I hesitate to post this, but I think people ought to know when someone out there really does something out of line. Just last week a friend of mine drove by the Ora Bridge of the lower Henry's Fork - which is closed until the Saturday before Memorial Day to protect critical Rainbow spawning habitat - when he observed a local Outfitter's (Teton Valley Lodge) boat, guide and two clients fishing the closed water. He promptly took some photos and the rest is history. This topic is flying through several other forum sites. Many of the posts elsewhere miss the point of what happened, but the truth is these guys should know better. I don't want to start a shouting match or promote bad behavior on the board. But, I would like to hear from you BB members your thoughts on what happened and hear if you've seen such behavior where you fish.

Here is the original post from my friend:

Taken today above Ora boat ramp. It is closed to fishing until the end of the month.

Guide and dudes:


His rig:



A photo from their site:



Nice job guys.............

I e-mailed them and asked what was up, hoping for some sort of professional explanation, and this is what I got in return:

On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 3:44 PM, K. Gordon Glissmeyer wrote:

What the heck are you guys up to! There are pics of your boat, guide and dudes fishing at Ora Bridge on the lower Henry's Fork this past week posted on the Westfly Forum site. Any guide and or shop worth it's salt should know where and when waters are closed to fishing. The water below Ashton Dam to Vernon bridge is closed until the Saturday before Memorial Day. Which state are you guiding in, or rather which planet? This really ticks me off. Please explain yourselves...

This was their response:

Gordon,

Yes, we had a boat put in at Ora yesterday. It was a simple mistake and they took out immediately. There was no malicious intent, just a mistake.


"...just a mistake" I figure I pay an outfitter to know what's going on in his own backyard. Where did these guys come from and how do they maintain a license?

Just sayin...based on the picture taken there was no 'immediate' takeout, and the boat was upstream of the launch site as well as the bridge meaning it had to be rowed or walked upriver and they were there for a while.

Kelly.