Not enough mind you, but every once in a while it happens so you have to make it count. This one happened on Thursday during an epic baetis and march brown hatch in the canyon section of the Missouri River. We had just landed a nice fish and were anchored on a shallow bank taking a quick rest. My anglers started exiting the boat to stretch and wade fish. A fly was thrown in a tree on the backcast. I spotted a couple feeding fish on a soft seam about 80 feet above the boat. Seemed like a good opportunity to me; these guys wouldn't mind a brief guide excursion.
I asked to borrow a rod for a quick test spin, walked upstream trying to look disinterested, and laid a cast in to the back fish. He ate it, and I missed. I laid another cast to the upper fish, he ate it and I didn't miss. It came tearing out of the out run below me, and my angler who had climbed a high bank to retrieve his fly out of the tree saw it cruising by and said, "Damn, that's a big fish!". And it was. And I had no idea it was, or I wouldn't have cast to it. But once you're tight to a trout you kind of half to see it through.
So Jim, thanks for the rod loan, excellent net work, solid photo skills and great day on the river. The reality of my life is I guide because I love to fish, but I don't really get to fish much because I spend my days helping other people catch fish. So trout like these are a real treat, and I will always relish the opportunity to take one cast. Or two.
We love what we do and want to share it with you.
