Eric Mondragon
Cascade, MT
406-468-2224
With longevity comes wisdom. I wanted to work smarter, not harder. There had to be a lighter, more maneuverable option on the market that included all of the features I liked. Trust me, I rowed them all. My research led me to the Hyde Montana Skiff. I “test rowed” a Hyde Montana Skiff with clients for a week and loved it. I traveled to Idaho Falls to discuss design features with Lamoyne Hyde. I needed side compartments that allow me to organize all of my guide gear for quick access and wanted to maintain a walk through design. Lamoyne was great to work with and I got the boat of my dreams. My Montana Skiff is the perfect boat. Its stealthy appearance cuts the wind more than any LP drift boat out there. It tracks well and holds a line better than any other I’ve rowed in its class – a must for any guide trying to maintain a casting option for two anglers. My new ride is a Hyde and I am a happy man.
Missouri River Lodge - Born and raised in Colorado, I fell in love with fly fishing in 1978 when a mentor introduced me to the sport and gave me my first fly rod. School years were filled with evening and weekend fish adventures. I was fishing or tying flies instead of studying. My professional guide career began in Colorado in 1998 with wade-walk clients on the Arkansas and South Platte. Occasionally I took clients to the San Juan river in New Mexico. In 2003, I answered the call to move to Montana where I guide out of a drift boat primarily on the Missouri river.
As the beneficiary of a wonderful mentor who taught me the magic of fly fishing, I believe it is important to pay that mentorship forward. I participate in the Healing Waters program and other volunteer activities that support fishing. I also created a curriculum and taught fly tying classes at a local school. As an adult, my vacations include a fly rod. I’ve experienced spectacular rivers in many states. I am also expanding my horizons on the salt chasing tarpon, bone fish and permit. Wherever I may be, when I am fishing I am always “home”.
