July’s heating up

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The past week offered up some great fishing around here in Jackson Hole despite the near record-breaking heat. Additionally, Forth of July festivities brought TONS of folks to Jackson, eager to fish, raft, hike and enjoy the great concert and fireworks display.

Lately I’ve been spending a fair amount of time fishing clients on the Green, pursuing its resident trout with dries and nymphs. Small, grey stimulators proved to be the dry fly of choice, doing a good job mimicking the smaller stoneflies hatching down there. Additionally, we picked up some nice fish in slower pools with Grey Drake spinners.

The Snake continues to run higher than normal due to increased releases from Jackson Lake dam. Idaho irrigators own the water rights to the water stored in the lake, and with another dry winter in their neck of the woods, they need water and are doing their best to draw the lake down as low as it’ll go. Ah, all for the love of potatoes….. That said the Snake is starting to fish well, particularly in the side channels and slower backwaters. Caddis, PMDs, and Stoneflies can all be seen buzzing around and I’ve seen the first hoppers of the season along the banks. As we get into the height of the summer, grab your attractor patterns and take advantage of the great dry fly fishing that this area is known for.

Chris and his lady, Sassy, fished the Green like champions and were rewarded with some good fish via dry flies……

Chris meets Green river rainbow

Brown Trout on the green with Teton Fly Fishing

Fly-Rodding Texans in Dubois

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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…

Pretty brown

a dubois double rainbow

Brian showing some brown

ending the trip in style

Lakes, Rainbows and Bears

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The past week proved to be a great week of fishing for
some adventurous clients of mine. We fished some great
remote rainbow waters, catching fish from the boat and also
on foot. Nymphs and streamer were the name of the game;
leeches working in the lake, while princes and pheasant tails
dead drifted fooled stream run fish. Scott did a fine job
detecting the subtle strikes on Wednesday, while Sal and
Ashley stripped flies like champions. We also got a special
treat Thursday, getting to see 3 Grizzlies just as we started
our ascent of Togwotee Pass! More fishing on the books this
week….

Here’s Scott working in a strong backcountry Wyoming
Rainbow Trout..

Scott with a Wyoming Rainbow

Nice Fish!

Wyoming backcountry Rainbow

Mama and the Cubs..

mama grizz and cubs

Weekend with Friends

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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..

colorado cutthroat

Brandon showing a grayling’s dorsal fin

grayling

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

the martins with a grayling

King of CO, Brandon shows off a Grayling

brandon with grayling

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

grayling fin

Mud!

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The last week brought beautiful spring days to the Tetons. This
weather kicked the spring runoff into full gear, trashing area
waters and putting fly fishing the Snake and its tributaries on
hold for a few weeks. Because it’s been so sunny and warm, I’m
thinking rivers will clear and start fishing earlier than first
thought. Despite this, there are still plenty of places to wet a
line; the most obvious being area lakes.

Many of our lakes fish best in the spring and offer anglers the
chance to sight-cast to cruising trout. In fact, while we were
fishing a sand flat last week, I couldn’t help but feel like we were
fishing for bonefish; casting in front of moving fish and getting
their attention with a twitched fly. Very cool! Expect the lakes to
fish well for a while, with smaller, higher altitude lakes becoming
a destination once snow melts and ice comes off.

Fly fishing around Wyoming and the find of the year!

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As of today, many area rivers are rising and turning brown
thanks in large part to sunny skies and temperatures pushing
into the high 60s. While this puts some stretches of water on
hold for the next month or so, it also gives area lakes top
billing for the foreseeable future. Jackson Lake’s shores are
mostly ice-free and it’s a good time to take some streamers
and sinking line up there in search of hungry cutthroat, brown
and lake trout.

nymphin'

I’ve been fortunate, having spent the past couple weeks
wading and drifting various drainages with a good amount of
luck. Matt and I pulled together a quick camping/ fishing trip,
hitting up the “Mile” during a two-day stretch of nice weather
and pretty good fishing. We ended up ditching the tent in favor
of sleeping under the stars, not far from several productive
riffles where rainbows fell for our flies. Matt may very well
have hooked the fish of a lifetime. Unfortunately, an explosive
line-spooling run down river resulted in his line and leader
coming back missing a fly….

releasing on the platte

canyon walls

Jamie and I spent a few days lake fishing from the new
boat. Fortunately we didn’t have to over think things; black
wooly buggers were the ticket and the rainbows attacked them
often enough to keep us busy for the better part of the day!

jamie casting

rainbow trout

spring in the tetons

In related fishing news from Teton Fly Fishing world
headquarters, my neighbor and his wife were walking their dog
yesterday morning when they spied what appeared to be a rod
tube sticking out of a nearby dumpster. Upon saving it from
the approaching trash truck, they took out the contents and
discovered a fly rod, and not just any run of the mill import
graphite stick, a beautiful……… wait for it ……..BAMBOO rod!!!
Could be the find of the century, and I must admit to being a
little envious. Congrats you two!

Saturday fishing and a report on things around here

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Sometimes investigating is need. Such was the case yesterday
when my friend Matt and I donned Gore-Tex and Wool and
ventured into a bolder-strun piece of local pocket water.
Fishing my usual haunts on the Snake recently has been fun
and productive; lots of eager cutthroat and mountain whitefish
taking dries and nymphs. However, we both were in the mood
to do something different and the pocket water seemed like a
great choice.

Throughout the course of the day, we fished some beautiful
runs and pockets, shared rocky banks with resident moose and
got snowed on pretty good. We also managed to hook some
fish. Short-line nymphing was the name of the game and the
whitefish seem particularly impressed with our tactics.
Additionally, a few stocky golden-yellow cutthroats also played
along and kept things interesting.

While the fishing wasn’t outstanding, it was just what I needed;
solitude, exploration and the occasional tug on the line.

As I alluded to above, fishing on the Snake has been good
lately. Lots of midges, small black stoneflies and the occasional
Skwala have fish looking to the surface. When colder,
nymphing with smaller (#14) dark nymphs (think Hare’s Ear
and Prince variation) are getting the job done. Fish are still
podded up, and with flows low, wade fishing on the Snake is a
very practical option. I suspect that a warming trend this week
will get the Skwala hatch going and make for some fun dry fly
fishing with bigger rubber-leg concoctions.

We’ve gotten quite a bit of moisture the past two weeks or so.
And while kind of bummer for those of us yearning to break
out the Hawaiian shirts, this has boosted snowpack/ water
content to average levels ensuring good water flows for trout
this summer! I suspect we have a few weeks of good river
fishing ahead of us before runoff. Then it’ll be time to focus on
local lakes with slow sinking lines and various streamer and
nymph patterns. Hope folks are taking advantage of early
season fishing……

Spring newsletter

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Some of you may have already seen this, but for those
who aren’t on my email list, here’s is a copy of the spring
2013 newsletter I sent out last week.:

A big springtime hello from Jackson Hole! If you’re as
excited as I am for the upcoming fishing season, this
newsletter’s for you. Little black stoneflies were active on the
Snake River today and Jerome took full advantage…

Jeromie with cutthroat

Overall, fishing has been pretty good lately. Spring brings
hungry trout to the surface, actively feeding on hatching
midges and stoneflies. In addition to the small, black stoneflies
we’re seeing on the Snake right now, I expect larger Skwalas
to begin crawling on the banks and fluttering clumsily on the
water in the next week or two. Fishing will probably get
underway a little earlier this year since the mountain
snowpack is slightly below average.

If you’re thinking of coming out to fish with me, I’ve got a
few exciting things to report for the upcoming season. First
off, I have a new Adipose drift boat that’s going to make for
an even better float-fishing experience. This also will let me
take folks fishing on a few glacially carved lakes when rivers
are running high. If you’re looking for a multi-day adventure,
checkout the Dubois overnight option. With the Wind River and
a variety of smaller, wild trout streams to explore, you’ll think
you died and went to fishing Heaven! All this in addition to
fantastic float-fishing on the Snake, Green and Salt rivers.

So there you have it; fish, news and exciting fishing
possibilities! Keep checking the Teton Fly Fishing Blog for
fishing reports and adventurous tales and give a holler if you’re
thinking of coming out this way and want to book a trip.

All the best, Nate

Jamie getting it done…

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Landing fish like this, it’s no wonder Jamie out-fished me!

Big spring Brown

Great mayfly pattern or Greatest?

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Every fishing season I keep a rough record of fly patterns I
use most, hoping to remind myself to make sure I have a
surplus for the next year. I’d say I have 15 or so patterns that I
rely on pretty heavily, with one in particular, the Sparkle Dun,
being my hands-down favorite for imitating mayflies.

Sparkle Dun

The Sparkle Dun plays off the deer hair wing and dubbing
body that made the comparadun famous, but adds a bit of
zelon to the tail, making the pattern resemble an emerging
mayfly still attached to its nymphal shuck. The beauty of this
pattern is its simplicity. It doesn’t require many materials and
is a quick tie, perfect when you have to crank out a dozen in
the early morning hours before hooking up the boat. Versatility
wise, the Sparkle Dun floats high in the water and can be
fished throughout a mayfly hatch, imitating emergers, cripples,
duns and spinners. Heck, clip the wing and add some lead to
you leader and you have yourself a nymph!

I carry a variety of Sparkle Duns to “match” various
hatches out here in Jackson Hole. When fishing the Snake or
Green rivers, I make sure I have plenty of PMDs, Grey Drakes
and BWOs (baetis for those of you who insist on Latin…) Tying
these patterns only requires changing hook size and body
color.

In the next few days, look for a video showing how to tie
this fantastic pattern.