Wisdom of the Guides
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I just finished reading Wisdom of the Guides by Paul Arnold. He interviewed several Rocky Mountain trout guides and put the interviews into a book. Some of the guides included in the book are Mike Lawson, Gary LaFontaine, Craig Matthews, Paul Roos and Al Troth. I highly recommend this book and found it very informative and enjoyable to read.
It was written in 1998 so some specifics may have changed. Some of the folks interviewed were actively guiding at the time the book was published, but no longer guide now. However, there is very little in the book that is dated and I would consider most of the information to be of the timeless wisdom variety. There is amazing consistency and agreement on several issues amongst those interviewed. For example, on the topic of equipment, they all state that expensive reels with the heavily engineered drags are overkill for trout. They pretty much believe in the reel as line holder school of thought when it comes to trout. They also pretty much agree that an angler should focus on the whole fishing experience and not get caught up in size and numbers of fish. It was mentioned by more than one of them that there comes a point during the day that we should self regulate and say I have caught enough for today and should stop fishing even if I could catch more fish.
While there were many points of agreement, there were also many points of divergence when it comes to technique and styles of fishing. It just goes to show you that there is no one right way to fly fish. There are several methods that are successful. Just as there are numerous ways that an angler can derive enjoyment from this sport that we all love.
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