This year the film tour had me especially nostalgic given the recent passing of Leslie, Austin’s most beloved cross-dressing homeless celebrity. The first year we brought the film tour to Austin, I was in charge (self-appointed) of getting Leslie to do a promo video for the flyfishing film tour. The process of shooting this few seconds of footage was one of the more hilarious endeavors I’ve ever got myself into.

And then, in year two with the film tour I managed to get The Lizardman to pose for a promo shot. Another long story.

I haven’t worked on the film tour the past two years, it was nice last night just to attend as a regular ole movie go-er. We could have used an extra hour on the frontend just to catch up with everyone. It felt like it was time to party, karamu, fiesta, forever. But we had to cut that short because after all, we were there to see some fishing movies.

And I have to say, I think the films are the best ever this year. We loved the stories, the people, the photography, and most of all, the fishing. The films seemed trout-heavy this year which is fine with me since I have zero saltwater trips on the books and looking forward to summer in Montana consumes most of my waking thoughts.

And speaking of Montana. Last night wasn’t just about seeing Austin fishing friends in the flesh, but Montana friends on the big screen. I know I am partial to anything that involves the Missouri River and the town of Craig, but a highlight of last night was seeing my friend Simon Perkins’ movie ‘Sipping Dry.” Not only was it filmed on the Mo, it featured a whole cast of characters who are our friends in Craig! We loved it!

It was surreal to see them all right there on the screen in the Paramount Theater in Austin TX. Validation that they don’t just exist in my mind in the summertime. Like Pinocchio they’re real boys!

Hats off to Simon for a great job on ‘Sipping Dry’ as well as star performances from Brandon, John Arnold, Mark Raisler, Mitch, Beau, Jared and Chris. Get your sharpees ready guys, won’t be long til I am back in Craig and I am looking for autographs from each and every one of you. Even you, Brownie. Yes, that’s right Mr Holloywood Hookjaw.

this screenshot from 'Sipping Dry' lifted with love from headhuntersflyshop.com

Another fun connection from last night? Bill Farnum from Oregon. Some of you may recall it was Bill Farnum who first told me about Rett Syndrome, a neurological disorder that his daughter Ella lives with. It was that first conversation with Bill three years ago that sparked my interest in Rett which, coupled with a few other Rett coincidences, resulted in my racing in the 2010 Water Safari for Rett.

Bill flew in from Oregon just for the Austin show and threw the after party as a Rett fundraiser. It was so great to see him and brainstorm more ways to keep the energy and awareness going about finding a cure for Rett. I won’t speak out of turn but I will hint that Bill and I brainstormed something pretty damn cool as a new Rett fundraiser…stay tuned as logistics play out. It will happen.

Many thanks to all who hosted the film tour last night. Howler Brothers, Red-Headed Yeti, Trey and Scott…yall knocked it out of the park. The films were topnotch and the fellowship as fun as ever.

Including this awkward and hilarious photo op brought to you by the Austin Fly Fishing Film Festival. I can’t really repeat what was going on here.

But sufficeth to say, it was funny.

Photo from Nomadic Pursuits photoblog

but I’ve never seen a hatch of actual crane flies here. As in the bug variety. Also known as Mosquito Hawks. I’ve just never seen them here before, but lately these bugs have been everywhere:

They’re on my bathroom ceiling, in the kitchen pantry, behind the couch pillows in the den. I can’t get away from them. Luckily they seem pretty mellow and thoroughly benign.

At first I didn’t know what they were but the Professor called it, crane flies. Immediately I thought of the Beaverhead River.

You see a year or so ago we did a September trip out to Montana and everywhere we went people were gaga about the crane fly hatch on the Beaverhead. Tim Tollett at Frontier Anglers had us hyped and ready with plenty of flies.

Apparently they were coming off early, sometime around sunrise, and we routinely missed the crane fly hatch every single day we were there.

So it seems what we have here is an old fashioned case of situational irony. There I was in Montana with all the trout in the Beaverhead and not a crane fly to boot. And now, here I am in Austin with so many crane flies in my house I have to keep my lips pursed while typing this for fear of sucking one in. Yet sadly, not one single trout in my little Texas home office.

Very Gift of the Maji.

We fished the Big Hole with our friend Eric, co-owner of Sunrise Flyshop in Melrose. I’ve said it before, Eric is seriously one of the hardest working guides on the planet.

The air temp was 17 when we woke up that morning and the water temp was hovering somewhere around 33 degrees when we started our day. Fish were sluggish so we had to go BIG to get their attention. As in big, big streamers.

We caught a number of browns early but the real fun started when the sun came out after lunch and the fish came to life. We had a blast! All of the fish were in the 15-19” range but we each caught several and had some super fun chases toward the end of the float. Nothing cooler than watching these trout hot on the trail of these massive streamers.

Did I mention we were throwing BIG streamers? I threw one fly all day long. Eric had tied it as a prototype so it was the only one in existence. Which was touch and go each of the two dozen or so times I caught it on rocks and in trees and on bushes. I was hung up a lot. But hey, I was trying to get tight to the bank to get these troutcicle fish interested!

 A massive articulated streamers with two giant hooks is simply going to get caught a few thousand times…or so. Right? (Yikes. Sorry for the extra backrowing, Eric.) Luckily we were catching enough fish to mask any potential frustration over my multiple snags.

I cast that colossal fly so many times over the course of seven hours that it actually started to hurt. I swear I think I developed tendonitis in my right arm. The Professor has recently suffered serious tendonitis in both elbows, resulting in two cortisone shots, so he wasn’t particularly sympathetic and maintains I was just “a little sore”. But I am telling you, I was one cast away from a steroid shot myself. Pitiful that just last summer I paddled 260-miles in 73 hours and was AOK, yet somehow I contracted a “sports” injury after a guided day of streamer fishing.

But it was damn worth it.

We celebrated a great day on the water and the official close of the Sunrise Flyshop season (we were the last clients for Sunrise in 2011) with Eric and his business partner Ryan. We watched Game 7 and TCU-BYU at the Melrose Bar and warmed up with homemade onion rings and other bar fare.

Ryan, Eric (of Sunrise Flyshop) and myself. Have I mentioned we are big fans of these guys? Not only have they become good friends of ours, the Professor and I are both keen to tell anyone and everyone about their operation in Melrose. If you need a guide in SW Montana, run don’t walk.

The Professor’s philly cheese steak and onion rings.

The next day we were planning to fish the Jefferson but some juicy intel advised us it wasn’t worth it right now. Which was probably for the best given I was suffering with my inflamed streameritis elbow. I wasn’t up for chucking another 5-pound fly and rowing all day – this time in gusting wind. So instead we opted for something new, a roadtrip over to Willow Creek.

That’s right. After a killer day on the Big Hole with big streamers and big fish, we decided to go dainty on their ass. We wade fished the Willow Creek spring creeks. Smaller water, smaller flies, smaller fish.

I think this little guy was actually smaller than the streamer I’d been throwing the day before. That said, he was lots of fun to catch. I had a few other bumps on the teeny nymph and one good take on an ant, even though the fished missed it. The Professor switched to an ant pattern and outfished me with this beast:

The spring creeks provided nice lite fishing and the scenery on this last-minute audible daytrip was to die for.

One of the many outtakes of my experimentation with the self timer.

After our breezy angling afternoon on the creeks, we sought out the Willow Creek Cafe and Saloon which we heard serves up the best ribs in Montana.

The barkeep was kind enough to switch the TV over to the Carolina-Wake Forest game for me. Go Heels.

In keeping with that juicy Tarheel victory, the North Carolina style mustard-base sauce on these ribs won us over as well.

Another fabulous October Montana trip punctuated by this big sky view for the ride home last evening. Replete with a little picturesque sliver of a moon…

Adios Montana. Catch you on the flipside…in 2012.

The printer has shipped the books (we have real live tracking numbers) so check back here at flyfishchick.com next Wednesday to purchase your very own copy!

And because it’s not all about me me me, I do have some real grip and grins of the professor catching fish on the Missouri with his new best buddy, Headhunters guide Jarrod.

The guys managed to tear themselves away from fishing the Mo for a little bird hunting as well…

But now it’s back to reality for the Professor. The talk around the dining room table at this house is pretty much all volleyball, middle school math, rumored 6th grade romances, and Paddlefish the book.

I hope you will consider finding a spot on your bookshelf. It would be an honor!

Still love ‘em. Caught this on the Missouri on this evening’s caddis hatch.

In terms of the fishing, highlights include: floating the Missouri with my new niece (the Professor’s niece) who tricked a few fish into eating on top including two takes on a fly we were told would absolutely not work. Next was floating the Big Hole with the Professor, Little Chick and my parents. Highlight was how hard Little Chick fished and the big rainbow that came unbuttoned on her. Yesterday we all had a blast on the Madison where we caught a record number of trout in the 6-10 inch range.

Where to start with the food? One day we ventured to Augusta to look at the art at Latigo and Lace. We left with many goodies, including a 1950s vintage leather western jacket and some cowboy boots Miss Kitty wore in Gunsmoke. We celebrated our shopping across the street at the Buckhorn Bar with copious amounts of fried food including jalapeno cheese tater tots, mozarella sticka and cheesy curly fries.

That night we feasted at home with family on delicious ribeyes grilled to perfection by my brother-in-law Randy. My mother cooked the rest including off-the-chart mixed berry cobbler, topped with homemade whipped cream that niece Margaret made with nephew Jack’s careful consultation.

Sadly the next evening wasn’t nearly as delightful. My mother, Little Chick and I dined at Izaaks in Craig which is under new management. I had heard negative reports and wow, they were right. Across the board the service was so atrocious and it was such a negative experience we are struggling to ever go back. To be fair, the manager was very apologetic and my mom’s pasta was delish. But they have some work to do there.

We turned things around the next night in Sheridan with the Professor on the grill. Incredible pork tenderloin, grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, topped off with key lime pie. All made for great leftovers on the river the next day…

Then we had a splendid family dinner the next night at the Old Hotel in Twin Bridges!! Calamari, rabbit cacciatore, scallops, steaks, risotto. It was fantastic and we loved our server Rachel, who by the way had just eloped with her new husband after they had only spent three days together. Romantic!

And of course, after fishing the Madison yesterday, we couldn’t pass through Ennis without stopping in at our favorite: Banditos. Great to see our friend Scott and take my parents for their first time. After we all shared the Queso Fundido appetizer of cheese, potato, peppers and chorizo, I had the crab enchiladas. They were so good last night that I might just have the leftovers for breakfast.

Today we are switching gears. Less food, more fishing. After many chores we will head back over to the Missouri later today. While my pounds are on the rise, the Mo has finally dropped and is holding steady round 10k. No time to worry about the bathroom scales, our minds are on fish scales. Stay tuned for the report…

(One more update from the past week. We finalized the PADDLEFISH manuscript and sent it to the designer. We are in a new phase! The book is in layout, they are working on a map and cover design, we are trying to pick the interior photo shots. Progress!!)

and…..

To which I rubbed my back and replied, “Perfect, I can’t row.”

It was all worth it as we hobbled up the boat ramp at day’s end…