I attended the Madison Fly Fishing School in West Yellowstone, MT the past May 2018. It was undeniably awesome.
I saw the description of the Riverside Anglers, Madison Fly Fishing School pop up on a women's fly fishing face book page that I belong to and immediately got excited as I read through the description of what was being offered.
-Women only...check!
-Taught by a women...check!
-Self contained, i.e. class, lodging and meals all in one spot...check!
-For beginners or near beginners...check!
-Taught in a comfortable, non-intimidating atmosphere...check!
-Located near West Yellowstone in Montana...double check!
This experience ended up being everything I had hoped for and more. From the get go everything was organized, well presented and lots of time on the water. The owner of Riverside Anglers and our teacher for three days was Alice Owsley. I had read several reviews (as I always do) before committing and I saw one positive review after another about her. She was well organized, on time, willing to let us use equipment we either didn't have or were unable to transport with us.
The woman is a passionate angler with a wealth of knowledge. She is a walking encyclopedia (a walking google search) of knowledge. She had so much knowledge there wasn't time enough to hear it all in three days. Each day was packed with information, fun, laughter and learning.
The lunches that were provided were fantastic...ever had a Blondie? I'm thinking you have not unless you had one that came with her lunches each day.
I'm going to put into practice my new knowledge of bugs (entomology), my knot tying abilities and when to use what knot, how to rig my fly fishing rod, when to use which rod, reading the water, and learning to walk like I know what I'm doing in my wading boots...in the water.
If I ever, rather when, I get back to Montana I will look Riverside Anglers, i.e. Alice Owsley up and do another trip with her. Most definitely! read more