It’s been cold here in Jackson Hole lately. Temperatures have
fallen below zero at night and daytime highs have struggled to get
out of the teens. Looks like that’s gonna change in the next few
days though and I’m hoping to get out on some water and wet a
line. I haven’t done any fishing lately, mainly because of the cold
temperatures and being out of town.

Jamie, Lulu and I took a road trip to the southwest over
thanksgiving, putting 2500 miles on the suburu and covering 4
states. Stops were made in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and
Utah. Some great friends and family put us up along the way, with
the bulk of our time being spent in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any fishing gear, choosing instead to
focus on time with family and friends. I did do some scouting
though and will definately take a rod next time! Below are a few
pics from the journey…

Here’s Kit Carson’s home in Taos, NM. After reading a lot
about Carson over the years, it was really cool to stand where he
once spent time. We spent 2 nights in Taos staying with friends Mel
and Charlie; super cool folks who showed us around and made us
feel at home.

Dressed up for a Thanksgiving feast. We went to a
friends house in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving dinner. Really had a nice
time walking around town a bit and then eating with some great
folks. Note the new Stetson… I picked that up in downtown
Albuquerque at the Man’s Hat Shop. If you’re every in the area, I
highly recommend picking up a hat there. The service was
fantastic!

Couldn’t resist a picture with Fred. Came across this
Flinstone themed campground on the way to the south rim of the
grand canyon.

f

Lulu and I did alittle painting while at the Grand Canyon.
This was the first time I’d been to the GC and it blew my mind! Far
exceded my expectations.

Now back home, my attention is focused on some art teaching
gigs and the Christmas season. We cut down a tree on Tuesday
and plan on decorating it tonight. Today i have to sort out outdoor
lights and replace bulbs….

It looks like I’ve guided my last trip of the season (unless the phone rings of course…), wrapping up what proved to be another great year on the water. Dave and I spent two days float fishing this past week; first on the Snake and then on the Salt. The weather couldn’t have been better and it was great to catch up with Dave and his wife Celeste after not seeing them since last year. Fish were caught both days and it was nice to end the season with such nice folks.

Dave’s all smiles as we show off one of his snake river cutthroat trout from our float the other day. Warm weather has made float fishing on the Snake a great late season option- good fishing and an empty river!

Thanks to all of you who fished with me the past months. It’s always fun taking both return and new anglers out and I’m already looking forward to more of it! I’m planning on getting in some more fishing of my own in the weeks to come. Days continue to get shorter but that won’t stop Lulu and I from hitting the water. Also, I think Jamie and I are going to go float the Bighorn in the near future. And while the seasons are changing, I’ll continue to offer guided fly fishing trips in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Half day winter walk-in trips can be a blast!

Here’s a shot from the Firehole Canyon in Yellowstone National Park. Anglers Craig, Mark and Bob spent a day with me on the Firehole. Fishing was tough due to blue-bird skies and warm temps (the bugs never hatched). Despite this though we had a great day in the park!

I’ve been busy around here, finishing up the guiding season with a bang. Some great return clients mixed in with some new folks have made the past few weeks really fun. Overall the weather round here in Jackson Hole has been fantastic- lots of sun and warm temperatures. Fishing trips have had us headed in all directions; south to the Salt, West to Snake, North to Yellowstone National Park and east to Dubois. I’ll be honest, while I enjoy the sunshine, I do think it has made the fishing a little more challenging. Clients have had good days on the water but have definitely had to work for their fish. Some clouds would surely get some hatches swinging.

Lydia is all smiles after catching some fish on the the Snake river. Not bad for a first timer!

Craig and Wyn spent their final day floating the Snake. We had a great day on the water with this catch being the highlight. Craig worked this guy with various patterns before fooling him with a size 6 chernobyl ant.

Today begins a bit of fishing vacation for me. My friend Kurt arrives this afternoon and we’ll be fishing together for the next week or so. Plans include some time at the cabin, a float on the Bighorn, South Fork and Salt, throw in some wade fishing on the Henry’s Fork and we’ve got some fine fishing ahead of us.

The buffalo were on the move the other night. When the herd moves across the highway, traffic stops. Not a bad way to spend part of the work commute

With a lull in client activity this past week, I was able to focus on spending time with lulu, catching up on chores (i won’t bore you with details) and family fishing. My Mom, Dad, brother and Grandfather came out to visit. It’s been good seeing everyone and naturally fishing came up. My Grandfather, Don, taught me to fly fish and tie flies when I was young and first introduced me to Wyoming’s trout streams when I was 12. Over the years we’ve fished a lot together but being 88 now, he doesn’t get out like he use to. Fortunately Jamie and I were able to talk him into a float on the Salt river. It was a great day having him in the front of the boat; casting hoppers to eager cutthroat trout and telling stories about fishing Wyoming waters in the “old days”. Jamie and Lulu held down the back of the drift boat and we had a fun time on the water together. When it was all said and done, Grandad caught a bunch of cutthroat trout (as did Jamie) and we had a streamside visit from a beautiful horse…

Lulu keeps an eye out for rising trout while Grandad works a hopper along the bank

Grandad, Jamie and Lulu; I could think of a better way to spend an afternoon

Jamie, Lulu and I also managed to get out for a few hours the past couple days. The idea was to explore some new waters, and we did. However the fishing left a little to be desired. One stream was just too low to hold much of anything of size and another turned out to be mostly fenced off and private. The bit we fished on Forest Service land did yield some cutthroat (a few nice ones) but we both walked away wishing it was a bit better. I promised Jamie no more exploratory runs when we fish together (at least for a little while….)

Jamie works a run waaaay up the Hoback river. Despite beautiful looking water, fish of any size were lacking. Could’ve been due to low late season water levels….