A kinda long, twisted tale of two types of fishers

[Byron haugh]

One fly fisher:

When my son and I were fishing the Henry's Fork below Ashton, there was one other fisher about. He had on a sun-screen long sleeved shirt and a full-face buff. He was a good fisherman. Brad and I dubbed him "The Ninja" as he worked all over the river. You would look upstream and he'd be 100 yards in a different location from last sighting, all day long. He had a number of hook-ups.

That evening, as with nearly all evenings, we ended up at the Trouthunter bar and grill as most area fishers do. When I went outside to the front entrance, I saw a guy seated there smoking. His clothing looked like the Ninja from earlier in the day. I wasn't sure. So, I simply said "hello" and asked where he had fished that day. He hesitated and then said he had fished the Fork ABOVE Ashton. So, I figured he just had the same clothing as Ninja. Then, my son came out and said "Hey, you're the guy who was fishing by us today on the Henry's Fork below Ashton!" The guy looked sheepish and laughed and said "yea, it was me". His girlfriend, sitting next to him, said, "he always bullshits".
I thought it was going out of the way to hide where he had really been fishing. We visited and talked about the section the three of us had fished that day. He was a great guy and the next day caught a huge trout we had all taken turns trying to get to take out fly......right at sundown.

Second fly fisher:
Same spot several nights later. Out having a cigar. Another guy there enjoying a cigar. All of a sudden, he points at my son and I and says "I know you guys....he's from Chile and you're from Hawaii!"
I was stunned as I had never see the guy before in my life (at least I thought that).

He went on to tell that the year before his wife sent him to the Trouthunter Lodge for a week of fishing for a great vacation. My son and I were there at the same time and went out in back of the bar/grill/lodge (the patio) to have a drink and a cigar. He was staying there and his room was near the patio. He saw us (still in waders). He came over, said it was his first time there and wondered where to fish. I gave him 3 of my UV caddis and told him just where to go below Ashton.
He told us that he took my flies the next day (that year before) and went to exactly where we had told him the evening before and caught 4 really nice browns. He said it started his vacation off really well and so he had returned this year. We intend to meet him again next year. He is from Buffalo, New York.

It's like the Trouthunter is the center of the universe...........

[Don_P]

Some times you meet the nicest people and sometimes you run into some who run thru the water to jump ahead of you to get to the next run upstream.

[Byron haugh]

Don,
The "Ninja" was a respectful fisher. He didn't impinge on our fishing. It's just sorta comical that he initially didnt want us to know his "spot". He didn't recognize us, but we did recognize him.

[Don_P]

I understand. Both of the instances you related sounded positive and pleasant. Those type can add to the enjoyment of a trip. I have had similar experiences but have also encountered those who seemingly are there for different reasons.

[Byron haugh]

Sorry, I left out a key word just above. Now, have added it.
The point of the story was that my son and I were perfectly willing to help a somewhat novice (at least to the area) find a productive place to wade fish.
However, our ninja friend didn't want to disclose where he had been fishing.

I recall a thread about this subject a couple years ago. Seems most who posted suggested they would not deceive or keep quiet about productive waters they were aware of. I may be remembering wrong?

[Silver Creek]

So I just returned from the Madison River.

On my last day, I was fishing my favorite run. The river bank juts in and out and is covered by head high brush. The brush obscures anyone sitting on the bank.

I went to sit on the bank to eat lunch and when I waded back in, two fishers were 100 yards below me trying to get up to where I was fishing. When I appeared from the bank, they waded back down stream.

2 hours laters, one of them suddenly appeared from the brush, 20 feet below me clearly in my drift lane. Hmm, what to do?

He promptly told me that I was standing right in the middle of a good run, essentially standing where I should be fishing. I told him I had already pre-fished where I was standing. After a while I hooked a trout, but it got off. I can't remember where it was after this fish or the next one that I hooked, that he asked me what fly I was using. He tells me I am standing in the wrong place and then asks me for advice. Hmm, what to do?

The answer was obvious. I told him I was using a shop vac. I didn't lie. i was using a shop vac but it was not the fly that both trout took.

After a while, his buddy showed up and fished the run I was standing in but higher up. Then he left to fish the side channel above me. He didn't catch any fish.

After a while, the first guy left and his buddy took his place. He was close enough to me that his upstream casts would land above the lower end of my drift. So it was his responsibility to check where my rig was to avoid it. Eventually, the inevitable happened and he cast over my line and when he tried to jerk his rig away, we got tangled. I had to cut my flies off to remove the tangle. He offered to cut his flies off, but the since my rig ended up as the one wrapped around his, that would not have helped. I don't think he tangled me on purpose. He was actually a pretty nice guy.

Later that day I learned that the first guy had talked to my fishing buddy downstream and told him that they had 40 fish days earlier in the year. He was a retired colonel in the USAF. Clearly he was used to having his way.

[okflyfisher]

Just last week was fishing in a run catching fish at a steady clip and a bait fisher steps in just up stream of me. He is closer than i would like but is stays out of my way . The issue is he had brought a young dog and tied it up on the bank. it had severe separation anxiety and barked non stop. Soon his wife and 3 or 4 kids show up. the kids are moving all around upstream and downstream yelling to carry on a conversation with Mom and Dad. i am still catching fish but the atmosphere is ruined so i finally leave. i am sure they were just a young family on vacation that wanted to have some fun and did not know any better, but stream side etiquette was not their strong suit

[Byron haugh]

Silver,
Where were you fishing on the Madison?
Can you share pictures of those healthy fish. Never tire of them.

[Silver Creek]

I was fishing well above the Raynolds Pass Bridge in the Hook and Horn area. I know several owners so I can park on their property and get access.

I took very few photos, one brown and one rainbow. They are still in the camera. It was very tough fishing compared to other years. Water was high. For several days it was discolored due to rain in the Beaver Creek drainage washing mud into Quake Lake due to the Beaver Creek Fire several years ago. Still it was great to enjoy Montana.

Here's a dining tip for anyone staying in the area. Have dinner at the Blue Moon Cafe in Cameron, MT which is between Ennis and the $3 Bridge. On Friday they have great smoked ribs, but get there early. Their burgers are great also.

We happened to be there on a Friday and I asked the waitress whether they used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. It is my favorite. She said she would ask the cook; but I told her that was OK, I would try the ribs. So the ribs arrived and I could tell just by the color and the way the sauce sat on the ribs that it was Sweet Baby Rays. So why did I ask whether the sauce was Sweet Baby Rays?

Here's the back story. Larry Raymond, the originator of Sweet Baby Rays was an executive chef at the Wausau Club and it was the only place you could get his ribs. So I always ordered it. Then he started his own restaurant and began selling his sauce. Then he began selling to local super markets. The only place you could buy Sweet baby Rays was in Wausau, Wi. I would pick up several bottles and take them (along with Wisconsin Cheese) with me to Montana when I stayed with Jim and Carmen Greenlee.

Eventually, Larry Raymond's Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce must have reached Kraft Foods and they bought the recipe and the rights to the name. So that is how my favorite BBQ sauce ended up in the Blue Moon Cafe in Cameron, MT.

[Byron haugh]

Great story Silver
I think I know just where you were fishing.

The Blue Moon Cafe: is it in "downtown" Cameron where the post office and saloon are? We have driven by those buildings and I always say I'm going to stop in, but never have....so far.
Am sure you've been in Beartooth fly shop? What a place!!!

Would not recommend the Driftwood. Restaurant near the Grizzly Bar place. It used to be cslled the "Harbor Light" or something like that.

And the Grizzly Bar is OK, but very pricey. Of course, there aren't many alternatives without a long drive!!