2014 season wrap-up - expressing many thanks and indelible memories

Jack Mauer and Dave Brandt in 2004

The 2014 Guide Season is officially over having my last personal guide days the last week of October. Despite the slow fishing, the radiant fall colors and memories of fast fishing we had through out the year helped ease in the inevitable - winter coming on!

I want to say many words of thanks to all who fished with Wapiti Waters during this glorious season of good flows and good angling. I would also like to mention a couple of anglers who have passed on to the "Happy Fishing Ground" namely E. Terrill Nobles (Terry Nobles) and Dave Brandt. These two fishermen were the reasons we love guiding. Their attitudes were upbeat whether the fishing was fast or slow and they genuinely loved the waterways and trout environment. Their desires to share this love will always be with us. We will forever miss yet forever remember them.

Dave Brandt and daughter KJ in 2009

Thank you,
Jack Mauer, Wapiti Waters Fly Fishing Montana, Outfitter #867

Terry Nobles in 2005

Jack Mauer and Terry Nobles in 2007

We also had the privilege of  fishing with Dave Brandt in Argentina- fantastic time and memories.

Terry Nobles - photos, memories and best wishes

Photo album dedicated to our good friendTerrill (Terry) Nobles, Corvallis, Montana - With out any doubt, Wapiti Waters' (Jack Mauer) favorite friend, partner, client, and man on earth. This will never change, as sadly there will never be another man like Terry. Terry is 93 and 1/2 years old this December (2013) and we felt compelled to start an album dedicated to Terry. As I find pictures earlier than 2005, I will scan them and add them. Also dedicated to J Craig Nobles, Lynn Dornfeld, Tori Nobles-Stephens, and Buddy Nobles, Terry's children.

Craig with a Bitterroot Trout

Lyle with a Bitterroot Trout

Craig and Lyle are from the Bitterroot but both now live out of state. They like to come back to the valley to visit Craig's father, Terry, attend the annual Trout Unlimited Banquet, and fish, fish, and fish! They enjoy fishing with a number of different guides and outfitters and we all appreciate that. They took most of the photos in the album/slideshow below. Thanks for sharing your photos with us. Jack had a great time fishing with you both. Hope to see you next year, same time, same place. For those interested in more about the Bitter Root Chapter of Trout unlimited click BRTU Blog.

View all the photos in a new window

Fly Fishing the Bitterroot River with Terry and his Grandnephew, Ryan

If we were to have a favorite client, Terry Nobles would be it. He loves, loves, loves to fish and be on the river. We have known and fished with Terry for many years. Today he brought his Grandnephew, Ryan, along.

Below is a slideshow of more photos.

Click here to view all photos in a new window

Bitterroot River, Fly Fishing with Terry Nobles and John Hickman

John caught fish, but the photos are all about Terry and his fish. John is in love with our Chesapeake puppy, Freda, so Jack had to take her along. She is a bit of a handful and won't be a fixture in the boat on guide days, only as a special request.

Terry insists on sitting in the rear seat, but with Jack rowing and Terry's skills, he doesn't get the short end of the rod, he catches trout, always.

Doc Bolton Fly Fishing the Bitterroot with Jack

Doc Bolton is up from California again. He has a small house on the Bitterroot now and comes up at least a couple of times a year. He is fishing about four days with Jack and today, Terry Nobles is in the boat. I will pick them up at the take out. I can't wait to get some more photos of Terry. Click Terry Nobles for more blog entries about him.

Here is a slideshow of Doc's fishing. You will see different days, different sections of the Bitterroot River.

View Album, click here to view in a new, larger window.
Then choose "Slideshow" to get a full screen view.

Terry Nobles and Kent Myers - Fly Fishing the Bitterroot River

I can't say enough about how much fun it is too fish with Terry Nobles and Kent Myers. Both are great to be with and love the Bitterroot River. This photo of Terry shows the very young but mature male trout he coaxed out from under a log. It took patience and technique as he teased the trout with his dry fly and expertly set the hook.

Kent showed his fly fishing prowess as he caught fish after fish. We used small bugs and small tippet AND big bugs and big tippet. It all seemed to work.

See the slideshow below for more photos.

View Album - click here to view in a new window. Then choose "Slideshow" for full window view.

Our good friend Terrill Nobles

Terry Nobles has been fishing with Jack for "I don't know how long." He is a good friend and has contributed to the Bitterroot area as a conservationist for longer than I have know him. We went to visit Terry yesterday.

I was amazed at two of his collections. One is of model airplanes. He has many and as a pilot, flew every kind of plane in his collection. He also is an avid reader and has walls of books. He said he is slowly downsizing so he gifted two books (not the first time) to Jack. See the photo to the left.

Trout Fishing by Joe Brooks, published in 1972
Trout, the Fisherman's Bible by Ray Bergman, published in 1970.


Our friend, John Bolton, wrote a story about Terry Nobles called A Bitterroot Morning.

Bitterroot River - Doc Bolton and Terry Nobles

Yesterday Jack came home all excited about the Bitterroot again. The water temperatures are dropping (between 50-52 degrees), the cool nights, fall days and waning moon seem to help - the fishing is really turning on in the afternoons.

He was fortunate to have two of his favorite people to fish with. Doc Bolton lives in California but has come to Montana for years and now has a small homestead near the Bitterroot River. Terry Nobles is long standing Bitterroot resident and Marine veteran, the best of the best in our opinion. Both gentlemen are avid trout fishermen and Trout Unlimited supporters. You will see us all at the Bitter Root TU Banquet this Friday, September 26.

Doc Bolton also wrote a story called Bitterroot Morning about Doc and Terry fishing with Jack.
Click the hotlink, Bitterroot Morning, to check it out and see a couple more
photos.

Above is a photo of Doc with his fish of the day. We didn't get a photo of Terry yesterday, but to the right is one from my files. He fishes all year but we seem to get most of the photos of him and his fish in the fall like this one.