This doesn't look so bad I know, but keep reading... So we know it is a part of our job, a job we have chosen to dabble our foot in or more like plug our nose and jump in the abyss with both feet. This isn't so much a complaint as much as a plead, to several entities out there, some in our world and almost completely capable of our control and others not so much, or maybe they are one and the same, who knows! First the ones I think we have control of. If as an angler you hear your fly hit your rod, please stop casting! I understand that when the fly is small and of the dry fly sorts, the sound of it striking the rod tip may not be as audible as a 3 split shot rig with 2 heavy flies. So there is some considerations here. Secondly, though, when you notice your fly has struck the rod and IS stuck to it, PLEASE don't think that with 3 seconds of high speed gyration that it will magically come undone, in fact it doesn't. Image above was the residual effects of just this sort of remedy for an errant cast, an HOUR after the client had tried to untangle it, with utmost delicacy I will add. Don't take this as complete sarcasm, there is a degree of admiration here for the fortitude shown in their effort. However, this is what we would label simply as a "start over!" A quick snip or two, a few lightning fast double surgeons and maybe just one improved clinch this time and voi la, we are fishing again!! Lastly, can someone, Einstein maybe, just explain to me the physics or maybe more simply the nature of how a line with only one open end on it can manage to create such a debacle? That is really all I ask, this and that my daughter live a full, happy and healthy life. While on the water, these little fiascos ignite nervous laughter from all parties, we guides sweat them a bit because we know that if they show up early in the day, more are sure to come and here are some of the common reasons why: 1. Wind always comes up later in the day 2. Long days with few fish make for more frantic casters 3. Wives outfishing their husbands, sometime the other way around but not usually 4. Desperation on guides part to get that one big fish of the day and salvage a tip 5. Similar to what many significant others are accused of in malfunctioning relationships, guides fall victim as well... WE KNOW WE CAN CHANGE THEM, MAKE THEM BETTER PEOPLE 6. Picking up the rig with too much slack line, guide watches in slow-mo as theee ennntttirrrree ssseett--uuupp hhhiiittsss ttheeeee rrodddd... 7. Person in front or back makes concerted and admirable effort to cast over opposite shoulder, afternoon wind kicking up, tired and so on... 8. Stopping for lunch...it does give us a bit of time to recollect our composure and start anew but...the inevitability of it all! 9. Certainly the only one we like to see and that is the missed hook set on a fish immediately followed by another forward cast... In the end, we love it or we wouldn't keep doing it. However, the end of the day can send some into a deep and dark place where the only remedy, the only solace is the sunlight on their face, "late rent" notice stuck to their door and the need to get out and change another angler for the better, because we CAN!!! Probably the worst of it all, way more so than any of the above mentioned tidbits is that we can almost always see it coming, way before it happens. It's as though we can see the future and yet can't do anything to stop it. Aside from acts or gestures that would land us in the drink or jail or both. Really though, thank you to all who hire guides, we DO love ya! For those who don't or can't handle the afore mentioned menialities of the sport and profession, they are likely short for our world anyway so chalk up your $400 or so bucks to helping them find a new job sooner rather than later.