Tip of the Week-Spend a Little Gain a Lot

I've always kind of been a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to hunting and fishing. Part of the challenge was to get out there and figure things out for yourself, which means overcoming some pretty significant odds and when you're successful, you feel even more accomplished. It's not the way to go through life but as long as you're ok with some failure, it can be a fun way to explore and learn. However, if you can't be on the river every day, or even a few times a month, you want to make the most of your time.

Along with being that independent soul, I also am kind of a cheap skate. Yep, I admit it. I look for bargains and I've been one of those guys that went to the box store and bought flies for 89 cents a dozen. What I got is cheap flies on cheap hooks and as I walked out the door, really bad information on area streams posted on a white-board two weeks prior.

My tip of the week to all those adventurous folks heading out on the water as the weather warms up, is don't be afraid to spend a little money in the local shops on flies that seem to be a little over-priced. You're not just paying for the flies, you're paying for a competent staff that actually fish and know what they're talking about and if you're not afraid to ask, they will help you out. They make money when you come back because what they told you worked. They can help you out with hatches, best practices, gear and the hot flies. And if the shop you go to doesn't want to give up the info, there's always another one that does. Find a shop with staff you feel comfortable with and you'll find it easy to ask questions and you'll get the info you're looking for.

My first couple run-ins with shops wasn't all that pleasant to be honest. I was absolutely out of my element and the guys didn't want to give me the time of day. As I've said, I'm not really all that far removed from walking into a fly shop where EVERYONE is an expert and you look like an idiot because you don't know the difference between an elk hair caddis and a parachute Adams or a even know how to tie a double surgeons knot. I didn't even know what a strike indicator was and didn't use one for probably the first three years I fly fished.

So one day I happened to go into Cross Currents in Helena and met Chris Strainer, the owner, for the first time. He's the one that taught me how to tie that first surgeons knot and he also explained just about everything there is to know about leaders, tippet, drift and dozens of other things I never even heard of. It was really too much to be honest but I did walk out of there much more knowledgeable than when I walked in and I kept going back to him for those first few years and still maintain a relationship with them.

A similar experience happened down in Ennis at the Madison River Fishing Company that year as I headed to the Madison for the Mother's Day caddis hatch. After a really tough day of trying to figure things out, I dragged myself into the shop--tail between my legs and asked the guy at the counter for some help. I dropped about a fifty-spot on flies and he spend 20 minutes explaining what I was going to see and how I should be fishing.

As I walked out the door he says, "Hey dude, if you don't catch anything, no worries. It took me about 3 months to catch my first trout on a fly when I moved out here..."

"Sweet," I said as I walked out the door and jumped in the truck.

I actually did catch fish that day. It took me a few hours but once the sun dropped behind the canyon walls and fish started coming up--just like he said--I started getting a drift over them and wound up landing a half dozen or so. I felt pretty good about that.

The last thing I'd say, and it's not because I'm an outfitter, is that getting guided can be an incredibly educational experience. Now granted, some people only get a chance to fish a couple days a year and all they want is to be a rock-star for a day so catching dozens of fish is more important than learning about how they're catching them but a lot of folks actually like learning about the process. Even for the self-learners, sometimes taking one of your days; getting guided and then heading out on your own is money well spent. However, just as different shops have personalities that a person clicks with and different approaches, a guide is even more-so because you're on the river with him/her for an entire day and once you're in...you're in. Make sure you ask your outfitter the right questions when hiring a guide and tell them what you want to get out of the day and you'll get you're money's worth in the end.

Keep 'em where they live...