I got call a couple of weeks ago, while I was in Jackson Hole, from my good friend Mark, an Environmental Lawyer from Montana who knows every inch of the Montana Stream Access Laws and he says, “I’ve got a spring creek I’d love to show you but there’s a hitch, we have to stay in the stream the entire day.” OK, I’ll bite I replied, as long as we don’t end up in jail.
BY DAVID LAMBROUGHTON, https://www.instagram.com/davidlambroughton/
So a week later we are driving up a remote country road and park near a small bridge. As we got our boots on and rods set up I noticed a number of private jets coming and going, along with a few helicopters getting people to and from their properties. Then we slipped around the end of the bridge and down into the stream and in short order met our first set of trail cameras that not only alerted the Ranch Manager, but also the Billionaire ranch owner (Mr. Big) who had just flown back to New York in his private jet the day before. So now our progress upstream will be viewed and photographed all day long with more cameras being tucked away here and there.
I’ve fished private water in Montana before and the normal drill is that you have to stay within the high water mark, which could be exposed gravel bars or even within the debris left in the fields by the spring runoff. But this was new turf for me as the stream flow was totally controlled and stepping just 6 inches onto the stream side grass would be trespassing. There was no high water mark. But the stream was easy enough to wade and the Browns were on the full on chomp in the first pool with the morning spinner fall, which actually seemed the last most of the day. My #18 Rusty Spinner was lethal all day long with most of the fish were in the 16 to 22 inch range and the odd one larger.
So we quickly forgot about the cameras and just fished our way upstream like two clowns with their arses on fire and it wasn’t a good day, it was a GREAT Day. Lovely fish, lovely weather, clear water, in an extremely fertile stream. If you were a mayfly or caddis, you would want to live here and around each bend, another lovely pool with the rings of feeding fish.
Finally we decided to turn around as we had at least an hour of stream wading to get back to Mark’s truck. So I put my new beloved Winston 4 weight Air 2, back in its bag and we began the downstream trudge with the ranch manager periodically checking on our progress from his slow moving truck and he meets us at the bridge as we leave the property. Well we’ve got bit of a problem here fellas, he says. “We have photos of you getting out of the stream and going around the ranch bridge.” To this Mark calming replies, “The Montana Stream Access Law clearly states that property owner cannot obstruct access to the water. So say if you placed barbed wire across a stream we would have the right to go over, under, through or around it.
So, expecting someone to wade the deeper dark water, with only 2 feet of clearance between the water and the bottom of the bridge could be dangerous and this is not going to wash.” So the ranch manager thinks about this for a moment and responds, “well I think you have a point there” and we started to really like him immediately. You could tell he was a good guy stuck between a rock and hard place between doing his job and answering to Mr. Big.
Then as we stood there yakking a bit by the side of the road, his cell phone is buzzing again from Mr. Big who now wants to know how many fish we caught. We don’t really count fish but we gave him an honest estimate. Then, after a pause, came his next question, “Well just what the hell kind of flies were you using? So now we can’t hold back the laughter and I tell him that I’ll be leaving him some flies. So now I go across the road and get two of my 2026 Fly Fishing Dreams Calendars and put a dozen #18 Rusty Spinners is a little plastic box and gave them to the ranch manager and next summer I plan to do the same. I’ll be dropping off two of my 2027 Calendars, that will feature this unnamed little lost gem on one of the pages, along with some flies and a thank note.
That evening, when I got back to my laptop, I googled Mr. Big and he had a very impressive resume, including some large charitable donations. I like that. So underneath it all, he was a good guy, just like his ranch manager, and both loved fly fishing.
So the moral of the story; Be honest, be kind, be generous, always remember that charming is disarming, and to always fish such places with a really sharp lawyer.
From the warm, genial perspective of David Lambroughton-international fly-fishing expert, writer, and photographer-comes an eye-catching array of lush photos of the people, the places, and the passion from the world of fly-fishing. Accompanied by delightful anecdotes and comforting words of wisdom, this calendar is the perfect gift for both fly-fishing hobbyists and pros alike.
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