Mend Your Business

True Story

I recently had the opportunity to fish the Big Horn River in Montana with the Queen City Anglers Guild, a local Cincinnati fishing Club I am proud to be a member of. My good friend and fishing buddy Bob Miller planned and managed this trip. His Western trips are always fun, but this one was truly exceptional.

The first thing to share is it was the largest group of anglers from the QCAG I can ever remember on a trip. We had 18 anglers descend on the Kingfisher Lodge in Fort Smith, Montana. We were a large enough group that we took all the rooms available. The Lodge team did an outstanding job taking care of us. Chef Jason made amazing lunches and dinners in the dining room while on the water. One day, he packed us homemade ice cream so we could enjoy a root beer float after a morning of working the water. In addition, his dinners were gourmet creations that everyone appreciated at the end of the day. Fishing for trout feels extra special when the accommodations enhance the experience.

The second thing is that the Big Horn River is a blue-ribbon fishery. It is a 21-mile stretch of calcium-rich water that 14+ inch rainbow and brown trout call home. It is a great river for dry fly fishing or nymphing. Water levels are regulated by the Yellowtail Dam, and the river flows through the Crow Indian Reservation. We were able to add variety to the experience by both drifting and wading the river.

On day 1 of our adventure, my boatmate Cas and I decided to fish dry flies. We assured our guide, Tyler, that we were comfortable catching fewer fish for the opportunity to test our rusty casting and mending skills. Tyler rigged up our rods with a tan hopper and a perigon nymph dropper combo.

I spent the first hour admiring Cas’s effortless casting ability. Cas is turning 89 years old this year and has developed a cast that is as smooth as silk. He presented an exceptionally high bar for me to aspire to achieve.

On this day, I was fishing my Orvis Helios F 6-wt rod with a Hydros III reel and Hydros trout fly line. This is a fantastic set-up for me. I love how forgiving the Helios rod is and how easy it is to make precision casts. It covers up a lot of flaws in my cast. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to go to your local Orvis store and test this rod out. I am certain that by the end of your session, you’ll be hooked (pun intended).

Cas and I spent a lot of time fishing fast water. Fly placement is important in any water, but line mending is critical in fast water. I noticed Cas was using a reach cast (sometimes called an aerial cast) to manage his drift. I have tried this cast in the past and failed to master it. I simply could not get the hang of mending while casting.

The reach cast is great for casting a fly over fast-flowing water. You make your cast, and just before the fly lands, you mend upstream so your line is behind the fly, and you get a free-flowing drift. It is an in-air mend of your line. When done well, it seems effortless and delivers a much longer, more natural drift. Of course, that can lead to more fish strikes.

Our guide, Tyler, noticed I was struggling with the reach cast and decided to give me a lesson. He observed that my problem was that I was trying to execute a roll-cast move and fighting the line rather than working with it.

He took my rod hand, and we made a cast together. Just before the fly landed on the water, Tyler simply moved the tip of my rod upstream. We made a perfectly serviceable reach cast.

I was astounded because what we did was a thousand times easier than what I was trying to do. I was trying to flick the line upstream to create the classic trailing loop. I thought you needed a determined motion to make the cast correctly. What Tyler showed me was less is more. A simple repositioning of the tip was all I needed to do.

From that moment on, my drifts were longer and more natural, and as a consequence, I caught fish. That day, I caught an 18-inch Brown trout and two Rainbows over 20 inches in length.

My experience with Tyler reinforced the value of a good guide. In addition to knowing the water and where the fish are, a day with a guide can be a tremendous learning experience if you let it. I always see being with a guide as an opportunity to catch fish and improve my skills.

I had been unsuccessful in mastering the reach cast from YouTube videos, but Tyler was able to teach me in one shared cast.

When asked about guided fishing, I always advise anglers that failing to listen to a guide is a learning opportunity lost. You may think you know better, or your skills are good enough, but a guide can take you from good to great if you open your mind to learning something new.

The advantages I see of using a guide are:

1. You don’t know the water. Instead of wasting time guessing, a guide can quickly put you on fish.

2. You often learn something new. Even if you have been fishing for years, the likelihood of knowing everything is pretty low. I always think of hiring a guide as paying for an educational class.

3. You will land more fish. Understanding how to land a big fish can take hours to learn. But a guide will coach you, build your confidence, and accelerate your skills. You get to learn by doing.

I love fishing with the senior members of our Club for the same reasons. They have honed their skills over the years, and their mastery is an absolute pleasure to watch. In addition, senior members typically have the most interesting fishing stories to share.

My day on the water with Cas and Tyler was amazing. I hope one day I can develop a cast as effortless and smooth as Cas's. I may never actually get to that level of mastery, but maybe if I keep listening to guides, I might have a shot.

If you can fish the Big Horn River, check out the Kingfisher Lodge. I am confident you will like what you read and won’t be disappointed if you try it.