Extended Day Floats

I have fly fished many times out West and I always wondered if the guides would float until dark to and fish the entire day. No mind you, I am the type of angler who begins casting as soon as I get in a boat and I don’t stop until I get out. Use of the facilities is of course a temporary pardon during this time. But seriously, the hours from 5-9pm are usually one of the more productive times to fish. Why do floats stop around 5pm? I do know some guides that hold their start times to fish those better hours of the day, but why not fish for the entire day?

Last year I began offering Extended Day Floats where clients fish from early morning until dusk. A few clients took the offer and really enjoyed the added time on the water. Paying an additional $100 seems like steal when you are fishing during the best times of the day. I wish my guides had done that when I floated in Montana. After each float trip I used to go and fish after the trip was done. Once again though, I am a fly fishing wacko. Forgive me.

We have had a bunch of “wacko” non stop fly fisherman this year. There have been over 10 trips so far this year that have fished the Extended Day Float Trip. Young, Middle Aged, Older, it just doesn’t matter.

Last week, I had a float with Eric and Mike and we floated a 16 mile combination Trout Buffet Float. We started at 7:00am and we didn’t get off the water until 8:45. Talk about covering some water. The fishing was fair that day with a bonus 21” Brown Trout that was holding in a 2 foot deep run. Mike and Eric hanged in and fished well for the entire 16 miles. Fishing double fly rigs all day with #4 and #2 crayfish patterns is tough work. Hands cramp, arms get tired, and many a fly is donated to the river gods. But, all in all, the bonus time spent on the river is well worth it.

The three pictures to the right are from recent Extended Day Floats. If you have a float trip coming up, feel free to ask about options of turning your normal float trip, it a full blown, fish all day event.