Here’s to the New Year

Happy holidays to everyone out there! I hope everyone’s
enjoying themselves and recovering from excessive eating and
drinking… Jamie and I just returned from spending Christmas
with family back in Pennsylvania. We got lucky and managed
to travel without any major problems; a rarity now a days. As
nice as it was spending time with family, it was great to get
back home to Jackson yesterday. We’re keeping the holiday
train rolling tonight and heading out to ring in the New Year
with some live music.

Since we’re on the verge of 2013, I thought I’d think about
fishing related things I’d like to try and accomplish this
upcoming year. Who knows if I’ll get around to everything, but
at least I’ve put ideas down in writing; a crucial first step in
planning a new year of fishing. Soooo, in no particular order,
here are a few of my goals:

Tie as many flies as possible BEFORE guiding gets busy,
ensuring that I won’t have to spend as many nights at the vise
after fishing all day.

Try to get in the Winds with Jamie and hook a few golden
trout.

Explore several small streams in Yellowstone that I drive by
every year but never stop to fish.

Get back to the North Platte in early spring

Bighorn, Bighorn, Bighorn

2 new trout paintings a week until spring

Take clients to new “secret” spots over around Dubois

Explore X creek with Matt

Overnight to X Lake with Jamie

Take Matt back to “that” lake and show him that you can fish it
without getting shot

I’m sure I’m forgetting a few, but the ideas above are enough
to get me started. Here’s to the New Year and new Fishing
opportunities!

small stream fishing video

With new snow on the ground outside, my mind thinks back
to some of the great days of fly fishing that occurred around here
this past summer. Below is a short clip of fishing a small stream
near Dubois, WY. I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but
was having technical difficulties (i’m not the most proficient
computer user…) Early in the summer this stream was on fire,
with rising rainbows everywhere. My brother Pete and his wife
were visiting and this was one of the fishing stops we made. We
hooked colorful rainbows on stoneflies and wet flies, all while
keeping an eye out for grizzly bears. Can’t wait to get back there
next summer with my little four weight!

 

Xmas trees and moose

Things around here at Teton Fly Fishing world headquarters
have been pretty quiet. Snow has been falling intermittently
over the past couple days making it feel more like Christmas.
I haven’t done much fishing lately, opting instead to devote
time to fly tying and painting.

Jamie,Sage and I ventured out and cut down a tree last
week and have it set up, giving our little place a festive feel.
Below are a few pictures from our adventure. We saw a few
critters, including a porcupine on a mission and a lot of moose.
Note the group of bull moose hanging out together. Typically,
Moose are solitary, but in the winter they seem to like
company. There were a total of 8 in a group together taking it
easy.

Bennetts with their tree

porcupine

porcupine on the move

three's company

Winter fishing trips on the Snake River

  Winter fly fishing in Jackson Hole

Most folks think of winter in Jackson Hole as a skier’s paradise. And while this is undeniably true, it also can be a fun place to fly fish. Winter fishing appeals to hardy anglers seeking solitude, sweeping views and the chance to catch some of our native cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish. Unlike summer, most of the fly-fishing is done subsurface with nymphs and small midge patterns. Anglers trudge through snow, finding deep, slow pools holding wintering fish. Dead-drifting nymphs will work best, however some days trout rise sporadically to midges on the surface. While fishing, there is the added possibility of seeing moose and eagles along the river.

I offer anglers a half -day winter walk-in trips on the Snake River as well as overnight trips to fish the Wind River in Dubois. Like my summer trips, I pick folks up at their hotel and provide all fishing gear- rods, reels, flies, waders, etc. as well as snacks, coffee and drinks. Some walking or snowshoeing (up to a mile) is required, so it’s best to be in decent shape.

Half day walk-in Snake river trip (1 or 2 anglers) $325

Overnight trips make for two fun days of fishing the Wind river while staying at a warm, cozy cabin. The Wind provides good nymph fishing for nice Browns and Rainbows. In addition to fly fishing, there is some great cross-country skiing to be had. If you looking for a winter fishing/ski getaway, this may be perfect!

Overnight trip (1 or 2 anglers) $900

If this sounds like fun, give me a call or shoot me an email and let me take you fly-fishing while you’re visiting this winter!

Underwater trout footage

Back in August, having a day off, Sage and I jump in Sir
Walter and headed up the Gros Ventre river for some fishing and
gold panning. Earlier in the spring, I had lost my new sluice box
to the river and thought I’d snorkel the area in the off chance
that I could find it. I didn’t end up finding the sluice box, but I
did do a good amount of snorkeling. While doing so, I filmed
some cool trout footage with my little waterproof digital camera.
I’ve finally gotten around to posting an edited version of the
footage. Enjoy..

Interviewed in a great book on Fly Fishing Yellowstone

Always on the prowl for good regional fly fishing books, I
thought I’d give folks a heads up on a great book about fly
fishing in Yellowstone, written by fisherman, freelance
journalist and rocker, Nate Schweber. Schweber’s book,
Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park, an insider’s guide
to the 50 best places
, came out a few months back and
I’ve been meaning to mention it, but haven’t found the time
until now.

yellowstone fly fishing book

While there are many good books about fishing in our first
National Park, Nate’s take is a little different; not so much a
how-to book, as much as a personalized account of special-
waters and memorable moments told by a collection of
fisherman such as Tom McGuane, Jimmy Carter, etc. You can
even read a chapter/interview with yours truly about fishing
the Fall River. (who would’ve thought the “Powers that Be”
would allow me to share pages with Dick Cheney…)

Schweber’s book is a great read and deserves to be on
your bookshelf. Plus, Christmas is coming and it’d make a
great gift….. Get it here.

Nate Bennett, Teton Fly FIshing chapter

End of season on Flat Creek

Another season has come to an end on Flat Creek. Elk are
starting to move onto it from the hills and it won’t be long
before several thousand batten down for the winter. I
managed to fish on the Refuge a few more times over the last
couple weeks, trying to fool the large, stubborn trout that
inhabit its waters. I thought it fitting to post a nice series of
photos taken from a recent day spent on the water with Kurt.

Fall  
on Flat Creek

releasing a cutthroat

letting him go

watching

swimming away

recovering

New Boat!

Last Friday, Sage and I drove the 11 hour round trip to
Helena, Montana to pick up my new Adipose driftboat. As
many of you know, for years I have used a raft to float the
local rivers. And while the raft treated me and my clients
great, and allowed us sneak down skinny water and stop
almost anywhere fish were to be found, I finally gave in to
temptation and pulled the trigger on a shinny new drift boat.

The Adipose skiffs are built by fisherman for fisherman;
looking at the design and layout, this couldn’t be clearer. The
boat has lots of room for storage, a walk-around interior and
removable casting braces. Before towing the boat back to
Jackson, I let Sage get in and check it out; making sure she
approved before taking off with it.

All in all, I’m really happy with it and can’t wait to get it on
the water next season! Enjoy a few pictures…

Sage in the new boat

View from back

front view of boat

teton fly fishing's adipose skiff

Fishing the Snake from a fisherman’s perspective

Thomas and his girlfriend fished the Snake with me in August as part of their Wyoming, Montana fishing road trip. While floating, Thomas filmed some cool footage from his perspective and was nice enough to send it to me. Check it out. Thanks Thomas!

fall fishing

The Snake continues to fish well! Keith got his first taste of western fly fishing, fishing dries all day long!

keith's  cutthroat