2014 - Teton Fly Fishing

Reflecting on another fishy year

December 29, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Hope everyone survived (is surviving) the holiday
madness. Around here, snow’s been falling, temperatures
dropping and a lot of relaxing has been occurring. We’ve had a
nice Christmas; meeting up with some friends and spending a
lot of time just lounging around reading and tying flies. Jamie
surprised me this year with a lifetime Wyoming fishing
license. While putting it in my wallet, I took out the collection
of wrinkled 2014 fishing licenses I acquired and they got me
reflecting on this past season. (hey isn’t this what people with
blogs do this time of year?)

I was fortunate to fish a variety of waters, accumulating
quite a few licenses; Wyoming, Yellowstone, Reservation,
Idaho, Colorado and Utah. There were a lot of good days spent
casting flies to trout in the locations and I look forward to
2015 and the fishing adventures that await. Currently in
addition to the usual haunts, there are plans to visit the Green
down at Flaming Gorge this winter, the Salmon in search of
steelhead, and a Bahama bonefish reunion tour among others.
Thinking about all these different waters and trips also
reminded me how much I love my home waters of Wyoming.
It’s nice to have so much trout water in one state and some
unbelievable country to explore within an hour or three of
home. And while I fish quite a bit, it seems there is always
more water to explore; whether it’s a new lake or river, or
water higher up a drainage that gets fished often.

Below are a few notable highlights from my own personal
fishing adventures. Enjoy and here’s to making some more
great memories in 2015.

Fishing the Wind River Indian Reservation gives up
some lunkers. This guy was sipping midges in the
spring

Idaho Steel. Jamie and I got around to steelhead
fishing in ID last spring. It was an honor to bring two of these
guys to hand. Hundreds of miles from the ocean and beautiful!

My friend Kurt joined me for a few days of Wyoming
fly fishing this spring.While spring can be a bit of gamble for
those casting the long rod, there are some awesome
opportunities One of the days we floated the Big Horn outside
of Thermop. Everything was perfect; the weather, the fish and
the company wasn’t bad either..

The highlight of my summer came when I got to
take my 86 year old grandfather fishing on the Snake. He used
to fish out here often, but hadn’t been out in a few years. I’d
say he still has “it”.

Here’s Jamie as we decend into the Black Canyon of
the Yellowstone river in YNP. We spent a few days in the fall
fishing and camping in the park. Couldn’t have asked for a
better time..

While Ruby James’ time on earth was short, she
brought us A LOT of fun and happiness. She was on her way to
becoming an excellent companion and fishing dog. We miss her
a lot.

A December streamer bite

December 21, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Fishing is full of surprises. Determined to fish Friday, I set
out from our cabin outside Dubois to fish some nearby water.
For the first hour or so, the wind blew and trout wanted little to
do with my double nymph setup. I debated throwing in the
towel, but in the end decided to throw streamers. Maybe I had
paid my dues earlier, maybe it was the giant articulated
pattern from my vise or maybe it was the long, flat non
descript water; whatever the reason, I was rewarded with a
number of angry trout. Fish hammered my streamer, turning
my day into one of the best streamer fishing days I’ve had in a
long time. Eventually, by mid afternoon, with the sun setting
behind the distant mountains, my day came to and end and I
traded my waders for a fire in the woodstove and comfy couch.

The only rainbow of the day put up one heck of a
fight, fighting well above his weight class

A view streamside. The low December sunlight lit up
the red hills providing a stark contrast to the dark waters of
the Wind river.

This big kype-jawed male brown trout couldn’t help
himself

Another nice brown showing off some pretty
colors.

The only questions is

December 16, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Like a lot of fly fishers I know, I love “off the beaten path” trout waters. Fortunately here in Wyoming, we have a lot of them. I’ve been fortunate over the years to share some of my favorite “off the beaten path” trout waters with guests. Yellowstone and the surrounding national forests have a tremendous amount of diverse fishing options. Often the hardest question is figuring out what kind of fishing you’d like to do. Want to fish for Yellowstone Cutthroat trout, Rainbows, Browns, spunky Brook trout? How about Grayling in the high country? The options are endless. About this time every year I start daydreaming about places to fish next season; remembering secret haunts, all while putting together adventures for next year. It’s only mid December, but it’s never to early plan right?

Yellowstone Cutthroat trout are abdundant in many high country streams and lakes..

Pure Wyoming trout wilderness….

December days on the water

December 9, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Well it’s been a little while since I’ve cast a fly. The past
few weeks were cold, making fly fishing difficult at best. That,
combined with the loss of Ruby James made getting out a low
priority. Fortunately temperatures around here have warmed
and some good fishing friends recognized the need to get me
out. Matt and I spent a few hours wade fishing the Snake on
Friday. Temperatures were in the 40s and the snowpack along
the river shallow. We tag-teamed a few nice looking runs with
nymphs and managed a few fish to hand. I was a little
surprised we didn’t see any risers, but nothing wrong with
subsurface action in December. We spoke to a few other
anglers in the parking lot and surmised that melting snow
dropped water temperatures and made fish inactive (always
good to have theories on why the fishing’s slow).

Matt fishes a double nymph combo in hopes of
fooling a few fish in a deep run….

A cutthroat, no matter the size, always feels like a
victory in the winter….

During the weekend, I found myself in Dubois checking on
our cabin. The weather was fantastic and I was excited to hit
the water with friend and fishing guru Leon Sanderson. We
fished a few different pieces of water and managed some nice
fish. Again though, we had to work for our fish. Tight line
nymphing was challenging as the takes were very subtle.
Regardless, it was great to catch up with Leon and spend an
entire day on the water. Plus, I feel like it was a good way for
me to deal with the loss of the pup. We celebrated our day
with a delicious homecooked fried chicken dinner!

Leon working a nice run of water….

This week looks to continue to be fairly nice. I’m jumping
back in the substitute teaching game but hope to also get out
on the Snake.

Losing a good one

December 2, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

It was my hope to give a report of fishing in CO over
Thanksgiving. Unfortunately instead I am filled with nothing but
sadness. Our lab pup, Ruby James, died in a horrible freak
accident last week. Jamie and I are left with heavy hearts as we
try to get through this and move on with things around here.
Here’s to Ruby James, a great pup and companion who provided
us with much joy and happiness during her short life.

Snow Shoveling and the pup

November 22, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Not too much been going on around here at Teton Fly Fishing
world headquarters. The past week or so has ushered in quite
a bit of snow. This, combined with some cold temperatures has
made it feel more like mid-January instead of November. It’s
nice though to have some snow on the ground as we go into
the Thanksgiving holiday.

Because of the harsh winter weather, I haven’t done any
fishing. Instead much of my attention has been focused on
Ruby James. Ruby’s now about 4 months old and has grown
quite a bit. She’s doing well; sleeping all night, following a few
basic commands, etc. She’s evening hanging out with me while
I tie flies, often relaxing on the floor beside me, even ignoring
the various bags of animal pelts and feathers (most of the
time).

With Jamie out of town (enjoying some sun and warm temps in
central america) and not much going on in town, I’m planning
on heading south to CO to see my friends Brandon and Rachelle
for turkey day. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out on the water
together during my stay.

Well that’s the report from around here. Hope everyone’s well
and gearing up for the holidays. Stay tuned for a post CO
fishing report….

Winter’s arrival

November 11, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Well, at some point it was bound to happen. Fall has abruptly
turned to winter here in the Tetons. We awoke this morning to a
good 5 inches of the white stuff and I’m sure the mountains got
even more. Temperatures look to stay pretty cold around here
for the foreseeable future; below zero numbers forecast for
nightly lows.

I made it official today, digging my snow boots and down parka
out of the closet. Now the fire is going and work is getting done
inside while Ruby James sleeps by the fire.

Another season’s passing

November 5, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

Another fishing season has come and gone in Yellowstone
National Park. This past Sunday marked the end of fishing in
the park, at least until next Memorial Day weekend. I was
fortunate enough to spend some time on several of the Parks
famous trout waters; both guiding visiting anglers and fishing
on my own.

Jackson Hole’s proximity to Yellowstone makes it a great
place to spend a day (or more) vying for the attention of the
wild fish that live up there. Most of my trips up north with
clients consisted of fishing waters in the southwestern part of
the park; famous waters like the Firehole, Gibbon, Madison
and upper Snake. Besides amazing scenery, these rivers have
healthy populations of Rainbows, Browns, and in the upper
Snake, Cutthroat trout. I enjoyed introducing clients to these
waters, helping them match hatches (and swing wet flies and
nymphs) and experience the awesomeness of our first national
park. Below are a few pics from this past season.

Mark hooked up with a Brown trout on the Firehole
River. June and early July meant PMDs on the Firehole

Steve caught this amazing Cutthroat trout while
fishing on the upper Snake river in Yellowstone National Park.
It was quite a sight watching this fish rise slowly to a well
placed royal trude.

This old, beautiful female wolf didn’t seem to mind
us, eventually going her own way into the forest in the Lamar
valley.

Kevin lands a Firehole river rainbow

On a rare day off, I got to check out the fishing in
the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone river; well worth the
effort!

A client makes a cast to rising fish on the Firehole
this fall.

A few last floats in the Sunshine

October 29, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

What a fall we’ve had around here. The month of October
has been about as nice as I can remember. Most days this
month were sunny and warm; naturally the fishing was great!
I got in a few last trips for the season, taking anglers floating
on the Snake and walking in on Flat creek too. The Snake is
down to winter flows and the fish have settled in and have
been feeding voraciously in preparation for winter. It was
pretty great to put clients on riffles that were just stacked with
nice fat fish sipping away on midges. Also, we got to fish
some large October caddis patterns, fooling some aggressive
cutthroat along the way.

Late October is also the time that anglers around here get
excited and target fall-run Brown trout in places like Lewis
Lake in Yellowstone National Park and the upper Snake above
Jackson Lake. This year I haven’t gotten out on my own quite
as much as I’d like; having a pup in the house requires
constant attention and doesn’t allow one to sneak away for day
trips to the north. That’s okay though. Ruby James has proved
to be a good little pup, biting aside. She’s been out in the drift
boat four times so far in her short 11 week life; twice fishing
lakes and twice on the Snake. On all adventures she did great
and seemed to enjoy being on the water.

Friend and longtime client, Mark, took advantage of
some superb fall weather. We floated the Snake and had a
banner day with dry flies and hungry trout!

Ruby James getting acquainted with the oars; she’ll
make a fine fishing dog..

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October fishing

October 13, 2014/0 Comments/in /by testing

We’ve been lucky out here in Wyoming, the weather continues to be nice and the fishing even nicer. While October is a great time to fly fishing around here, it usually brings with it variable weather and the need to don all sorts of down, wool and Gor-tex clothing. So far this hasn’t been necessary. Most days around here have been on the warm and sunny side, keeping anglers and guides happy.

I continue to get out, both guiding folks and getting in a little time on the water myself. Last week I spent two days with Steve and Ben from Georgia. While both had fly fished a bit before, fishing western waters was new to the father son duo. In order to get a taste of both float and wade fishing, we spent one day on the Snake and the second day wade fishing the upper Snake in Yellowstone National Park. Needless to say, Steve, Ben and I had fun and I was able to introduce them to some of our native Cutthroat trout, Whitefish and a few Browns in the upper Snake. A great time was had and hopefully the guys will come back next fall for more fun and fishing!

Here’s Ben hooked up with a nice Cutthroat on the Upper Snake. This stretch of the Snake has less fish than the more easily accessible water closer to Jackson, but the solitude and chance to catch “the big one” is enough to make anglers explore this water with me.

Steve put his Royal Trude in the right spot and was rewarded with this beautiful cutthroat. This trout is about as nice as they come and catching it on a dry fly in the wilds of Wyoming made his trip.

Archive for year: 2014