Fly Fishing: Rookies Get the Slam...

...well sort of. Yesterday, thanks to a rather complex plan I had the pleasure of guiding 3 Norwegian rookies...none of which had ever held a fly rod before...to a Big Hole Slam...sort of...Catching brook, brown, rainbow trout, grayling, whitefish and the "sort of" part, at cuttbow which I would have liked to call a pure strain cutt but in all honesty could not...though I doubt the Norwegians could have cared less, did not really understand the long odds of 3 rookies accomplishing even a "sort of Big Hole Slam" on their first ever venture into fly fishing and all on dries no less...OK not really a big deal but damn nifty in my book...

Arctic grayling, this one taken on a soft hackle another day by the way...

I am pretty sure all three enjoyed the experience, were elated at their success, remain somewhat mystified at some of the many nuances involved in becoming a complete fly fisher, not the least of which coping with a strong afternoon breeze which we all know makes anything like an accurate cast, proper drift, etc. damn near impossible...but to their credit the trio hung in there did the best they could and even hooked a few more wind be damned...