Reel Women Guide School
Dates:
July 20-26, 2025Price:
Single Occupancy $4,795 or$4,595 Double Occupancy
We have been teaching this course since 1998. It’s one of our all-time favorite things to do… share our heart and soul for the love of rivers!
A fly fishing intensive that will take you to your fly fishing and rowing ambitions. Some women want to become guides, some women want to row their friends, family and themselves! This course is open to women anglers who have a desire to learn to row a drift boat safely and become better anglers.
The school will be held in Ennis, Montana -just west of Bozeman, MT on the Madison River. Your participation will provide a solid platform for expanding your fly fishing life. You have been warned!
We’ll spend the first day discussing the following topics: Successful professional guide outfitter relationships, angler/guide communications strategies, entomology, guide etiquette, wade fishing strategies, river rescue and safety workshops, how to back up a trailer and of course rowing the drift boat! The next two days are spent rowing and fishing; two ladies with a guide in each boat. Day 4 we add to the mix while floating and fishing; topics on how to teach anglers while guiding are brought on board. On day 5, we put you to the test as a guide with other group members as clients!
Anni Shores is our Guide School leader. She has guided for RWFFA since 2022 and leads our RWFFA Guide School. She has been guiding for thirty years on the Madison River – her home.
Anni has a strong, quiet way of getting necessary information to the rowing and fly-fishing student. Her stories and leadership are welcomed by angling participants. And there is no better test of respect from the local guide community than at the boat ramp – where everyone greets Anni with a big smile and fish story.
Reel Women Guide School 2025 – Ennis, Montana
Price:$4,795 Single Occupancy or $4,595 Double Occupancy
Dates: July 20-26, 2025
Arrive: July 20 – Arrival by 5 pm at Rainbow Valley Lodge
Lodging: July 20-25, Rainbow Valley Lodge
Guide Course: July 21th – classroom and casting! Let’s be prepared. July 22,23,24 & 25 – River days for rowing instruction and rowing for anglers
Depart: July 26 – Departure by 10 am
“At the Guide School we spent, in- depth hours in the world of bugs, knots and boat management which was beyond enlightening. After fishing in the mornings, we’d switch places with the guides and row them while they talked us through the drill. The school taught me so much about reading water, where fish hang and river safety -it truly launched my fly fishing story!
Had I not signed on for the Reel Women Guide School I’m not certain my life would have taken the path it did. A seed was planted which has bloomed and grown into the best part of my life -helping women fighting a life threatening disease, experience the ‘letting go’ of fly fishing.”
—Peg Miskin, Casting for Recovery
“In 2004 I attended the Reel Women Guide School. I had developed a true passion for fly fishing and wanted, more than anything to pursue guiding as a full-time endeavor. The class was everything I could have imagined. The interaction with the other students and the knowledgeable instructors made for a perfect combination. I walked away with a new found confidence. Using the knowledge gained, I purchased a ClackaCraft drift boat, hung out my Southern Brookies shingle and I’ve been in business ever since. I give it my highest recommendation and full endorsement.”
—Susan Thrasher, Southern Brookies
“I strongly encourage you to not only attend, but fully immerse yourself into what fly fishing has in store for you. This intensive program, along with the patient and helpful instructors helped to form the foundation and paved the way for me to chase my dream of becoming a full-time guide. Each of us has our own path, and it begins when you are willing to step out of your comfort zone. Grab hold of the knowledge, skills, and confidence that Reel Women Guide School offers, and go chase your dream. There is no better place to start!”
—Anita Coulton, Cross Current Guide Service, 2019 Orvis Endorsed Outfitter of the Year
We’ll be staying at Rainbow Valley Lodge in Ennis, MT.
On the edge of the Town of Ennis, Montana, where the sweeping Madison River Valley opens wide, you’ll find the Rainbow Valley Lodge. Warm, welcoming hosts will make your visit to the Old West Town of Ennis, Montana a special one.
Surrounded by world-class fishing and must-see attractions like Virginia City and Yellowstone National Park, the Rainbow Valley Lodge is perfect for a RWFFA fly fishing trip! Rainbow Valley Lodge offers a friendly, fun-filled, western atmosphere for a memorable Ennis, Montana vacation experience.
We’ll have great homestyle, Montana cooking for breakfast and dinner. Lunches are packed for you on the boat or on the river each day. Beer and wine included.
$4,795 Single Occupancy or $4,595 Double Occupancy. Includes all lodging, instruction, days on the water with guides, 3 meals per day and use of all fly-fishing equipment, trucks and trailers and drift boats. 6 nights, 5 days fly fishing intensive/rowing course. In addition, you must have a Montana fishing license which can be purchased online: https://app.mt.gov/als/index/index.html
Directions to Ennis, Montana and the Rainbow Valley Lodge:
Located on US 287, watch for their sign one mile south of town.
From Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Belgrade, Montana
From the airport / Gallatin Field Road, take a Right on the Frontage Road East. Take the second Left onto Oregon St, then the second Right onto Madison Ave. Turn Left onto Jackrabbit Lane. Turn Right on MT 84 West to Norris Hot Springs. Turn Left onto 287. Take 287 to Ennis, MT. Continue through town, cross the Madison River, Rainbow Valley Lodge is on the right.
From Bozeman, MT
Fly into the Bozeman, MT airport and drive about an hour to meet us just .7 miles south of Ennis, MT.
Take MT 84 West towards Norris Hot Springs. Once in Norris, turn Left onto 287. Take 287 to Ennis, MT. Continue through town, cross the Madison River, Rainbow Valley Lodge is on the right.
From Helena Regional Airport / Helena, MT
Take MT Carter Drive to Prospect Ave. Then take I-15 to MT 69, exit 164. Continue on MT 69 to US 287 South to Ennis. Continue through town, cross the Madison River, Rainbow Valley Lodge is on the right.
The vision of Ocean Academy is to create an environment where students are welcome to come and learn, regardless of their previous academic achievement or socioeconomic status.