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Spring fishing at its finest (and a desert detour)

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 Snake
West 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 drag
Got 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!

July fly fishing in Jackson Hole

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!