After a fairly dry November and early December, we are finally seeing some snow around here. I was out on the water several days last week guiding visiting anglers. While winter fishing is more challenging, it offers folks a fun, unique activity to do while in Jackson Hole. Some days are harder than others, but we can usually fool a fish or two on dead drifted nymphs. If you’re interested in learning more about my guided winter fly fishing trips, click here.
It’s the end of February and days are getting longer and temperatures have hit 40 degrees in the valley a few times. Midges are showing up regularly on the river and a few tiny black stoneflies are stumbling around too. It’s a great time to go fly fishing! I’ve been out recently with a number of fun folks. We spent the warmer part of days fishing the Snake river, catching whitefish and cutthroat trout on nymphs and dry flies. As we continue toward spring, expect the midge hatches to get bigger, and more and more fish to feed on the surface.
Below are just a few pics from the past week. Folks had a good time braving the elements and finding some fish.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We’re watching the snow fall and preparing to join friends for food and drinks.
Had a few groups of adventurous anglers lately. Fortunately the weather was pretty decent around here (until today), making for some respectable late season fly fishing. We worked hard for our fish but had some great days!
Hope everyone had a good Holiday season. Ours was pretty low key, opting to stay in Jackson and celebrate Christmas/New Years with friends. We’ve been getting a lot snow so far this winter. This is great for our fisheries and also has kept temperatures fairly mild (high 20s-30s).
I’ve had the pleasure of guiding a few folks over the past few weeks on winter wade fishing trips on the Snake River here in Jackson. As some of you know, winter fishing is a bit of a crap shoot. I’ve had some great days over the years on the water in the winter months and also had some really tough ones! I’d say the past couple trips have been on the harder side. Fish are laying low in the cold water and not willing to move much for flies. We’ve gotten some sporadic action dead drifting nymphs, but so far midge/surface action has remained elusive. Regardless, the clients I’ve taken have had a great time learning and honing their fishing skills. It’s really fun as a guide to work with folks who have a basic understanding of fly casting, reading water, etc and help them gain a good foundation they can take home with them.
Definitely always worth getting out on the water in the wintertime. I suspect we’ve got another month or so before consistent midge hatch start rolling. March and April are some of my favorite times to be on the water. Lack of other anglers and hungry cutthroat trout make for a great time. Below are a few photos of the adventurous anglers who fished with me lately.
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…
Since it’s the first of December, I thought it necessary to do an end of season wrap up and talk about the fly fishing opportunities for the winter season. This past fishing season was a busy one. It was great to fish with new folks as well as returning clients. Water levels in the valley proved challenging at times. Most of our tributaries were low all season while the Snake flowed above average all season to satisfy irrigation demands in Idaho. Despite all this, the fishing remained pretty good and we had a great time.
I recently put the drift boat away for the season and am now doing afternoon wade fishing trips. With temperatures dropping and daylight fading, it’s best to focus on the warmest part of the day for fishing success. Dennis and Son, Ace joined me recently for some wade fishing and we found some willing fish to help celebrate Thanksgiving.
With the season slowing, Jamie and I made an escape to Florida where we spent a week with good friends. While it wasn’t a proper fishing trip, I was able to spend some time targeting Snook along the beaches. These fish proved difficult but there were some hook-ups and I finally managed to get one to hand! Next week I’m off to Belize for 5 days of fishing. I’ll be sure to post a report when I return.
Had the pleasure of taking some new folks fly fishing this past week. The winter fishing here in Jackson Hole has been pretty good. As some of you know, the Snake is the go-to place for casting a fly in the winter. Days can vary from tough to great. Because of snow depth, access can be difficult. Fortunately several bridges over the Snake allows wade fishing anglers the ability to find productive water. My client today, Leslie, caught a lot of fish and was blown away by the number of heads poking through the surface gorging on midges. Definitely a fun time and since temperatures are warming and days getting longer, the fishing will just get better!
Kicked February off with a little fly fishing this past weekend. Conditions were far from ideal; wind, snow, cold temperatures, but my friends Seth, Rich and I decided to rally. We ended up doing pretty well nymph fishing, landing whitefish, rainbow and brown trout. After a few hours, we retreated to the cabin and warmed up with a fire in the wood stove, whiskey and sloppy joes.
The other day was my first proper guided winter fly fishing trip of the season. It was cold, there was snow and ice and I had some eager vacationers from Georgia hell bent on wetting a line! We found a few cutthroat sipping midges off the surface but they were challenging due to the slow, gin clear water. After working a dry fly emerged for a while with no luck, I had Brooks and Lindsey switch to small pheasant tail nymphs stripped slowly under the surface. This produced and Brooks landed his first ever Snake River Cutthroat trout! As the sun started setting we switched to nymphs and caught some nice whitefish, including a monster. Overall it was a great day on the water and I have to give credit to Brooks and Lindsey for wanting to fish regardless of the cold.
We’re plugging through winter here in Jackson Hole and I’ve been fortunate to have had some great folks wanting to get in on some winter fly fishing while visiting on ski vacations. In typical winter fashion, the Snake River has made us work for our fish, but anglers walked away happy. Much winter fly fishing success relies on finding good holding water. Fish in the winter like to hold in deep, slower water where they don’t have to expend lots of energy. If you find the right kind of water, you can usually fool a couple fish.
Most of our fishing has been dead-drifting nymphs, but as days get longer and a bit warmer, fish are also being caught on the surface. These midge hatches can last 10 minutes or an hour or two depending on the weather. The other day I was out with three great guys visiting from Canada. Trevor, Rich and John decided to take a day off from skiing and joined me on the river. All being novices, I taught them about reading water, bugs and winter fishing. In the end we managed a few fish to net and lost some others. The highlight for me came when we found a pod of cutthroat trout aggressively feeding on the surface on the edge of some fast water. After a few casts, John got his presentation just right and was rewarded when a beautiful cutthroat came up under his fly and inhaled it. Then it promptly ran down river, eventually breaking off. Despite not landing the fish, it was an awesome experience and one John likely won’t forget.
