I knew I was in for trouble on Saturday when I hooked
(and lost) a nice fish on my first cast. Needless to say, that
was all she wrote. Today (Sunday), I got out again with my
friend Matt and dog, Sage. Matt started off just like I did
yesterday- had a nice fish chase his streamer and then
proceeded to get shutout for the rest of the afternoon. I
started off slow too, stripping streamers, but eventually
managed to take a nice fish on a nymph. The fish I caught
(seen below) is a bit of a mystery to me. Common sense tells
me it’s a cutthroat, but the very pronounced red strip and
white tipped fins make me think it might have been a cutbow
(native cutthroat don’t have white tipped fins). 

There is a population of rainbow trout in the Gros Ventre
river below Slide lake (I have also caught them above the
lake) and apparently years back, there were quite a few
rainbows in the Snake itself (stocked at one time). Every now
and then someone claims to catch one on the Snake and I
don’t doubt it. In hind sight, I wish we would have gotten a
good close up photo and spent a little more time examining it,
but it was best to get the trout back to the water quickly.
Regardless, the fish put up a great fight and was a welcome
sight to see on such a bleak, wintery day.

My mid-winter ritual has begun. Yesterday I started going
through my fly boxes. What once were full and organized have,
over the course of last season, turned into a motley crew of
hair, hook and feathers. Now, a size 16 PMD can be found
sharing a compartment with a hackle-less Royal Wulff, while a
chewed up Double Humpy conseals my last size 20 Blue Wing
Olive. Flies that were organized by size, type and use, now
intermingle freely.

Looking into the boxes is a bit like reading a fishing
timeline. I see a Parachute Adams with a midge dropper,
reminding me of the stellar fishing that occurred last spring in
the Flaming Gorge; the mangled PMD that took quite a few
cutthroat from a certain riffle on the Snake every summer
morning, and the big, mottled woolly bugger that was a last
ditch effort for stubborn browns in the Lewis channel. Flies like
these will be picked out and returned to there rightful place,
or more likely than not, retired to the trash.

Going through these boxes gives me reason to tie new
flies for the upcoming season and helps me see what patterns
are needed and what aren’t. Over the years, I’ve tried to
simply my fly selection. I’m now convince that all I really need
are a few different size Parachute Adams and a Double Humpy
or two (I just don’t have the courage to test this theory).
Despite this, I’ll tie a variety of flies just in case I find myself
in a bind. Below is my favorite fly box. It contains nothing
more than various Adams patterns, parachute Hare’s Ears,
Royal Wulffs, Trudes and Double Humpies. It’s the first box to
get refilled every winter….

I couldn’t wait any longer. Flies are being tied, and not tiny
ones for the local trout! These fly are tied on large stainless-
steel hooks and have legs, eyes, and claws- Bonefish
flies!

Over the years, I’ve become a bit of a bonefish addict.
This addiction seems to get worse the more I do it. (Make no
mistake, I’m not very good at it, but I enjoy it- fish or no fish.)
The thought of standing in warm Caribbean waters while
scanning for grey ghosts helps get me through the winter. This
however, is a problem for several reasons. First off, I live in
western Wyoming, nowhere near bonefish flats. And secondly
(and most important), I am not rich and bonefishing is a rich
man’s game. Just price airfare and lodging to far off lands and
you’ll see what I mean.

Fortunately, Jamie and I have been able to set aside some
money each year and travel (on the cheap) to bonefish rich
waters (primarily fishing on our own and staying at affordable
cabanas). We’ve spent the past few years exploring in Mexico
near the Belize border. And while we’ve enjoyed it there, this
year we thought it was time to try something new.

After looking at some options, we decided to give the
Bahamas a try. Originally, we were looking at Eluethera, but
after seeing the cost of airfare, etc., we’re focusing our
attention on Grand Bahama. Seemed like it quiets down the
further east on the island you go, and we found a house to
rent on the beach for a very reasonable rate. Or friends, Kurt
and Kelly, are going to join us for the first week we are there,
and I can’t wait to go looking for fish with Kurt. This brings
me back to the flies. In addition to tying enough flies for
myself, I also need to stock Kurt’s fly box. Truth be told, we
both probably need a dozen or so basic bonefish patterns-
some gotchas, clousers and maybe a merkin. However, at the
rate I’m tying, we will hit the water with enough flies to stock
a fly shop!

Well, I’d like to keep writing about the bonefish, but I’m
headed out to fly fish on the Snake- hoping a few whitefish
will be hungry. More to come on the upcoming vacation later.
Enjoy the weekend.

I got out fishing today. This, after spending the better part of
the past two weeks cooped up, watching the outside
thermometer struggle (and fail) to reach the teens. Today wasn’t
warm by any stretch of the imagination, but I think at one point
it did get above freezing. My friend Matt and I, with Sage in toe,
ended up fishing a few nice, deep runs along the Snake. We both
managed to catch some whitefish, with the highlight being the
cutthroat Matt hooked on a dry fly! Not sure what Matt was
using, but I used a large Kodiak (my own creation) nymph with a
trailing zebra midge. The fish seemed to prefer the large nymph,
provided I got it down deep enough. Over all, we had a great
time. And judging by the snoring coming from Sage, she did
too.