Nymphing the January Blues Away

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After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got out fishing! Really, it’d only been a month or so, but if felt like forever. I used a new Orvis Recon 10′ 4wt that I got a while back specifically for nymph fishing on the Wind. Being so busy guiding this past year though, I hadn’t broke it out yet. The temperature was in the mid 40s, the sun was shinning and midges were all over the water. After easing into things and and experimenting with some fly patterns, I hooked a nice brown trout who decided to run me down river and eventually popped off. At least he jumped a few times and i got a good look at him. Up river I continued, hooking up with some rainbows and browns. I finally turned back for the truck when my right leg became too numb from the ice cold water that filled up my waders- turns out I had a pretty good hole in the leg and from the minute i got in the river, water began soaking my foot and leg. Got to say it was great to get out, especially in some mild weather conditions!

First fish land on the new rod. The first fish hooked on the new rod was a wiley brown that jumped a few times and took off down river…. I laughed and appluded his efforts

rainbow on the recon

A nice looking piece of Wyoming trout water..

wyoming water

Had to be at least one fish there right? That’s mr. brown trout

browntown in January

Overall I was pretty happy with the 10′ Recon rod. I had it matched with a new Battenkill reel (I think these are FANTASTIC trout reels) and a floating Orvis nymphing line. Even though the rod was a 4wt, it seemed pretty stiff (not surprising though since it seems like everyone is obsessed with fast action rods). It cast nice and felt good fighting fish. I threw a streamer a little bit with it and it had PLENTY of power to send that thing whereever I wanted. Fishing with some weight and nymphs, it cast accurately in close with just a foot or so of fly line out and also at longer distances. I guess the one benifit of the stiffer tip is that I could set the hook quickly… I am curious to try the 3wt version; maybe the tip will be a little softer..? Still though, I feel like this is a good setup for nymph fishing our bigger freestone rivers in Wyoming.

New Year

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Holy smokes, 2018! Another new year means new fly fishing adventures here at Teton Fly Fishing. I was fortunately to finish the year strong with a few winter wade fishing trips with folks. The Snake treated us pretty well, allowing clients to hook numerous trout and whitefish. Of course these call came on nymphs; especially a caddis pupa pattern of mine.

Nymphing proved successful!

winter fly fishing success on the Snake river

Now as i mentioned, thoughts have turned to the upcoming season. In addition to guiding, I am putting some trips/ideas on paper. Hoping to get down to Flaming Gorge with my friend Matt in the next few month. We try to sneak down in February or March, taking advantage of the midges and BWOs that hatch and the relative solitude in the canyon. It also looks like we’re gonna head down to the Bahamas in the spring for a little relaxation and bonefishing. It’s always fun planning these trips, giving me something to look forward to during the long winter months.

As far as local fishing opportunities go, I have a few alpine lakes I want to check out on days off. I’ve also become fond of exploring a fishing small cutthroat streams and there are no shortage around here. While I’ve fished plenty over the years, there are always new ones to explore and I can’t wait to take the 3wt out on them! Time permitting, I’ll also squeeze in a car camping/fishing trip or two.

Discovering wild cutthroat in a tiny stream in 2017. Hoping to have more adventures like this in the year to come!

Colorado River Cutthroat

Not a big brown, but one of the prettiest from the past year. Wild, off the beaten path Wyoming waters often yield gems like this.

small stream brown trout

The weather here in Jackson has been pretty mild- no snow falling and temperatures aren’t too bad. This has me thinking about wetting a line locally. I imagine there are a few trout that would find a drifted nymph irresistible! In the meantime, i’ll continue tying flies and working on paintings.

One of my nymph boxes almost filled. I’m trying to be more deliberate with what flies I tie and fill my boxes with. I don’t know if it’s neccessary to have a ton of different patterns when I always come back to the same ones time and time again. This box has lots of beadhead in my most productive nymphs for fishing Wyoming freestone waters.

Nymph fly box