great party at The Stonefly the other night and if you weren't in attendance you missed a good 'ole fashioned shin- dig! Pigs were turning, faces were smiling, glasses stayed full, guitars were picked, and we shut the town down!

Needless to say I was feeling less than spectacular the next morning, which happened to be my first morning to wake up in "Uncle Rico's Palace" recently amended to the "Leaky Can."  I received my orders at o...9:30 and I was headed to the Missouri River for a few days. We had a great time on the Mo' staying at chateau de Parks with Jay and Steve. 

In other news we just got back from a few days down in Idaho fishing the Henry's Fork. A beautiful river and some great folks at TroutHunters made for a good time. We even coaxed a few fish to the surface!


David lassoed this fine brown right out of the gate and put the mojo on us for the rest of the weekend!

All in all it's been a great couple of weeks! Happy Father's Day to all the dads, including my own. I'm being summonsed to row Rooster and Dayna down the river for a Father's Day party float, so I better go wash the boat out and fill the cooler!!

Keep fishing and stay in touch!

Not quite summer..

If your boss ever asks you "should we go fishing today or tomorrow?" GO TODAY!!! Or you will most certainly regret it. We passed up the finest weather day we've had in weeks to do work, then when we want to go fishing we get slapped in the face with a taste of winter....isn't it June??? While all of you back home are complaining of the heat...try this on for size it was probably 35 or 40 yesterday, snowing, and the wind was howling. It felt like I was rowing into a jet engine blast, meanwhile dodging errant casts!!

Even though the weather turned south on us, we managed to scrape out an hour of great fishing. So really there is never anything much to complain about up hear in Big Sky. Like they say, "If you don't like the weather in Montana, wait 15 minutes and it will change."

Getting in the Groove

While the rest of the state is hauling sandbags and wishing they had built their houses on stilts we are staying relatively dry here in Twin. I spent a few days on the upper Beaverhead learning the ins and outs with master guide and friend Joe Willauer and his wife Ke'lah. With gusty winds and cold temperatures, it was typical early season weather. It was good to get back in the rowers seat and watch others have some fun. Thanks to Joe and Ke'lah.

Settling In

After 3 days, 2400 miles, road closures, flooding and 2 hail storms I finally made it to Twin. As usual I didn't even get one box unloaded when Willow appeared ready to hit the water. With every river looking like the Brazos we headed to the Beav, to find every gaper and jobless Montanan pounding 2 miles of river. Of course we slipped in and almost instantly had them asking "What are they biting?"....uh...just some fly this shop guy said would work, I think it's called a prince??

So after knocking the rust off the 'ole casting arm and landing a few great fish, I commenced to unpacking and settling in. Only the finest accommodations will suffice for the Stonefly guide staff. My home, dubbed "Uncle Rico's Palace" is what one might call a classic. A classic what, I have no idea...My roommates are cool though, 3 chubby mice, Gomer, Holice and Gus and one very friendly squirrel, Waldo.

 The best part is there is a drop down guest bed, so if you are feeling froggy, jump on up!!

Well I'm off to chase some more fish around, thanks for reading and remember, if the sign says "Road Closed" there is probably a good reason why.

The start of a good thing...

Well, here it goes. Blogging. Never thought I would be doing this, much less on my own blog. But I will be leaving soon and many of you don't know what it is that I will be doing. Thats OK because I don't either!

All I know now is that graduation is May 13th and my time in Aggieland will come to a bittersweet end. I have spent 5 great years here. Best time of my life!! I wouldn't change a thing and I can't ask for more. I've met some great people, occasionally did something productive, enough to walk across that stage anyway, and will miss Texas A&M and all the tradition. But it's time for a change, time for something new. So a week or so after graduation look for my tailights heading North. I couldn't be more excited about my future and hope everyone will find their way to the high country at some point. There will always be a place to crash, a cold beer to quench your thirst, a trout to cacth, one more powder day, and the always beautiful sunset.

PEACE!