Distinctly Montana Magazine

Henry Winkler is best known for his critically acclaimed starring role as the leather-jacketed toughie with a heart of gold on one of television’s all time most popular series, Happy Days. Henry is an actor, director, producer, and author. He has won numerous awards, including two Daytime Emmies, two Golden Globes, a Genesis, and a Golden Apple Award, and a TV Land Award. His new book, I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River, is in praise of both fly-fishing...and Montana. Every fisherman has a good “fish story.” What’s yours? My best fish story happens every time I get to go and spend time on the river. It has to do with sitting or wad- ing, catching or releasing, daydreaming or just getting lost in the spectacular scenery in front of me. Describe what fly-fishing means to you in three words. Peace. Cleansing. Joyful. In your new book you talk about the “Montana Zen” of fly-fishing, yet your wife, Stacey, calls you an “absolute maniac on the river.” How do you explain that? She might have been talking about somebody else. As I answered the rest of the questions, I’ve been thinking about this...Yes, it’s definitely got to be someone else. Is it true you start packing for your Montana fishing trip in January? That is absolutely true. I have a duffel bag and every several weeks, I add another layer of essentials. And here’s one of the greatest tips I’ve ever gotten—I send it by land through UPS so that my wife and I get off the plane with carry-on and nothing more. Tell us about your Fishing Journal, and what it means to you. As I write in it each night, before I go to bed, I am re- minded about the details of the spectacular day I just fin- ished. It has become clear to me that the record of where I was, what the day was like, the species of fish I caught, www.distinctlymontana.com 31 AUTHOR PHOTOS ©HENRY WINKLER, 2011 Goes T he AN IN T E R F F VIEW WI onz i TH BY B R HEN ILLY MUHIN W LENLEF R ELD K shing

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