Wow, it’s getting scary: I launch the boat, help the customers into the boat; and pull away from the landing. OK, so what’s the big deal? Uh, generally, it’s been found that it’s a good idea to drive the truck and trailer up out of the water to park it, rather than leave the truck’s diesel clattering away, trailer submerged, as you, the guide, pull away from the landing. I couldn’t understand why the customers, Jodi and husband Keith, were looking back and forth at one another with concerned expressions. To make matters worse, RiverQuest guide Don Graham and his customers were anchored just off the landing with huge grins plastered on their faces, and guide Bill Haagsma waiting to launch, perched at the top of the landing with his boat, all the while shaking his head and looking at me as if I were some sort of Coo-Coo Bird—which, of course, I was! Man, I’ll be paying for this mess-up for a long, long time, I’m sure.
But, sometimes chicken salad can emerge from chicken do-do, and certainly that was the case today. Jodi and Keith had never fly fished but both caught on quickly and boated some fine kings—in Keith’s case, my big fish for year, a 25 lb. buck hooked smack dab in the lips with a Crossdresser Hex. Jodi did a great job with the indicator on the switch rod and here poses with her hen. All in all, a tremendous day begun about as embarrassingly as could be for the guide yours truly. Thank you, Jodi and Keith, for not jumping ship and hanging in there with me. Great time with you both.
Captain Tom Kuieck
