tonight is the eve of guided trips.
in preparation we've been doing a lot of what we describe to other staff as "stream research." i've seen and fished each and every of the 15 stations on Goose Creek, as well as the Lost Lakes, the three ponds on the ranch and our small, meandering stream, Walton. and caught fish in 'em all.
i've been thinking about tomorrow morning's trip pretty much since i left the ranch last october. office work this winter gave me ample time to think about this summer's trips and tomorrow they begin. i know some stations have a little more holding water in the current conditions, but part of me is an 'i don't give a shit' attitude about where i go or who i take. i know how to catch fish on this creek. i've seen this creek in flows from 300 CFS to 40 and i've caught on all the flows in between. i was telling Drew this earlier but before every trip i have extreme ups and down of excitement. right now excitement is high. i want to hit the creek hard, fish each hole hard and hammer fish.
but hammering fish has its own ups and downs. for us guides at the 4UR, it's not a great idea because we have to guide the same water all summer. it's not fun to guide a station in the afternoon that someone hammered the morning before. hammering fish is also a little unrealistic for rookie anglers. who would take away all the times they were learning to fish and got skunked? after all, it's called "fishing," not "catching." but, i am a fishing guide. i supposedly guide anglers to fish and guide those fish into my net. i am paid to do that. it's my job. why wouldn't i want to do it extremely well, and hammer fish. if my tip is $50 when my client lands a dozen fish or $0 when we land 1 or 2, why the hell wouldn't i want to put a dozen in the net?? but again, fishing is more than catching fish. it's casting. it's reading water. it's enjoying the outdoors, finding freedom in the water. i want my clients to have fun and i think that's the bottom line. sometimes the fishing absolutely sucks. even when it does, i have fun. maybe that's what i'll try to convey to my new anglers this summer, is just to enjoy their time on the water. i mean, who wouldn't?
it's always nice to feel a tug on that line and land a few though. i'll try to do a little of that as well.
even though i've been on the ranch for more than three weeks, the season and the summer starts tomorrow. all the guides are in my room right now and we're pumped. can't wait for that alarm to go off tomorrow morning. chances are i'll be awake before it goes off anyway.
got some familiar faces to see next month. looking forward to that a lot. i hope everyone's well!
in preparation we've been doing a lot of what we describe to other staff as "stream research." i've seen and fished each and every of the 15 stations on Goose Creek, as well as the Lost Lakes, the three ponds on the ranch and our small, meandering stream, Walton. and caught fish in 'em all.
i've been thinking about tomorrow morning's trip pretty much since i left the ranch last october. office work this winter gave me ample time to think about this summer's trips and tomorrow they begin. i know some stations have a little more holding water in the current conditions, but part of me is an 'i don't give a shit' attitude about where i go or who i take. i know how to catch fish on this creek. i've seen this creek in flows from 300 CFS to 40 and i've caught on all the flows in between. i was telling Drew this earlier but before every trip i have extreme ups and down of excitement. right now excitement is high. i want to hit the creek hard, fish each hole hard and hammer fish.
but hammering fish has its own ups and downs. for us guides at the 4UR, it's not a great idea because we have to guide the same water all summer. it's not fun to guide a station in the afternoon that someone hammered the morning before. hammering fish is also a little unrealistic for rookie anglers. who would take away all the times they were learning to fish and got skunked? after all, it's called "fishing," not "catching." but, i am a fishing guide. i supposedly guide anglers to fish and guide those fish into my net. i am paid to do that. it's my job. why wouldn't i want to do it extremely well, and hammer fish. if my tip is $50 when my client lands a dozen fish or $0 when we land 1 or 2, why the hell wouldn't i want to put a dozen in the net?? but again, fishing is more than catching fish. it's casting. it's reading water. it's enjoying the outdoors, finding freedom in the water. i want my clients to have fun and i think that's the bottom line. sometimes the fishing absolutely sucks. even when it does, i have fun. maybe that's what i'll try to convey to my new anglers this summer, is just to enjoy their time on the water. i mean, who wouldn't?
it's always nice to feel a tug on that line and land a few though. i'll try to do a little of that as well.
even though i've been on the ranch for more than three weeks, the season and the summer starts tomorrow. all the guides are in my room right now and we're pumped. can't wait for that alarm to go off tomorrow morning. chances are i'll be awake before it goes off anyway.
got some familiar faces to see next month. looking forward to that a lot. i hope everyone's well!
sweet fish and belt. go get 'em, boy.
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