http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/08/obama-wets-a-line-in-montana.html

On August 15, President Obama made good on a campaign promise: return to Montana and go fly-fishing. After a town hall meeting in Belgrade (near Bozeman) the President's motorcade arrived on the East Gallatin River where guide Dan Vermillion of Sweetwater Fly Shop was on standby. But, if Obama had an idyllic afternoon of dry-fly fishing in mind, gusty winds and rain threatened to spoil it.

"Fishermen fish in the rain, so let's do it," he told Vermillion.

Vermillion tied on a hopper-dropper fly combo, opting for a Morrish's Hopper-Cater grasshopper and a bead head pheasant tail nymph. It's the go-to setup if you're on the Gallatin with, say, the President and you have two hours to get him on a fish. Obama had several hits, but he didn't bring any of them to net. You could say that he pardoned all the fish, but honestly, Obama couldn't set the hook. But he caught the fly fishing bug and Vermillion expects that the President will return to Montana to fly fish again. We spoke with the Fishing Guide in Chief about the hatches, the gear, and the play-by-play of his afternoon with Obama.
-- Ryan T. Bell

Outside: How does the President go about booking a fishing guide?
I received a call a few weeks ago from the White House, and they asked me if I would be interested in guiding the President. My first response was, �Are you kidding?� My second response was, �I would be deeply honored.�

More at link.

Now, did he tip the guide?

Yes, Montana is beautiful and I feel blessed to be living here. Can't think of a better state to fly fish for trout. Nice article, thanks for sharing.

I think we can finally get a fly flinger up on the wall of shame once this thread builds up some steam.

Let's just remember what Admiral Painter said in The Hunt For Red October: This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.

Now let's all play nice.

He didnt land any fish, several of our presidents have been avid fishermen...Grover Cleveland, John Adams & Jimmy Carter were all fly fishermen, G Washington was a commercial fisherman for a while, both Bushes wet a line with bait and several more fished on occasion.

good for him

I could have done without this:
"I just about fell over, and then I had to repress tears. I am a lifelong Democrat, and I love this country and its potential to be a force of good in the world. I think Barack Obama will help us fulfill our potential."

well, someone needs to let Obama know that fly fishing's not only for trout.

What fun is that?

With any luck it will be the only campaign promise he is able to make good on.

I still don't like the guy.

I would have said yes to taking him fishing though. Then when he would have showed up I'd break his rod over my knee, then take off running and giggling through the woods like a school girl.

Did I mention, I don't like Obama? Let's keep our streams Marxist free.

good for him

one MORE campaign promise down

Well if Obama likes fly fishing, good for him. Maybe he won't outlaw fishing by pressure from his PETA friends. I hope he becomes a fly fishing nut. While he is at it, I hope he will go out and shoot some skeet...and then maybe he will become more a sportsman. That would be a plus, especially at this point. Enough said.

Besides, all the states already heavily regulate hunting and fishing so there isn't really a danger of a government take-over if he really enjoys it. I mean seriously, would you buy a government made rod just because it's cheaper?

great to see the president participating in the public option when it comes to stream access. gotta love those "socialist" tax dollars at work.

I feel the same about Obama-rama fly fishing as I did about Ma Richards dove hunting . I'll not expand further or it will be the W-O-S for me!