It is hard for me to believe that there are people who have not caught a fish on a bamboo fly rod. Yet, they are out there. When I heard that my friend Rob Koehn of Bozeman, Mont., fell in to this category of deprived anglers, I invited him to float with a few friends down a wild river and cast cane. 

Rob is a streamer-stripping maniac, and he did not even graduate from Orofino high school (mascot: the Maniacs, location: across the street from the Idaho state mental facility). So, as we boarded my wooden drift boat, I rigged up a Sweetgrass seven weight rod with a floating six weight, weight forward line. Then, Rob attached a sinking leader to get his huge streamers beneath the river's surface. The sun beat through sparse clouds and bounced up to burn our faces. We were concerned the fish might stay hidden in the harsh, revealing light. But, several black thunderheads rushed through the valley at odd intervals, and mixed up fish activity enough to allow some action. 

Rob got his timing down, waiting a bit longer on his back-cast, letting the rod load and do the work for him. As he smashed the banks over, and over, we grew more tense with each line-strip knowing a fish was going to take. But, it took a while. But, finally....

Rob was thrilled at this fish, as was I, as was Sammy, his Wiener dog, who we pretty much just call Wien. Wien is hidden mostly by the fish, but Wien is kinda small. He makes up for it with cuteness. Almost. 

The day continued with a few fish, many wind bursts, some rain, and great fun. A perfect fishing trip. I must get back to the river with Rob, Wien and the wooden boat.

One last fish presented itself for Rob! What a monster. A while later, the valley darkened, the wind hushed and lights punched cumulous clouds. The boat ramp finally appeared in a black notch in the bank, and we packed for home -- happy to have bamboo, wooden boats and great friends. 

In Wild Waters,

Zac Sexton

The Meandering Booboy