Archive for year: 2014

After years and years of talk, we finally did it. Jamie and I traveled to Challis, Idaho, spending four days casting relentlessly for steelhead on the famed Salmon river. I’ll be the first to admit it wasn’t easy, in fact much of the time felt like we were receiving a thorough beat-down, with the occasionally hooked sucker adding insult to injury. Flies were lost on underwater boulders, and we began wondering if these fish even existed, let alone would bite our flies.

We knew going in that the odds were stacked against us. Why would fish that have traveled some 800+ miles inland from the Pacific Ocean want to eat strike our flies? Do fish even make it this far inland? If they do, will the hordes of camo clad lawchair fishers fool them first? These are the things that run through your mind as you cast again and again to seemingly perfect water. Fortunately as dumb luck would have it, I managed to hook and land two fish while tight-line nymphing a fast seam on our last day.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I felt honored bringing these fish to hand. Amazed at their perservience; traveling amazing distances, eluding predators, navagating countless dams, rapids, etc. I couldn’t help but wonder what this river must have been like 100 years ago when the steelhead and salmon runs were so thick, folks harvested them with pitchforks….

A view of the Salmon river from our base of operations….

Find Nate. I’m doing my best to blend in with the surroundings…

One of many hotsprings in the area. Jamie and I relaxed in this one after long days of fishing

At last, a steelhead on the fly!

Close up of one of two fish that graced us with its presence

We’re rolling into spring around here and there is a subtle excitement in the air. All of a sudden days are longer and snow in the valley is melting. It’s possible Jamie and I ushered in this change; afterall, we did just return from Arizona.

Our trip was bittersweet; part vacation and part celebration of life for my uncle Don, who passed away just before Christmas. Overall the trip was great. We met up with my folks and family, caught up with friends, saw some live music and paid respects to a sweet dude who epitomized rock n’ roll. I won’t go into details except to say that the three day marathon celebration was one of legendary proportions and we probably drank and ate way more than we should have. Special thanks to the Band News Blues Band, Lori McDonald and Hans Olson for some awesome rock and blues music.

After spending four days in Bisbee, we drove north and spent two days bumming around Tucson. In the desert southwest, trout waters are few and far between and I’m sorry to report that no fishing was done. We did get in some cool hikes; seeing ancient petroglyphs and climbing a mountain. Here’s a few photos from the trip. Hopefully I’ll have some fishing pictures soon (with temperatures forecast to be in the 40’s it’s time to get out and capitalize on the midge hatch).

 

Hiking in a dry gluch, we saw plenty of prickly things as well as some cool petroglyphs.

A native..

Close up of some of the petroglyphs we came across.

Jamie helping to put things to scale..

Like most of country, we here in Jackson are getting a big
dose of winter weather lately; not really anything new for us,
but worth noting none the less. This past week a system of
snow storms has brought continuous moisture to our area,
adding to a good snowpack. While it’s easy to become a
hermit in these conditions, it’s always good to get out of the
house, especially when escape comes in the form of a fishing
trip. So, when my neighbor and fellow fishing guide, Chris
Stump, invited me to join him yesterday, I said yes.

Despite the winter storm warning and snow covered roads,
Chris drove us to freedom. Expectations were low; maybe
hook a few fish while donning 20 layers of long underwear,
wool, flannel, down and Gore-Tex. Fortunately, the weather
cleared and the fish gods smiled, rewarding our dedication.
Fishing was fast and furious and at the end of the day all we
could do was laugh.

Fortunately, no fingers were lost landing this big
fellow

Well, I can cross the Wyoming Cutt Slam off my “to do”
list. The official certificate of completion arrived in the mail
earlier this week documenting Jamie and my achievement. It
may be the only certificate I’ve ever gotten kind of excited
about.

For those that don’t know, the Wyoming Cutt Slam is a
challenge put forth by the WY Game and Fish in
which anglers are challenged to catch (and document) the four
Wyoming native cutthroat trout species. Each species resides
in its own specific region/drainage, making it a really fun fly
fishing adventure!

Jamie and I, along with Sage, began our Cutt Slam quest
back in 2012, journeying to the Tri- Basin divide area to camp
and fish. Our first stop was a small stream that had an
abundant population of Bonneville Cuttroat Trout. While I had
caught the Bonneville before, both in the Bear River in
Evanston, and also fishing this same water, I hadn’t
documented it, so it never happened. It didn’t take Jamie and I
long to both catch and photograph our first fish of the Slam.

Jamie showing off a beautiful gem of a trout; the
Bonneville

An architypal Wyoming high country trout stream.

On to find a Colorado…. This didn’t happen despite some
fairly serious fishing. You can read more about it here. Fast forward to early last summer
(2013). We had two free days together and a desire to get out
of town, camp and shake off the Colorado Cutthroat slump. Off
we drove again, me, my lady and a fourteen year old
Labrador. We fished some new water, exploring numerous dirt
forest roads and eventually finding our prize.

The elusive Colorado Cutthroat; once plentiful in the
Green River drainage

Fishing alongside some western history. Wonder if
the pioneers did any fishing along the way?

Sage and I are on a mission…

With time ticking, off we spend to a place where
Yellowstone Cutthroat are plentiful. Here we found some willing
participants, documented the catches and headed back to hot
Jackson.

A beautiful Yellowstone Cutt fell for a well presented
peacock soft-hackle fly.

The Snake River Finespotted cutthroat is what we catch
while fishing around home here in Jackson. Even though we
had tons of Fine Spotted pictures already, we decided to make
things official. We’d go out and hunt a few local fish. This
proved to be easy, with Jamie and I catching numerous fish
over the course of the past summer and fall.

Finally (with some prodding from the lady) I got around to
sending in our completed cuttslam forms this December. I
requested that Sage be listed on my certificate since she was
along for all the fish we caught, not to mention the thousands
of others during her life. Our certificates are a cool reminder of
the great times we had fishing our Wyoming waters for native
cutthroat trout. If you ever get the chance, take on the Cutt
Slam challenge too!

 

 

 

Sage (1998-2014)

I’m sad to report that Sage, my constant K9 companion
passed on last Friday. Many of you came to know Sage over the
years, and while she didn’t join me on every guided trip, she did
tag along a lot when folks invited her. She was happy helping
guests, from friends to celebrities, find trout to cast to. Over the
years, she spent more time on cold trout waters than most
humans. In addition to Wyoming waters, Sage fished with us in
ID, MT, UT and CO. She also cruised the country, coming face to
face with alligators in Florida, buffalo and moose in Wyoming
and sea lions in California. Despite turning 15 this past
September, Sage continued to fish with Jamie and I through the
fall and demanded daily walks until the end. In the end, she
lived 15 years 4 months, a hell of a feat for any dog. Things are
lonely round here at the Bennett/ Teton Fly Fishing household.