PRO Rendezvous

Yesterday was the annual PRO Guide Rendezvous at the North Fork Crossing near the Blackfoot. Kurt Micheals and I drove over together, which gave us the chance to check out the rivers. The Upper Blackfoot looked like it could fish but once you get past Lincoln, it's obvious it will be a little while. The North Fork is also blown out but if it stays cool, it will be fishing sooner than later on the West Side since both are on the drop. Otherwise, there is still snow up high and high temps will blow it out again for a short period and then it will shape up. Either way, there will be a lot more fishable water this year early, which should keep outfitters and guides closer at home and off the Missouri.

Last night was also the 6th annual Caddis Festival in Craig so there was a lot of networking going on. You know the old adage, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" Well, I'm not going to go so far as to say the Missoula guides are enemies but I will say there is a resource there that can be tapped if you have the right attitude. I'll throw a bone or two to pick up a few days. A lot of the guides from Missoula and Bozeman hate coming over hear because the fishing can be very techie and the river is huge so finding spots where the fish are living can be a challenge. Some guys are just happy to get their sports out of here without getting their teeth kicked in. The Missouri can definitely do that if you don't know it well.

Case in point; I took two guys out on Friday as I got a last minute call from Headhunter's. The previous few days, fish were on the banks gulping caddis pupas and were easy to get if you shortened things up and hit the seems. On Friday, there were no bugs and the fish had been getting pounded so they moved. We stayed off the banks and fished water you probably wouldn't fish with the conditions we had and we wound up putting about 35 fish in the boat and a few topping 20 inches. We had a great day while others struggled because being out here longer and being more familiar with the river at different levels, one finds aces in holes others may not. More options means more fish when things are tough.

The bottom line is there are 4 or 5 thousand fish per river mile in the Missouri and they have to eat at some point. Unless the water is unusually cold or warm, if you're not catching fish you are probably not either matching the bugs or you're not finding the fish. We stayed flexible on Friday and took some chances and did what we had to, to be successful. I know it probably sounds a little arrogant but I get paid for the deck of cards I've been dealt over the years and for the wild cards I've found and kept in my back pocket. I'll share those cards with folks but reciprocity goes a long ways.

Keep 'em where they live...