Spring Fly Fishing Archives

Yellowstone in the Spring

May 16, 2026/0 Comments/in Latest/by Nathan Bennett

Well after a number of good weeks float fishing the Snake, the river is now out of commission for a while due to runoff. I had some great days with guests over the past month, with fine weather and good dry fly fishing. I love fishing the Snake pre runoff. The skwalas were hatching and it was fun fishing big stonefly patterns!

Now it’s time to pivot to another favorite of mine, fishing the Firehole River. This year Yellowstone National Park opened up the Firehole, Madison and Gibbon for fishing a few weeks earlier than normal. This is great news for those of us who love fishing up in the park! The Firehole stays clear and fishes really well while most other area rivers are blown out with snow melt. Now that the south entrance road is open, I’ve been taking guests fishing up on the Firehole and it’s been great. Rainbow and Brown trout are hungry after a long winter and hatches of BWOs, PMDs and Miller Caddis have them looking up for food. When the bugs aren’t hatching, swinging soft hackle wet flies and nymphs is a great tactic. In addition to the fun fishing, we’ve been treated to a host of area animals on display during our drives. Yesterday we saw a grizzly bear on the way home putting an exclamation point on a fine day.

*Mike with a nice Rainbow trout from the Firehole river*

*One of the many brown trout we found. The trout in the Firehole aren’t big, but man are they spunky!*

Mike and Brien looking over the Firehole river. It’s an amazing place to fly fish, particularly in the spring when other area waters aren’t fishable. Besides the trout, it’s hard to beat the views and wildlife!

Spring Fishing on the Snake

April 15, 2026/0 Comments/in Latest/by Nathan Bennett

The Snake River here in Jackson has been fishing pretty well this month. While flows have risen a bit and led to water clarity changing here and there, clients have been having success fishing with me. Fishing’s mostly been a dry dropper game, with a larger Skwala stonefly floating on top and a nymph fish subsurface. Action on surface vs. subsurface flies varies day to day, even hour to hour. We’re definitely finding fish holding in the riffles and along slow foamy seams. Not as much action along the banks, but that could certainly change. As Skwala stoneflies appear more and more, I suspect the fish will really key in on big, skittering dry flies. During warmer parts of the afternoon we’ve also been seeing fish feeding on midges and blue wing olives. This can make for some fun dry fly fishing!

Spring fishing should continue for the next few weeks as it looks like temperatures will remain cool. Here’s a few pictures from our recent days on the water!

*The Struggle is real! Phil with a cutthroat to hand.*

*Nice day fishing Phil and his son, Dylan on the Snake. He we are looking for feeding fish*

Phil showing off one of his many cutthroat trout

*Evan with his first Snake River Cutthroat trout*

*Hailing from FL, Josh learned that fly fishing is much different that the fishing he’s accustomed to! He did well landing some native trout!*

Fishing news, spring update, etc

April 10, 2025/0 Comments/in Latest/by Nathan Bennett

It’s April’s and the fly fishing here in Jackson Hole is really good. After a winter of cold temperatures and nymph fishing, I’m happy to report that our native cutthroat trout are feeding voraciously on the surface. Anglers will see pods of fish sipping emerging midges and small black stoneflies. Additionally with warmer temperatures forecasted, I suspect we’ll start seeing the emergence of Skwala stoneflies and Blue Wing Olives. It’s a great time to be dry fly fishing on the Snake!

Mike Shows off his first ever Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat trout. Caught on a dry fly non the less!

Dave experienced some great early season dry fly fishing

Friend Duncan, plays a nice cutthroat trout on a pretty early spring day

For those looking to fish this season, shoot me an email or call. Guided fishing trips are as follows: April- Snake, May- lakes, possible floats on the Snake and Green depending on runoff, End of May- June- Yellowstone Park wading the Firehole, etc. End of June-October- floating and wade fishing just about everything around here.

And finally, I’m sad to report that Lulu passed away last week. To those that knew here, Lulu was a sweetheart. She was always up for an adventure and was kind to all she met. While fishing wasn’t her strong suit (can’t blame a lab for wanting to retrieve fish) she was such a great companion; hiking, swimming, and living life to her fullest. Our house is quiet without her.

Lulu keeping an eye on the water while fishing this past October. Gonna miss her

Ah, Spring Fly Fishing on the Snake River…

April 18, 2024/0 Comments/in Latest/by Nathan Bennett

Some days it feels like spring around here and others, still like winter. Such is springtime in the Rockies where one day can be near 60 degrees and sunny prompting thoughts of barbecuing and porch cocktails, only to have those visions crushed by sideways blowing wet snow. Regardless, spring is a great time to fish the Snake river here in Jackson. I see some of the nicest cutthroat trout of the year in late March and April. Fish are feeding readily after a long winter. Midges, small black stoneflies, Blue Wing Olives and Skwalas.