Californication

Well today is the last day in Southern California after spending the last week with a couple of my good friends and fishing customers.  This whole trip sprung out of an idea one of my friends had while fishing the Missouri River in Montana last June.  It was one of those idyllic calm Montana days in June where just about everywhere you cast your fly catches a nice one,  Glen was having a pretty good time in the back of the boat catching fish after fish and this idea.  The idea was that I should come down this next winter and put on a talk about fly fishing Western Montana at his wife's casting club (notice his wife's fishing club).  The trip then spiraled into a week long bonanza of snow skiing and fly fishing adventures in the Eastern Sierra.  We had four wonderful days skiing Mammoth in the mornings and fly fishing Hot Creek and the Upper and Lower Owens rivers in the afternoons.  The weather was amazing! 40 plus degree temps ruled in the afternoons and it was gloriously sunny each day.  It was bizarre coming from Montana to such beautiful weather in January.  The shear numbers of fish/mile in these small streams is staggering, since none of them are larger than the Beaverhead.   We then spent a couple of days seeing the sights of the Los Angeles area, had a awesome personal tour of the Disney Theatre and had a great time eating and drinking ourselves into sleep each night.  After a wonderful dinner at Walt's Seafood in Seal Beach we drove up to the Long Beach Casting Club for my Presentation on Western Montana.  I have been to a number of fishing clubs but never have I been more impressed and warmly greeted.  They have a giant casting pond and a great club house with all the technology to provide an excellent presentation.  The presentation went off really well and I really enjoyed getting to talk to a large number of fly fishing enthusiasts.  To Bill, Jeff and the Long Beach Casting thanks again for everything and hope to see you all soon on the water's of Western Montana.  Tightlines and Cheers.

January

As the snow continues to pile up in the mountains we have had a serious warming trend in the valley's and the rivers have all bumped up quite a bit.  It is amazing how last week everything was darn near frozen solid and this week we are experiencing 40 plus degree temperatures during the day and the water is on the rise drastically.  I starting thinking back how a couple of years ago although we had a great snow pack up high in the mountains day time temps were such that the last week of February had some of the finest dry fly fishing of the year and as a result March had these amazing Skwala Stone Fly hatches.  I still think we are a ways out from that but who knows.  I remember launching the boat on the Bitterroot on Feb. 25th and thinking to myself, "do I really need this coat?"  We were really just out on the water to be there after a long winter of not trouting and not really worried about great fishing we just wanted to be out. As the afternoon warmed up the fish began to look up and holy cow! the fish were on!  We caught quite a few on the dry and a bunch more on droppers and as we drove back to Missoula that evening all of us agreed that was possibly the best day of trout fishing anyone of us had ever seen in February, and on the dry fly as well!  Western Montana's pre runoff fishing can be just as productive or more so than any other time of year.  We are truly blessed that because of the lower altitude of the Missoula area things warm up enough to offer literally three more months of great trout fishing than any other Montana fishing destination.  Come check it out!  Get ahold of me at http://www.sheerwaterguides.com/

I can remember why I got into fishing guiding in the first place.  It was to go down beautiful rivers everyday and catch fish! and here I sit behind a computer typing about nothing, responding to emails, checking the weather and snow pack trying to predict the next powder day or the beginning of the Skwala hatch in March.  I guess that is what winter is for, waiting until the weather warms enough to cast a fly rod and catch the first trout of 2011.  We have the new website up and I hope all of you enjoy it!  I think it is fantastic!  Let me know what you think.  I am starting soon on a new skiff design I have been thinking about for the last few years and am pretty excited to see how it turns out.  It is going to be 15ft. long and about 57 in. across wich will help it draft over the gravel bars of the Bitterroot and Blackfoot when the water gets low in August.  I still think if thing continue as they are right now that 2011 is going to be another banner water year. So give me a call and lets go fish.  Cheers.

Viva La Nina!

As I sit here working on the final parts of getting this new website up and running, I can't help but look outside and be excited!  It is snowing and has been snowing very regularly for weeks, we are having possibly the biggest winter I have ever seen.  What this snow means is that if it continues through the winter fishing and waters levels will be in amazing shape again this year.  For those of you who have fished with us in the last few years have experienced what a healthy spring runnoff does for the trout of Western Montana.  Viva La Nina!  Our Spring fishing season will start in Early March this year and be great dry fly fishing all the way through April.  The fishing always lasts longer into April before the water starts to blow out on big snow years because the earth is cooler and slower to get runoff going.  Also remember that we run spring discounts on our guide days at only $375/2 anglers/boat this quite a savings.  Lets just keep praying for powder which really helps pass the time until we can float down rivers again, fly rod in hand.