Happy New Year Archives - Wolf Creek Angler

2023 Year In Review

2023 was a year of major improvements at Wolf Creek Angler, a product of our constant commitment to growing our business and to providing all of our customers with spectacular service and an amazing experience whether in the shop, on the water with our guides, lodging with us or all of the above.

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly our major renovation of our bungalow units which we started in January and finished in late March with a week to spare heading into the traditional April opening of our lodging season.

The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, and we feel these three units are amongst the nicest in the area at this price level.

Sure, there have been some folks disappointed to see the 1980’s ranges go away but with the installation of induction cook tops, the addition of dishwashers to each unit and a major upgrade in décor, we feel our kitchen units are on par with most contemporary units out there, offering a clean and modern look and all the amenities the vast majority of our guests require. Most are happy to trade the range for the upgrade but as a reminder, we do still offer small ranges in our kitchens in Cabins 1,2 and 4 if that is something you’re looking for.

Another major improvement to the WCA brand came at the end of 2022 when we were informed we would FINALLY be opened as a SAGE rod dealer in 2023. It has been an exceptionally long time coming and something I’d been lobbying for since we opened our doors in 2014.

We are thrilled to be on board as a dealer and to be able to offer you what we feel are the best rods in the industry. Sage rounds out an excellent selection of rod brands including Redington, Echo, Lamson and Loop. We have rods for every experience level and every budget and while we never expected to be doing major business in high end rod market, we were pleasantly surprised by selling more Sage R8’s than any other rod in 2023.

Couple this with being the exclusive Simms Fishing Products Dealer in Wolf Creek and you start to see our mission coming to fruition.

That mission being to be your one stop fly fishing destination on the MO with the friendliest service and all the best brands in the industry offered in our shop, the most humble and professional guides on the river and clean and affordable lodging all closer to Holter Dam and Wolf Creek Bridge than any other shop.

Those in the know keep coming and many more discover every season what Wolf Creek has to offer as an alterative destination when coming to fish the magical Missouri.

2023 also saw an expansion of our staff with Keith Tucker joining our team as Shop Manager, Phil Peacy returning for a second year as shop staff while also ramping up his guiding experience and Rhonda Gatch leading our shuttle crew as we broke away from previous arrangements and embarked on our very own shuttle service, independent from any other shop. Wolf Creek Angler is the home of The Cheapest DAM Shuttles on the MO!

This tenth season will go down as our most successful to date and we’re just getting started.

Most of our crew will be returning in the spring and you will likely see some new faces around as well.

Another highlight of the season for us came in the fall when Hidden Canyon Lodge was named a Finalist as Best Fly-Fishing Resort in Montana for the second consecutive year by Distinctly Montana Magazine. What does this have to do with Wolf Creek Angler you ask?

As some of you may know, our outfitting /guide business at Wolf Creek Angler is run under a separate company called Iron Fly Outfitting. I started Iron Fly six or seven years ago because it made sense from a business standpoint for Wolf Creek Angler but also because I began working with Hidden Canyon Lodge as their In-House Outfitter. Everyone at Hidden Canyon is amazing to work with and they run a first-class operation so it’s no surprise to me that they would be named a finalist two years running but hopefully the fishing component has at least something to do with this honor which is a big deal for all involved. Congratulations to everyone at Hidden Canyon Lodge.

We closed the year out with a strong fall/early winter with mild weather providing for a great extended season. We did see a winter storm in late October which brought a fair amount of snow and sub zero temps and did lead to some issues with heating/plumbing in some of our units which are usually closed for winter well in advance of sub zero temps but alas, this is Montana and Montana weather does what it does regardless of whether we’re ready or not.

As quickly as it came the wintry weather retreated and has not really returned since. It has been a fine December for fishing the MO but it’s time to start building some snowpack to fuel our 2024 water year!

As we close this year out, we would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you once again, to all of those who fished with us, shopped with us or stayed with us at Wolf Creek Angler. We are so blessed to have so many amazing clients and, as always, we are honored and humbled to be able to provide our services to you.

Happy New Year from all of us at Wolf Creek Angler!

Bidding Farewell to 2016

There’s been a lot of talk these past couple of weeks about what a terrible year 2016 has been, mostly in relation to the rash of celebrity deaths that occurred.

It was definitely a politically and socially tumultuous year as well and for all of these reasons I guess I understand the sentiment but the reality is that a turn of the calendar has little power to change the world in which we live.

I share in the hope that 2017 brings happiness and joy and peace and prosperity to the world. I too mourn the passing of beloved celebrities but in my case it’s not so much the passing of the individuals but rather the passing of time signified by the passing of these cultural icons who have been a part of our existence for so long.

Time marches on!

In that vein, I think that while we tend to magnify the bad things in our lives it’s important to account for all the ways in which we are blessed as well.

2016 was a year overflowing with blessings.

For me it was another year spent in Montana with an amazing family, growing a successful business. It was another year of good health, another year of spending time with great friends and family and another year spent doing what I love.

It was a year with plenty of challenges, as all of them are and will always be. Life is made up of some peaks and some valleys with most days spent on the plateaus of the day-to-day. The highs and lows are a certainty over which we have very little control. I enjoyed my walk on the plateau for the most part in 2016. One more time around.

Wolf Creek Angler continued on the upward trajectory in 2016. There were definitely growing pains and lessons learned but overall we couldn’t be more pleased.

We kicked off the spring with a brand new logo and hit the ground running.

We had a good water year and an early start to the season which resulted in fantastic growth on all levels. We continued to wage our battle to bring in more of the products you have asked for and we did make some tremendous headway with the addition of some BIG name products, most notably SIMMS sportswear, outerwear and accessories. We are still a long ways from where we want to be but we’re definitely on our way.

We increased our guide trips on both the Missouri and Blackfoot Rivers and hope to do the same in 2017.

2016 was a busy lodging season and while we didn’t make any dramatic changes we continued with our commitment to doing all of the little things we need to do to make your stay with us an excellent experience. Expect more of the same and likely a major improvement or two for the coming season.

One thing we didn’t have in 2016 was The Frenchman and Me. We missed it. Our guests missed it.

Change is underway at The Frenchman and as of this writing, Shotgun Annie’s Eatery and Tavern will open April 1st. We’re stoked! More news on this soon…

All in all a great year for Wolf Creek Angler. We are thankful for everything that has come our way but mostly we’re thankful for all of our customers, old and new, who continue to support us.

We love trout, we love fly fishing in Montana, we love being a part of the Missouri River fly shop/outfitter/guide community but most of all we love our interactions with you our customers. We’ve met so many people and forged great friendships in these first three seasons which will last a lifetime and when things are quiet as they are this time of year it’s the thought of summer days on the water and around the shop and of our rooms filled with happy anglers that tides us over and keeps us sane as we await the start of the season.

Happy New Year to all! May 2017 be the best year yet.