April’s always a favorite time of mine to fish the Snake River here in Jackson Hole. Water levels are low and the fish are hungry after a long winter. While this April is definitely the coldest and snowiest I can remember, the fishing has been fun. I’ve done a few guided trips over the past week, getting reacquainted with the oars and the nuances of our local fish. Right now, midges are the name of the game. Good hatches are coming off daily. Also seeing some small black stoneflies hatches. When conditions are right, trout will feed aggressively in riffles and backwater eddies. Looking at the weather forecast, I suspect we’ll get another good couple weeks of fishing in before the runoff begins.
Here’s a few photos from the past couples days….
It’s a family affair! Rusty and Linsey braved the weather and floated with me on Friday. Both picked up the fly casting fairly quickly and were able to hook and land numerous fish, both on nymphs and dry flies. Fun Folks!My friend Rich works a pool with rising cutthroat trout on theSnake River below Jackson Lake Dam. Rich, Duncan and I celebrated a rare sunny spring day with a wade fishing trip to Grand Teton National Park. The weather was great and we found some fish willing to cooperate. After a day on the water, we decided it best to soak at Astoria Hotsprings.Dunc and Rich sharing the boat with me Sunday. So great to fish with good friends!Dunc with a nice cutthroat caught on a tiny black stonefly emergerRich with a nice cutthroat fooled by a surface midgeThe band back together! Rich, Duncan and myself on the Snake River.
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.png00Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2023-04-17 15:34:522023-04-17 15:34:53Good Spring Fly Fishing!
Recently I’ve had a number of email inquiries about half day fishing trips. I thought I’d take a minute to discuss half vs. full day fly fishing trips to help potential guests understand the differences. In a quick nutshell, I recommend full day trips when possible and do not do half day float trips. More thoughts below to help you decide…
Angler hooked up in the bow of my boat. Full day float trips allow us to stop and fish, targeting much more water along the way
Here in Jackson Hole over the years, half day fishing trips have become quite popular; a great way for folks to get a taste of fly fishing while on vacation. While I understand why these are appealing, I prefer to take guests out for full day fly fishing trips. Sure it’s easier for guides to fly down the river, hit a spot or two and be back in time for lunch, allowing guests to check fly fishing off their activities list and tell folks they went fly fishing. Full day fly fishing trips allow me to work with guests though, helping them learn, improve their fly fishing skills and hook more fish. I’ve realized over the years that in most cases, this is hard to do in a half day. Possible, yes. Enjoyable, maybe? When I’m committing my day to a fishing trip, I’d like to go fishing with clients and not be encumbered by the clock, rushing through the motions without giving respect to the quality of the experience. Plus, quite a few of the places I and my guests like to fish require some windshield time, making a half day unrealistic. The few half day trips I do are wade fishing trips and are best during the following: May/ early June- folks looking to get out this time of year and learn about fly fishing while potentially hooking a fish or two enjoy wade fishing smaller water. Because our bigger rivers are muddy with snow melt, a half day on smaller water is a good option. Late October/ November- with days getting shorter and temperatures dropping, sometimes it makes sense to fish a shorter amount of time to target prime hours of fish activity. Winter- temperatures are cold and the best fishing occurs only during the warmest part of the day, making 3-4 hours perfect for targeting fish.
I totally understand the demand and rational for half day fishing trips. But I think that if you’re interested in fly fishing around here you’re going to get much more out of a full day fishing trip.
Half day wade fishing trips are certainly productive and perfect for certain times of the year. Here Randy got into some rising cutthroat trout on a cool late October afternoon.Full day float fishing trips allow anglers time to share stories during a streamside lunch. These guys also got out of the boat and wade fished the productive water we were anchored besideFull day trips also allow for exploration and off the beaten path waters.
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.png00Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2023-04-08 14:28:292023-04-08 14:28:29Half vs. Full Day Fly Fishing Trips
Releasing a dry fly eater… great way to end March on the Snake River
Despite winter never ending, spring fishing has begun here in Jackson Hole. Temperatures are cracking freezing during the day and midges are hatching. It’s great to see fish of all sizes gorging on these small bugs. Additionally, small black stoneflies are making an appearance and as April gets going and the weather improves, we should start seeing larger Skwala stoneflies emerging. All this means it’s a great time to get out on the water! Looking forward to dusting off the drift boat in next week and getting in some stellar float fishing.
Ben and his father in law, Todd joined me for an afternoon on the Snake. We had a great time fishing dry flies and nymphs to hungry fish!
Ben with a beautiful Snake river finespotted cutthroat troutTodd was the whitefish king!- nymphs, dries, it didn’t matter. He was into them!
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.png00Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2023-04-01 12:58:292023-04-01 12:58:29Spring’s off to a fishy start
Another great fly fishing season here at Teton Fly Fishing has come to a close.
What a year it was. Waters I fish treated us well and provided excitement to visiting anglers. The boat has been put away for a few months and I’m beginning to tie flies for next season. Despite the winter, I expect to do quite a few walk in winter wade fishing trips with folks looking to experience winter fly fishing in the valley. If you’re coming out and want to sneak some fishing in, give me a shout and if the weather isn’t too cold, I’m happy to take you out. Also happy to host guests in the winter at the fishing cabin in Dubois. Winter can be a fun time to fish the Wind River.
Since I was a slacker this season and didn’t post much (when the fish are biting, my attention to this blog wanes) I though I’d share a few pictures from the season…
Not much finer than a wild Yellowstone Cutthroat trout caught in its’ home water. I love fishing folks in Yellowstone Park, particularly when the Green Drakes and Salmonflies are hatching!Upper Snake Birthday fun. Good friends Rich and Duncan joined me on my birthday for a rare day off. Couldn’t have asked for a better dayDerek, a longtime regular, caught this beast of a rainbow while fishing the Green with me.Hooked up on the Salt River! I love fishing this intimate little river an hour south of Jackson. While the fish aren’t big, the hatches and slow currents make for a fun, challenging day.Who says lake fly fishing isn’t fun? We had some great days twitching hoppers for aggressive browns and rainbows!Father Son Double on the Snake RiverCatherine with a nice Cutthroat trout on the Snake. Always fun fishing her and her dad, Bill each September.Me and some of my favorites! Craig, Bob and Mark have been fishing with me for years. What a crew!Western Fly fishing at its finest; Randy experience a great late fall day on Flat Creek with me.
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/154ECF7E-20F0-425B-BDD3-647FDA9B4E36.jpg670900Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2022-12-09 09:33:102022-12-09 09:33:12Wrap on the Teton Fly Fishing 2022 season
I love April here in Jackson Hole. The fly fishing can be some of the best of the year for those willing to put up with weather conditions that range from sunny and warm to blizzards. I’ve been out on the Snake over the past week doing a few guided trips and fun days and man has the fishing been good! Fish are eating midges, small black stoneflies and the large Skwala stones, etc. Yesterday we fished size 8 chubby chernobyl’s all day long. Big, chunky Snake River Cutthroat trout came to the net from start to finish.
Had the pleasure of fishing newly weds Dana and Connor on the Snake last week. They didn’t mind the cold temps, especially when they had fish on their linesConnor shows off his first ever cutthroat trout.Friend Rich casts to risers at Astoria. Rich and I waded down from the bridge for a few hours hooking numerous trout of midges and stoneflies. Then we met Jamie across the river for a soak in the hot springs.Now that’s how you spend a Saturday!!When the wife wants to fish, you fish. So great to float the Snake with Jamie and our good friend Rich. Here’s Jamie showing off one of many…
Looking forward to guiding the next two weeks to try and capitalize on the great pre runoff fishing. This time of year is tough to predict how long the window will be but I think things will be good well into next week at least. Looks like the Dam gods are about to up the flows out of Jackson Lake Dam. Hopefully this means that water levels will be consistent throughout the summer. See you on the water!
One of the many “doubles” these two put together. And I even managed to throw a few casts.
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.png00Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2022-04-25 14:09:492022-04-25 14:09:50April fishing on the Snake River
April is flying by and I realized I haven’t written much about what’s going on out here in Jackson Hole. We’ve been experiencing the usual spring weather; sunny and warm one day followed by snow squalls and wind the next. Regardless, the spring fly fishing on the Snake River has been really good! Midges have been hatching like crazy. Add in tiny black stoneflies, the emergence of Skwala stones and Blue Wing Olive mayflies and you have the makings for some great dry fly fishing!
I had the pleasure of taking out a few visitors over the past few weeks on wade fishing expeditions. We’ve found plenty of fish, both native cutts and whitefish. Some days getting the fish to eat our dry flies were easier than others. This time of year fishing can be technical; tiny flies, selective fish in shallow gin clear water, etc. Regardless, days were a hoot and it’s always fun teaching folks the ins and outs of fly fishing. Hopefully we’ll squeeze out another week or two of good fishing on the Snake before runoff sets in. When that happens, it’s time to fish area lakes with leech patterns.
A long way from Alabama, Emily and Brock learned how to fool some fish with the long rods on the SnakeWest found a pod of feeding cutthroat trout and had the “best day of fishing ever”can’t blame the trout for being camera-shy…. Nice fish West!
In addition to fishing, Jamie and I were able to head south for spring break, visiting (and enjoying) some family in Bisbee, Arizona. Bisbee is one of the coolest towns I’ve spent time in and I hope we get down there more often in the years to come. Our days were spent hanging with my Aunt and Uncle, playing music, hiking, painting and relaxing. It was a great week in the sunshine but it’s nice to be back fishing folks!
Jamie on Bisbee’s main dragGot to join the “Last Call Band” on stage one night. My Uncle (left) and girlfriend front the Bisbee band and were kind enough to let me sit in for a great outdoor set. First time I’ve played “out” since my college band days!
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.png00Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2021-04-22 11:25:032021-04-22 11:25:05Spring fishing at its finest (and a desert detour)
It’s been an extremely busy July around here. My days have/ are being spent with great folks casting dry flies to our local trout. In addition to wade trips, float fishing has really gotten good. Lately I’ve been floating anglers on the Snake and it’s great to be back on this old friend. Here’s a few pics from the last few weeks.
You author (and Teton Fly Fishing Guide) starting a morning on the Green with a casting lesson. It paid off… We were fortunate to see this amazing site on the drive home from fishing in Yellowstone a few weeks back. This Grizzy bear was feeding just off the road. One of the craziest things I’ve seen (from the safety of the truck!)On a rare day off, Jamie, Lulu and I hiked in to a local lake and caught a few cuttbows and brook trout. Loved how this fellow posed for a few snapshots before swimming off. Funny how you don’t notice the mosquitos bitting when you have a trout on the line. Matt landed this beautiful Yellowstone Cutthroat trout while fishing with me in the Park. He and his wife, Mercy were so much fun to spend the day with and I can’t think of a better way to end a day on the water! Learning to fly fish is hard enough, hooking and landing a fish on your first day out can be a battle. Pam did a great job floating the Snake with me. She hung in there after having numerous fish get off and was rewarded with this awesome Snake River Cutthroat trout! Hope to see her and Dave again!
https://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.png00Nathan Bennetthttps://tetonflyfishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/tenton-fish-logo.pngNathan Bennett2020-07-27 07:16:392020-07-27 07:16:40July fly fishing in Jackson Hole
