Category: Tangles – Guides Blog

By Steve SchmidtPast owner of Western Rivers Flyfisher, and long time Ranch Regular. Writer, photographer and a flyfisher in progress.Dear John two additional portions of this river that are already under siege. It would also financially impact the shops and guides who make a living from…

Read John McDaniel’s thoughts and data here:The report will open as a printable PDF. Feel free to comment below on this page

The 2022 Season on the Harriman RanchIn 2022, Ranch fishing was the worst I have experienced over 40 consecutive years and more than 14,800 hours of angling and guiding. An index of how recently a major part of the decline has taken place is provided by the fact my clients and I were on the…

Fishing in 2018 was better than in 2017. Between 15 June and 14 September, my clients and I landed 106 rainbows of seventeen inches or longer. The figure is almost twice the number we landed in 2017. (I shall not repeat the “seventeen inches or longer” comment as each fish I address met…

The 2017 season was defined by both positives and negatives concerning the health of our fishery and the quality of our fishing. We had better numbers of a few species of aquatic insects, significantly more young rainbows, and none of the terrible surges in flows, accompanied by discolored…

From 2012 through 2015, it was fun to write my annual report on Ranch fishing. This year it is difficult. My clients and I invested more than 400 hours on the water between 15 June and 11 September. We had a few days of good fishing, but there were many terrible days. I am not…

Any chance I get to get out on the river with one of the guys I try to take advantage of. Pat and I both have a wife and two children at home, and a very busy guide season. So for us to get together for a full day of fishing is very rare. To…

General Comments 2015 provided the eighth straight year of good fishing on the Ranch; however, there were more periods of tough fishing than in any summer since 2007. I invested 485 hours with clients, or on my own, on the Ranch from 15 June to 15 September. We landed 86 good Ranch fish. …

THE 2013 SEASON ON THE HARRIMAN RANCH by John McDaniel It was an interesting year. In summary, we had our fifth consecutive year of excellent Ranch fishing. My detailed journal notes on each day I fish or guide on the Ranch indicate that the years of 2007 and 2008 provided the worst fishing since…