Hi all,
Last folks out this am and Deb coming to collect me Wednesday.
Our best year by far... thank you..... lot's of our regulars and ton's of new groups... great fun and thank you all for your generosity of spirit and great company on and off the rivers!
It's been a long time since the last report .... I think I warned that would be the case...... 27 days on the rivers, creeks and lakes from early Sept to early Oct..... lots of fun and lots of fish! You all tuckered me out!
September was up and down.... early with warm, bright conditions and a Trico hatch that would not go away! Towards the end the fish were as picky as I've seen them..... If you've been eating the same food item for two months ya kinda get used to it! But when the bluewings started showing up the fish started behaving themselves... right Gary! Even then with Bluewings coming off in droves there were still tricos.... m ust have been a great egg laying session last season!
Then it got cold and stayed cold! Mayflies wouldn't come back and play and quite honestly it was tough.... we always caught fish, and at times it was great, but as we're all experiencing in the rocky mountain west.... snow, snow and cold water.... Had two boats out Saturday... air temp high of 25..... water probably about 39... still caught some nice fish... but at the end of the day the trucks heater was more than welcome.
I usually tout the first two weeks in October as Indian summer like, crisp in the am.... nice during the day and good fishing. The weather gods stuck it to me this year!
A couple of special shout outs to my military boys... Charlie, Morgan and Carl and the old farts Jim and Wayne... that was a special few days with you guys..... glad you all made it out ... Parr and I look forward to seeing you next season! Jim I'll have more fancy graphite and bamboo for you to play with next year! My family from Dusseldorf ...... a treat.. see you in 2010.... The " day of beauty " lads..... you endured a tough day and treated it like your best day of fishing ever.... let's fish in shorts next year... not in snowmobile suits!!! Bob, great having your dad out and too much fun with you and Mike in the boat together the last day..... tough crew! Another great visit from John, Ellen and Ben... I even remembered the fish cook out this year! To the 65ers..... my belly is big... my liver shriveled.... thanks as always! I've left out tons of folks to thank... I'll make up for it this winter in my occasional reports or telling of tall tales.
After the holidays I'll email out my thoughts on the 2010 season.... our tenth anniversary!! I have a lot of you already booked and talking about booking specific times next season..... we'll talk after I reintroduce myself to my favorite blonde chicks and sleep in a few days!
Truly.... thanks for everything folks!
All the best,
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service
www.northplattefishing.com
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Hi Folks,
August.... hot still, warm water....... not this year! With a couple of snows, some rain and very cool night time temps the sleeping and fishing have been outstanding. The fish are rising all day and night out front... trikes rule, terrestrials rule and the Bluewings are starting to show.
Outlook..... summer is over, cool weather looks like it's here to stay... the best of the best for our season.
Fishing.... With the Bluewings here and getting stronger every day and cool temps everything is a go... nymph early, dries mid morning forward and go ahead and throw a streamer every once in a while and see what happens! Or... just keep a dry on all day long.. you'll do fine! Took a little personal fishing time to exercise a few of the pets out front..... long leader down to 6 & 7 X, stealthy approach with size 24 Trico spinners or small beetle patterns...... it's a fun game!
Mushrooming.... Took my usual family and friends week or so off and have been eating fungi on a regular basis. My new favorite is the Shrimp Russula... dam thing, in age or when cooking or drying it , smells like shrimp or crab. It's an absolutely yummy shroom and is great in omelettes..... right Deb!
Crazy busy in September so the next report might be the last for the season... sometime in October. So if you need a current report just call in the evenings... in between large sips of fine to mediocre scotch I'm mumble a current report for you.
Be well and enjoy the fall!
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service 302 326 6079
August.... hot still, warm water....... not this year! With a couple of snows, some rain and very cool night time temps the sleeping and fishing have been outstanding. The fish are rising all day and night out front... trikes rule, terrestrials rule and the Bluewings are starting to show.
Outlook..... summer is over, cool weather looks like it's here to stay... the best of the best for our season.
Fishing.... With the Bluewings here and getting stronger every day and cool temps everything is a go... nymph early, dries mid morning forward and go ahead and throw a streamer every once in a while and see what happens! Or... just keep a dry on all day long.. you'll do fine! Took a little personal fishing time to exercise a few of the pets out front..... long leader down to 6 & 7 X, stealthy approach with size 24 Trico spinners or small beetle patterns...... it's a fun game!
Mushrooming.... Took my usual family and friends week or so off and have been eating fungi on a regular basis. My new favorite is the Shrimp Russula... dam thing, in age or when cooking or drying it , smells like shrimp or crab. It's an absolutely yummy shroom and is great in omelettes..... right Deb!
Crazy busy in September so the next report might be the last for the season... sometime in October. So if you need a current report just call in the evenings... in between large sips of fine to mediocre scotch I'm mumble a current report for you.
Be well and enjoy the fall!
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service 302 326 6079
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Saved Guide rejoices..
Hi all,
It's either too busy a season for me or I'm losing it!
First the fishing..... very nice! We've been getting September like weather ..... a little snow in the hills, 39 degrees in town yesterday am.... and enough rain to keep the river up, cool and fishing! Tricos in full swing and terrestrials working well as well.
Had a few trips up Bennett to Treasure... fishing great but..... I had my big dogs yesterday... Scott and Brad... back for their 5th trip and at 6' 6" each, mid 200lbs and my fat butt in the boat... well we dragged a bit! Water starting to get a bit skinney up there with a drift boat. Great company, great workout.... oh yea Scott saved the trip and my ass!
A lot of you have heard the story of the Kiwi worm.... it bares repeating to show that us guides are human or just goofy buggers, So my Kiwi guide buddy is in a bar one night.... friendly drunk Swede shoves weird looking worm pattern at my buddy... guide looks at fly... dam thing looks like an old fashioned barber pole... smiles says thanks.. throws it in his wallet and forgets about it.
A few weeks later my friend is with clients being dropped off by helicopter in a remote area in the Alps of the South Island... helicopter leaves... with my guide buddy's vest! Rods with lines and leader on them... no tippet, no bugs... nothing! Frantic guide looks in every nook and cranny trying to make any fly appear out of thin air.... ah ha.... in the wallet the Swede's worm. With that one fly they rocked! Big Browns on the South Island ate it up...... the guide has since turned me on to the pattern and those who fish with me know it... and love it!
Forward to yesterday..... everyone happy at the put in.... joking, a beautiful morning and off we go down the river... with a vest less guide!! I'm beating myself up and thinking we've got all day with the eight flies we have on the rods, no tippet.... Scott without missing a beat or concerned in the least hands me his vest full of flies and tippet! I love ya man!! We did very well except for the big crash..... my savior Scott went down in a pile as we entered a chute and I side swiped a rock.... not the way to treat your hero!! OK to crash Brad.... but not my man with the vest! Get better Scott and thanks for saving the day!!
And many thanks to " Jimbo " my shuttle driver... after locking my keys in the truck for the first time.. I'll be dammed if I didn't do it again a week later!!?? My man Jimbo looking after the boss man, checked before locking up the vehicle at the take out.. saw the spare key, laughed and put it in the gas cap.... Jimbo got a raise!!
So with the rest of the season fully booked ... a quick shout out to my folks...... bring a check list to the put in for me!!!!!!! I feel like the fourth grader who all day long walks around with his pants on backwards and the fly open.... blissfully unaware and happy!!
Enjoy our fall like weather... we'll see you on the river!
Cheers,
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service
It's either too busy a season for me or I'm losing it!
First the fishing..... very nice! We've been getting September like weather ..... a little snow in the hills, 39 degrees in town yesterday am.... and enough rain to keep the river up, cool and fishing! Tricos in full swing and terrestrials working well as well.
Had a few trips up Bennett to Treasure... fishing great but..... I had my big dogs yesterday... Scott and Brad... back for their 5th trip and at 6' 6" each, mid 200lbs and my fat butt in the boat... well we dragged a bit! Water starting to get a bit skinney up there with a drift boat. Great company, great workout.... oh yea Scott saved the trip and my ass!
A lot of you have heard the story of the Kiwi worm.... it bares repeating to show that us guides are human or just goofy buggers, So my Kiwi guide buddy is in a bar one night.... friendly drunk Swede shoves weird looking worm pattern at my buddy... guide looks at fly... dam thing looks like an old fashioned barber pole... smiles says thanks.. throws it in his wallet and forgets about it.
A few weeks later my friend is with clients being dropped off by helicopter in a remote area in the Alps of the South Island... helicopter leaves... with my guide buddy's vest! Rods with lines and leader on them... no tippet, no bugs... nothing! Frantic guide looks in every nook and cranny trying to make any fly appear out of thin air.... ah ha.... in the wallet the Swede's worm. With that one fly they rocked! Big Browns on the South Island ate it up...... the guide has since turned me on to the pattern and those who fish with me know it... and love it!
Forward to yesterday..... everyone happy at the put in.... joking, a beautiful morning and off we go down the river... with a vest less guide!! I'm beating myself up and thinking we've got all day with the eight flies we have on the rods, no tippet.... Scott without missing a beat or concerned in the least hands me his vest full of flies and tippet! I love ya man!! We did very well except for the big crash..... my savior Scott went down in a pile as we entered a chute and I side swiped a rock.... not the way to treat your hero!! OK to crash Brad.... but not my man with the vest! Get better Scott and thanks for saving the day!!
And many thanks to " Jimbo " my shuttle driver... after locking my keys in the truck for the first time.. I'll be dammed if I didn't do it again a week later!!?? My man Jimbo looking after the boss man, checked before locking up the vehicle at the take out.. saw the spare key, laughed and put it in the gas cap.... Jimbo got a raise!!
So with the rest of the season fully booked ... a quick shout out to my folks...... bring a check list to the put in for me!!!!!!! I feel like the fourth grader who all day long walks around with his pants on backwards and the fly open.... blissfully unaware and happy!!
Enjoy our fall like weather... we'll see you on the river!
Cheers,
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service
Monday, July 27, 2009
PS TO WY fishing report
Hey Folks,
Almost forgot the fishing tip of the year.....If you really want to impress family, friends and in my case clients.... do the following...
In the morning put on wool socks, your neoprene booties to wet wade, with then your wading boots. Get them wet during the day... at end of day take socks, neoprene and boots off and put in vehicle..... clean out truck get ready for next days fishing.
Now the important part..... forget socks in vehicle and leave under canvas cover for the drift boat.
Next morning greet clients and yourself with the vehicle smelling like a dead badger is buried inside!
Thank god for good natured clients and widows opened at 90 mph!
You all owe me.
Cheers,
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service
Almost forgot the fishing tip of the year.....If you really want to impress family, friends and in my case clients.... do the following...
In the morning put on wool socks, your neoprene booties to wet wade, with then your wading boots. Get them wet during the day... at end of day take socks, neoprene and boots off and put in vehicle..... clean out truck get ready for next days fishing.
Now the important part..... forget socks in vehicle and leave under canvas cover for the drift boat.
Next morning greet clients and yourself with the vehicle smelling like a dead badger is buried inside!
Thank god for good natured clients and widows opened at 90 mph!
You all owe me.
Cheers,
Mitch
Harrison's Guest House & Guide Service
Mermaids and Tricos
Hi folks,
Life continues to be great on the Platte.... need a good downpour in the Mountains to get my mushrooms poking their heads up though!
The Tricos and Caddis are still the headliners... nice Caddis hatches in the evenings, Trikes in the am with fish starting to pay attention to the spinner fall late am early pm.Fun fishing the Caddis on a tight line while swinging emergers or taking them proper like on dries..... the little ( size 18 ) speckle wing Caddis is around in great numbers right now. The Nymphing with Tricos is great right now right up to when the fish start eating the spent spinners on top. Look to my previous report re: the nymphing....... light tippet, longer leaders and tiny bugs...... a lot on my clients think I'm pulling their chain when I toss on a size 24 nymph.... right up until they land an 18" trout.... fish breed confidence!!
I got a discouraging report from a nice guy on the phone re: the fishing. I had been telling him what's going on on the Bennett float and unfortunately he called... not upset at all...... but saying they hadn't touched a fish on their own float. He did get a few nice ones wading Treasure Island though. We've been, and continue to do well on the upper, and now the lower river... so I can't stress enough how clear this water is and how important your leader set up and presentation are.... info available here anytime.
Clients.... TX Mitch up for his early summer trip brought the beautiful Miss Belinda with him this year... Ya never know what you're going to get when a client brings a partner up to fish... are they just here to please their better half.... or do they really want to fish ....... Well our Mermaid Belinda.. having never really fly fished before.... took all of a couple of hours to learn how to cast, mend and get the perfect drift! Then she started setting the hook with vigor...... the Trout never stood a chance! Mitch, after I've beat him into submission the last 8 years, is a fine fly fisher and had two stellar days... but he and I were both impressed with how quickly Belinda took to the game.... and the results were impressive! You guys were great.... see you in September! Belinda before I see you again on the river just remember ya got to let them run!!
Over the years it's been funny to watch new fly fishers when they hook their first big Trout........ they all have a certain distance they will let the trout run to.... at that point they say the Trout is too far away and they clamp down on the line and...... well.... it's advantage trout! My Deb, when I first took her fly fishing would let the fish get about 50ft out or so when she would try to rein them in..... and then she would look at me as if to say " well what are you going to do to get my fish back! " She's since learned that's why God made backing!
The lower river is really starting to get going with good numbers and good sized fish. Our next group. Father Glenn and Daughter Betsy, on only a 1/2 day trip hooked and lander a good number of fish and Betsy, not having touched a fly rod in over 7 years tending to babies and business, did a great job and was almost a hero...... probably about a 5 or 6 lb Rainbow.... out of the water three times, four ft+ in the air each jump and shaking it's head like a Tarpon...... I see a lot of nice fish on this river.... this one really got my attention... alas on the third jump he spit the hook.... the guide said really bad words..... apologized for his bad language... then said more bad words... but ......... " Tis better to have hooked.... than to not have hooked at all "
From here on out..... It's really in the hands of the weather gods... with continuing cool nights and some clouds the fishing will be as good as your drift...... If we get some hot and dusty days... it's out of bed and on the river REAL early..... off by noon napping and waiting for the evening hatch.
Can't believe we're not that far away from September...... Dam, life does speed up as you get some age on ya!! Good news is the Blue Wings are stirring on the bottom on the rivers... see ya then
Cheers,
MitchHarrison's Guest House & Guide Service
Life continues to be great on the Platte.... need a good downpour in the Mountains to get my mushrooms poking their heads up though!
The Tricos and Caddis are still the headliners... nice Caddis hatches in the evenings, Trikes in the am with fish starting to pay attention to the spinner fall late am early pm.Fun fishing the Caddis on a tight line while swinging emergers or taking them proper like on dries..... the little ( size 18 ) speckle wing Caddis is around in great numbers right now. The Nymphing with Tricos is great right now right up to when the fish start eating the spent spinners on top. Look to my previous report re: the nymphing....... light tippet, longer leaders and tiny bugs...... a lot on my clients think I'm pulling their chain when I toss on a size 24 nymph.... right up until they land an 18" trout.... fish breed confidence!!
I got a discouraging report from a nice guy on the phone re: the fishing. I had been telling him what's going on on the Bennett float and unfortunately he called... not upset at all...... but saying they hadn't touched a fish on their own float. He did get a few nice ones wading Treasure Island though. We've been, and continue to do well on the upper, and now the lower river... so I can't stress enough how clear this water is and how important your leader set up and presentation are.... info available here anytime.
Clients.... TX Mitch up for his early summer trip brought the beautiful Miss Belinda with him this year... Ya never know what you're going to get when a client brings a partner up to fish... are they just here to please their better half.... or do they really want to fish ....... Well our Mermaid Belinda.. having never really fly fished before.... took all of a couple of hours to learn how to cast, mend and get the perfect drift! Then she started setting the hook with vigor...... the Trout never stood a chance! Mitch, after I've beat him into submission the last 8 years, is a fine fly fisher and had two stellar days... but he and I were both impressed with how quickly Belinda took to the game.... and the results were impressive! You guys were great.... see you in September! Belinda before I see you again on the river just remember ya got to let them run!!
Over the years it's been funny to watch new fly fishers when they hook their first big Trout........ they all have a certain distance they will let the trout run to.... at that point they say the Trout is too far away and they clamp down on the line and...... well.... it's advantage trout! My Deb, when I first took her fly fishing would let the fish get about 50ft out or so when she would try to rein them in..... and then she would look at me as if to say " well what are you going to do to get my fish back! " She's since learned that's why God made backing!
The lower river is really starting to get going with good numbers and good sized fish. Our next group. Father Glenn and Daughter Betsy, on only a 1/2 day trip hooked and lander a good number of fish and Betsy, not having touched a fly rod in over 7 years tending to babies and business, did a great job and was almost a hero...... probably about a 5 or 6 lb Rainbow.... out of the water three times, four ft+ in the air each jump and shaking it's head like a Tarpon...... I see a lot of nice fish on this river.... this one really got my attention... alas on the third jump he spit the hook.... the guide said really bad words..... apologized for his bad language... then said more bad words... but ......... " Tis better to have hooked.... than to not have hooked at all "
From here on out..... It's really in the hands of the weather gods... with continuing cool nights and some clouds the fishing will be as good as your drift...... If we get some hot and dusty days... it's out of bed and on the river REAL early..... off by noon napping and waiting for the evening hatch.
Can't believe we're not that far away from September...... Dam, life does speed up as you get some age on ya!! Good news is the Blue Wings are stirring on the bottom on the rivers... see ya then
Cheers,
MitchHarrison's Guest House & Guide Service
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hi all,
Many days on the water and many fish since my last email / blog fishing report.Most responses ever to any of my reports and I'm happy to say all supporting this humbled guide. Really I'm just a big whiner... I get one rough group every three years.... I'm a lucky guy!
Report...... River dropped like crazy from the 6th of July to the10th. I was fishing some other waters and got back on the Platte and Bennett the 11th and it was like September.... crystal clear! As a matter of fact the whole system I guide on was clear and fishing great. had my good friends and clients EDI back for their 5th annual retreat to our place and all four boats we had on the water scored. From Bennett to Sanger all boats did really well..... probably their best fishing trip to date with us. Pat.... please next year let the big bugger run!!!!!!!!!!
Drakes well up on the Encampment now and the Caddis are coming on strong with a great hatch the other night in front of the Guest House. Seeing the first Tricos about so it must be summer!
Speaking of summer and clear water.... best tip I can give you is this... The Platte never LOOKS crystal clear because of our fertile and moss/mud bottom... but looks are deceiving.... right now it's as clear as most spring creeks and I often run into folks using short leaders and large diameter tippet and not having very much luck. The Caddis that are hatching are from 14s to 20s, the tricos are 20s - 26s, PMDs 14 - 16s, small stones 14s - 16s, scuds 18s.... so you see the main bug menu... not counting crayfish, leeches, minnows etc.... is from size 14 all the way to 26s... and like I have mentioned the water is very clear. Couple the above info with a perfect presentation and you'll have a ball! Think long leaders with 5 & 6X tippets......
Our spring weather madness is behind us now and soon we'll be into our warm weather rhythm of up early, off early, back on late.
New group in today then Texas Mitch back with us Thursday for his 9th or 10th visit and a few days of fishing. It's been a busy month and a half so Debs coming up this weekend for a break from her busy schedule and to relax in the mountains while your's truly cooks up her catch of Brook Trout...... we're lucky kids and it's a great time of year in the valley
Best to you all,
Mitch
Many days on the water and many fish since my last email / blog fishing report.Most responses ever to any of my reports and I'm happy to say all supporting this humbled guide. Really I'm just a big whiner... I get one rough group every three years.... I'm a lucky guy!
Report...... River dropped like crazy from the 6th of July to the10th. I was fishing some other waters and got back on the Platte and Bennett the 11th and it was like September.... crystal clear! As a matter of fact the whole system I guide on was clear and fishing great. had my good friends and clients EDI back for their 5th annual retreat to our place and all four boats we had on the water scored. From Bennett to Sanger all boats did really well..... probably their best fishing trip to date with us. Pat.... please next year let the big bugger run!!!!!!!!!!
Drakes well up on the Encampment now and the Caddis are coming on strong with a great hatch the other night in front of the Guest House. Seeing the first Tricos about so it must be summer!
Speaking of summer and clear water.... best tip I can give you is this... The Platte never LOOKS crystal clear because of our fertile and moss/mud bottom... but looks are deceiving.... right now it's as clear as most spring creeks and I often run into folks using short leaders and large diameter tippet and not having very much luck. The Caddis that are hatching are from 14s to 20s, the tricos are 20s - 26s, PMDs 14 - 16s, small stones 14s - 16s, scuds 18s.... so you see the main bug menu... not counting crayfish, leeches, minnows etc.... is from size 14 all the way to 26s... and like I have mentioned the water is very clear. Couple the above info with a perfect presentation and you'll have a ball! Think long leaders with 5 & 6X tippets......
Our spring weather madness is behind us now and soon we'll be into our warm weather rhythm of up early, off early, back on late.
New group in today then Texas Mitch back with us Thursday for his 9th or 10th visit and a few days of fishing. It's been a busy month and a half so Debs coming up this weekend for a break from her busy schedule and to relax in the mountains while your's truly cooks up her catch of Brook Trout...... we're lucky kids and it's a great time of year in the valley
Best to you all,
Mitch
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Being guided, Indicators, shuttles and Full Moon
Hi Folks,
Long time…. And so much to report on.
First the fishing… it’s been really, really good. The Drakes continue to do their thing on the Encampment and the upper river, Bennett to town, has been great on nymphs and when the cloud cover permits on dries. Everything is hatching so there are bugs deep, in the middle and on top.
The river and our area continue to get fresh shots of rain, the river comes up and slows the fishing a bit then goes down and the fishing is wonderful. You’ll never see Wyoming, Montana or Colorado so Green in July. It’s great for the rivers and should allow us great floating well into the summer….. the down side is the folks who like to wade fish it’s tough right now… so bring your boat, inner tube, log or rubber ducky to float on…. Or hire me to row you!
Speaking of hiring me.. Or any guide for that matter….. I’m usually good at asking my clients what they what to get out of their trips… and then I’ll explain what’s happening on the river right now and what’s most effective. More often than not we can find a happy medium to keep my guys happy and put a few fish in the boat while enjoying the day on our beautiful Platte.
So I get a couple of new guys, spur of the moment who want to fish… they want to float the Encampment themselves and do the big river with me… tomorrow. I explained that the nymphing has been hot on the Platte and judging by the rain that was coming down at the moment they may want to wait a day for me on the big river so it could settle and start to drop and in the meantime and they could do their thing on the Encampment. They voted to do the Platte right away so off we go the next am.
As advertised the river was up a bit but we still had decent visibility …. No worries we’ll nymph the edges and do just fine.
Right off we catch an 18” Brown and life is looking good… until I apparently didn’t know where to fish, how to set up a leader and was using rotten tippet material.
My one client, who caught the nice Brown, all of a sudden decided that he would start throwing his bugs in all the juicy looking runs where the fish just had to be… Just like on the Arkansas says he, and tying up his own leader using his bugs ….
Sadly we were on the Platte and for an hour or so he lost flies, broke of leaders by casting into 5” of water rather that fishing the runs I pointed out. He and I were both frustrated so I pulled into an eddy took a deep breath. I looked at his leader which was now down to 5 feet and about 20lb test with no tippet …… he liked it cause my tippet was rotten and he wouldn’t break off this way….. I explained that he wouldn’t catch fish with that set up and if he would please allow me to re rig him and give my way and hour. Begrudgingly he said yes and unfortunately I set up a battle between the client…. An old fly fishing sage….. And the guide… young punk kid wet behind the ears…. That would last the rest of the trip.
So…. The very first run after re doing his rig and with him putting the fly where I asked… he could do this as he was a good caster and good fisherman…. He immediately hooked and landed a 16” Bow…… ah victory was mine and now we can start catching fish and enjoying the day. Alas it was not to be….. He is after all the client and many years my senior so by Ten am I was relegated to boat driver and following his directions …….we proceeded to not catch fish in every imaginable way.
So while this is drama is unfolding my other guy, also a good fisherman with ton’s of experience lands a nice Brown and says “ great fish… now let’s take off the indicator … which he doesn’t like fishing with…. And carry on. No worries, I don’t use an indicator for my personal fishing and it’s a challenging way to fish…. But to be effective you have to really, really, really pay attention and work hard at it… I love it!
I’m sure you’ve already guessed that without the indicator and without the intense concentration it takes to make it work…. that end of the boat stopped catching fish and wouldn’t let me work with him to get the good drifts required to catch our beautiful Browns and Rainbows…. Drat’s !... foiled again!
So……. First, if you hire a guide for the day… use him…. After all we do know a little about this game….. And if you decide not to use or listen to him, except to row….. please don’t look to your guide at the end of the day and say the fishing was poor… just thank him that the boat didn’t sink, the water and ice tea were cold and what a pretty river the Platte is.
I digress, sort of…… Now for the final blow… for the first….. And last time….. Your fearless guide committed the cardinal sin as it pertains to running the shuttle….. As we all know the key to the shuttle is the KEY! At the end of the above explained, less than stellar trip…. I arrived at my truck with both keys locked inside… E Gad… what next… with gathering storm clouds I’m sure a lightning strike was in order!
A borrowed cell phone and with my mechanics help we were on the road again… thank god for friends!
So I wake up this am…. A little fuzzy from the single malt that was used to soften the above fiasco…. off to the west I spied the moon setting…. A full moon!
So a final thought to end this rambling e mail report…… never, ever, never hire me on a full moon… let’s all just sit on the deck, enjoy a few libations, howl at the full moon and wait for the dam thing to go away!!
Hope you all had a great 4th of July and are enjoying a fish or two!
Cheers,
Mitch
Harrison’s Guest House & Guide Service 307 326 6079
Hi Folks,
Long time…. And so much to report on.
First the fishing… it’s been really, really good. The Drakes continue to do their thing on the Encampment and the upper river, Bennett to town, has been great on nymphs and when the cloud cover permits on dries. Everything is hatching so there are bugs deep, in the middle and on top.
The river and our area continue to get fresh shots of rain, the river comes up and slows the fishing a bit then goes down and the fishing is wonderful. You’ll never see Wyoming, Montana or Colorado so Green in July. It’s great for the rivers and should allow us great floating well into the summer….. the down side is the folks who like to wade fish it’s tough right now… so bring your boat, inner tube, log or rubber ducky to float on…. Or hire me to row you!
Speaking of hiring me.. Or any guide for that matter….. I’m usually good at asking my clients what they what to get out of their trips… and then I’ll explain what’s happening on the river right now and what’s most effective. More often than not we can find a happy medium to keep my guys happy and put a few fish in the boat while enjoying the day on our beautiful Platte.
So I get a couple of new guys, spur of the moment who want to fish… they want to float the Encampment themselves and do the big river with me… tomorrow. I explained that the nymphing has been hot on the Platte and judging by the rain that was coming down at the moment they may want to wait a day for me on the big river so it could settle and start to drop and in the meantime and they could do their thing on the Encampment. They voted to do the Platte right away so off we go the next am.
As advertised the river was up a bit but we still had decent visibility …. No worries we’ll nymph the edges and do just fine.
Right off we catch an 18” Brown and life is looking good… until I apparently didn’t know where to fish, how to set up a leader and was using rotten tippet material.
My one client, who caught the nice Brown, all of a sudden decided that he would start throwing his bugs in all the juicy looking runs where the fish just had to be… Just like on the Arkansas says he, and tying up his own leader using his bugs ….
Sadly we were on the Platte and for an hour or so he lost flies, broke of leaders by casting into 5” of water rather that fishing the runs I pointed out. He and I were both frustrated so I pulled into an eddy took a deep breath. I looked at his leader which was now down to 5 feet and about 20lb test with no tippet …… he liked it cause my tippet was rotten and he wouldn’t break off this way….. I explained that he wouldn’t catch fish with that set up and if he would please allow me to re rig him and give my way and hour. Begrudgingly he said yes and unfortunately I set up a battle between the client…. An old fly fishing sage….. And the guide… young punk kid wet behind the ears…. That would last the rest of the trip.
So…. The very first run after re doing his rig and with him putting the fly where I asked… he could do this as he was a good caster and good fisherman…. He immediately hooked and landed a 16” Bow…… ah victory was mine and now we can start catching fish and enjoying the day. Alas it was not to be….. He is after all the client and many years my senior so by Ten am I was relegated to boat driver and following his directions …….we proceeded to not catch fish in every imaginable way.
So while this is drama is unfolding my other guy, also a good fisherman with ton’s of experience lands a nice Brown and says “ great fish… now let’s take off the indicator … which he doesn’t like fishing with…. And carry on. No worries, I don’t use an indicator for my personal fishing and it’s a challenging way to fish…. But to be effective you have to really, really, really pay attention and work hard at it… I love it!
I’m sure you’ve already guessed that without the indicator and without the intense concentration it takes to make it work…. that end of the boat stopped catching fish and wouldn’t let me work with him to get the good drifts required to catch our beautiful Browns and Rainbows…. Drat’s !... foiled again!
So……. First, if you hire a guide for the day… use him…. After all we do know a little about this game….. And if you decide not to use or listen to him, except to row….. please don’t look to your guide at the end of the day and say the fishing was poor… just thank him that the boat didn’t sink, the water and ice tea were cold and what a pretty river the Platte is.
I digress, sort of…… Now for the final blow… for the first….. And last time….. Your fearless guide committed the cardinal sin as it pertains to running the shuttle….. As we all know the key to the shuttle is the KEY! At the end of the above explained, less than stellar trip…. I arrived at my truck with both keys locked inside… E Gad… what next… with gathering storm clouds I’m sure a lightning strike was in order!
A borrowed cell phone and with my mechanics help we were on the road again… thank god for friends!
So I wake up this am…. A little fuzzy from the single malt that was used to soften the above fiasco…. off to the west I spied the moon setting…. A full moon!
So a final thought to end this rambling e mail report…… never, ever, never hire me on a full moon… let’s all just sit on the deck, enjoy a few libations, howl at the full moon and wait for the dam thing to go away!!
Hope you all had a great 4th of July and are enjoying a fish or two!
Cheers,
Mitch
Harrison’s Guest House & Guide Service 307 326 6079
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