Never Stop Learning: Improve Your Fly Fishing Skills

I grew up in Dillon, Montana, home of cattle, elk, and trout. I am not new to fly angling. My grandparents owned a fish hatchery in Northwest Montana, and I spent many summer days first throwing a Panther Martin and, later, “graduating” to a dry fly. Since then, I have enjoyed throwing flies to trout and salmon in many of our fabulous western fisheries and up into Alaska.

Walking down to Henrys Fork

You could say that I have done a fair amount of fly angling. However, if you are like me, we share a mindset of “never stop learning.” This is undoubtedly the case when it comes to fly angling. While I can hold my own with a fly rod in my hand, I am far from an expert angler. I know that for sure now because I witnessed firsthand what a true expert fly angler looks like while spending a week at the Anglers Academy on the famed Henrys Fork River. I watched the renowned John Juracek cast a fly line as perfectly as one could imagine. I listened to Bob Jacklin tell stories about the history of fly angling while, at the same time, showing folks how to execute the bow and arrow cast successfully. I had the pleasure of riding around in a truck for a few days with John Hudgens, one of the most celebrated fly-angling guides in the West, and for a good reason. That is just naming a few. The talent at the Anglers Academy is world-class.

Checking the flies

Located in a perfect setting with fantastic food and wonderful people, We enjoyed the perfect combination of classroom instruction and on-the-water training; we shook old casting habits, learned advanced skills such as analyzing a trout rise, and were schooled in entomology and fisheries biology. And yes, we did fish. We fished some incredible trout in some incredible water.

In addition to “leveling up” my fly fishing game, I made great friends on this trip and found a renowned love of the waters within the Yellowstone Caldera. I suppose I have been spoiled growing up in Dillon and living in Bozeman. We have tremendous angling opportunities, some of the best in the world, with the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Madison, Ruby, Gallatin, Yellowstone, and others all within very close striking distance. Because of this, I have rarely ventured over the border to the Henrys Fork. All I can say is I plan on making up for lost time on that fishery.

My new friends that I spoke of? Only some of the best fly anglers in the country, if not the world, and I had dinner with them, had drinks with them, fished with them, and soaked up every bit of wisdom my brain could take on. These are folks that have spent a lifetime studying, fishing, and guiding in the waters we all dream of in and around Yellowstone.

Finally, I would tell you that “I am not being paid for this advertisement.” Suppose you are an intermediate or advanced fly angler who would like to advance your skills while spending time with some of fly fishing’s absolute best in an idyllic setting in the middle of summer on the Henrys Fork River. In that case, you should attend the Anglers Academy. Without question, this will be a lifetime experience.

If you want to learn more about fly fishing and fly fishing properties in this area, call me. If I don’t know the answer, I have an updated portfolio of the world’s best to connect you to.