How did you get into fly fishing and what was it like growing up fishing on such famous rivers as the Henry’s Fork, Teton, and South Fork?
I started fly fishing when I was too young to remember. My grandfather on my mother’s side fly fished the waters in the Ashton and Island Park area. He died when I was only about 6 years old but I was really close to him. My other grandfather also fly fished and so did my father. There really wasn’t any other option for me. I remember getting a spinning outfit as a gift when I was about 12 or so. I tried it a couple of times but I didn’t enjoy it and eventually gave it away.
Who had the biggest influence on your angling career and why?
My father. He was the best angler I ever met. I don’t think anybody enjoyed it more. Yet he had all of the other responsibilities of life. He made fishing count among the finest hours of his short life. He died when I was 21.
How did you first get into guiding?
My wife and I tied flies for several fly shops. One of them was owned by Pat Barnes, in West Yellowstone. I also knew a couple of other outfitters in West Yellowstone --Bud Lilly and Jim Danskin for example. One day I was visiting with Jim and he asked me if I would like to do some guiding. I worked one summer in 1973 for him, guiding on the Madison and Henry’s Fork, as well as a few trips in Yellowstone National Park. I really enjoyed it but I spent a lot of time away from home so I only guided for one season. We also had so many obligations with our fly tying business that I didn’t have time to guide. We started up Henry’s Fork Anglers in the fall of 1976. I personally ran quite a few more trips then than I do now. My highest priority has always been to stay in the shop where I could be there to work with the customers, but I still really enjoy a little time on the oars.
How has the guiding profession changed over the past 30 years?
There are a lot more guides on the river. Most of them are legal but there are plenty of illegal guides as well, guys that are not licensed or are not permitted on the waters they are guiding. The regulations governing guiding are much more intense and complicated now than before. At Henry’s Fork Anglers our permit requirements include the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Licensing Board, the Montana Board of Outfitters, two districts of the Targhee National Forest, the Gallatin National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, Yellowstone National Park, and Harriman State Park. All of them have different reporting requirements. In the old days it was a lot less complicated.
Unlike several other fishing “celebrities” you still do a fair amount of guiding for Henry’s Fork Anglers. What do you enjoy about guiding the most and why do you continue to do it?
One of my personal objectives as an outfitter has been to never ask a guide to do anything I am not prepared to do or do not do myself. I have always believed that the best way to lead is from the front. I want to stay in touch with what is going on. Along with being an example to my guide staff I also really enjoy spending time one-on-one with clients. However, my personal guiding time is very limited. I do not take request trips because I want to be fair and I don’t have time to take everybody that would want to go with me. I also do not want to “cherry pick” my clients. Most of the days I go on the river are simply days when we are overbooked and we need an extra guide for the day. The clients may show up and find that their extra guide is me.
What is your favorite guide story from all of your years on the river?
I floated a client through The Ranch. The fish were up but they were incredibly selective. They were focused on very tiny mayflies. My angler was very frustrated from never being able to see his fly. We tried a number of patterns on a very large rainbow rising steadily in the middle of the river. The guy finally showed me a giant poorly-tied hopper and said he was going to try it. I told him the fly would never work and it would likely put the fish down. He responded that he had no confidence anymore in the small flies he couldn’t see. If he wasn’t going to catch the trout anyway, he wanted to do it with a fly he could see. That trout piled on his hopper like he had been waiting all week for it. My client finally landed the fish, a rainbow that probably weighed over four pounds. I learned a good lesson to never say never again.
I think a lot of anglers fish the Harriman State Park section with unrealistic expectations. There are some good tailwater rivers in the country that have such high trout populations that you can catch trout almost anywhere you cast. Even in good years, there aren’t a lot of trout in The Ranch when compared to these other rivers. You have to find feeding fish to be successful. When the trout population is down, as it has been for the past several years, the game is much more difficult. The Ranch section of the Henry’s Fork has often gone through down cycles. During drought years low winter flows really hurt the fishery. It can rebound very quickly, however, because its trout are the fastest growing in Idaho. We had a lot of rain last spring and an above normal snowpack this winter. The winter flow this winter was three to four times what it has been since 1997. Another thing to remember is that the Henry’s Fork has over fifty miles of very good water. The Harriman Park only encompasses about six miles. The rest of the river doesn’t experience the up and down cycles.
How does the Henry’s Fork of the past compare to the present day Henry’s Fork?
The Box Canyon doesn’t have the immense trout that it had twenty or thirty years ago. This is mostly because they came down out of Island Park Reservoir. Now it is more difficult because the main outflow is screened. I think the trout are as big in the Railroad Ranch stretch as they ever were. There aren’t the numbers of trout there were many years ago, but this is also a result of the outflow of the reservoir being screened. I like it better today because all of the trout in The Ranch are now wild to the river instead of being stocked in the reservoir and pumped down into the river. The average size of the trout in the tailwater section below the Ashton Dam is much larger than I can ever remember. The river below St. Anthony has changed the most. Before I graduated from college almost all the trout were cutthroats and some of them were quite large. Today you’ll rarely catch a cutt in that stretch. Now there are big browns. There were no browns in the Henry’s Fork until the early 80s. I like the browns, but it's a shame that all of the cutthroats are gone.
What makes the Henry’s Fork one of the best trout streams in the world?
I was heartened when the Trout Unlimited Survey came out with the Henry’s Fork as the number one trout stream in America. Of course I was pleased my home water was Number One, but more importantly, it was reassuring that anglers enjoy fishing for more than just catching fish. If the only criteria were how many fish are caught, then the Henry’s Fork would likely be way down the list. The amount of public access, the variety of water types, the diversity of the fish and wildlife, the geological, ecological, and historical values of the Henry’s Fork are likely unparalleled by any other river.
The Henry’s Fork is famous for sight fishing to big, technical fish. What advice can you give to our readers about how to be more successful in fishing situations like this?
You need patience. You should spend enough time observing feeding trout to gain insight on what they are likely to be feeding on, where they are feeding (on the surface, in the surface, or under the surface), reading the water, planning your approach, stalking close enough to make accurate casts, and so on. It’s more like hunting than what most people think of as fishing. With hunting you spend almost all of your time hunting and very little time shooting. With fishing it is the opposite in most situations. You spend almost all of your time fishing and a minor amount of time catching. With this kind of fishing you spend almost all of the time hunting, planning, and executing your plan. You normally won’t do much casting when compared to everything else, but when you cast, you need to make it count.
Besides the Henry’s Fork, what is your favorite river to fish in the Rocky Mountains and why?
I love the South Fork of the Snake. I’ve fished it since I was a kid but I was pretty limited because I didn’t have a boat. You normally need a boat to fish this big river effectively. However, a lot of the best fishing is in real skinny water with small dry flies.
What is the most common mistake you see anglers make out on the water and what can they do to fix it?
I think the most common mistake is that they don’t spend enough time, or in many instances, ANY time practicing their casting and presentation before they go fishing. Many anglers do not have enough free time to fish enough to stay sharp. It takes practice. If they would spend an hour or so a day practicing their casting for a few weeks before their trip they would enjoy a lot more success and less frustration.
Most anglers consider your book Spring Creeks to be one a “must read” for fishermen. If our readers could only read one chapter, which would you recommend? Why?
I think the "Presentation" chapter is the most important. The first part of the book focuses on trout, their environment, and their food. These things are all important. However, if you can’t make a proper presentation, nothing else matters.
If you hadn't wound up in the fly fishing industry, what would you be doing instead?
I taught school for six years. I really enjoyed the kids. I hated the politics. I doubt I would be teaching school today. I was also a survey crew chief working for the Forest Service during the summers while I attended college. I was going back to school to get a civil engineering degree when we were moving forward into my fly fishing career.
What was growing up on the banks of the Henry's Fork like for your kids?
Are they into fishing as much as you are? What about your wife?
My boys are both as crazy about fly-fishing as me. My daughter liked to fish when she was very young but went through a stage. She got back into it when she was in college. She lives in Boise now and. until last year, worked for Buck’s Bags. She doesn’t fish much but loves to go when she comes home. My wife didn’t fly fish until she met me. She doesn’t like to go by herself but loves to fish with me. Now that our family is raised we spend a lot of time fishing together. I have two grandsons and they both love to fly-fishing and they are good.
Special Note
- Henry's Fork Anglers is celebrating their 30th year in business.
Please visit the Henry's Fork Anglers website for the public celebration, including
free giveaways and presentations.
Henry's Fork Anglers Website