The one vehicle that was at the Craig takeout the other day had a Thule on top with a bunch of stickers on it so I did what I usually do in that situation which is to put a WCA sticker on the windshield of the vehicle. Kentucky plates, Orvis Endorsed Guide Stickers, brand new Black Dog Deluxe trailer…must’ve picked up a new Adipose in Helena and doing the maiden voyage on the MO.
Yesterday morning that vehicle pulled up in front of the shop which I thought was cool. Imagine my surprise when Frank Willetts emerged from the vehicle. Who is Frank Willetts you ask? Frank is a co-owner of the Pere Marquette River Lodge in Baldwin Michigan. http://www.pmlodge.com/

The PM Lodge was a significant part of my journey into the sport of fly fishing which has ultimately led me to Montana and to the birth of Wolf Creek Angler.

While I was still on the outside looking in, still bringing the spinning gear along in case the fly fishing didn’t work out (which was pretty much every time), I was given a full day PM guide trip for my birthday through the Pere Marquette Lodge. We ended up doing a late August late afternoon/night float from M-37 to Gleason’s Landing. We spent a lot of time working on casting and presentation and while the fishing was not good that day I did hook into a beast in the darkness which I never saw but I was instantly hooked on night fishing on the Pere Marquette.

Following that first trip with the lodge I would stop there occasionally to get my fly shop fix. I met Frank the winter following that first guide trip. He and his partners had just purchased the shop. Frank’s enthusiasm was contagious and I soon became a regular at the PM Lodge. The second trip I booked through the shop Frank paired us with Brad Turner who would turn out to be the one who would teach me much of what I know about fly fishing and who encouraged me all along to chase this dream. Brad and I are great friends to this day and we fish together whenever we can, sometimes in Montana, sometimes in Michigan.

The two fly shops in Baldwin MI (PM Lodge and Baldwin Bait and Tackle  http://www.fishbaldwin.com/index.cfm ) were my shops when I lived in MI and while I drifted from one to the other over the years I consider them both great shops in a great fly fishing community and I visit them every time I’m back there, you should too.

I hadn’t seen Frank since 2012 when I left Michigan so to see him in my parking lot and visit with him in my fly shop was definitely a full circle moment for me.

It just goes to show you, you never know who you’ll run into on the Missouri River.