I just had the pleasure of spending five days fishing with
my friend and long time fishing buddy, Kurt. Kurt tries to
make it out to Jackson once a year, and once again managed
to sneak in for a few days on the water. We split time
between Dubois and Jackson, finding fish in both areas. The
best fish of the trip came from the New Fork River, which we
floated a day before flows skyrocketed and fishing became
lousy. Another day spent drifting the Snake yielded several
cutthroat and whitefish, but was tough due to the rising water
levels and silt. Never the less, we had a great time catching
up and I enjoyed introducing Kurt to some new waters.

Fishing around here has changed considerably over the
past few days. Temperatures in the valley reached the high
70’s and the sunshine really got the snow melting. While this
most likely means the end of spring fishing, I suspect that
we’ll get an early jump on things around here this summer.
Hopefully local waters will be fishing well by the end of June!
Until then it’s time to finish tying flies and get the yard work
done while there’s still time. Hope everyone is well.

I spent today guiding Colorado resident, Doug. This was
Doug’s first time fishing the Snake despite many visits to
Jackson. He did a fantastic job learning the ins and outs of tight-
line nymphing and was rewarded with a lot of fish. Here are a
few pictures. Nice work Doug!

 

               

Many times clients ask me what flies I recommend for fishing our many waters here in Jackson Hole. Take a walk into one of the fly shops in town, or thumb through your most recent fly fishing catalogue and you’ll see hundreds of different flies to choose from. And while I carry many different patterns in my fly boxes, there are several flies that I wouldn’t be caught without. Below is my list of go to flies. Whether you’re fishing on the Snake, or one of its tributaries, these are what I’d recommend carrying:

Stimulator size 8 and 10- can represent hoppers, stoneflies, etc.

Royal Wulff size 12- a great attractor dry fly.

Parachute Adams, size 10-20- a size 14 will get you through most situations.

Black Wooly Bugger– size 8- can represent stonefly nymphs, leeches, etc.

Parachute Hare’s Ear– size 10-18- size 12 is great and can represent several of our mayflies, also a good all-around searching pattern.

PMD Sparkle Dun– size 14- a great pattern for PMD hatches and can represent several of the insect stages.

Double Humpy– size 8- great dry fly attractor. Can be used to represent stoneflies, hoppers.

Copper John– size 14- fish it by itself, or as a dropper

Hopper (Dave’s, parachute, grand, etc.) size 6-10- fish key in on these during the summer.

Chernobyl Ant– size 8- I like to tie mine with a tan underbody, but other colors work great too. One of the go-to summer patterns around here.

Pheasant Tail nymph– size 12- 18- A great all around nymph to have in your box. Different sizes will represent several of our mayfly species; for instance try a size 18 or 20 during a Blue Wing Olive hatch.

Grey Drake Sparkle Dun– size 10- The Green River and Flat Creek have great Grey Drake hatches. The sparkle dun is a favorite of mine to fish when these large mayflies are on the water.

So there you have it, my favorites. I realize I left some great patterns off the list, but I think these 12 patterns will get you through almost any situation out here. For those of you in need of flies, or looking for a souvenir to take home with you, check out a box of my hand-tied flies.

Yesterday, despite a winter storm warning, I took two hardy souls fishing on the Snake. Josh and Hanse were determined to fish; blizzard be damned! These guys worked the water hard with their double nymph rigs and were each rewarded with a few fish; and of course there was the colossal cutthroat that got away! (it’s not a fishing trip without one!) Here are a few pictures from our outing.