Dick McGuire, a native of Ennis, Mont., is a 1953 graduate of Western Montana College (WMC).
After high school, he enlisted in the navy and served during World War II. After his discharge, he enrolled at Western.
McGuire was a four-year letterman in football and track and a three-year letterman in basketball. He was a two-time all-conference selection in basketball and was elected captain his senior season.
In track and field, he set Montana Collegiate Conference records in the discus and shot putt in both the 1952 and 1953 conference meets.
He was active on campus in the M-Club and as secretary-treasurer of the senior class.
After graduation from Western, he taught briefly in his hometown of Ennis. He began a fishing guide service in the Madison Valley and quickly became one of the best and most knowledgeable fishing guides in Montana.
He and a young fisheries biologist made a major impact to the fishing on the Madison River with the belief that the planting of hatchery-raised trout was harming the wild fish.
It was McGuire’s support and encouragement, along with that of Bob Morgan, that was critical to the successful evolution of the Madison River from an ailing put-and-take fishery to a healthy, robust wild trout fishery.
McGuire’s roles as head of the local Trout Unlimited chapter and as a respected Madison fishing guide helped him spread the word and convince folks that wild is best.
He passed away July 8, 2007.
