What are the pleasures and pitfalls of running a successful fishing lodge? What’s it really like behind the scenes? And how did a couple kids from New Hampshire end up running one of the most successful fishing and hunting lodges in Montana? (Hint: it wasn’t due to trust funds or investment banker money). This week, I interview Tim and Joanne Linehan, two of the nicest people on the planet and legends in the fly-fishing industry. Their story is a heartwarming success story of a lifelong partnership in love and life.
And in the Fly Box, we have some great questions and helpful tips, including:
- Do you have any tips for fishing really muddy water, or is it just not worth it?
- Does a fish’s sense of smell work better in warm water or cold water?
- A great story about a listener breaking off a big rainbow and then coming back later in the day, catching the fish, and getting his fly back.
- Any tips on a fly rod for a 6-year-old kid?
- I have been nymph fishing with a fluorocarbon leader. Should I switch to a nylon leader when dry-fly fishing?
- Do you have any tips for setting the hook when fishing dry flies?
- Should I use side pressure when playing Atlantic salmon?
- Can I use Water Shed on my floating fly line?
- Any tips on catching smallmouth buffalo on a fly?
- My line and leader won’t go straight at the end of the cast and end up curling in on the cast. Any tips as to why this is happening?
- I’m taking my first saltwater fly-fishing trip. Will the Battenkill Disc reel give me enough retrieve speed?
That was a really interesting interview. Thanks, Tom. Running a lodge seems to be a calling rather than a profession.
All the best
I have known Tim my entire life, you won’t find a more down to earth person who really wants his clients to succeed.
This is to follow up on David’s story of loosing a good rainbow, catching it later, and getting his fly back. About 30 years or so ago, I was fishing a local stream during the high water at the end of April or beginning of May. I hooked a good fish on a 4” green and white Clouser Minnow. I couldn’t get it turned in that heavy current, and it spooled me, breaking off at the fly. About an hour later, at the same spot, I noticed a good fish eating caddis flies at the surface. I switched to a #12 Goddard Caddis. The fish hit on the first cast. I was able to get it into a quiet backwater, landed it, and found a 34” carp, which also had my Clouser Minnow in its mouth! So, as with David, my fish, although a carp rather than a trout, was lost over 200 feet downstream (fly line plus about 50 yards backing), and made it back to its same lie, resumed feeding, and was then hooked for the second time in an hour.
That was the only carp that I ever got on a dry fly. I’ve seen these river carp feeding on caddis flies a few times, but never had any luck getting them to hit dry flies. However, I have gotten a few of the carp by twitching a #10 black wooly bugger under the caddis on the surface. You can catch almost anything on a black wooly bugger!
By the way, I’ll also be fishing the Bighorn River in two weeks. Hope I get some action with those trout.
PeterG, Batavia IL