I’ve been fortunate to fish some great folks on several
different waters over the past couple weeks. For those looking
for a challenge and the potential for a big catch, the upper
Green has been hard to beat. We’ve hit the road early,
ensuring that we get fishing before the heat of the day slows
the activity. Hatches of Grey Drakes, Yellow Sallies, PMDs and
caddis allowed clients to fish dries in many of the riffles,
surprised to find how high up fish will lie in the shallows,
picking off bugs. When smaller dries faded, we switched to
larger attractors or short-lined various nymph patterns. While
the fishing could be challenging, the solitude and calm, clear
waters made the Green a fun destination.

Other folks wanting to stay closer to home have been
fishing the Snake with me. And while flows out of Jackson
Lake have made the river higher than normal, the fishing has
been pretty darn good. Most of the fish we’ve been catching
have been in slower side channels and in shallow riffles. The
fish haven’t been huge, but their spunk and hard charging
attitude makes up for their size. We have started to see
bigger fish though, including a monstrous Cutt that ran my
client into his backing, eventually breaking off down stream,
and a big yellow-belly who rose along a fast bank to inspect a
foam creation yesterday. This is a great sign and hopefully
each day on the Snake will yield more and more bigger fish….

Additionally, I had some folks wanting to get off the
beaten path and chose to fish with me over near Dubois, in
the Shoshone National Forest. There, I put them on a favorite
small stream of mine, where brook trout and Yellowstone
cutthroat rose without hesitation to various attractor patterns
and we didn’t see a sole all day. Now that July is almost
finished, I expect to fish more hopper- type patterns. Hoppers
are buzzing along the banks, and with some windy afternoons,
the resident fish will start keying in on them. Flat Creek on the
Refuge also opens soon (Aug. 1) and it’ll be fun to take folks
out and stalk the weary, trophy cutthroat that feed selectively
along its banks. Hope everyone is getting out and enjoying
summer.

One of John’s Dubios trout…

A Brown from the upper Green…

This past week I had the pleasure of hosting Andrew and Brian, friends from TX, for a few days of fishing at my cabin in Dubois, Wyoming. Andrew’s been out here before, experiencing some great fly fishing on the Snake. This time, he was interested in more remote waters and brought his friend Brian along. I think it’s safe to say they weren’t disappointed. We fished some tributaries and lakes, catching cutthroats, rainbows and browns on everything from dry flies to streamers. Overall, I don’t think they could’ve asked for better fishing, and I couldn’t asked for cooler guys to spend time on the water with. Below is a few pictures from our days fishing…

It pays to have friends in nice places. This past weekend,
Jamie, Sage and I headed south to visit our good friends
Brandon and Rachelle in Clark, CO. Naturally, fishing was on
the agenda, but the real reason for the journey was to catch up
with old friends and meet the newest member of their family,
Wyatt, a strong 11 month old.

The Martins reside in Clark, CO, a beautiful area just north
of Steamboat Springs. Brandon recently joined Vista
Verde Ranch, tasked with running their fishing program
and guiding guests on the many great trout waters around
Clark. Fishing conditions were far from ideal during our visit,
but Brandon had a few tricks up his sleeve and introduced me
to some cool fish; including browns, rainbows, vibrant
Colorado cutthroat trout and Grayling. Fighting through an ugly
hangover courtisey of locally made bourbon, we got hiking,
eventually finding a big, nasty riffle that held several
archetypal Brown trout. The following day we tested out the
ranches new float tubes, fishing a nearby lake and meeting up
with the ladies for a picnic lunch. I had the pleasure of
catching Colorado cutthroat and grayling, two species I seldom
get to pursue. In addition to Brandon and I hooking some fish,
both wives also hooked a few fish, making it a memorable
Memorial Day!

Below you’ll find a few pictures from our lake outing. Many
thanks to Brandon, Rachelle and Wyatt for a great time! If
anyone out there is looking to spend some time at a cool dude
ranch with great fishing, look up Brandon at Vista Verde!

Me and a cutthroat..

Brandon showing a grayling’s dorsal fin

Brandon put his lovely lady, Rachelle on her first fish with
a fly rod…

King of CO, Brandon shows off a Grayling

upclose and personal; these pictures don’t capture the
subdle iridescent colors..