Our first fishing day started with temperatures in the high 80s, typical August weather with clear skies and low water. After a great breakfast we headed out to meet our guide for the day. We were scheduled to fish the Big Hole River, but of course only on private water. Which turned out to be a beautiful series of pools in the middle of a broad, lush field. Even as our guide parked his vehicle in the shade of a big tree, I could see many fish rising. Some of these were of course whitefish, but a great number were trout, and more than a few of them obviously quite large! I hastily helped Marilyn into her waders and rigged her rod, and within just minutes she had already hooked, landed and released a 13 inch brown.
This was her first dry fly trout fishing experience, so you can imagine the excitement it created. By now Stephen, an old hand at this, had already released 3 browns and was headed around the first upstream bend. When we finally quit for the day we had released a total of 18 browns & rainbows, the largest 18 inches, all on dries. A super time on a truly splendid river, and we never saw another angler!
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