Into Fish All Year Round

Rob Weiker of Montana Fishing Guides

Fishing puns are easy. Often too easy. So it’s with some measure of reluctance that one would say when Rob Weiker came to Montana he was hooked.

“I came out on vacation and fell in love with it,” Rob says.

There was a plan. Go back home, go to nursing school and then move to Montana. But plans change when you see salmonflies being sucked down by trout every time you close your eyes. It wasn’t long before Rob revised the plan, packed and was back in Montana with the intention of becoming a fishing guide.

This was 2008. The Great Recession. Not a great time to start a career as a fishing guide. It’s a testament to Rob’s fortitude and ingenuity, not to mention his fishing ability, that he made it work. And work he did, guiding for 12 years. By 2020, he was ready to take the next step and secured his outfitter’s license. And so it was that Montana Fishing Guides was born.

Whether a result of the unusual time when it came to fruition or the complete obsession Rob has with getting people on the water fishing, there are two distinct things that make Montana Fishing Guides unique: They fish all year round and they fish all around western Montana.

Combined, this approach means Montana Fishing Guides are a good bet to get anyone into fish any time. A February day saw this in action as Rob played leap-frog with some of his other guides on the Missouri.

“Today we're on the Missouri River enjoying a nice warm day and catching some trout. We had some weather this morning. Some clouds, snow and rain — pretty typical. And now we have sunshine. Fishing has been productive. I don't know, maybe 20-some fish. Real nice rainbows and a couple good brown trout too,” Rob says.

“We’re always moving,” he explains. Typically, in the throes of winter, Rob and his guides take people ice fishing, but they’re always ready to hit a tailwater like the Missouri when the weather is right. “I love it all. Ice fishing included. I can’t stand to be in one place too long,” Rob confesses. Which might explain Montana Fishing Guides’ practice of not sticking to one specific waterway.

It’s an approach with benefits well beyond simply offering variety for those at the oars. “In the springtime, once the ice goes away, the freestone rivers are pre-runoff — March, April and sometimes a bit in May — they generally fish very well. And then the Missouri being a tailwater, it doesn't blow out like the freestones during runoff. You can fish here May, June, and then when the freestones come back into shape, they're usually fishing good in July.” The rambling fishing adventure keeps on rolling. In the fall, Rob will take on the Flathead with spinning rods for the run of Lake Superior whitefish. Then lake trout fishing. Then trout on the Clark Fork and the Blackfoot. Eventually it’s back into ice fishing.

“So we're always moving kind of where the fishing is the best.”

Not being tied to one specific waterway means they’re also not tied to specific techniques to bring fish to net in that specific water and can accommodate different levels of angling experience and skills. The Missouri River, for example, is renowned for its discriminating fish. It stands as a testing ground for those anglers who are ready to really test their skills at the highest level. It can be a discouraging environment for those just getting started. So instead, “We take a lot of beginners out on the Flathead, Clark Fork and the Blackfoot,” Rob says.

“We want to make sure everyone has a fun time. We teach them some casting and mending and how to fight the fish.”

Of course, one of the main ways to make sure a new angler has a great time is to put them into some fish.

“A lot of new anglers don't expect to catch anything. When they have a good day on the river — you know, 10, 20, 30 fish — they're usually blown away.”

When you put someone new to the sport into a successful situation, you find yourself building a lot of credibility. The guides at Montana Fishing Guides approach their opportunity to impart their perspectives on conservation with respect and sincerity. “One thing we really try to do in the Flathead, besides having a fun trip, is express how special our native fish are. Westslope cutthroat trout are not everywhere, and their range is shrinking,” Rob explains. “You have two people in your boat and they want to know what you have to say and think. You can show them you care and it matters to do your best to not keep that fish out of the water for five minutes while you're taking a picture of it or dropping it on the floor of your boat.”

Montana is filled with amazing resources and while the environment and experience is decidedly rugged, that can be deceiving, because these resources are fragile. Rob and his crew at Montana Fishing Guides are a vital part of connecting us all to that reality and understanding the role we play. Lee Wulff, one of the pioneers of modern catch-and-release fishing said, “Game fish are too valuable to only be caught once.” Truer words have rarely been spoken.