I am drawn to fly fishing for many reasons, but the thing that keeps my passion level perked is this; you never peak and every day on the water offers new lessons to be learned. The education spectrum continues with endless rungs on the ladder of knowledge when it comes to things like fish and insect behavior, casting, presentation, knots and rigging, fly patterns, and learning the rhythm of the water you are fishing. As soon as you think you have something figured out, you will be reminded soon enough that you know nothing. Being humbled and learning from that experience is part of the growth process of an accomplished angler.

As we near the end of August there is still some summer left in our season, but fall is definitely creeping into the picture. The days are shorter, the mornings are chilly, and some wet weather patterns are starting to appear (high of 52 degrees and 90% chance of precip on Monday, snow accumulation above 7,500 feet, for example). But with afternoon highs in the 70s and 80s most days, it is still flip-flop and sunscreen season in Montana, and we will soak it in as long as it lasts.

Most days the fishing is as good as you are, especially when you're throwing small dryflies at rising fish on our home water, the Missouri River. But wherever you go in Montana nowadays, you are likely fishing to fish that have seen a fly or two already this season, so you need to be better than the last person who tried to fool that trout. As a general rule of thumb, it is not the fly, or the rod, or the sun, or the wind, or the leader, or the arrow that catches the trout. It's you, the angler, the Indian. Shoot your arrows straight at the target and you'll definitely catch more trout.      

When your Smith River crew consists of seven adults and six kids between the ages of 5 and 9, but you already have over 100 trips down the canyon combined, you know you are ready for an exciting adventure. The match of youthful exuberance and experienced moderation finds it's sweet spot on a 60 mile river float. 

Our weather and water conditions continue to be pretty interesting this year in Montanaland, and the big news is that run-off is tapering down more quickly than expected on many of our blue-ribbon rivers are they are coming into excellent shape for some of our most exciting hatch cycles of the season. This is great news for all our anglers who will be arriving in the next few weeks to fish in the Helena, Missoula and Bozeman areas.

Here's a quick breakdown of what we're seeing and hope to expect for the rest of June in Troutopia:   

Beware the Ides of March in Montana, when your fishing guide's English degree collides with his passion for trout. 

In related news, winter has returned after a brief but glorious taste of spring.

With our first guide trip of the season under the belt it's time to give a report on the status of our favorite tailwater fishery, the Missouri River. Usually by the second week of March the Missouri is open for business, albeit early season business. On Friday I found four inches of slush blanketing the Craig boat ramp parking lot, about half of the boat launches unusable due to snow and ice, and a day that started sunny and warm but brought us a couple of snow squalls that produced some heavy snow and wind. This pretty much sums up our winter in Montana - serious and unrelenting.

One of my early fishing guide mentors had a favorite saying, usually issued while witnessing the belabored acts of an obvious nitwit. "Amateurs teaching amateurs to be amateurs", Johnny would say, with a slight head shake. It was always good for a laugh and made of distinct point of whatever knuckleheaded thing they happened to be doing; jack-knifing trailers down the boat ramp, high centering a loaded raft on the only exposed rock in the river, flailing away with a bird's nest tangle in their flyline. It was always amateurs teaching amateurs to be amateurs.

I'm always looking for new ways to get the word out about our business. We rely on repeat and direct referral clients to provide the bulk of our angler base, and the magic of the internet connects us with most of the rest, but I am always searching for new ways to connect.

One drove up to my house this fall. It was an open bed pick-up truck with a few empty beer kegs rolling around. Our friend Dash from MAP Brewing had stopped by after one of the many, many beer festivals these micro-brew types like to attend. So I slapped a sticker on a keg or two and off they went back to Bozeman. 

In reflecting on last year's fishing season, there was one particular window of time on the Missouri River that stood out for me. It was special. It was magical. It wasn't supposed to be happening but it was anyway, and the folks who were in the right place at the right time got to see some absolutely troutstanding fishing. I have been telling tales about it most days since.

I read an article recently that used an acronym I had not seen before; T.O.W. Time On the Water. It immediately resonated with me. In a life of fishing and guiding, your time spent on the water is the defining characteristic of your existence. In other spheres they call it field time, and at NASA I imagine they call it space time. It's about immersion to the point of heightened observation. Maybe pure observation.