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Spring 2002 Newsletter
THE SOUTH AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
From November 2000 until April of 2001 I fished and toured South America-it was a life altering experience. I guided and fished in southern Chile until February and then vacationed with my daughter Kristal from the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, to the altiplano of Bolivia, to the very southern tip of South America. Kristal and I hiked and camped in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Patagonia and fished in Argentina. In April my wife Elaine and I visited, among other places, the village of Pisco Elqui (pisco is the national drink of Chile and this area is the prime producer) and walked the Chilean beaches near the fishing village of Tongoy.
Not surprisingly, I gained a huge appreciation for the United States. Poverty in some Chilean towns was shocking and depressing. Potable water from the tap in northern Chile and Bolivia is virtually impossible to find. More importantly, in Chile there is little opportunity to improve one's economic status because of a strict class structure.
The Chileans that live in remote areas are genuine and generous. While traveling a rough road (most of them are) our truck broke down miles from the lodge or closest town. A couple of Chileans came by and in spite of the bitter wind spent an hour getting covered in dirt and gasoline while repairing our fuel system. They laughed when, after fixing the gringo's car, they looked around and saw they had a flat tire on their ancient Datsun pickup that was loaded 10 feet high with firewood. They refused to let us help them change their tire or pay them for their work.
Interestingly, the Missouri River is as good or better than any stream I fished in Chile or Argentina. While we had a better chance of catching a bigger fish in Chile and Argentina, the numbers and average size fish are easily equaled or bettered by the Missouri. And the Missouri River fish are much stronger.
If any of you are thinking of trout fishing in South America, I would be happy to visit with you about my fishing experience.
WELCOME TO 2002
Dry years seem to come in bunches and 2002 may well be yet another. While snowpack in Montana is low now there is still some winter left and spring rains can always save the rivers. Substantial flushing flows (a.k.a. high spring flows) are needed periodically to maintain healthy rivers-so we'll hope for the best and of course, accept whatever we get.
One might think that, with time, the magic would leave familiar rivers-not so. I am increasingly aware of the great blessings the rivers in this area bring us. Each year I more eagerly anticipate the arrival of guests and spending my days on the water. The Missouri River continues to be the mainstay of our business, and well it should. Clearly it's one of the best trout streams in the world and it's big enough that everyday fishing it brings something new. Every year I find new microspots; that is, small pieces of water-usually no more than a few square feet in size-that consistently hold fish. Each discovery renews my appreciation for this great river.
We continue to fish other rivers as well. The Blackfoot, Smith, and Sun rivers give us the opportunity to provide you a variety of waters. Belt and Big Spring creeks also offer some good wade fishing. There is one other river that I keep to myself-it produces only a few trout but they are likely to be trophies.
I look forward to seeing you on the river and hopefully rowing a boat for you.
THE FISH
I was rowing for Bill Ninke and Bruce Wooley between Mountain Palace and Pelican Point one day last summer, while they fished with the ubiquitous hopper and dropper rig. Bill and Bruce are both expert flyfishers and normally pay close attention to their fly, but Bill was distracted by something over his shoulder and didn't see the fish eat his fly. Just as Bill realized that a fish was on the end of his line, the fish jumped once, jumped twice and with the third leap landed on the boat deck in front of Bill. Bill was a little taken back by this behavior and was pondering his next move when the fish thrashed, threw the hook, and jumped back in the river. Bill is a thoughtful guy and after a silence as we continued floating down the river he commented wryly, "Do you realize that fish hooked itself, landed itself, and then took the hook out and released itself back into the river."
PHEASANT TAIL NYMPHS
Even though I like to keep abreast of the advancing technologies in fly tying, design and construction, one fly I used a lot last summer reminded me that sometimes the old patterns work just fine. The pheasant tail nymphs I use sport a modern brass bead, but the rest of the pattern is a throwback to the "good old days" when Frank Sawyer first tied it. He used only pheasant tail fibers and copper wire (no tying thread) on his. My PT's have a slender profile. Most shop-tied PT's are quite chubby, yet a close inspection of baetis nymphs shows them to be lean. While I cannot scientifically defend this, I also think that smaller sizes work better-I use mostly size 16 and 18 nymphs.
THE SAGE XP
My new Sage XP 6-weight may well be the finest rod of its kind that I have used. The XP is a cannon that can cast large dries, nymph rigs and streamers with ease. This rod is a powerful yet smooth casting rod--it's an easy task to cast the entire line with this rod. The Sage disc drag, large arbor, reel is a great complement to the rod. The true large arbor makes retrieving line a much faster operation than other regular and so-called large arbor reels. I will be taking this rod to Belize this year for bonefish.
BELIZE
I'm headed to Belize with three flyfishing friends in May. I consider the trip to be the best chance in the world to catch a saltwater grand slam and is also a great value for a saltwater trip. Bonefish are plentiful, albeit on the small side, weighing from 2 to 3 pounds. Bonefish tails glistening in the setting sun remain one of my favorite visions. Most of the tarpon are in the 50 to 60 pound range, but there are larger tarpon in the area (I landed a 125-pounder two years ago). While I still think that nothing in the world of flyfishing can equal the thrill of sight fishing to big tarpon, baby tarpon (up to 25 pounds) are perhaps more fun. We catch the smaller tarpon in the Belize River and in mangrove lagoons. Permit are always tough, but you can be sure of getting some good shots at them in Belize.
The mothership experience is a great value because we fish from first light to after dark everyday. Of course, you can fish shorter days or go snorkeling or beachcombing, but if you want time on the water this is the place to get it. The mothership is comfortable and is always parked within a few minutes of where we fish. Because there are no long boat rides to and from the lodge the fishing experience is maximized. While the trip is advertised as six full fishing days, we actually fish almost seven.
If you are interested in a Belize trip I have a good inventory of information I can send you or log on to www.flyfishbelize.com for more information.
A HIGHLIGHT
Mike Helbach from Seattle comes to the Missouri River every year, usually during early October in order to fish the baetis hatch. His first day of fishing with me this fall was welcomed by an early snowstorm as we floated from Mountain Palace to Pelican Point. Even in the snow we found hundreds of fish rising to a midge hatch and he also hooked up a number of very nice fish on wooly buggers. At noon we went to Craig to have a hot lunch and warm up. Fortunately we decided to head back out in the afternoon. The wind was blowing on the upper river so we refloated the Mountain Palace to Pelican Point stretch and found absolute calm weather and warm sunshine. Baetis covered the river from bank to bank and Mike could have caught fish all afternoon within sight of the boat ramp. We pushed down river and continued to catch rising fish the whole way. Best of all, I don't remember seeing another boat the entire day.
WHIRLING DISEASE
Some of you have caught those big strong rainbows in the first two miles below Holter Dam. Those fish are 3 to 5 years old and represent the cream of the rainbow crop on the Missouri River. But whirling disease in the Little Prickly Pear Creek has destroyed a lot of the young fish that would normally migrate to and live in that area and as a result we can expect to see fewer fish in that section of the river over the next few years. Fortunately, the Dearborn River is not infected and most of the fish in the Missouri River spawn there, especially the fish in the lower river.
THE DOG
Elaine and I are in the process of buying a piece of land on the Missouri River and hope to build a house there in the next couple of years. While we will enjoy the beauty of this part of the river, we also want to get our new puppy out of the city. Rio is a black and white, six-month old border collie that dominates our lives as a two year old baby would. On his first ride in my drift boat Rio decided that water was solid enough to walk on and stepped out of the boat expecting to get to shore. I quickly picked him out of the river and Elaine dried him off, but he remains shy of water. I had to laugh recently when I watched him straining to get to a stick in the river while keeping his hind feet on dry ground.
2002 RATES
This year's rates are the same as last year; that is, $325 per day for a guided float trip. That price includes the guide, boat, flies, a great lunch, beverages and local transportation. We watch the river and the fish, not the clock so you WILL get your money's worth from us.
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