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Depending on the river, according to FWP on site river monitoring, 89 to 97% of the float fishing done on the Missoula area rivers is NOT commercial use. The fact is,however, that over the past 20 years, and more specifically, the past 7 or 8,the amount of overall use has skyrocketed. Even as a small percentage of this use, then, the commercial impact has grown. There really is no limit, as of yet, to new fishing outfitters entering the market. If every new outfit had unbridled growth as their goal, which many do, it would be the death knell for the delicate wild fishery we grew up on – a fishery which has made the Missoula area the envy of fly fishermen worldwide.Missoula is our home. We were fishing the Clark Fork back in the 60’swhen tepee burners still burned slash from lumber mills in the middle of town. We were here for the passing of the stream access law in the early 70s which made riverbanks public land. We worked to support the formation of the Blackfoot Recreational Corridor which promoted a unique cooperation between private land owners and public use. We have an affinity for the area in which we live that was innate long before most people here now could even find Missoula on a map. It will be a part of us and the way we do business long after most of these same people have left. This is the reason for The Kingfisher’s 20% off the rivers campaign. The Kingfisher is in its 16th year of successful business in Missoula and the national and international stage. We have worked hard to achieve the position which would allow us some financial flexibility in terms of our guiding business. We have reached that point. In response to lots more people coming to Montana and an unrestricted growth of the fishing industry, The Kingfisher has decided to back off the amount of guiding we will do now and into the future. We are doing this with the same concerns in mind that prompted us to pull our guides off the rivers 2 full weeks before FWP mandated fishing closures due to rising water temperatures during the drought of 2007. We have NEVER felt the rivers “owed” us a living. For the past 2 years the shop has been actively cutting our trips by 20%. We have done this by reducing our core guide staff and pulling ALL of our printed national advertising. We are happy to accommodate our repeat and word of mouth clientele which we have generated over the past 29 years and a limited number of new clients generated by our website. It’s our goal to stay ahead of the curve here, to help preserve the quality fishing experience that we still do have, for local fishermen and the reduced number of guided clients we bring to the river.
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