Fly reels come in a dazzling array of styles, colors and price points.  So what makes a good fly reel? Basically, you need a reel to hold a fly line that matches your rod and you need enough backing to meet your fishing demands. That’s priority one.  If we just stopped there, then any old reel would do, but we have some other important considerations. Balance It is nice to have a rod and reel that balance.  In other words, when you grip the handle, the weight of the reel matches the shaft of the rod.  An $800 fly rod tends to be lighter than an $89 fly rod.  The $89 rod will match fine with an inexpensive resin body reel.  The $800 rod will be better suited to a light weight machined aluminum reel. Drag System My first fly reel was a Scientific Anglers System One.  It had a click and pawl brake.  Basically it had very little...

The Missouri River from Holter Dam to Cascade is like two Different Rivers.  If you fish from the Dam to the Dearborn River right now, expect to fish some fine tippets and small flies.  The water is clear and the fish are tuned into Mayflies.  Big bright indicators are not helpful.  The most consistent action seems to follow the Mayfly cycle with fish keying on emerging baetis from about 10am to 2pm.  Under an indicator, Blooms Weight Fly is a great option instead of lead. I had good success with purple yesterday.  Fishing a visible size 14 parachute with a slim body mayfly dropper is a great way to go in the skinny water. If you fish below the Dearborn where 900cfs of brown water is flowing in, you will find different conditions.  Want to fish a wire worm on 2X?  Go for it.  Bobber size and color are less of a concern.  How a...

Now that I've confirmed Mike and Reese aren't in the Bee Mafia and the bees have been transplanted into their new hive, it's time to check on the Queen. After all, everything revolves around her (this is the story of my life with a 4 year old who thinks she is a Princess Elsa). The main reason to check on the hive a couple days after introducing the colony to their new home is to make sure 1) that she and the colony are there, and 2) to see if they have started to build and acclimate to their new home. We also want to remove the cage that the queen was in when we first introduced the colony. We transplanted our bees May 1st and went to check on them May 4th. After a quick visual inspection we could see lots of bees moving in and out of the hive some were even bringing in pollen, a really good sign! Lifting the lid the hive was teaming wi...

Joe's transcendentalist piece: Revisiting Belize and the Missouri River... These two destinations share the ability to humble any fisherman. I started my morning staring at the creole permit sculpture occupying my living room coffee table thinking back to the week I spent in Belize, about missed opportunities, and finding peace with blown permit shots. I am very aware that tying more flies does not directly equate to catching more fish, and having many  flies is in no way a substitute for angling talent (my boss constantly reminds me). So I went into work and tied a single permit crab. Now it sits on the fly shop counter. Fast-forward to 7 P.M. I had this fish at 20 feet. He was happy and hungry. All I had to do was make the cast. I didn’t make it happen. Matt did. One cast. A heavy dose of harassment after the fish was released wa...

New bee hive set up in Great Falls, MT. May 2015 You know that weird feeling you get when watching a tense part of a movie, or a YouTube video you know isn't going to end well? Yeah, that feeling where you want to yell at the guy jumping his bike off the house and into the kiddie pool? That's the feeling I had the other day when I willingly walked up to a swarm of bees, picked them up and put them in my truck. Pretty sure I haven't been that nervous since 1988 when I went to my first day of Mrs. Grogan's Kindergarten class. New bee hive set up in Great Falls, MT. May 2015 At first, handling bees seemed like a sketchy sort of business. With less than 24 hours' notice, we met a couple of random guys in a parking lot. They introduced themselves as Mike and Reese, whether or not that was their real name is still in question. Off to the side...

It kind of caught me by surprise.  I mean I know we got a ton of rain. I fished in the deluge on Saturday, but on Sunday evening, the river was still clear.  I guess it took a while to catch up.  This year, I’ve been spoiled by green water and clear water.  I’d almost forgotten about brown water.  I’m not going to say I’ve missed it, but I’m not unhappy to see it either. Brown water is important.  Brown water means plentiful water.  Brown water means flushing and rebirth.  Brown water carries silt away and clears the river bed like a vacuum cleans your carpet. Although I caught no fish this morning, it's good to see brown water again.  For a little while.

Sometimes folks come into the fly shop and ask, "What’s a good fly rod?"  Others walk straight to the rod rack and start flipping tags. It can be pretty interesting watching the reactions of potential fly rod customers as they peruse the rack.  If they hit the Echo Base at $89.99 first, there is usually silence.  If they reach for the Sage Method at $825, there is usually a strong verbal exclamation. Many prospective fly anglers seem to view fly fishing tackle as somehow different from other retail goods and become offended when they view the costs as being too high.  A day seldom goes by when someone does not react to the price of a high end fly rod. The reality is that premium tackle is very specialized, available in smaller quantities and as such, priced accordingly. High end rods also carry no fault warranties that must be f...

If you've never tried your hand at competitive archery, now is a great time to start!  It's finally spring, and 3D archery season is charging full steam ahead. Here in central Montana, there is no excuse for not getting your bow out of the case and getting in a full summer of practice on the 3D courses.  From now until August, there is a shoot nearly every weekend within 2 hours of Great Falls including several local events. 3D shoots are something that all archers should attend for several different reasons. You can find Montana state's current list of 3D shoots online HERE. Shoot at Life-sized Game Animals While not everyone will draw tags for moose, sheep, or caribou, it's still good practice because you're shooting at animals that are similar in size to what you will be chasing.  Most clubs have several fun targets well.  Who doe...

Companies are proud of their products for many reasons. Quality, quantity, sales and much more. But seeing "Made in the USA" label etched into a product always spurs a consumer's interest. Why? Simple enough, really. Currently, most of the products we buy, from the clothes we wear to our appliances, at some point or another, are made somewhere else. It's far more common to see a "Made in China" label than one for the USA. So, when we see a "USA Made" label, we know that the product was made on American soil and by American workers. Checkout out this article we wrote about Carhartt, "Is it Made in America?" Liberty Safes: The History of a "Made in the USA" Company Liberty Safes have been proud of their USA Made products since 1988. Their story starts with Jay Crosby, an engineer/entrepreneur and previous co-founder of the Fort Knox Safe ...