I finally got this fly fishing thing down

The other night my brother in law Scott asked if I missed Montana and up until last week I would have said "not as much as you think". I'll always miss Montana as it was my home for well over a decade. I then talked to my good friend Sean. He was about to embark on Spring off season road trip #2. He was then returning to Montana for a Summer of guide work. He was looking at the next five months where he would be "bailing hay when the sun shines" as we use to call it. It's a lucrative gig but taxing both mentally and physically.
I don't necessarily miss the guide work as much as I miss being "in the know". After fourteen years I finally had it down or so I like to think. I kept track of snowpack levels which really affected the amount of water we were dealing with for the season. I studied the weather religiously especially the wind. The W is your nemesis and should be avoided at all cost. I learned that the Tobacco root mountains soaked up the W - hence the reason I spent so much time on the Jefferson. I found the fishing to be pretty damn good too. I'll call it a happy accident. I also learned of a notch in the Absaroka Mountains in Paradise Valley that would buffer the stiff winds of Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone. If I noticed numerous boats heading East, I would head West. If I got to the put in and the lot was full of trailers, I would opt for a different river beat. If the boat in front of me was pounding river left, I would hammer river right. More on the molt next post...

Transition Update

It should come as no surprise that we are loving our new life in North Carolina! It's warm, comfortable, sun shines and rains. Yes it rains and it's not the frozen variety. We're use to very little of the above but most of all, we love the tree covered lofty mountains! I'm in seventh heaven with this weather.
Things here in Western North Carolina are finally settling down. We've been running full tilt since the beginning of April. A lengthy and exhausting move cross country, lot's of family visits and settling into our new house. It's time for a break now.
We are going to keep the Blog going until we are told to give it up. We enjoy writing the Blog and hope you enjoy reading it. Take care until the next post.

P.S.
Alex is doing great and growing like a weed. He's loving all the family time and enjoying playing with his cousins!

Change Of Hands

CK Outfitters has changed hands and is now Efferson Outfitters Fly Fishing. I have worked closely with guide & Outfitter, Sean Efferson over the years. Sean brings a new style and enthusiasm to Montana fly fishing! With my five star rating in excellence, I guarantee you will be in good hands. We appreciate your support over the years and look forward to our continued friendship. Caroline, Alex and I have relocated to the Asheville North Carolina area. After fourteen years of living and guiding in Montana, it was time to turn the page. It was hard saying "see ya' later" but it was the right move for us. We will miss Montana greatly and will forever be in our hearts. Please keep in touch. We wish all of you the very best. On to the next chapter...Craig KalpinskiAsheville North Carolina406-539-6582

Fifth Street, The River Card

Montana Hold ‘Em was the poker game played on the river but the competition became known as the GHC invitational. I have no idea what GHC stands for and am afraid to ask but I do know, the trophy was acquired somewhat illegally the same night the competition got its name.

The game was played like this: At the beginning of every morning, the guide and his party of anglers would receive a fresh deck of shuffled cards. We would then embark on the launch site. After the trash talking and razzing would subside, we would finaly hit the river. The guide was the dealer and it was up to the anglers to keep the game alive. For every trout caught, a card was dealt. For every whitefish caught, it was my idea to retract a card of their choice. Unfortunately my idea never took flight. Cigars were smoked, laughs were shared and fish were caught. If by chance your guide deck was dry and not covered in fish guts and blood by lunch time, you probably had a painfully slow morning. At least the company was always good!

At the end of the day, the crew would gather at the take out and compare hands. The best hand won for that day! An official score card was kept for the tournament and the loser bought dinner that night. At the very end of the competition, the official GHC Invitational results were Blogged for public record - fish caught, numbers, length, size, angler position in the boat, winning hand, etc., This was serious stuff.

Railroad Ranch

Within two weeks of moving to Montana, this so called trout bum had two jobs, a cushy pad to call home and a girlfriend… sort of. My tread lightly "rough it" plan was failing and I needed to put the breaks on before I spiraled out of control. I packed up the truck with fly rods, reels, waders , camping gear, fly tying equipment, a case of beer and headed South to the Henry’s Fork. It was time to put my life back in order. The Railroad Ranch would never be the same. Never fished here before, just been told to fish downstream with dry flies only! Quite a statement to abide by for a guy that loves to catch fish and knows that trout spend 90% of the time feeding on sub aquatic insects. Anyway, I was here to clear my head and get back to trout bumming.

In two days, I had gotten skunked, lost a rod, broken up with my sort of girlfriend via pay phone but still had two jobs and a place to live. I would work on losing one of the jobs later. I’m here to fish and I’ll be damned to go skunked. Who cares about the majestic Grand Teton purple mountain majesty or the moose sipping water from this legendary spring creek harboring giant, wild rainbow trout? Who really cares about the sweet smell of sage brush bordering the banks of this volcanic wonder? I was here to fish and at this point, a fish would do the soul some good. "Stupid Henry’s Fork, this place is over rated I screamed"! I had to regroup. I’m not going to let this over hyped river get the best of me.

I stormed out of the boiling river and made a B-line for Osborne bridge. I did something I’m not very proud of and short of dynamite, I tied on a size #12 Prince nymph. That’s right, I was nymphing one of the greatest dry fly rivers in the world and I was killin’ it. It makes perfect sense. These fish don’t see many prince nymphs drift by their head, if ever. They were curious and I was catching fish, big Henry’s Fork fish. I felt a little dirty at first but who cares really? I got over the guilt pretty quickly. I’m not a purist, just a self taught fly fishing kid from the Midwest. I’ll justify my behavior as simply a skillful means of catching fish without the use of dynamite.

2011 Season In Review Continued...

2011 was a fantastic season! It was a different season for me personally as I stepped into the role as Owner and Managing Outfitter. No more guide work after 13 seasons. It was a good long run but also time to take CK Outfitters in a new direction.
I want to give credit to my hard working, ass kicking and ace crew who worked tirelessly providing quality guide trips throughout the season. Thanks to: Sean Efferson, Steve Wilson, John Sniscack, Austin Trayser, Jordan Corcoran, Ennion Williams and Ben Jantzen. You are some of the most solid guides I have ever worked with and could not have pulled off this season without your help.
We are looking forward to the 2012 season. We hope you all winter well and look forward to seeing you next season.

Craig Kalpinski
Owner & Managing Outfitter
CK Outfitters Fly Fishing
Bozeman Montana

2011 Season In The Books

The final days of the season are always bittersweet. Currently, there is an arctic cold front hanging around that with any luck will loosen its grip soon! It's the kind of cold that makes most fishing guides think twice about their profession.
We wrapped up our 2011 season a few days ago on the Missouri. Fishing was a bit tough but I suspect it was operator error? If you could rip a streamer in front of a nose or two, you could of moved a few fish and probably even got one to the net... quite a few but that was not the case this past weekend.
The Ritchie family blew into Montana in September and tore 'em up everywhere they fished. My ace crew of guides shined and we could not have pulled off this trip without them. Steve Wilson had my long time client and good friend Mark Baker out on the Upper Madison recently and they had a fantastic day!
It was a late start to the season due to the abundance of snowpack but once the rivers settled, the fishing was solid from start to finish. This is not the last post but one of several before we give up on the cold and are Southbound. Check back in a few for more of the 2011 season in review. To be continued...

Kids, tweak your brim please!

Call me old school but these straight brim fly fisherman scare me. You might as well wear a straw cowboy hat on the river. Plain and simple, these hats scare fish.. and me for that matter.
The 2011 fly fishing is winding down. Just a couple more trips on the books and then it's out like trout. It has been a great, interesting. long, watery, hot and most recently cold season. All in all, it really has been a great season. We will keep you updated on things relevant to fly fishing with CK Outfitters and report on the end to our season. In the meantime, tweak those brims and tip up!

Streaming

Ok, this Blog post really has nothing to do with fishing and actually, I feel pretty good about that. It's nice to step away from something that consumes your days. It has been a long and interesting season. We are at the very tail end of thing and it looks like some unsettled weather is finally moving in. Truth be told, fishing has been great but I'm sure the fish are tired of the Big ball hovering above and high pressure.
Wilco. That's what I'm talking about this evening. The whole love - the new album, is scary good. If you find yourself sitting around and need some sweet background tunes, I highly recommend streaming the shows off their site. Go to www.wilcoworld.net > click on roadcase > select a show and enjoy! This band is rippin' right now! We will be back soon to report on fish, rain, cold and clouds. In the meantime, tight lines and bent rods. Not bad fora a rambling man.

Wind..and lot's of it!

Despite the nuclear winds we have been experiencing the day time temps have been pleasant - as in 75 degree pleasant. It's what you expect this time of year. If you or your guide can hold a boat steady or the fish are eating flies on the drag, fishing has been really good. We have another month left before we wrap this show up for the 2011 season. There are some holes to fill in October so give us a call if in the area. Craig @ CK Outfitters 406-539-6582 Oh yeah, be sure to put a few rocks in your pockets.

Light at the end of the tunnel...

It's hard to believe that August is almost over. September is our biggest month and always has been. Kids are back in school, the weather here in Southwestern Montana is near perfect and the crowds are next to none.
It has been an interesting season to say the least. A late start and lot's of water made for some interesting fishing early in the season but we are seeing the benefits now. My wife, Caroline and I float fished the Lower Madison last Sunday - Something I rarely do in August because of warm temps and floating grass/moss/weeds. The fishing was actually quite good and weeds were not a problem until we got below Blacks Ford.
We have another month and a half of our season ahead of us until we wrap this show up. I'm looking forward to September! Old friends, good fishing and that awkward time of year that boggles both fish and fishermen. It happens every year and will long after CK Outfitters. Fish go from looking up for there food to not really knowing where to look for it. This might be a small price to pay for great weather and no crowds. Somehow we still manage to catch fish.

Mullets, Metal Fingers, Miller Lite & Mayhem In Montana!

Rockin' The Rivers 2011 Line-up!

Friday
Creedence Clearwater Revisited
Uriah Heep
Great White
The Dave Walker Band
Led Zeppelin Live starring Heartbreaker
Jamelution
xit 288
Airstream Safari
Alter Ego

SaturdaBachman & Turner

Ace Frehley
Rock Sugar
Whiskey River "Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute"
The Jared Stewart Band
Hell's Belles
Crash Baxter
Dawg House
The Mighty Flick
Printable 2011 Schedule

Sunday
Pat Benatar with Neil Giraldo
Bottle Rockets
Marshall Crenshaw
Too Slim and the Taildraggers
Blue Jack
Adrian and the Sickness
The Boozehounds
Sands of Time
The Frank Keyes Band

*** It happens every year, Rockin' The Rivers blows into Southwestern Montana like a freight train and unleashes some of the greatest washed up music performer still kickin' around. This years lineup is no exception. Folks this is guaranteed to be a doozy! Woo Woo!