Sorry about the length of this.  If this is in the wrong place please let me know.  I'll have to break it into several parts.

I love the sport of fly fishing and of course the worthy opponent is the trout.  My first experience of it was back in the 70's during my assignment to Idaho to learn how Nuclear Reactors worked for the US Navy.  I had a few days on the stream and caught a few fish but I was not very good at it.  A commercial nuclear power career later I moved back to the Southeast and took up fly fishing again in the Great Smoky Mountains.  I developed some skill and confidence and a deep yearning set in to fish the fabled waters in the Trout Capital of the World...Montana.  I put it very high on my bucket list.  That item got crossed off In September 2010. 

Via my friends and Tennessee fishing fishing guides Ian and Charity Rutter of Townsend, Tennessee, I booked a trip for 7 nights and 6 days of guided fishing at the Gallatin River Lodge in Bozeman, Montana.  This location would allow me to fish the Yellowstone, Missouri, Gallatin and Madison Rivers.

I left Dayton and drove to Atlanta for the flight to Bozeman via Denver, Colorado.  When I arrived on a Friday morning in Bozeman I was met by Keith Colessimo of the Gallatin River Lodge.  I knew that I was in for a trip of a lifetime upon my arrival at the lodge.

Lunch was prepared for me and I met the owner, Steve Gamble.  He was also my guide for the two days I spent on the Yellowstone and Madison River.  After lunch I had the entire afternoon to wander around the lodge and the lodge grounds as my first day of fishing was not until Saturday.  I use the term lodge rather loosely as it is actually a secluded luxury hotel with outstanding dining.  My room was a suite with a fireplace, Jacuzzi and first class furnishings.  It is a small "lodge" of only about 10 suites.  It is truly world class.

I had a nice, hot soak in the Jacuzzi and sipped on a flask of Balvenie Doublewood to rid myself of the jet lag that the 3 hour time difference brought.  That entire first day and evening I was the only guest in the lodge though at dinner time the locals showed up in mass for the fabulous dining.  I now know what it must be like to be the King of England as I was afforded the best service and attention to detailed that I had ever experienced.  This continued throughout my stay at the "lodge".

I went to bed Friday night full of excitement and anticipation for the next morning.  I was so excited to fish that I don't think I even needed to set that alarm for the 6 a.m. wake up. I had set some personal goals for this trip.  I hoped to catch a Rainbow and a Brown trout of at least 20 inches.  My backup goal was to catch a bunch of 16 inchers.  Seemed reasonable to me. On Saturday I was going to fulfill a lifelong dream.  I was going to fly fish the fabled streams of the Trout Capital of the World...Montana. 

Here is a link to the lodge's website so that you can get some idea of what greeted my smiling face as I arrived. http://grlodge.com/bozeman-hotel-lodge

TO BE CONTINUED