Playing Guide...

"Nope, I've got the rowing today"

"Are you sure"

"Yes, you bet"

I've rowed and fished this stretch of river many times, I know every twist and turn and likely pocket to hold fish.  Expert I am not, but it's safe to say I know the playbook on this piece of water.

What I hadnt seen in a while was someone's face light up as a fast rising cutthroat levitates up out of nowhere, pauses and then inhales a huge piece of foam and legs.

In my day job, clients become friends and I had the chance to take a husband and wife team out for their first float in my cutty nirvana.   They're previous home in Colorado dictated long leaders and delicate 7x presentations of small midges.

Lets just say picking and popping your casts on the move with a size 4 chubby takes some getting used to.

The fish were willing dance partners all day long.  The only fly changes  we made were from big bugs to small PMD's that were causing the river to come alive with rising fish for 2 hours.  Beyond that, it was like I was a point guard directing traffic, delivering the pass and waiting for the bugs to get snarfed.

It was experience that I wont soon forget.  Watching my new friends take the whole day in, unravel the stress of moving to the area and getting settled and realize they had found a new home in a pretty special area of the world was awesome.

Three quarters through the day, the wife buttoned up her rig, sat down and lit a smoke.

"hey, dont miss this good water ahead"

"Oh, it's ok, I'm just so happy about today I need to take it in for a minute"

She continued to fish after about 10 minutes, but that statement alone was payment enough for a day playing guide.