Hello and Howdy to y'all, literally I have just crawled off a plane after 24 hours flying from Missoula to London and then 4 hours on a bus to Wales. First I must say what a fantastic time I had!!!, I packed for the Arctic but only needed short sleeves and sandals (ok shorts and waders but you get my drift), I fished the East and West Forks of the Bitteroot mainly and had a great time, I was a rookie fishing from a float boat but due to the patience of my guides John, Kurt and Travis turned into a fairly decent angler, line control is the key!!!! you just float that old bug near a log or brush with the right float and the fish rarely refused, however and here lies my gripe, wire across the river!, my first day on the East fork just above Sula Store (please correct me if I have spelt this incorrectly) we came across what I can only describe as a booby trap!!!!!, we were appraoching a strand of rolled wire about 4ft above the water my guide John said duck under and keep the rod tip low, ok, I can do that, but what I can see and he can't is a strand of new barbed wire about 6 inches off the water!!!!!, how do I duck that ? get out and swim? John was busy steering that boat down the middle as there was a fair bit of water pushing through so he maybe did not catch it untill it was too late, well, we hit it, it cut right across my seat in the front of the boat and we hung up on it for a few seconds, I thought we were going under! then it snapped and lashed around my seat and John's chest, the force of the water made getting it off a matter of ripping the wire away where ever it landed, I was un-harmed but John had some really bad cuts and scratches, it was a very scarey moment but luckily we came through, I took some pictures and they may be used in legal proceedings, we were lucky not to be decapitated!!!, this practise must not be allowed to continue, some-one will die!!!!. Apart from that the trip was great not a great deal of Salmon fly action but Golden Stones worked and my personal favourite the Purple Haze did great !! what a fly! I have got some to try back on my home waters (it may be a jealously guarded secret), so overall I had a superb time, the folks in Montana were very hospitable but I have found most US people are, so I am looking to make a fall trip, small flies bif fish sounds just my cup of tea, sorry if this is all a bit long winded but I would be interested to see if any-one else has has a similar experience.