When it comes to the where-and-how of catching fish, Pat’s fairly old school. He doesn’t maintain illusions or keep many secrets. He skews toward the simpler approach. “For most folks, life’s complicated enough. Fishing should just be entertaining and fun.” In the realm of fly selection, for instance, he’s something other than a match-the-hatcher. “I’m more from the presentation school of things.” He likes CDC elk hair caddis, Parachute Adams in purple, Parramore’s Thunder Thighs grasshopper, that sort of thing. Nymphs, he goes for lightening bugs (“Silver and black are my favorites”), Pheasant tails, WD-40s. And then woolly buggers, conehead muddlers, Bow River buggers….

And when it comes to choosing the best water for his clients, he follows the seasons. “Everybody wants you to give away your spots. But you know, in the winter, I like the Paradise Valley spring creeks, or maybe the Bighorn. In April and May, I’ll go to the Yellowstone, especially if the nighttime temps are cool enough to keep the runoff low and the daytime temps are above fifty degrees … Oh, baby. Mayflies, Mother’s Day caddis! Early summer, I’ll hit the Missouri, the Mighty Mo, Troutopia. But by August and September, I’ll be fishing the small streams. October and November, I might hit the Big Hole for big browns. Or the Missouri, or the Bighorn, Bitterroot, Blackfoot. For these two months it’s hard to go wrong. I just make sure I have plenty of streamers in my box. Black, brown, and olive.”