North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine February 2017 | Page 4

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THE SMITH

SAM WIKE : GREAT FALLS , MT
We always put in to float the Smith River in Montana in the spring / summer during the main float season , but for whatever reason , recently I have a million excuses not to go . Family , work , high water , and a hundred other things had kept me from floating my favorite river for years . So a week prior , I made a decision that I was going to go , regardless . It was October and the flows were in the 90 ’ s . My friends , Jake and Jerrin , said they would come film the float with me , and my friend Paul said he would come , too .
We called the ranger to ask what we had to do since it was outside the main float season , and he strongly suggested that we don ’ t go if the flows were below 120 . In hindsight , I see his point . I let Jake know to quit checking because we were going down the Smith even if the flows are 10 , and it ’ s blizzarding outside .
I believe he understood my desperation to make it happen , and we had little more discussion on the feasibility of our adventure .

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