Split-Fishing is a superb teaching tool for our challenging spring creeks, and a tremendous guiding value for clients who already have basic fly-fishing skills. You and I will split fishing time, roughly 50/50, at a major discount to you. You benefit by seeing and experiencing, to a much greater degree than in traditional guiding, how I adjust water choice, fishing pace, presentation, and many other variables to the conditions at hand. I benefit by getting to fish more often and by having the opportunity to teach spring creek angling at a higher, more engaging level.
Too often in the traditional angler/guide arrangement, valuable time and opportunity slip away as the angler only vaguely approximates the presentations that the guide is after, and a day winds up being less productive than it should have been in fish caught and skills learned. Too much is sacrificed to the notion that it’s bad form for the guide to fish. That’s unfortunate because I can better teach the many specific skills of spring creek angling when I have my most valuable tool—a fly rod—in my hands. Demonstration is particularly valuable for small streams because water type and angle of presentation change every few yards requiring you to constantly alter your presentations as you travel. That makes small-stream angling and guiding more complex than fishing big, relatively uniform flows, and makes demonstration by the guide more valuable.
I’ve long known, from teaching fly-fishing to friends and family, that demonstration trumps explanation as a teaching tool. Demonstration is highly visual and is quickly absorbed on many levels. Explanation is often tedious and slowly absorbed. When you see me successfully execute a given technique you’ll quickly become a believer and, in many cases, you’ll absorb enough to quickly replicate that technique. Some of my presentations will surpass your present skills, but you’ll still see them employed and you’ll understand which skills you need to develop.
Ironically, splitting fishing time with me will often result in you catching more fish. Compared to traditional guiding, Split-Fishing is loaded with practical advantages. For starters, with a rod in my hands I can quickly determine if a given fly and presentation will produce (when I’m limited to observing, that same determination can take much longer). Once we’ve zeroed in on a productive strategy we’ll cover water at a productive clip. Often you’ll accelerate your fishing pace to match mine. That doesn’t mean we might not park on a trout-filled run for an hour and take turns subtly micro-nymphing inactive fish. It does mean that when aggressive trout are there for the taking we’re going to accelerate our pace and take them while conditions are ripe. Knowing when and how to speed up and fish aggressively, and when and how to slow down and fish subtly, are vital spring creek skills you’ll absorb through Split-Fishing. In traditional guiding I find that few anglers actually cast or function well for eight hours. In Split-Fishing you can kick back half the time and observe. That keeps you fresher and learning/executing at a higher level throughout the day. Since Split-Fishing is limited to one client, we don’t have other clients wandering around disturbing water (a common problem when guiding multiple anglers on small streams). For the most part we’ll walk together and make strategic approaches to undisturbed water on run after run.
In addition to being a great teaching format, I’ve designed the Split-Fishing option to make my guiding/teaching services inviting and affordable to more anglers. Think about it. For $500 (which won’t cover a weekend with most area guides) you can Split-Fish with me for four days and really build your spring creek skills while greatly expanding your knowledge of area waters. In Split-Fishing we’ll visit some good waters that I rarely guide on because they’re not well suited to entry-level anglers, less mobile anglers, or groups. If traditional guiding services don’t square with your budget or have failed to improve your spring creek skills by leaps and bounds, Split-Fishing could be your perfect fit.
An 8-hour day of Split-Fishing is only $125.
That’s nearly a 50% discount from my regular low guiding rate. Add additional hours for only $10/hour. Anglers furnish their own food and drink.
A $50 deposit is required to reserve each date. For complete details on my deposit policy, see my regular Guide Brochure at www.richosthoff.com (a guide brochure can be mailed on request).
Split-Fishing is limited to a single client (NO GROUPS), and is available on any open date on my guiding schedule, except for Saturdays and Sundays in April.
Split-Fishing is best suited to anglers who already have basic fly-fishing skills and are looking to boost their spring creek presentation and strategy. My traditional guiding service is better suited to teaching basic fly-fishing skills. For Split-Fishing you should be able to walk comfortably as we’ll cover water at a steady clip when conditions dictate. Basically, we’ll fish how and where I’d fish if I was alone.
Reservations and Information, contact:
Rich Osthoff N6868 Sandstone Drive Mauston, WI 53948
Home Phone (608) 847-5192 Cell Phone (608) 547-9075
