I have been on a reading binge so far this winter. I just finished Wisdom of the Guides by Paul Arnold, 1998, Frank Amato Publications, given to me by a close friend who is also a guide. This is a wonderful book. It interviews 10 respected and renowned fishing guides from the West. Legends such as Gary LaFontain, Jennifer Olsson, Mike Lawson, and Al Troth are asked a series of questions ranging; How did you start guiding to What do you think the future of fishing is out west?
It is amazing to me how the answers to many of the questions were similar across all the guides. For example, the guide’s favorite clients were beginners eager to learn or anglers ready to listen. In my experience, a guiding day is best when learning and listening go hand in hand. They all agreed that nymphing yields the most fishing in the net and anglers miss the most productive time to nymph which is at dawn. Indeed, dawn is the time that insect movement underwater as well and above the water changes from a night pattern where they’re protected by the dark to a day pattern when they are looking for cover or mating.
The interviews end with the same question; How do you feel about the future of fishing? Note, this book is 27 years old and most of the guides interviewed have passed away. In 2025, we have the advantage of knowing if their concerns are valid. Their answers we all the same, concerns over water management and overfishing due to crowds. Managing water levels and flows is critical everywhere especially in the West with “water rights”. Currently, the fish in the Madison River suffer from bouts of whirling disease due to fish concentrations in low water. Add recreational boaters and floaters packing the river and a drift boat with anglers floating by every 10 minutes and you have a stressed fishery. We live in a time of competing interest in water usage and the change in seasonal rain and snowfall impacts this valuable resource. Elsewhere, native fish species are on the decline due to water quality issues, invasive species introduction, habitat loss, and fishing pressure. I believe, across this country, we are living the concerns the guides expressed. All is not lost. Members of organizations such as Trout Unlimited, Native Fish Coalition, to name a few, work within the silo of their interest for better results.
