Uncategorized
Fly fishing: A contest
Published
10 years agoon
By Joseph T. O’Connor Explore Big Sky Managing Editor
Fly fishing reigns in Montana. It’s relaxing, gets people on the water, and any competition is generally good-natured and between fishing pals.
But Brian Kimmel, originally from Billings, casts his fly in a different way. He fishes to pull as many trout from the water as possible.
“We’re not there to fish,” said Kimmel, who owns Shadow of a Trout Outfitters in Bozeman. “We’re there to catch fish.”
Kimmel, 42, is also a fly-fishing guide on the waters in southwest Montana. He enjoys teaching his clients – from novice to expert – but there’s a competitive nature coursing through his veins. He quenches this thirst by entering tournaments and catching fish – a lot of fish. Knowing what makes trout tick is his key to success.
“Trout are paranoid, hungry and lazy,” he says. “And if you give only those attributes to fish, it will change the way you approach angling.”
Competition fly fishing is nothing new to European anglers, who have been exposed to these tournaments since the 1970s. But in America, the concept is only recently gaining traction. There is currently one international tournament in the states this year, compared to more than 20 events worldwide.
Competitors use a European nymphing technique, which Kimmel says produces greater numbers of fish, and is devoid of strike indicators – an adaptation of the bobber. The technique involves casting weighted flies
or nymphs approximately 30 feet and letting them drift and roll along the streambed, while staying in constant contact with the flies.This style eliminates long casts as well as drag from strike indicators and fly line. It also excludes dry flies, an element that some fly-fishing purists feel takes away from their sport.
But fishing guide Ennion Williams feels that tournament fly fishing is up to the angler. “All the fish are being measured and put back, so I don’t have any problem with it,” said Williams. “There are certainly [anglers] who feel that you should catch a fish on a dry fly, but they’re missing opportunities to catch more fish,” he said, indicating that 80 percent of fish are caught subsurface.
Kimmel just thinks tournament fishing gets a bad rap. “There’s a misconception about competition fly fishing,” he said. “But it pushes innovation in the product, the same as the X Games pushed skiing and snowboarding.”
Kimmel has been fishing Montana’s rivers and streams for 30 years. At 13, he earned his first fly rod – an Eagle Claw – by selling three subscriptions to Montana Hunting and Fishing News. He was soon fishing most evenings and weekends on local streams and lakes, and when he got a driver’s license, he ventured a little farther.
“At that time in Montana you could drive at 15, so I’d go wherever 5 bucks worth of gas would get me,” he said.
Kimmel began guiding in the summer of 1996 with an operation called Wyoming Rivers and Trails in the Wind River Wilderness area, and then spent five years guiding for Lone Mountain Ranch, where he earned the 1999 Orvis Guide of the Year award. The next step was to compare his skills with the best fly fishers around.
He began fishing competitively in 2005, when he entered the Great Outdoor Games on the Henry’s Fork outside of Ashton, Idaho, and qualified the following summer for a spot on the U.S.A. Men’s Fly Fishing Team. He lost the coveted position on the squad in 2011 after he failed to place in the top eight anglers at a tournament in Asheville, N.C.
The day before, Kimmel caught 52 fish in three hours – the most during that session – but in the final session came up a fish shy of retaining his spot on the team.
“It was bittersweet,” he said. “It’s amazing that you can fish for 10 or 12 hours just to come up one fish short.”
Looking for a comeback at the next U.S. tourney, the Utah/Southeast Idaho Regional Qualifier from June 19-21, Kimmel hopes to start climbing the competition fly-fishing ladder once again. His final destination is a spot on the U.S. men’s travel team, which will compete in the World Fly Fishing Championships in 2015.
In 2016, the World Championships are coming to Vail, Colo., the first time since 1997 that the tournament will be held in the U.S.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716