Pictured Above: From left, Firehole Ranch guest services manager Alicia White, general manager Rob Batchelder and owner Lynda Caine stand under the entrance sign to the ranch near Watkins Creek.

By ABBIE TUMBLESON West Yellowstone News The Ranch

Take a boat ride across Hebgen Lake, or drive the winding dirt roads, and past Watkins Creek you will come to the entrance of the Firehole Ranch, a treasured fly-fishing retreat.

The ranch, originally known as Watkins Creek Ranch and now owned and operated by Lynda Caine, offers full service fly-fishing trips, a quiet place to relax in the evenings and fine dining for guests.

The ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the first guests came in 1947. Today, little about the historic lodge and cabins on the property, along with the quiet surroundings, has changed.

The Montana Matchmaker
Lynda Caine, known as "Lyndy" to most people, grew up spending summers along Hebgen Lake. Her family built a summer home at Romsett in 1932 and they would move to the shores of Hebgen Lake for two-and-a-half months and then go back to Utah for the rest of the year.

Caine purchased the Firehole Ranch in 1999 after learning that it was destined to be sliced into 20-acre ranchettes.

"It was going to be a 32-unit subdivision," she said. "I bought 200 acres next door and then the ranch."

The small 10-unit fly-fishing retreat is made up of five cabins and can accommodate up to 20 guests. Each guest is greeted with a bottle of red wine and a welcome book upon arrival. In the mornings, they take a large pontoon boat across Hebgen Lake, meet up with their guides and spend the days fishing the region's blue ribbon trout streams.

In the evenings, Caine acts as a matchmaker of sorts, as she seats her guests and welcomes them all to a big group dinner held in the property's historic lodge. Meals are prepared by chefs Bruno and Kris Georgeton, who have been with the ranch for 25 years.

"People come back every year at the same time, from all over the country," Caine said. She warmly calls them the "Firehole friends."

"They are happy to be in Montana and outside. They clean up, sit and have this wonderful food. There's this feeling - They are meeting people, connecting with the outdoors."

The Firehole's general manager Rob Batchelder and guest services manager Alicia White are also part of the ranch family. Caine said the wonderful staff are like a family and help make everything run so smoothly.

Caine, who calls the Firehole Ranch her "soul place," became a small business owner when she was also paired with being a single mother, raising her young daughter by herself. The ranch, through the years, has held a special place in her heart and offers an untouched outdoor space for "Lyndy" to share with others.

"I get to watch the seasons change, the land change and to walk it each morning, and part of it is my desire to share it and enjoy it with other people," she said.

Caine has served as a kind of matchmaker at the Firehole for more than a decade, sharing, teaching, learning and watching the transformation that happens as people, day-by-day, unwind and relax in the great outdoors.

A Prized Experience
The Orvis Company announced in April that the Firehole Ranch was named the Orvis Endorsed Fly-Fishing Lodge of the Year for 2013.

Voted by Forbes as "One of the World's Top Ten Fly Fishing Lodges," the Firehole Ranch is located outside of West Yellowstone and Yellowstone National Park. The ranch is 640 private acres nestled along Hebgen Lake and surrounded by national forest. With minimal cell phone service and Internet access and no televisions in sight, guests can slow down, relax and get back to nature in Big Sky Country Guests spend time fishing the region's legendary waters.

The Orvis Company has been recognizing excellence in sporting experiences through its Endorsed Lodges, Outfitters and Guides program for more than 20 years. This is the second time the ranch has received this award.