Things to know about
The Guide Day
What to Expect When Booking a Trip with
Nelson’s Guides & Flies
Curious about what a typical guided fly fishing day with us entails? Never been on a guided fishing trip? We hope to answer some of your questions with the information provide below. Still have questions? Feel free to contact Jacquie Nelson to address any lingering questions and to help you plan the perfect guided fishing trip.
The typical guide day starts between 8 and 9 am. We can adjust the timing depending upon where we are going and the clients personal preference. If you are staying with us at Nelson’s Spring Creek Lodge we will meet you at breakfast. If you are staying off of the premise we will set a meeting place.
We supply flies, leader, tippet and transportation. We also have rods and reels that you can use if you’d like to try out some new equipment. We only have select sizes of wading gear available to rent, but we can steer you in the right direction if you need to rent gear.
If you booked a trip on one of the local rivers, you will accompany your guide on a non-motorized drift boat which you will fish out of while your guide gives you direction and rows the boat. Depending on the river conditions and the clients, the guide might pull the boat over and have the anglers wade up side channels or fish riffles from the bank. Therefore, be prepared to get out of the boat with waders or wet wading gear.
For scheduled trips on private lakes, anglers will remain in the drift boat and there will be no need to fish from the banks. However, waders are nice on rainy or cold days.
When wade fishing the local spring creeks, waders are recommended due to the cold water temp. The rock and cobble substrate on spring creeks can be very slick therefore, a wading staff is recommended for those needing extra support. For those anglers with limited mobility, we can bring a sturdy chair to fish from or rest on when needed.
If you are wade fishing with more than one angler per guide, it is helpful for each angler to be somewhat self sufficient. Each angler should have a small supply of flies, tippet, hemostats, clippers, and a net. Preparedness maximizes each anglers time on the water. The guide can only work with one angler at a time.
We provide a nice stream side lunch. On wade trips you can request either grilled hot or cold bagged lunch. There is no extra cost for the grilled lunch, it’s just a little extra time spent relaxing and enjoying the experience. Please let us know if there are any dietary restrictions or health concerns that the guide needs to be aware of.
The typical guide day wraps up around 5:30 pm. If you’d like to stay out later please be respectful of the guide and tip accordingly. Keep in mind that the guides still have work to do when they get home.
“I’ve been a DIY fly fisherman for 43 years, and I can count on one hand the number of times that I have used a guide. Boy have I been missing out! I spent 2 days with Jacquie and Tucker and not only did I learn a lot, but we caught fish and it was definitely right up there at the top of my fly fishing experiences! I can’t wait to spend more time with these top quality folks. Everything was exceptional!”