A few last floats in the Sunshine

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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!

Mark with a nice snake cutthroat

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

Me and Ruby Jamesa

October fishing

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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.

Ben hooking up on the Upper Snake

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.

Nice Cutthroat Steve

Small water, some snow and a dog’s first fishing trip

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Thought today would be a good day to introduce the pup to
fly fishing. A favorite small stream seemed like the best place
to ease into things. In the interest of time (an 8 week old pup
can only do so much) I decided to head straight to a known
hole.

Small stream and some snow

After checking out the water, Ruby James decided to
hunker down and stay warm during some snow showers. This
gave her a front row seat, although I’m not sure how interested
she was.

Ruby James keeping warm

I don’t know if I could’ve hooked a prettier trout to show
the pup. The colors on this fish were fantastic and the size
wasn’t bad either (it’s great when small waters surprise you!)

Fall Beauty

Ruby James’ first trout encounter. She didn’t seem to care
much which is good for fish and fisherman.

Rubys first fish

Beautiful spots up close and personal. (should make for a
cool painting this winter)

fine spotted spots

While not native to the Rockies, I do have a soft spot for
the Brookie; especially when their showing off their spawning
colors.

Brook trout gem

Snow showers moving through the valley signify an end to
the summer/ nice fall weather.

Snow showers