The majority of what we do as a fishing guide service is connecting anglers with great fishing guides, usually here in Montanaland, but sometimes in other fishy places as well. Like New Zealand. On the south island. In Nelson, our favorite Kiwi fishing town.

When my cousin Drew contacted me last week asking about the fishing opportunities near Nelson, since he just happened to be there for a week, my response was clear and concise; it's awesome and there's only one guy you need to talk to about it. Tony Entwistle.

When you are a hunter in Montana and your phone rings during the fall moths, and your friend who is calling starts with these words - "Whatcha doin' right now?" - 99 out of 100 times it means one thing; he or she has a big dead animal on their hands and needs help. It is a call I look forward to and try to build my schedule loosely so I can usually answer, "Waitin' for you to call so I can help get yer elk out."

This is the weather forecast that Montanans have been dreaming about for the last 2 months, which is about how long it has been since it last rained here. As you may have heard among reports on hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the rocky mountain west has been having some natural disaster issues of our own, namely severe drought and major wildfires in Montana and across areas of the pacific northwest. Somehow we went from a big snowpack year with a nice wet spring to one of the driest and warmest runs of weather we have ever seen before, and it has led to a summer of way to many hot and smoky afternoons in Montana.

We are exactly one month away from the Autumnal Equinox, but in Montana the 1st of September usually announces the end of summer and the start to our favorite season, the Fall. Archery hunters are already afield chasing pronghorn antelope, upland bird hunting opens next week, elk will be in full rut within a month, and some of our best fishing of the season is still to come.

Summer roared in like a blast furnace bringing a string of days with highs in the 90s to most of Montana. It has been H-O-T Hot. Too hot. Melt in your driftboat about about 3PM hot. Can't drink enough ice water hot. It has not been awesome. You know what has been awesome though? The morning and evening trout bite, that's what. It's our saving grace in the short sweaty season in Big Sky Country. 

Here's the secret short list to get through the next 6 weeks of the fishing season:

Make no mistake about it, the future of fishing lies in the hands of impressionable youngsters like these two hardcore fish-heads, and our mentorship of them. There may be no greater way to teach trout and river life skills than a 60 mile float down Montana's fabled Smith River. It is a full immersion experience in a fully captivating environment - Montana's Disney World. 

If you are the kind of angler who tracks snowpack and streamflow reporting, then you know the scoop; it was a big snow year in Montana, with dumps of low elevation snow falling as recently as last week, and we've had plenty of spring rain along with a couple short periods of warmth and sun. What has that all added up to currently? Lots of blue-ribbon rivers in some state of run-off and most are unfishable.

That's my driftboat anchor on the right. The one on the left belongs to some other deadbeat fishing guide who hasn't been around quite as long. His is pretty new and mine is certainly not. I've been dragging this particular anchor around Montana for at least a decade now and I've become fairly emotionally attached to it.

April 15th is the date in Montana where we transition from measuring snow to rain for our precipitation, so it's a good time to look at the current SNE (Snow Water Equivalent), in our watersheds and try to forecast what's to come in the next 3 months.

Good news, fish-heads - with forecasted temperatures approaching 70 degrees tomorrow it should be a nice spring day to get out on the water. The bad news is you'll have to choosy about the water you sample because low level snow melt has brought a few of our favorite rivers up enough to make them at least questionable if not unfishable. 

Pretty picture, huh? This was the view from the bow of a flats skiff I was on in the Florida Keys a few days ago. As a saltwater angler this is not what you want to see. Blue skies and warm water are the keys to happy tarpon and permit in March.

We spend a tremendous amount of time every year discussing lodging options with our anglers - it's part of the customer service we provide as part of your overall fishing trip. Where you stay while visiting Montana is a personal choice that is usually narrowed by very specific determining factors; when you are coming, the size of your group, the style of lodging you prefer and how much you want to pay to stay. With our knowledge of the options available in each region we offer trips, we can easily help you navigate the ins and outs to find the perfect spot for you.

We have good news for our anglers curious about how our trout and rivers are faring this winter - the river is still there, so are the trout and they still bite flies pretty darn well! Yesterday was my first outing of the season and with a few days of temps in the 40s it seemed like a good idea to go sample the home water.