Western Wyoming Fly Fishing Journal

Gettin' Brighter

2012-01-29T15:24:00.002-07:00

Recent moisture laden snowfalls around Western Wyoming have helped build up the snowpack a bit more over the past couple of weeks. The valley and surrounding mountains have picked up over 5 feet of snow in recent weeks, with much of it containing over 10% water content. This is good news for anglers. Such a dry start to the winter was making many wonder if we were in for a drought winter. As of today, Teton, Sublette, Fremont and Lincoln counties all have at least a 76 per cent of average snow-water equivalency. Much of Yellowstone National Park is closer to the 90% figure, which is good news also. Needless to say, drought winters can be devastating on fisheries, while the "feast" winters like last year, produce flooding and shortened fishing seasons. It feels like we are on track for a more "normal" year. Not much else to report from this end. The days are slowly but surely starting to get longer, and the mind is starting to drift towards fishing again. It's a great time of year to tie flies, plan fishing trips and comb the internet looking for good fish porn :) I came across this photo on Facebook of an absolutely gorgeous Brown Trout. Don't have a name of the angler or a location, but I'm guessing South America. I also found a nice photo of the Wyoming Wind Sock we use at the fly shop before we head out each day. Remember to practice your double-haul before we hit the water next summer, could be windy! Let's go Giants!

Green With Envy

2012-01-18T15:02:00.001-07:00

For those readers not already aware of the "Million Pipeline" project on the table in Wyoming, I'd like to get you up to speed. I've been reading about this for quite some time, and just came across a video that I had not seen before (see below). A developer in Colorado is proposing a plan to pipe billions of gallons of water from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming and Utah (on the Green River), all the way to the front range of Colorado. They would be calling for over 80 billion gallons of water a year to travel over 550 miles to the Colorado front-range metropolis. With a surge in population in this area over the past 20 years, there is simply not enough water to go around. Every drop of the Colorado River is already being used. What is so troubling for me is the fact that there is way too much water being used already to grow lawns and manicure golf courses in this area. The potential impacts of a project of this magnitude are certainly numerous. The environmental impacts on the lake itself, as well as on the world-class fishery below the dam on the Green River, could be monumental. Lower water levels, both on the lake and on the river will likely cause water temperature shifts which would adversely affect insect and fish life. Minimum water flows out of the dam may no longer be met. Along with this, the livelihoods of farmers, as well as outfitters, guides and lodge owners could be devastated. Make sure to check out this video as well as this link to Fly Fisherman to learn more! Also, check out Our Damn Water as well, to get involved! The photo above of Stan Czarniak putting me on the goods shows just how special this area of the Green River is.

Green with Envy from Trout Unlimited on Vimeo.

They're calling for over 5 feet of snow over the next 5 days here in the Tetons...great news for skiers and anglers. Hopefully Colorado is getting some water too :)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-06T23:02:00.002-07:00

Happy 2012 to all of my readers out there! The weather in Jackson has been a far cry from what many were highly anticipating to this point in the winter. After the 700" of snow that fell during last winters "La Nina" pattern, many around here were planning on a much stronger start to this years snowpack, given that we are also in a La Nina pattern for this winter. Although we have received ample snow to get people out skiing, the weather has been unseasonably warm and dry. The snow-water equivalency data is showing anywhere from 60% to 80% of normal in our river drainages right now. It's obviously still very early in the winter to make any predictions, but I would venture to say that we will likely see less snowfall this year than we saw in 2011. Since the last two spring seasons produced record breaking snow and rain, I'd probably hold off booking any fishing trips on the Snake River for this June just yet. Time will tell!

I've posted a few more pictures from from the November New Zealand odyssey. After cutting our teeth around Christchurch and Murchison from the car, Scott and I hit the "rough track"...this is Kiwi for backpacking long and hard to remote areas. We targeted a number of different rivers in remote backcountry areas, carrying backpacks and also staying in huts. If you are short on time and long on money, hiring helicopters can certainly get you to many of these areas. Scott and I opted to haul all of our backpacking gear from the states and make an adventure out of it. There were areas with great trails and easy hiking, as well as spots where we did some serious bushwhacking and crawling over exposed "slips", or spots where earthquakes had caused landslides. New Zealand has a very extensive and well established hut system which makes longer stays much more enjoyable too.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T16:51:00.027-07:00

After a few days of splendid fishing in the Canterbury Region, Scott and I headed North and West to the town of Murchison. We got a tip on a great motor camp to pitch our tent for a few days. New Zealand is a very "road trip" friendly country. Virtually every town has at least one "motor camp"...a place where you can pitch a tent or rent a small cabin, do laundry, cook dinner and even check email.

As we walked into the office of the Murchison Kiwi Park, we were greeted by photos on the wall of our buddy Josh Graffam holding trophy Brown Trout, so we knew we were in the right place. In fact, the proprietors knew many of our friends from Wyoming that had been through there over the years. Lynn and Brent Winter took great care of us during our stay at the Kiwi Park, I would highly recommend it as your basecamp if you ever find yourself in Murchison. Murchison was like being in a place like Dillon, Montana. There was great water in every direction, and it would take an entire season to even scratch the surface on fishing in this region. With literally dozens of trophy trout streams dumping into the Buller River, we had plenty of options to hunt fish while there. Once again, we had great sight fishing to large fish, and found them on a variety of flies. Here's a few more photos to share from our journey.

I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Janice Steiner with this photo of an unbelievable yacht that we spotted while walking the Auckland harbor on our last day. Didn't know you sailed Janice? Janice works for the town of Jackson as our transit coordinator...she does a great job keeping all of our public transportation running very smoothly. Best wishes to all of my readers for a great holiday season and a Happy New Year! More soon!

Blown Away

2011-12-11T13:18:00.013-07:00

As the temperature dives below zero again tonight (as it has every night for the past week), my mind drifts back to the South Island of New Zealand. Scott and I were simply blown away at just how unique the fishing was. After years of listening to buddies rave about New Zealand, and months planning this adventure, we just were not sure exactly what to expect. The quality of scenery, people and fishing all exceeded our expectations. After over 30 hours of traveling from Jackson, arriving in Christchurch to pick up our rental car (a very modest Nissan Wingroad wagon) was like getting a huge shot of adrenaline. We decided to hit the regional fish and game office first to secure our fishing licenses. It was here that we got our first tip from a guy working the office named Roger. Our plan was to head straight to Murchison, but like so many of the Kiwis that we met, Roger was delighted to chat and help us along our way to the best possible fishing. We took him up on his advice and headed a couple of hours out of Christchurch to a hidden pullout to camp for the night. The next day, we watched the sun rise along the banks of the River X. Low, clear flows greeted us, along with clear, calm skies. We slowly started walking upstream in search of gold. We went four or five holes without seeing anything, and were maybe wondering if there were any fish in this river at all. Did Roger send a couple of Yanks on a wild goose chase? Scott decided to pop a streamer into a likely looking deeper hole. Sure enough, a monster brown trout came out to swipe it, and then disappeared. That's all we needed to see...there were fish here. We then slowly crept up to the next hole, and sure enough, we spotted what would be a typical fish on this river...a 24" Brown Trout holding in very thin water. It was Scott's turn to cast, so he placed a nymph right down his lane, and bang, fish on. Some of the best fishing we had on the entire trip was on a river that was not initially on our radar. The first two days we spent on this river taught us much of what we needed to know for our trip. Walk slowly and don't overlook any of the water, no matter how shallow or slow. It was also here that we learned that you can catch huge fish blindly, ie, unsighted. (Contrary to what many buddies had told us before coming here). Certainly, when we had the chance to sight fish, we took it. But some of the biggest fish we saw came on blind casts with streamers. Our first two days of fishing and car camping well exceeded our expectations, and could now not wait to head on to Murchison to start checking off the rest of the list. Here's a few more photos I'd love to share. Healthy fish, gin clear waters, and stunning scenery.

Back Home

2011-11-30T09:55:00.006-07:00

Scott Smith and I arrived home on Monday from our epic three week tour of New Zealand's South Island trout paradise. There are certainly many stories to tell, that I plan on sharing over the winter. In a nutshell, it was a fantastic trip. We picked up our rental car in Christchurch, loaded our tents, backpacks and rods, and hit it hard. We hit 12 rivers in 21 days on day trips and overnight backpacking adventures. It was some of the most rewarding, yet challenging fishing we had ever done. Most of the rivers hold very large Brown Trout that are in gin clear water and are extremely wary. Some of the fish were fairly easy to approach and hook, while others spooked before you could even get a cast down. We thoroughly enjoyed the Kiwi culture while moving around, and already cannot wait to get back some day. I'll be sharing more stories soon from our trip. For now, it's time to make the transition from Summer back to Winter. There's plenty of snow on the ground, and the air is cold here in Jackson. Enjoy a few photos. More stories and photos to come!

Cold Weather

2011-10-27T20:42:00.006-06:00

The temperatures around Jackson the past few days have been very crisp. With lows in the 20's (and tonight's forecast calling for a low of 14 degrees), it sure feels like winter is coming fast. Skies have been bright and sunny, but just cold. Most of the golden Aspen and Cottonwood foliage has now fallen to the ground and winter feels like it is now just around the corner. The fishing around here has been stellar. Both the South Fork and Snake (as well as some of the unnamed Fall favorites in Yellowstone), have been fishing great. This is by far my favorite time of year around here to be on the water. Water levels are low, there are few anglers around and fish are eager to feed and put on their "winter wool". Most of my information on local stream conditions this fall have been coming secondhand. With a 22 day excursion to New Zealand about to commence, I've been busy around the house with my "honey-do" list...very little time to fish. This will be the first October in more than ten years that I have not been in Montana chasing the streamer and Baetis bite. It sounds like the Missouri has been on fire...no surprises there! The trip to New Zealand has been in the works for a couple of years; Scott Smith and I each celebrated a landmark birthday this past summer, and needed an excuse to head there. With plane tickets in hand since last January, we've been slowly planning and researching our destination which we now will be able to scratch off our bucket list. (Urban dictionary definition: A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket"). I've been fortunate enough to be able to live in such a great area and work on my bucket list for some time here. I've been working on this list for some time now chasing trout all over the West, as well as the elusive "Palometa" on the Caribbean flats. Checking off New Zealand will be a long-awaited dream. Planning this adventure (as always), has been an incredible amount of fun. Reading books, studying maps and organizing the gear has been mouth-watering. The real excitement has been talking to our buddies that have been there; listening to the stories and advice from people like Tom Montgomery, Jack Dennis, Josh Graffam, Jeff Currier, Josh Gallivan, John Gendall, John Holland, Brian Hodges and Peter Chung has been a blast. Thanks for the help guys! Enjoy this great photo that angler Dan Beistel just passed along to me. A 20" Snake River Cutty from earlier in the season. Boots Allen snapped this shot just after I netted the fish for Dan. I'll never forget that fish Dan!

Road Trip

2011-10-16T19:23:00.013-06:00

Rachael and I left town early Friday morning with the girls bound for Chico Hot Springs, in South Central Montana. For those of you that have not heard of Chico, it's a gem located in the Paradise Valley, near the banks of the Yellowstone River. Natural hot springs pools with therapeutic temperatures as high as 103 degrees are surrounded by the historic lodge and saloon. Established in 1900, the resort is a great getaway for anyone looking for relaxation, therapy, good food and a great saloon. Check out Chico online to learn more about this resort. We spent Friday night at the historic main lodge at Chico, and then headed for Old Faithful, in Yellowstone National Park, for Saturday night's stay. This is one of our favorite times of year to be in Yellowstone. We did a great day hike near Old Faithful, and spent a few hours fishing both the Firehole and Yellowstone Rivers.

The Firehole in particular is fishing very well right now. Fish were eagerly taking Caddisflies on top, and small Buggers down deep. Get up there soon...it's only open for a few more weeks, and there is no one around right now.
Here's a few shots from the weekend, including one of my daughter Hannah practicing her cast, and Charlotte checking out my loop...more soon!

Blast Of Winter

2011-10-10T10:03:00.005-06:00

A serious weather change last week brought significant snow to Western Wyoming, all the way down to the valley floor. The mountains picked up as much as a foot of snow in some areas, with a couple of inches sticking around Jackson and the river bottom for Thursday and Friday. I had a trip booked for this past Thursday with some folks visiting from Northern California. I talked them into going thinking that the weather would not be all that bad. It ended up being one of the wildest days of guiding I have ever had. We decided to fish Astoria to West Table in the Snake River Canyon. As we launched the boat, heavy rain turned to heavy, blinding snow with serious winds ripping up river. With a full thermos, Coleman space heater and down jackets on, we surged forward. It was likely the coldest day I have ever had clients out on the water. Despite the rugged conditions, we were able to periodically sight fish to risers feeding on a light hatch of Mahoganies and Baetis. I would love to share some photos from the day, but I just could not deal with the camera in those conditions. I guided a last minute trip yesterday over on the South Fork, floating from Conant to Byington. The Canyon flows are now below 6,000 cfs, making for quite a long float. Fishing was fantastic. Although we did not see a fish over 16", the sheer amount of fish we found feeding on the thick mayfly hatch was unbelievable. A soup of Baetis and Mahoganies covered the entire river for most of the day. Definitely one of those days I would have preferred to have the rod in my hand and not the oars! The Snake River is now finally stabilized at 602 cfs below Jackson Lake Dam...perfect winter flows. Get out there soon, it should be red hot right now!
Not much else to report here. Time to start the serious gear organization for our November 5th departure to New Zealand. My good buddy Scott Smith and I will be spending 22 days on the South Island in search of Brown Gold. We've never been before and are ready for some adventure. We've had this trip on the books since last January, and now are in the final planning stages. I got an email a few nights ago from my buddy John Holland. He came across this picture from the Henry's Fork a few years ago that he just found. It was a day we spent fishing together below the Warm River in early May. It's a shot of the thickest Caddisfly hatch that I have ever witnessed. We were in complete awe...I've never seen anything like it since. Make sure to click on the photo to enlarge it and really appreciate the amount of bugs.

Slowing Down

2011-10-02T20:07:00.006-06:00

October has arrived and the volume of guiding clientele has reduced dramatically. Even though the fishing is still great (and about to get better), the demand for fishing guides typically drops around the first of October. I just guided the last 6 out of 7 days, but the next week will be much slower. Fish on the Snake are still taking large and small dry flies. Chernobyl Ants with Mahogany droppers are about the best rig going right now. If you really want to test your eyes against the glare, you can also drop a size 16 flying ant...they've been working well also. The Bureau of Reclamation will begin dropping the Snake River flows from below Jackson Lake Dam tonight. The releases have been holding steady for over two months at around 2,800 cfs. Over the next five days, the flows will be cut in 500 cfs increments to a final flow of about 600 cfs. Once these "winter flows" are achieved, fish will begin to stack up in the remaining holding water. I think we are about to see some of the best fishing of the season over the next few weeks, as these flows are stabilized, and some cooler, wetter weather brings on the Hecubas, Drakes and Mahoganies. I'll be on the water at least two days this week, so stay tuned for a report. It's now time to start the serious planning for my southern hemisphere odyssey...more on that soon! Here's Fred Thranhardt with a typical Wind River Rainbow, landed on a dry fly. Also, enjoy this serene photo of Fall on the Snake, and the incredibly beautiful Wind River near Crowheart, Wyoming.

Another Great Week

2011-09-25T08:51:00.005-06:00

This past week on the Snake river was fantastic. I saw some of the best fishing of the year so far on our river. Much larger fish were showing up in main river riffles and just about every other spot that they should be holding in. Small parachute attractors in the mornings and large ants in the afternoons have been moving nice fish. Area tributaries are also on fire, with lower river levels concentrating more fish. I have not heard yet what the Bureau of Reclamation's schedule will be on lowering the flows out of Jackson Lake Dam. With fishing so good right now, I can't wait to see what it will fish like with flows lowered in half. Liz McCabe and I popped into a sidechannel on Monday and had the chance to get very close to this Bald Eagle...a great sight! Back at it again tomorrow...heading over to Dubois to guide a trip on the Wind River. The hopper fishing over there is still holding on. I'll hopefully have a good report on the next post. If you have not been fishing much this season, now is the time to get out there and experience catching a native Snake River Cutty like this one.

The Fall Hatch

2011-09-18T09:15:00.004-06:00

With the flip of a switch this week, we've gone from Summer to early Fall around here. Temperatures have cooled and the foliage is really taking off in Teton Park. Cottonwoods, Aspens and river bottom Willows are all starting to turn gold. The thick clouds and rain that we saw on Friday brought the first decent Fall hatch on the Snake; Mahoganies and Drakes began pouring off in the afternoon, and there were eager Cutthroat up all over the place taking advantage. My clients decided to stick it out and brave the weather, and it really paid off. If you are out there in these conditions in the next few weeks, just make sure to park on a riffle and look for these Mayflies. The Snake is still running a steady 4,330 cfs at Moose, which is still significantly higher than normal for this time of year. Whenever the powers-that-be decide to lower our river below Jackson Lake Dam, I think we are going to see some ridiculous fishing. I would imagine that we will still see these flows for at least two more weeks. As soon as I hear something, I will let you know. I had a great day on the river from Moose to Wilson on Wednesday with Jackson Hole legend Liz McCabe. This was the first day this season that I had Liz in my boat, and she did great. She fished a Parachute Hare's Ear for almost eight hours, and kicked butt! Not bad for someone who turned 100 years old last February. Nice fish Liz! Fishing with someone that has as much zeal for life and fly fishing as Liz does is just incredible.

7th Place

2011-09-12T20:17:00.004-06:00

The 26th annual Jackson Hole One Fly took place this past weekend, and I was fortunate to be able to participate in it as an angler on the Summit Capital team. I joined Peter Chung, John Holland and Jon Wylie in this charity event supporting local stream improvement projects and conservation. We had a great weekend and placed 7th overall, out of 40 teams. I fished one day on the Snake from West Table to Sheep Gulch (the whitewater section), and fished a streamer. It's a fast, fun section to fish, especially with a wet fly. I rarely get to fish this section, since I row a low-profile skiff...a high-sided dory or raft is needed to safely float this piece of water. I was able to bring 200 points to the table. My day on the South Fork Canyon was the real highlight. On the oars was veteran South Fork Outfitters guide Sue Talbot; she helped me to a 518 point day! A large, brown Chernobyl Ant did just the trick. The fishing was good, I had the right fly, and most importantly, a great guide. Thanks again Sue!! Although Westbank Anglers guide John "Kiwi" Gendall won the overall top guide award for the weekend, Jack Dennis guide and friend Ed Dutilly guided the best score on Sunday on the Snake. He crushed it from Moose to Wilson, guiding his anglers to numerous fish between 18" and 21". Nice work Ed!! Not much else to report. I was back at it on the Snake today, and fishing was good. Despite the angling pressure this weekend, there were still plenty of fish around ready to eat. Today's photos: Angler Ted Thranhardt with a beautiful 20" Brown Trout that fell for a large dry fly. (Any guesses where we were fishing??). Gearing up at the South Fork lodge during the One Fly; Sue Talbot keeping us right where we needed to be. More soon...

One Fly Week

2011-09-04T11:17:00.005-06:00

We are now one week away from the 2011 Jackson Hole One Fly. Forty teams of four will compete on the Snake and South Fork Rivers with their "One Fly" against Cutthroat, Rainbow and Brown Trout. Starting over 25 years ago with just a couple of teams, it has grown into the major fundraising event in this region to help support fisheries projects and protect wild trout. (Check out their mission statement below) I've guided in ten of these events over the years and have had the chance to fish in it once. I am lucky enough again this year to be able to put down the oars and grab the rod with my buddies Peter Chung, John Holland and Jon Wylie in the hopes of improving our 9th place finish from two years ago. Wish us luck!

Although still running high, the Snake continues to fish well. Fish are eating a variety of attractors in sidechannels and in the main river. We have also just had our first few mornings of very cold temperatures. Fall is in the air, and I've even found a few fish looking for some of our local fall Mayfly patterns. Although I've seen none hatch yet, Drakes and Hecubas are already raising a few nice fish...they are on the hunt for them. Make sure to get out of the boat and check the soft water.
The South Fork finally has some fish looking up in riffles and on the banks. Try PMD adults and emergers, as well as Mahoganies. Good luck to all of the guides and anglers this weekend in the One Fly! Still not sure what fly I'll be fishing...I'll let you know. Here's a shot of the first 20" Cutthroat that I have seen on the Snake this summer, landed by angler Dan Beistel. This beauty fell for a large Chernobyl Ant in a main river riffle. Nice fish Dan! Also, a cow and calf Moose crossing the river just below Moose, Wyoming.

Reading Water

2011-08-29T18:48:00.007-06:00

What does it mean to be a fly fishing guide? To an outsider taking a quick glance, it may look like a job where someone just "takes" a couple of anglers fishing for the day. Upon closer inspection, one realizes the breadth of tasks that a guide endures day in and day out. During a typical guided fly fishing trip, most fly fishing guides act as chauffeurs, food servers, skilled oarsmen, casting instructors, mending instructors, knot tiers, fly selectors, tangle experts, story tellers and therapists. In addition to all of this, we spend most of our day "reading water", and telling our anglers exactly where to cast. In fact, this is arguably the most important skill in fly fishing. A perfect cast, with the perfect fly, with a perfect drift over the wrong water will not net you a fish. Ninety percent of trout typically live in only ten percent of the water. Identifying, or "reading" this water is crucial to being successful. Over the past week, I had the chance to guide many skilled anglers on the Green River, the Snake River and the Wind River. All of these rivers were fishing well, with eager trout looking for dry flies in just the right spots. Many of my recent clients exhibited great casting and mending skills, but lacked in understanding how to read water. As I am rowing the river, I am always looking ahead to the next spot to have my clients cast their fly. Conveying the exact spot to both anglers while rowing can be difficult. Often, it takes numerous casts for the fly to finally hit the desired target, and by then, it is often too late. I guess the realization I had this week was that even when I get to guide an angler with a true expert level of casting and mending, if they can't read the water, it can still be very tough. Teaching someone how to read water is very difficult; the best way to learn, is to fish as much as possible with trial and error. Check out Reading The Water, by Dave Hughes...it's a great handbook that every fly fisher should have in his or her library.

For anyone interested, my buddy Mark Ditzler has a great website showing off some of his glass fish art. Check it out. Finally, enjoy this photo of a 26" Brown Trout netted in the Wind River Canyon (via one of Darren Calhoun's great guides), caught by my buddy John Holland. I'd say John can read water reasonably well. Great fish H-Bomb!!

The Snake Is On

2011-08-21T12:22:00.004-06:00

I've just wrapped up a very consistent week of guiding on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. Despite the fact that the river is still running a bit high (4,600 cfs at Moose), the dry fly fishing has been very good. Reports from below Wilson have also been solid. If you do venture below Moose, the river is moving quite fast...make sure to walk the many new sidechannels. I've found Cutthroat from 8" up to 18" eating the usual suspects: Chernobyl Ants, Hoppers and large mayfly attractors. I had another lucky day on the Green River yesterday. Clouds in the morning produced some fantastic fishing for larger Brown Trout. If you can order up some dark skies, drop a Copper John under a large ant and hold on tight.
The South Fork continues to nymph very well, but where are the dries? Hopefully it will pop soon over there. Here's a couple of photos from the week. Lisa Smith with a great Snake River Cutty, as well as my good buddy and One Fly teammate Peter Chung with a typical Green River Brown Trout.

Can't We All Get Along?

2011-08-14T13:53:00.004-06:00

The Snake River through Grand Teton National Park is probably one of the prettiest and most unique places around to take a float fishing trip. The special use permit that we operate under (via Jack Dennis) allows me to take commercial trips here and show anglers the beauty of the Tetons while throwing flies to native trout. Many other users also enjoy the water every day, including people in kayaks, rafts, and private fishing boats. There is also a heavy presence of scenic float trips. Private companies offer raft trips down the same sections of river that we guide on, looking for wildlife and admiring the Tetons. Over the years, many of the fishing guides have experienced at least some difficulty working side by side with these commercial rafts. There has been an unspoken rivalry between between us, whereby the fishing guides are often left to feel like the commercial guides are the ones that "own" the river and its boat ramps. Small confrontations happen a few times a summer between the guides on the river, and in parking areas. Sadly, I was the random victim of vandalism on Friday, when after parking my truck and trailer at Moose (to float down to Wilson), someone in the commercial parking lot drained one of my tires, and located my hidden shuttle key and discarded it. Apparently, someone else using that parking facility has not been happy with the way in which the commercial fishing guides have been parking there. It was a totally pathetic move, and can't imagine how someone gets to a point where they would attack someone's vehicle. Upon arriving in Wilson, my clients and I were left with no vehicle, and a message from my shuttle driver that my truck had been disabled. Not a great way to end the day. To all my fellow guides reading this: be aware! I know that we will continue to use the river and its boat ramps with the highest of standards, and would never stoop to such a level. If by some stroke of luck the person that did this is reading my blog, could you just simply let us know what the problem is with our parking? Thanks...

I was fortunately able to spend the day Saturday not thinking about this entire situation. Instead, I was thinking about the stellar fishing I was having on my day off with my buddy Stan Czarniak. Here's a few shots from our marathon float. More soon!

Fishin' In The 80's

2011-08-09T19:49:00.003-06:00

Even though we are now entering the second week of August, area rivers are fishing like it is still early July. Although local rivers have dropped and cleared significantly over the past few weeks, they are all still running much higher than average for this date, and many of them are still far from clear. The Snake River below Jackson Lake Dam is running at 2,840 cfs, which is a great level. The water is crystal clear all the way to the confluence of the Buffalo Fork. The problem is that the Buffalo is still adding about 1,000 cfs right now and is running very silty. The average flow for the Buffalo for this date is only about 400 cfs. This is still making the Snake a very large river now. I fished today from Pacific Creek to Deadman's, and it was tough. Although we had good action on dry flies, all of the fish were very small. We did not hook, miss, spook or roll a fish over about 12". Although the Green is still fishing well, it is also running high for the date at about 900 cfs, where the average is about 500 cfs. The folks over in Idaho have finally lowered the South Fork levels to reasonable 9,000 cfs...we should see the dry fly action spark any day now over there.

I got a chance to head over to the Wind River last week to float below Dubois. As you may know, Darren Calhoun and Wind River Canyon Whitewater holds the only permit to drift and fish the Wind River below Dubois on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Darren is allowing me the chance to run a few trips over there this year with some select clients! I spent the day with Darren and two of his top guides, Cale and Marco. We made a reconnaissance run, checking out the water and a few of the boat launches. The river is still a bit too high to fish, but we had a great day anyway. Marco and Cale are great guys. Hanging with other guides for the day is a great way to learn new techniques, and discover new ways at guiding humor. One of the hardest thing to teach anglers in a driftboat is to cast forward...ahead of the boat. While Marco was on the oars with me in the back seat, Cale accidentally cast upstream into my water. Marco promptly told Cale to stop "fishing in the 80's". (It's in the past). Very funny stuff! Here's a shot from the back seat of one of Darren's boats. More soon...

A Welcome Monsoon

2011-08-01T20:02:00.006-06:00

I just finished up a couple of days on the river with the Strazerri group. These guys come from San Diego a few times a year to throw some flies and enjoy Jackson. We hit the Upper South Fork yesterday pretty hard. The fishing over there is still not great. The flows remain at a pushy 13,500 cfs which make it a hard row to keep the boat where it needs to be. On top of that, the water is still very cloudy. We managed to nymph up a few fish, including a 16" Rainbow. We threw a large dry fly for the late-afternoon, and got a handful of Cutthroat to fall for it, with a 16" fish being the largest. We did not get a single fish in the riffles, which is usually the hot spot by late July. Not sure when the South Fork is going to pop.
We made our plans last night to head down to Pinedale and fish the Green today. The first day of August brought us some great weather to Western Wyoming...the Monsoon Flow. What does this mean? Well...we woke up today to thick clouds and light rain. The jet-stream changed and brought us a full day of clouds and moisture. My frequent readers probably know just how much I like cloudcover on the Green, especially after a 3-week run of sunshine and hot weather. The dry fly fishing really popped today, with plenty of Brown Trout looking up. Drakes and Chernobyl Ants did the trick. It looks like more of the Monsoon for this week, so hopefully the fishing holds up. The Snake looks like it is almost ready to go below Pacific Creek. I bet we are on it by next week. Here's my buddy Steve Mancini with a pair of beauties from today...a 21" and 20" Brown Trout that fell for dry flies in the rain. Great day today Steve! More soon!

Finally Some Dries!

2011-07-25T20:20:00.004-06:00

Guiding around here these past few weeks can be summed up in one statement: staring at strike indicators. Fishing the Green, the Snake below Jackson Lake Dam, and the few trips I've had on the raging South Fork has almost entirely been done while gazing at strike indicators. Although it can be very productive, it can get very mundane on the oars looking at a pink bobber all day. After all, this is supposed to be prime dry fly country! The South Fork has been lowered to 17,000 cfs, which is still pretty high. I'm hoping we will see it get closer to 15,000 cfs soon...that would make it much easier to fish. The Green has dropped significantly this week to about 1,500 cfs as of today...a much more reasonable level to be fishing. Although there have been blizzard Drake, Caddis and Sally hatches down there, the fish have been holding tight in the high water nymphing. As these levels drop even more, look for much better dry fly action any day on the Green. The best place to throw some dries right now is on the upper Snake, between the Dam and Pacific Creek. The hatch of Sallies and Golden Stones up there today was thick. On top of that, the water is the best it has looked all year...very clear. Unfortunately, the Buffalo Fork is still putting in a muddy 2,100 cfs and making the Snake unfishable below the confluence at Moran Junction. That's all I've got...just the facts. Here's a great shot I snapped today of the beautiful Snake with the Mount Moran monolith in the background.

Making The Rounds

2011-07-16T07:40:00.004-06:00

I've finally just completed a full week of guiding, which brought me completely around the local fishing block. With high and dirty water still plaguing this region, and clients cancelling or postponing fishing trips, I was lucky to get on the water with anglers this entire week. I guided on the Firehole, Yellowstone Lake, the Green River and the Snake below Jackson Lake Dam. The fishing on the Firehole was great. We were on the water early and there were fish eating aggressively on top. I'm actually not entirely sure what the type of Mayfly it was. I call it a large PMD...about a size 14, with a pale yellow or cream color. It's a hatch I see each season about this time. Anyone out there know what this bug is? We fished the hatch from about 9 am until 1 pm. Although it slowed down in the afternoon, the water temperatures are still holding cool enough. Yellowstone Lake fished par for the course: a handful of nice fish netted on small buggers using sink-tip lines. Although the Lake has been good, I'd probably skip the river right now. With the lake up about 3 feet, the river below Fishing Bridge is huge.
Normally this time of year, we are able to get folks on the Snake below Jackson Lake Dam to fish down to Pacific Creek, above the muddy tributaries. I gave it a shot on Tuesday. We had a decent morning on Caddisflies and saw numerous Sallies in the afternoon. Most of the fish eating up there were smaller, but at least they were taking dries. The bad news is that since I was on that section, the Bureau of Reclamation has raised the levels again to nearly 5,000 cfs. Yesterdays paper said that these flows would last until late July, and then be reduced to about 2,800 cfs for the rest of the season. This would be a great level for us. Keep your fingers crossed. All of the Snake tributaries are began to slowly drop and clear, so there is a distant light now at the end of the tunnel!
And now, on to the Green...
I put three days in on the Green this week in the campground sections. The river is dropping very gradually, but is still around 2,700 cfs. My ideal flow would be below 1,500 cfs for reference. There is about 3 feet of clarity, and tons of bugs around. Grey Drakes, as well as a variety of Mayflies and Stoneflies are abundant right now. The fish are not quite eating them yet, though. If you were to fish a large dry all day, with a Drake Cripple trailer, for instance, you may pick up a fish or two feeding opportunistically. Streamers were also mediocre...nymphing was the most consistent way to find fish right now. Fish your large Beadheads and Rubberleg Stoneflies deep with splitshot. Good luck!
Here's Bob Kolscher with a typical Yellowstone Lake Cutthroat. More soon...

The Legacy Ranch

2011-07-10T20:31:00.003-06:00

Some of my readers may remember a blog post I made earlier in the spring about the Legacy Ranch located in Southeastern, Idaho. It is a 671 acre spring creek and waterfowl ranch situated outside of Blackfoot, Idaho. It is currently for sale and listed through Live Water Properties, the premier real estate brokers for fishing and hunting parcels. My good friend and guiding partner Scott Smith invited me over to the ranch on Friday to guide some clients that were looking at the property. Given how limited our public fishing options are right now with high and muddy rivers around here, I jumped at the chance to go.
The spring fed ponds, creeks and sloughs extend roughly 3 miles through this pristine property. We dropped our boats into the cold, clear stillwater with our anglers to find some truly exceptional fishing. Small nymphs dropped under dry flies led us to a handful of amazing wild Rainbow trout in the net, including this 7 pound beauty at the top.
In terms of fishing on public water in the region, we are still very limited. The South Fork is still holding at a dirty 24,000 cfs, while the Green is dropping ever so slowly, but is still around 3,000 cfs. The best fishing in the area is still on the Firehole River, where higher flows are keeping the water cool. Old timers in the valley often look to the top of peak 10,450, also known as Rendezvous Bowl to tell us when the Snake will be ready to fish. Once the "bowl" is completely clear of any snow, it's time to fish the Snake they say. Well, we still have quite a way to go before that face is free of snow. I'm guessing we'll be fishing dry flies on the Snake August 5th...you heard it here first :)

Head-Back-Tail

2011-07-06T21:09:00.006-06:00

My good buddy Brian Hodges came down to Jackson for the weekend from Bozeman, Montana, and we were able to sneak away for a spectacular day of fishing on Sunday. Chris "Stumpy" Stump also joined us for our marathon day to the flats of No Tell Canyon. Although virtually every river, stream, creek, waterway and drainage is high and muddy around here, there are still a couple of select spots to throw some dry flies. It's not an easy venture, though. A pre-dawn start, coupled with a ton of windshield time is necessary in order to find these secret places. We timed the Drake hatch perfectly...as soon as we stepped out of Stumpy's minivan, and saw the Drake on the window, we knew that we were in for a special day. Once on the water, we immediately saw Rainbows up to 7 pounds sipping big mayflies. Brian summed it up perfectly: "Ten o'clock, thirty feet...head-back-tail, head-back-tail", which describes the motion of a trout taking a dry fly.
I wish I had a better report for the Snake, South Fork or Green right now. The South Fork is now up again to a whopping 22,900 cfs...huge bummer. I had a great day guiding on Yellowstone Lake today, and am heading to the Firehole tomorrow. Yellowstone is where it is at right now. If you've got some time to explore, break out the map and find your own No Tell Canyon :)

Don't forget to visit Brian Hodges' Doublehaul Travel to see some of the world's greatest fly-fishing destinations.

This Is Appalling!

2011-07-04T12:52:00.011-06:00

An estimated 1,000 barrels of crude oil was released into the pristine Yellowstone River, west of Billings, Montana, on Friday after an oil pipeline ruptured under the riverbed. When will these big oil companies learn? It seems to me that if you are going to run a pipeline under a river, (especially one as special as the Yellowstone), someone would do everything possible to make sure that something like this could never happen. Early speculation is that the record runoff levels may have scoured the riverbed, exposing the pipeline which was then hit by debris.

Wouldn't you think that someone from Exxon-Mobil could plan for high water scenarios? Regardless of the fact that the spill took place well below the Yellowstone's famous trout fishing corridor, the significance of this disaster is still exceptional. It remains to be seen what the affect on wildlife living downstream will be. The Department of Transportation (who oversees the pipeline), issued a letter to Exxon-Mobil last year citing 7 seven serious safety violations along this particular line. I sure hope this company is held accountable for this. Check out the Billings Gazette to keep up with this story from a local source.

The Runoff Rollercoaster

2011-07-02T07:55:00.005-06:00

The Bureau of Reclamation, regional hydrologists and Jackson Hole old-timers all predicted that we were going to see all of the major rivers and tributaries peak last weekend. They definitely got that one wrong. Bright, hot weather this week, coupled with warm nights caused everything to surge over the past two or three days. Clearly, there is still an incredible amount of snow left in the high country. The Buffalo Fork surged toward 6,000 cfs yesterday, which blew away the previous record for the date. The Green River, near Warren Bridge, topped 4,000 cfs yesterday, which I have never seen. The New Fork River, near Big Piney, is also running at a record level...a muddy 7,600 cfs.
I guided my first South Fork trip yesterday with a father and son visiting from Hawaii. I prepped them for the day, and set our expectations low. The river had been holding steady for over a week at 15,000 cfs. Although the water is still not clear, it had been turning slowly from brown to green. I had received reports of fish being caught on stonefly nymphs. We threw rubberleg stonefly nymphs and streamers hard. Although the banks did not produce any fish for us, the riffles and tailouts were better. We landed 7 trout, and about a dozen Whitefish. The highlight of the day was a 20" Brown that fell for a very large, black streamer in a sidechannel. The day actually exceeded my expectations, although I think these guys may have been slightly disappointed. Either way, it was a fun day.
By late afternoon, we started noticing a lot more debris in the water and the river began to look muddier. When we got to the takeout at Conant, I checked the levels and sure enough, they bumped the river up again yesterday. It came up 2,000 cfs to a total of 17,000 cfs...a huge bummer. This late week surge has put more water into Palisades Reservoir, so they have now compensated by raising the river yet again. Our options our now dwindling again. I'd avoid the South Fork for the next few days at least, unless you are looking to do a booze-cruise. Enjoy a shot of our highlight yesterday...17-year-old angler Luke Memmer with a beauty.

Driving For Dollars

2011-06-29T19:06:00.002-06:00

From a guiding standpoint, it has certainly been a tough, slow start to the fishing season. Cold, wet weather during April and May, coupled with an enormous snowpack and raging muddy rivers has put local fishing guides behind the eight ball from a work standpoint this season. Unless you are lucky enough to be licensed on the Henry's Fork, area fishing guides are experiencing a lean start to the 2011 season. With the Snake River and Green River running very high and muddy still, there are not many options yet on places to take eager clients. The South Fork is slowly turning on, as levels drop, and the water clears. It is by no means "on fire" yet...deep, weighted nymphs being drifted through murky water is the name of the game over there now. That leaves us with Yellowstone. I'm fortunate to be a licensed fishing guide in Yellowstone National Park. The good news is that the Firehole River, as well as Lewis and Yellowstone Lakes are all fishing well right now. Despite this, it is harder to convince clientele to pull the trigger on these trips. Although wading the Firehole, or fishing the lakes has been productive, most folks that arrive here want to float the big rivers. Depending on where we are heading, you are looking at least an hour and forty-five minute drive...maybe as much as two hours and fifteen minutes...each way. This adds up to a ton of windshield time. I'm happy to have the work, and good fishing, but they are long days.

Native Cutthroat

2011-06-24T10:01:00.008-06:00

One of my favorite outings on a day off (or as a guide), is to spend the day on Yellowstone Lake looking for Native Yellowstone Cutthroat trout. They are a strong, beautiful strain that takes streamers easily this time of year. Casting sink-tip lines with small black buggers is a sure ticket to success on the lake right now. When I first moved to the valley and discovered the lake, two anglers netting 40 or 50 fish a day in the 14-16" range was not uncommon. The illegal introduction of Lake Trout in the early 90's has changed this, though. Fish numbers are down drastically; a couple of good anglers may net 8 or 10 fish on a good day right now, with sizes now averaging a healthy 18-21". Fortunately, the park service is in the process of adopting new policies on how to deal with the non-native Lake Trout, and are now taking more aggressive measures to get them out of the lake.

I spent the day yesterday with my good buddy Charlie Howarth on the Lake. He had never fished it before, and was pleasantly surprised. With most rivers in the area still high and muddy, don't miss the lake right now!
The South Fork is now back down to 15,000 cfs, and slowly clearing. The riffles in the Canyon section are starting to nymph well with rubber-leg Stoneflies. The Firehole also continues to fish OK...it's still high in volume, but quite clear. Look for small Stoneflies in the afternoon. Don't be afraid to throw a streamer either. The tributaries in the valley really took a jump this week with much warmer weather and thunderstorms. Pacific Creek, the Buffalo Fork, the Gros Ventre and Spread Creek all spiked to much higher, muddier levels. We're gettin' there!

I want to thank my good friend Scott Smith for organizing the Rafter J kids fishing day that will be taking place tomorrow. Rafter J is the subdivision south of Jackson that we live in. Scott took charge with the homeowners association to come up with a plan to stock more Cutthroat Trout in our ponds for the many Rafter J kids to enjoy. You gotta turn them on young! More soon...

Still Wet

2011-06-20T14:06:00.004-06:00

Rachael and I returned last night from a road trip with the girls to Winthrop, Washington, where we attended a friends wedding. By the looks of things around here, it has been unseasonably wet and cool still while we were gone. The high country is still loaded with snow, and area rivers remain high and muddy. The Upper Snake River drainage is at 677% of normal snowpack, and the Upper Green River drainage is at a staggering 1162% of normal as of today. This essentially means that there is an abnormally high amount of snow left for this time of year in our local mountains. Each day that the weather remains cool, or we pick up more snow, the numbers will increase. It will be hard to say for sure exactly when we will be able to fish on the Snake and its tributaries, or the Green River for that matter. Although the South Fork is now back up in volume to 17,100 cfs, it sounds like the nymph fishing is really turning on. The river is clear enough to fish, and fish are likely beginning to look for stonefly nymphs.

While on our road trip, we crossed over some very hallowed trout water, including the Henry's Fork, Beaverhead, Big Hole and Clark Fork rivers. With the exception of the Beaverhead, all of these watersheds were well above flood stage, with a muddy torrent carrying debris downstream. I had never been to Winthrop, Washington before. It is located on the Eastern side of the Northern Cascade mountain range. It's a very pretty mountain town, with the famous Methow River running right through it. Winthrop is serious Steelhead and stillwater country. Although the Methow (and every other river in the area) where also high and muddy, I was able to get some fishing in on Davis Lake for some really wild Rainbow Trout. It was good fun.
Here's a couple of shots from the trip. Davis Lake, with a lone float-tuber; the Big Hole river at Melrose, raging at over 10,000 cfs; the Clark Fork River at Missoula, at least 3 feet above flood stage...wow!

More Options!

2011-06-16T08:04:00.004-06:00

With the arrival of mid-June, a couple of more fishing options have opened up for us around here. The Henry's Fork Ranch, as well as Yellowstone Lake opened to fishing for the season yesterday. June 15th is always a welcome date in this region, particularly in years like this where most fisheries are high and muddy. The "Ranch" opener is a big deal with Henry's Fork aficionados; the first day on this hallowed piece of water offers anglers a better chance to stalk large, educated Henry's Fork Rainbow Trout and actually have a decent chance of sticking one.
Not much else to report around here. The Snake and its tributaries, as well as the Green River drainage are high and muddy. The South Fork has been lowered to a reasonable 15,000 cfs. This is great news...as it starts to make its transition from brown to green, it will start to fish.
The birdwatching in the area is fantastic right now. Here's a couple of shots of a beautiful Western Tanager that has been visiting our yard. More soon!

Where to Fish?

2011-06-08T13:58:00.009-06:00

The most asked question that I have been fielding lately from friends and readers is just where should we be fishing right now? Needless to say, virtually all of the rivers in the region are high and muddy. Most of Idaho and Montana are also facing the same issues right now. The Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park remains the best option if you want to wet a line on a moving stream. Although it has come up in volume significantly (1,450 cfs near the confluence with the Madison River, which is at flood stage), it is still clear enough to fish the good June hatches near Old Faithful. Don't be afraid to throw small streamers as well, especially in the deeper areas. Although the Henry's Fork below Ashton has had good reports of Salmonfly activity, the boat and wading traffic has been record-breaking...good luck.
Stillwater fishing is probably your next best option right now. Henry's Lake, Hebgen Lake and Jackson Lake all have been putting out decent reports over the past week or so. Yellowstone Lake will be opening on June 15th. It typically fishes very well out of the gate with plenty of elbow room.

My buddy Chris Stump and I, (along with his 2 year old son George!), headed out to Jenny Lake a couple of days ago for a test run. Fishing was good. We saw a few Cutthroat and Lake Trout on streamers, and the flying ant hatch was starting to happen as well. We saw numerous fish on top taking advantage of them.
Much warmer weather this past weekend, along with thunderstorms, has really caused a bump in water flows in the area. Check out these incredible water graphs from the Snake River above Palisades Reservoir, the Big Hole River, near Melrose Montana, the Bitterroot River near Missoula, Montana, and the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana. Wow!
Here's a couple of shots from Jenny Lake the other day, including young George with a Lake Trout...nice one!

Fishin' With Currier

2011-06-04T07:34:00.011-06:00

I had the chance yesterday to spend the day with Jeff Currier fishing Island Park Reservoir, in Southeastern Idaho. It was great fun. Jeff spent over 20 years running the Jack Dennis Sports fly shop in downtown Jackson (where I first met him), and has since left to work for himself. He is a highly talented artist and angler that has truly figured out a way to make a living doing exactly what he loves. He lives and breathes fly fishing. While spending time with him, you quickly realize that his passion for the sport is highly contagious. Jeff's angling experiences, artwork, photography and stories has allowed him to be a freelance steward for the sport. Most notably, he has caught over 275 species of fish on a fly, in over 40 countries. This is why Jeff is the go-to authority on exotic fly fishing travel.

Jeff called me this week to see if I wanted to join him on an exploratory mission. With the lower Henry's fork jammed with boats hoping for a Salmonfly sighting, and the rest of the rivers in the region high and muddy, we decide to try something different. We set out for Island Park Reservoir in hopes of hooking into some large Rainbow's. Windy conditions made for tough fishing, but we spent the day trading some truly great stories. Make sure to check out Jeff's Global Fly Fishing Blog to see what he has been up to lately.

I was able to get up on the Firehole this week as well, guiding some folks from Louisiana. The river is in great shape...flows are tea-colored and relatively low. The winds gusted toward 30 mph, which made it tough on these greenhorns though. Relentless tangles and a broken rod tip made for a long outing.

Temps are trying to climb into the 70's this weekend, which should help the runoff to kick in again. Cold nights, though, have been stalling the effort...the past two nights have seen temps in the high 20's. The Green is back up over 1,100 cfs, the South Fork is at 23,000 cfs and the Snake has been lowered to 3,990 cfs out of the dam in anticipation of the tributaries coming up any day. The most staggering stats can be seen on the Wyoming Snowpack Data website. The Snake River Basin is now well over 300% of normal snowpack...wow! Check out the other amazing numbers on this site. Will the snow ever melt?

Here's a few shots from our outing yesterday, including a classic of me with a monster sucker and one of Jeff's famous tailgate. FYI...catching a sucker of this magnitude takes quite a bit of skill on a flyrod :) More soon!

Western Wyoming Water Report

2011-05-28T08:53:00.005-06:00

I wish that I was able to report more information to my readers on actual fly-fishing conditions lately...instead, this journal has temporarily turned into a "water report". With each day of cold, wet conditions that has passed this week, the snowpack figures have climbed. As of yesterday, the snowpack around Jackson Hole has climbed to a staggering 230% of average for this time of year. Since virtually nothing is melting yet in the high country, the figure keeps climbing. The Snake is still holding at almost 10,000 cfs near Moose, and the South Fork is running a very muddy 21,000 cfs near Irwin, Idaho. The Green River has been fluctuating between 700 and 1,000 cfs this week, and the Henry's Fork is also running huge. I guided on the Green last Monday near Warren Bridge, and had lackluster results. The clarity was about 2 feet, and the fishing was slow. We picked up a couple of Browns in the 17" class on nymphs. Next week looks like it is finally going to warm up and dry out. Bridger-Teton National Forest officials this week predicted that the Snake will not peak in the Snake River Canyon until the fourth week of June; this would be very late. I'm hoping we will at least get better conditions by late June on the Green or South Fork. I would imagine by next week, we will see the Snake river ramping up into the high teens around Moose.

Fishing in Yellowstone National Park opens today. Although the lakes are still under ice, the Firehole is probably fishing nicely right now. Since it's the only game in town, I would be aware of crowds. There's a forecast for snow all weekend in Yellowstone...should spark some good dry fly fishing on the river. I'd love to hear any reports from the weekend if anyone is on the Firehole; I won't make it up there until late next week.

Also, it looks like they are about to get one lane of traffic open through the Snake River Canyon at the site of the mudslide...good news for commuters. Check the WYDOT website for road conditions. Here's a picture from the Green River from this week...a typical scene lately with dark, cloudy conditions.

Canyon Still Closed

2011-05-22T08:45:00.006-06:00

US Highway 26/89 remains closed through the Snake River Canyon since a massive mudslide hit the road on May 16th. The mudslide has finally stopped creeping across the road, and WYDOT has now hired an excavating company to begin the process of removing the debris. They have cautioned that if any instability in the slide begins again, they will need to stop removing debris until it is safe. This past week ended up being a little drier than was forecast, which probably helped the situation. If the rains return, we may see the mudslide come back to life. Check out this video below that WYDOT released...it's an incredible time lapse shot of the moving debris from last week. When it was filmed, the slide was moving about 1 foot per minute. Make sure to visit the WYDOT website for the latest.

On Thursday night, I attended the spring water meeting held by Mike Beus, the operations manager for the Bureau of Reclamation. Dozens of anglers, river runners and ranchers were in attendance to hopefully learn details of how our water will be managed this summer out of Jackson Lake. Although Mike was well prepared with tons of historical data on the river and snowpack, he fell short on predicting what our summer flows will look like on the Snake. The situation we are in most resembles the 1996, 1997 and 2010 years, with a cool, wet spring on a very large snowpack. With our regional snowpack at 200% of average, and no crystal ball available on our weather forecasting, it's just too hard to tell exactly what the runoff will look like right now. Mike Beus certainly has a tough job. He's in charge of managing flows from Jackson Lake Dam, as well as Palisades Reservoir downstream. It's a balancing act of predicting runoff levels with how much water they want to end up in the lakes at the end of the summer. Anglers, rafters, kayakers and ranchers all have different questions and needs in years like this. Hopefully, we will begin warming soon and the Snake and its tributaries will peak by mid-June.
I spent the day near Pinedale last Wednesday with Scott Smith and Ben Brennan exploring the lower New Fork River in search of a spring fishing option. With some clients showing up tomorrow to fish a few days, I am in need of somewhere to take them, and this seemed like a good option. It was tough; relentless streamer action and nymphing only netted us a couple of fish. The water was still cold, and the clarity was marginal. It was a fun outing with some good buddies...here's Ben and Mokie doing a great job keeping Scott on the goods. Not sure where we'll fish this week...

Mudslides

2011-05-17T13:22:00.007-06:00

If anyone out there is doubting just how much snow and rain we have had this winter and spring, just check out these pictures. A massive mudslide has closed US Highway 26/89 through the Snake River Canyon south of Jackson. Huge amounts of melting snow with a heavy rainfall on top of it caused the slide at milepost 127. Early attempts to clear the slide have failed, and WYDOT officials have said that it could be many weeks before the highway reopens. As of yesterday, the mudslide was measured at 300 feet wide, 40 feet tall and 2,000 feet long. Check out this link to learn more from the Jackson Hole News. Here's an additional link to WYDOT to help keep you informed on the latest.

Rachael and I took the girls to Yellowstone National Park on Sunday for an outing up to Old Faithful. Here's a couple of photos that I took of the snowpack from the Lewis Lake boat ramp...impressive!

Finally Warming Up

2011-05-12T14:05:00.003-06:00

As I write this report, the skies outside today are sunny and the temps are in the low 60's...finally! Tomorrow is forecast to be even warmer. With near record amounts of rain last week, and a warming trend this week, rivers in the region have surged. The Snake is approaching 8,000 cfs at Moose, the Green has spiked up over 500 cfs, and the South Fork is back above 18,000 cfs. With the Henry's Fork also huge, there are virtually no options right now in this area to wet a line. The 10-day forecast has temps cooling a bit, but with rain moving back in; this should still help get the snowmelt started. If you're lucky enough to find some private water (like Scott Smith did in this photo), you may bump into a trophy. My buddy Scott was invited over to the Legacy Ranch in Southeastern Idaho last week to fish some private stillwater. The ranch is listed for sale through Livewater Properties, a local real estate company specializing in fishing properties. I'd like to say that Scott was in the market for purchase, but he was just on an exploratory mission with a friend who works for Livewater. The fish of the day was this 11 pound, 30" Rainbow Trout. Nice one Scott! Casting to trophy fish is just what Scott needed...it was early practice for an adventure Scott and I have planned for the Fall...more on that later.

I'd say that the next thing to put on the fishing calendar would be the opening of Yellowstone National Park to fishing on Memorial Day Weekend...the Firehole should at least be fishable by then, although there will probably be more snow visible on the banks now, than in this photo. Stay tuned...

Water Everywhere

2011-05-05T11:46:00.003-06:00

I have had a number of fishing clients and friends get in touch with me recently with concerns about their upcoming fishing trips to Wyoming this spring and summer. The worry is that when they arrive, the runoff may still be happening, and clear water may be hard to find. Well, looking at this photo (click to enlarge) would make me wonder too. The University of Wyoming Water Resource Data System has updated their water-content map. These numbers are incredible. After a very wet winter across the state, you can see that the driest area is still at 129% of normal for early May. From there, the numbers just get higher. On top of this, the weather around the Western part of the state has still been wet, and very cool...there has been virtually no runoff yet. So what does it all mean? I guess the worst case scenario is that May and early June continue to be cooler and wet (which has happened before), which means a delayed runoff. If this happens, we may not see many low, clear streams and rivers until early August. Hopefully, we will start to see a warming, drying trend which should get this snow melt started. Bureau of Reclamation officials are emptying both Jackson Lake and Palisades Reservoir on the Upper Snake River to make room. I would think that the best case at this point, is that the Green and Snake Rivers would be ready to fish by mid July, at the very earliest. In reality, we may not have the Snake and its tributaries until early August, and the Green and South Fork will be higher than normal...which is OK. In the end, it is still good news...we are certainly out of any drought scenario; fish and insect life will prosper! Visit WRDS to learn more.
This second photo is a great shot that my buddy Bobb Cannella took near the Upper Snake River a few days ago...a spring Griz looking for food. Keep your eyes open out there!

Still Winter

2011-04-30T11:13:00.005-06:00

Scott Smith and I guided our first trips of the season yesterday on the Snake River. It was a tough decision on where to take our anglers. The South Fork is still running large, cold and green at over 18,000 cfs, and the Snake is also rolling at a good clip at well over 5,000 cfs at Moose. We had initially thought of heading toward Pinedale to try the Green River, but yesterdays forecast called for wind, cold and snowy conditions. Since the Green is at a much higher elevation than Jackson, we were nervous to try an area that could have been even colder and windier. In addition, the flows at Warren Bridge right now are extremely low...under 100 cfs. We decided to try the Snake, from Wilson to South Park. It is a very braided section, with numerous sidechannels to explore, and many spring creeks joining the river where hungry trout may congregate. The fishing yesterday was tough...no surprises there. It was cold the entire day (even when the sun tried to peek through), and the wind did not help either. The few fish we hooked were found in very slow water on nymphs running deep. Some of my favorite channels actually were even running too fast, so finding fish was tough. It's always nice getting that first trip under the belt each season...I wish the fishing had been a little easier for these guys though. Weather today: still cold with wind.

Check this link to Trout Unlimited to enter yourself in a sweet photo contest...good luck! Didn't snap a single picture yesterday...too cold! Here's a couple of shots that I took last week on the National Elk Refuge...my daughters Charlotte and Hannah love to look for wildlife!

Easter Getaway

2011-04-25T11:56:00.009-06:00

My buddy Stan Czarniak and I returned last night from a great spring getaway to wonderful Melrose, Montana and the Big Hole River. With rivers around here high and off color, a trip North was in order. We floated three days and had a blast. River flows and water clarity were perfect for this time of year. For those of you not familiar with the Big Hole River, it begins its journey near Wisdom, Montana (in Southcentral Montana), and meanders through miles of pristine public and private land before joining the Beaverhead River near Twin Bridges.

It is an extremely beautiful river, with something for everyone; Brown and Rainbow trout dominate through alpine meadow, canyon and cottonwood environments. Although the most famous hatches are the Mother's Day Caddis and June Salmonfly hatch, early spring can often produce great topwater action on Skwala stoneflies. This weekend was no exception. Warmer temps and nice skies awaited us in Big Sky Country. We picked up fish on streamers, nymphs and Skwala dries.
The fish that were eating on top were in some very specific water. Fast water and riffles did not do the trick; these fish were holding off banks with a medium speed and depth to them; the tailouts were the best.
It's fun being able to fish large dries this time of year!

As always, Ryan Barba, owner of the Sunrise Fly Shop in Melrose, took excellent care of us. Flies, shuttles, gear (and an excellent Lasagna dinner!) awaited us there. If you're thinking about the Big Hole, check these guys out. The weather around Jackson today: back to snowshowers and cooler temps.

I'm ready for it to warm up...time to get this runoff started. The Snake is rolling at over 5,000 cfs at Moran (and very green in color), and the South Fork is now over 18,000 cfs and also very green. Stay tuned for a Pinedale report. More soon!

Getting Organized

2011-04-19T19:30:00.005-06:00

We woke up yesterday morning to a few inches of wet snow in our neighborhood, and reports of 11" of snow near the South gate of Yellowstone. This winter weather has certainly had a stronghold on us. I've got some guided fishing trips on the books for next week, and am starting to wonder where I am going to take these guys. The conditions right now around here could be tough on beginners. The Snake is now running a cold 4,950 cfs out of Jackson Lake Dam (with a dark green tint) and the South Fork is now above 16,000 cfs (and also cold), and may climb higher. Some buddies are heading South to do some Pinedale reconnaissance this week, so hopefully we'll get a decent report.
I'll be heading up to Southcentral Montana for the weekend to get my first few days on the oars and some much needed playtime with some friends on the river. The Big Hole looks like it may be in prime spring shape...my fingers are crossed!

I've been spending the past few days tinkering with gear, and getting ready for the season. The boat is about ready and the flies are almost organized. Streamer organization in particular is fun...they are easy to see and I love the colors.

Check out the latest video from Scott Smith...this should wet the appetite!

Thanks Everyone!

2011-04-16T09:41:00.003-06:00

As the Western Wyoming Fly Fishing Journal breaks the 20,000 pageview mark, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has checked it out and stayed in touch! It's been fun sharing photos and stories, while also trying to give a no-nonsense fishing report for the region. The snow and water continue to accumulate around here. It's been a very wet week, with more forecast for next week. The Snake River is on its way up to at least 5,000 cfs (it's at 2,640 cfs today). The river is starting to look more green (and less clear) at the Wilson Bridge. If you did not hit the Snake over the past month, your window may be closing. Cold, high flows in April will make for some tougher fishing. Bureau of Reclamation officials are dumping water all over the region to make room for the large snowmelt that is looming. The South Fork is climbing also, with a reading today of 15,000 cfs. Although the water is cleaner over there, the temps are likely very cold, so fish it deep and slow.
The Green River is nearing 200 cfs near Warren Bridge...the shelf ice is starting to break up there, and probably very cold still. The elevation there is over 7,000 feet, and usually warms up a bit later. Even though it does not feel like spring (see the snowy photo I snapped from our kitchen window this morning), the local wildlife is starting to move around.

This is a great time of year to not only find Moose, Elk, Deer and Bear on the move, but also the fantastic bird life. An early morning walk a few days ago with the kids was productive...numerous raptors (like this one), and Red-Winged Blackbirds were abundant. The Red-Wings are one of my favorites. They tend to hang out near the the willows and trees along the river bottom. Flat Creek runs through our neighborhood, and the the Red-Wings are staring to settle in now near the water. When I hear their unique call, I think of fishing!

Hello April...Are You There?

2011-04-10T14:13:00.007-06:00

Rachael and I, along with the girls, returned last night from a great getaway to the Northern California wine country to find that winter has not left Wyoming just yet. It still seems more like March around here. We drove up from Salt Lake City late last night through a blinding spring snowstorm. Apparently, the weather around here while we were gone was very snowy and cold. Today is blustery with snow showers, and the rest of the week looks like more of the same. Some of my buddies who stuck it out around here over the last week (which was the first official week of off-season) have reported tough fishing conditions in some wild weather. I'm hoping we are beginning to switch gears soon into some drier, sunnier weather. If all goes well, I'll be heading up to Montana in a week or so to check in on some Big Hole conditions. Local officials here are increasingly worried about flood potential this spring, and have decided to ramp up the Snake River to 5,000 cfs over the next week in order to make room in Jackson Lake for the mammoth snow melt that will come (The Upper Snake River Basin Snowpack is almost 130% right now!). This could make for tough April fishing on our river, though. We typically see levels below 1,000 cfs during the early spring.

If you make it out there, keep your eyes peeled in the slack water for fish up on Midges...just like this one I recently found tucked in tight to a high bank. Make sure to check out the latest issue of This is Fly... still a great mag with fantastic articles and photography (including a great story on Cuba...love it!). I also wanted to share this great photo from my good buddy Campbell Hough...a beautiful hybrid caught and released today from the Blue River in Central Colorado...nice fish Soupy! "There's mosquito's on the river...fish are rising up like birds." :)

Out Like A Lion

2011-03-31T10:07:00.010-06:00

March came in like a lion this year, and is going to leave Wyoming in the same manner. The past week around here has been very snowy and windy, with moisture continuing to pile up in the high country. We're seeing some rain fall in the valley tonight with temps still in the 40's. We currently have near record snowpack in the Teton, Gros Ventre and Wind River Mountains. It's been a great ski season with one storm rolling in after another, virtually all winter long. Since the nights are still cold, and the valley still has lots of snow, runoff and dirty water has not been a factor yet for anglers. These slightly warmer days have been cranking up the Midge activity on the Snake and South Fork; the cloudy conditions are creating the icing on the cake for early season dry-fly enthusiasts.

The folks at the Bureau of Reclamation are already looking ahead at what will likely be a high water year. Typically at this time of year, the Snake is running around 400 cfs near Moran (just below Jackson Lake Dam); the South Fork typically rolls along at about 1,100 cfs for early April. Hydrologists are now waking up to the reality of our snowpack. They have begun ramping up the flows on both rivers, to make room for the impending snowmelt. The South Fork has been raised up to 10,000 cfs over the past seven days, and the Snake will be brought up to 1,500 cfs over the next week or so. Although they are higher flows than we would like to see for April fishing, it should help avoid a situation in June or July where we have really high water. Local water experts are very concerned about flooding this year. The Upper Snake River Basin and Upper Green River Basin are both at 120% of normal for snowpack and snow-water equivalency. These are high numbers, considering that April and May can often be very snowy and rainy months that can add even more moisture. Images like these first two will likely be seen again this year...high, muddy water...a riverbed filled bank-to-bank. Once the water does clear this year, it is likely that it will still be higher than normal for awhile. The South Fork of the Snake, in particular, could be running large come Stonefly time in July. This river can be a very demanding piece of water to navigate in these conditions. Losing local guides Phil Blumquist and Rob Merrill last season to the river has made me think a lot more about river safety this year. Don't take rowing your driftboat for granted, it only takes a split second to get into trouble. You don't want to land your driftboat in a situation like these guys...or worse!

I sent a couple of buddies up to visit the Big Hole River this week in South Central, Montana...one of my favorites! It sounds like the nymph fishing was good on the lower river, but no Skwalas yet. It's still been cold and snowy up there too. I often hit the Big Hole this time of year, but I think I'll wait a couple more weeks until things warm up a bit. The river above Divide is apparently still completely under ice, and there's a lot of snow on the ground in Melrose still. More soon!

Snowflies

2011-03-26T08:33:00.013-06:00

I kicked off the start of my fly-fishing season last week with a day wading the South Fork with my good buddy Charlie Howarth. We drove over to Swan Valley early last Saturday to secure our spot in one of my favorite sidechannels. The weather called for a high of 41 degrees, and partly cloudy skies. Not so much. During the 6 hours we were on the water, we literally saw everything from blue skies and calm, to blinding snow and wind. It's what we call springtime in the Rockies...anything goes. As far as the fishing...the streamer bite was nonexistent, and I threw everything I had at them. The nymphing and dry-fly fishing was more productive, though. Cutthroat and Whitefish were coming to the net subsurface on Midge larva.
During some of the cloudier, calm periods, I found Cutthroat were rising to adult Midges in quiet water. Since I prefer to dry-fly fish, it was great to see some fish eating on top. Although Midges can hatch any time of year around here, they seem to receive the most attention from anglers in the springtime. When the air temps are still cold, and the snow is still flying, it is typically the only hatch that you will encounter...so if you want to fish dry flies, make sure that you have some Midge patterns ready. They are sometimes called "snowflies" for this reason. I'll see midges all summer long, but when they are hatching alongside large Mayflies, Stoneflies and Caddisflies, they get little attention from anglers.
Many people I have fished with often use the term "Midge" to describe any small fly that is hatching. They are actually not a Mayfly at all (which many assume), but are their own unique group of bugs. Adult Midges, and their larva, are an extremely important food source for trout in this region. The fish I found feeding on Saturday were clearly eating adult midges...I could see them on the water and landing on my body. Since it's so early in the season, though, I was able to fish a simple Parachute Adams (which is much easier to see), instead of an actual midge imitation. If you're on the water around here in the next month or so, keep your eyes peeled in slack water for noses up on these tiny bugs. Incidentally, we didn't see a single Brown or Rainbow around that day. We hit all the obvious water, but they just did not want to play. Here's my bud Charlie with a nice bent rod...good to see you Charlie! Haven't heard much new this week on the Montana House Bill threatening stream access up there...as soon as I do, I'll pass it along.

Happy 100th Liz!

2011-03-20T10:20:00.008-06:00

I want to wish my great friend and fishing partner Liz McCabe a happy 100Th birthday today! (That's right...100 years old!) I had the fortune of being introduced to Liz a number of years ago through my great friend Tom Montgomery, and since then, have had many memorable days with Liz and her family, on and off the river. Matt Mead, Governor of Wyoming, has declared March 20Th to be Liz McCabe day, since she has been one of the "great characters" of this great state. “She brings people of diverse backgrounds and regions together to enjoy the views from her porch,” Mead stated in the proclamation. “In that, she represents the best of Wyoming, where people from all walks of life and different milieus can come together and find they share many things in common.” We'll be thinking of you today Liz as you celebrate in the Cayman Islands.
Check out this article that just ran in this weekend's edition of the Jackson Hole Daily about Liz McCabe. I'm looking forward to another summer of fishing with Liz and her family.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T13:44:00.004-06:00

Wow, is it already the third week of March? Although we just had another huge storm last night that dumped 17" of snow in the mountains, spring really seems to be just around the corner. Reports of good fishing on the Henry's Fork and South Fork keep coming across my radar. I'll finally be hitting the water for the first time in 2011 on Saturday...probably wadefishing the South Fork. Stay tuned for a report.
Late March also means something else for anglers in this region: Skwala Stoneflies. Although it is not typically a prolific or widespread hatch, the emergence of these mottled stoneflies on certain Western Rivers in March means anxious anglers can hit the water with large fly patterns in search of hungry trout. Most anglers flock to the Bitterroot River, south of Missoula, in search of these bugs this time of year. I hear it's already started. Don't count out the Big Hole River either...I've hit it pretty good up there too this time of year. For the latest report, make sure to visit with Ryan at The Sunrise Fly Shop in Melrose, Montana. In other news...I have not heard much since my last post on the Montana "Ditch Bill" that is ready to be voted on, stay tuned.
Enjoy some photos...Chris Stump with a gorgeous Big Hole Brown that fell for a Skwala a few years back; a nice image of a Skwala Stonefly; and...a shot of an incredible 25 pound Permit that I just found on Facebook. Supposedly this guy was on his first saltwater trip in the Yucatan and came across this behemoth...wow! More soon!

Montana House Bill 309 Update

2011-03-09T20:43:00.005-07:00

Yesterday was the final hearing in Helena, Montana to voice opinions concerning House Bill 309, which could change Montana stream access laws for the worse. The bill, set forth by Dillon Representative Jeff Welborn, would revamp stream laws to "make any waterway that receives water diverted from a natural stream off limits to public recreation". In other words, depending on how the law is interpreted, your favorite fishing spot could now be classified as a "drainage ditch", and be deemed legally inaccessible. Welborn says that the bill is only a remedy to a recent Montana Supreme Court ruling on the Mitchell Slough, which was ruled to be a sidechannel of the Bitteroot, and not a ditch. Bruce Farling, the Montana Trout Unlimited Director, has said that "The measure is a sneaky attempt to undermine Montana's stream access law that guarantees the public the right to get to streams and rivers." Not only are local and regional anglers very concerned about this, but Montana fishing outfitters (who rely on access for their livelihood) are already getting correspondence from clientele concerned about coming to fish this summer, and how their access will be affected. Hundreds of guides, anglers and river users showed up to Helena yesterday to attend this hearing, and voice their disapproval of this measure. Check out this article in today's Billings Gazette for more info. Stay tuned for the latest on Facebook with Montana Troutfitters, who has done an excellent job of keeping us informed on all of this. Legislation like this would be terrible for Montana, its anglers and its tourism. Places like this sidechannel on the Big Hole that I visited a few years back with my good buddy Campbell Hough (pictured here) would be no longer an option for us under this legislation. Lets hope it goes down in flames. I know that many of my readers check in with me to see what is going on in Wyoming, but issues like this affect anglers everywhere. Fly-fishing is all about legal access...it's critical to our sport.

In Like A Lion

2011-03-06T19:56:00.005-07:00

Yet another March has come in like a lion to Western Wyoming. The past week has seen nothing but winter weather, with a large storm just last night dropping 6" of snow in the valley, and another 15" or more in the high country. Rachael offered to stay home with the kids this morning while I went searching for some pure Teton gold. Scott Smith and I had an incredible morning of powder skiing at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort...thanks Scott, great day today! The water content in the Snake River drainage is back up above 110%, which is still great news. March can often be one of our heavier snow months, so it will be interesting to see just how much more snow we will get. It is shaping up to look like a mirror image of last season, with area rivers likely running high until mid-July or later. After skiing today, I took the family to the National Museum of Wildlife Art, just North of Jackson. For those of you that have not been there, put it on your list the next time you are in town. There is a great collection of original oils and watercolors as well as sculptures of some fantastic wildlife images. The view from the parking lot of the National Elk Refuge was perfect: hundreds of elk meandering the banks of Flat Creek.

Check out the latest issue of The Drake Magazine There's a great article on how urban hairstylists are integrating fly-tying hackles (chicken feathers) into hairdos. Local fly-shops around here cannot keep Whiting Hackles in stock. Orders are coming in from all over the country to local fly-shops for their feathers. Stylists are charging $40 or $50 per strand to be tied into a customers hair...seriously. The entire saddles only cost $40 or $50, so these guys are making a killing. Hilarious. Enjoy a recent shot of a Grand Teton sunrise. More soon.

Stop The Haul

2011-02-27T13:46:00.003-07:00

The part-time activist within me awoke again this week when I became aware of a situation that could potentially threaten some very pristine areas of Western Trout and Salmon country. Public officials from numerous state-run agencies have evidently been spending the past few years planning a program with numerous oil companies (such as Conoco-Phillips, and Exxon), to use rural roads and rivers in the Western United States as industrial corridors, transporting very large pieces of equipment. These "megaloads" (up to 30 feet high, 24 feet wide, 220 feet long and weighing in at 650,000 pounds), would be barged up the Columbia River system to the Port of Lewiston, Idaho, with an ultimate destination of the Tar Sands of Alberta, Canada. Once leaving Port Lewiston, these loads would be trucked along some very hollowed waterways, including the Lochsa, the LoLo, the Main Clearwater and the Big Blackfoot Rivers (the latter being made famous by Norman MacLean's "A River Runs Through It"). Many questions and worries come to mind when hearing of plans like these, especially considering the size and width of these loads, traveling along two-lane, rural highways. Not only should accidents and public safety be considered, but also the impacts on recreation in these areas. Please click here All Against The Haul to learn more and sign this important petition! Attached is a picture of a Conoco-Phillips coker drum, one of many items that could travel this route more than 250 times in the near future. The second photo is one of the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada. “Alberta oil is conflict-free energy,” stated MT Governor Brian Schweitzer. Really? Lastly, a great shot of the Columbia River Gorge...the area where these megaload journeys would begin. I don't have much of an update yet on a recent post that I did on the Montana House Bill 309 (that could make your favorite fishing spot a "drainage ditch", and inaccessible). It looks like the MT house will vote on this in early March. Look for Montana Troutfitters
on Facebook to keep informed on this one.

The Healthy 'Mo

2011-02-20T13:26:00.009-07:00

After a lengthy run of dry conditions around here, we woke up this morning to a report of 13" of new snow in the high country. Over the past few weeks, the snowpack/water equivalency data had been showing a steady drop in the snowpack (although still hovering just above 100% of normal). This blast of snow last night should bump our numbers up again. The deep snowpack around here typically translates into healthy fisheries. More water means happier, healthier trout and aquatic insects. It also means that during the longer runoff period, the fish are not harassed quite as aggressively by anglers. Successive years of high water is great news for river systems all over the inter-mountain west. Check out this article on the condition of one of my favorite rivers, the Missouri River. Back-to-back high water years is boding well for insects, and the 'Mo's healthy rainbows, like this one pictured here. Click here Missouri River Trout to check out the story. Here's another great Scott Smith produced short video below to get everyone out there thinking about another fishing season! Scott does a great job of letting viewers sample some of what the Jackson area has to offer, including some brief glimpses of No Tell Canyon. Enjoy!

The Cure For Cabin Fever

2011-02-14T10:15:00.004-07:00

It can be a long winter in Western Wyoming. The rainy, snowy and cold weather can often last up to eight months here. Even an avid skier who usually enjoys winter, like myself, increasingly has thoughts of spring and summer and images in the head of some serious dry-fly fishing. The winter days are shorter and colder, and the opportunities to go wet a line are much more limited. Most anglers I know around here usually develop cabin fever by this time of year. Symptoms include restlessness, irritability, irrational frustration with everyday objects, forgetfulness, laughter, excessive sleeping, distrust of anyone they are with, and an urge to go outside even in the rain, snow or dark. Anyone else out there feelin' it? Not too worry...click on this video produced by my good buddy and co-guide Scott Smith. Nice work Scott.

Here's a few shots of Scott that should help as well...

Montana Stream Access

2011-02-11T15:13:00.006-07:00

Thanks to Facebook, I became aware yesterday of a plan gaining fast momentum to rewrite Montana's stream access laws. Republican representative Jeff Welborn, of Dillon, has put forth a bill that would revamp the stream access law in Montana to "make any waterway that receives water diverted from a natural stream off limits to public recreation". Essentially, any water body that gets water diverted into it would be off limits to anglers. Apparently, the way that bill HB 309 is written, the entire Bitteroot River would be reclassified as a "ditch", IE, illegal to access. Many landowners in Montana complain of anglers abusing irrigation ditches, which they cannot legally fish. Welborn says that the bill is only a remedy to a recent Montana Supreme Court ruling on the Mitchell Slough, which was ruled to be a sidechannel of the Bitteroot, and not a ditch. Montana has always had very generous stream access laws that have favored both anglers and landowners; it would be a shame to see this change. Bruce Farling, the Montana Trout Unlimited Director, has said that "The measure is a sneaky attempt to undermine Montana's stream access law that guarantees the public the right to get to streams and rivers." The issue is on the way to the Montana Senate as I write. Whether you are a Montana resident or not, click here to send your comments: Tell the Montana Legislature

Also, check out this article from the Montana Standard to learn a little more:Montana Standard

I'll certainly be paying close attention to this over the next few days. The access laws in Big Sky country make it possible for myself and many others to experience some truly magnificent places and fishing. Stay tuned. Here's a couple of nice shots of accessing some fine Montana water and releasing its resource.

Guide Wars

2011-02-05T19:35:00.004-07:00

I came across an ironic image recently on the internet via the Drake Magazine online website. As many readers may remember, the issue of Jackson guides going "over the hill" into Idaho to legally take clients fishing on the South Fork of the Snake has been a hot topic of conversation around here. There are numerous guides that live in Wyoming that are legally licensed to guide anglers on the lower section of the Snake River in Idaho (commonly referred to as the South Fork). It is typical for many local guides, myself included, to offer the South Fork as an option to clients who want to experience this incredible fishery. Yes, we have plenty of water over here, including the Green, Snake and Yellowstone. The reality is that during certain times of the season, the South Fork can be red-hot, and our clients would simply like to fish it. By licensing ourselves legally through Idaho outfitters, we pay annual fees and taxes to take folks over. Even though we are contributing to the local Idaho economy on these day trips (shuttles, flies, licenses and beer purchases), there are a handful of guides and outfitters over there that just don't like us coming over. In fact, there is one operation in particular that has tried to make it very difficult for us over the years. Even though we are legal, they often harass us and display poor river and boat ramp etiquette in our presence. They have gone so far as to make claims on certain guides that they are doing things illegally, when they are not. Click here Drake Magazine Online to see what these guys were caught doing last year. Very ironic. Many thanks to the Drake.

For those of you that missed this week's edition of the Jackson Hole News, Paul Bruun had a great column on the dire situation that native Yellowstone Cutthroat trout are facing in Yellowstone lake and its tributaries (which I posted on a few weeks ago). Click here to check it out: Paul
Bruun

Also, check out my buddy Brad Schwarm's great website exhibiting some truly fine regional photography...good stuff Brad. Click here to take a look:Brad Schwarm Photography

I ran into town a few nights ago to practice some night photography. Enjoy a few photos from Jackson's famous town square, as well as a shot of my wife Rachael displaying one of the reasons we love the South Fork so much. More soon!

Plenty of Water

2011-01-29T19:48:00.002-07:00

As the end of January draws near, the stats on the snowpack and water-equivalency across Wyoming look great. Every drainage in the state is reporting data that is well above average for this time of year for snowpack and for the amount of water being held in the snow. The upper Snake River Basin, the upper Green River Basin and the Upper Yellowstone-Madison basin are all showing snow and water figures hovering at 120% of normal for this time of year. This has certainly been excellent news for skiers, but is also excellent news for anglers. These areas drain water to most of the spots that we fish around here. More snow, means more water, which means healthier area fisheries and better fishing. Click this link to check out the data in more detail: Wyoming Snow-Precipitation Data
Other than skiing and tying a few flies, not much else is going on around here. Now that the days are getting a little longer and brighter, 2011 fishing has been slowly moving into the front of my mind. I like surfing the web this time of year to help satiate the fly-fishing addiction. Checking out photos, stories and travel sites can all help. My friend and former co-worker Doug Mcknight has just launched a new website that is worth checking out: Doug Mcknight's Big Water Studio Doug is an incredibly talented artist, fly-tyer and fishing guide who resides in Livingston, Montana. Check him out! Enjoy a couple of photos this week: Sunrise in the Tetons, and a stud-Brown Trout held by Doug Mcknight.

Helping Yellowstone's Native Fish

2011-01-19T16:06:00.016-07:00

As many of you may know, native Yellowstone Cutthroat trout are a highly threatened species right now as a result of the rapidly expanding population of non-native Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake. In 1994, biologists discovered that non-native Lake Trout were illegally introduced to Yellowstone Lake. As many as 3.5 million Cutthroat once inhabited the lake. It is now believed to be just a fraction of that number. These fish are not only a beautiful , strong Cutthroat strain, but also an intricate part of the Yellowstone ecosystem that Eagles, Osprey, Otters and Bears depend on to survive. Trout Unlimited has just sent out an "action alert" to its members asking for help, so I thought I would pass it along to non-members too. The park service has developed a draft plan and environmental analysis addressing future protection and restoration of the park's native fish. The Native Fish Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment is meant to outline the actions needed to help protect native fish in the park for the next 20 years. Not only would native Yellowstone Cutthroat benefit, so would Westslope Cutthroat and stream-dwelling Grayling, both of which used to exist in the park, and could be reintroduced. Trout Unlimited is asking that we tell the park service that native fish conservation should be the number one fisheries priority in the park, including reducing the harm that Lake Trout has had on native Cutthroat.

Please click on this link http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=37967&tr=y&auid=7636043

to specifically, tell the Park Service that:
1) You support its stated objective to make suppression of lake trout in Yellowstone Lake the highest priority action for native fish conservation in the Park;

2) You support the Park's stated, measurable targets for restoration of the Yellowstone cutthroat population in the lake, as well as the objectives for stream miles to eventually be occupied by Westslope cutthroats and Grayling;

Also, ask the Park to:
Increase the time and resources it dedicates to lake trout removal to ensure the population of this non-native predator is reduced to numbers that result in a significant rebound of Yellowstone cutthroat trout numbers.
Employ rigorous monitoring to ensure the Park meets its stated objectives, and to implement important research projects that help the Park better understand where lake trout spawn and how they move about the lake. This important information will help ensure the Park achieves its objectives.
Implement the recommendations from a science panel the Park convened in 2008 to help guide its efforts on the lake.

If you would like to read more specifics on this conservation plan and assessment, click on this link:
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=111&projectID=30504&documentID=37967&tr=y&auid=7636041

The more feedback the park gets, the better. They will be taking comments through January 31st, so lets act quick! For those of you that have not visited Yellowstone, it is home to some of the most pristine fisheries on the planet...an absolute treasure. Enjoy some photos too...a healthy fly-caught Yellowstone Cutthroat successfully released; the stunning Firehole River; a remote spot on the Yellowstone River; walking the Lamar River with my daughter Charlotte.

January Thaw

2011-01-16T16:11:00.004-07:00

Without fail every January, a thaw hits Western Wyoming and a temporary snow melt usually begins. We are in a Winter Weather Advisory right now, with plenty of wind and moisture hitting the area. I spent the morning with Rachael skiing in Teton Village with some old friends. The skiing above the valley floor was fantastic; high winds and heavy snowfall are making for some great conditions. The valley floor is seeing rain today, particularly south of town, where we live. The temps around town are nearing 40 degrees, and it's very wet outside. It looks like this thaw will last a few days. It's likely that even warmer temps are being recorded over the hill in Idaho...I'll bet the South Fork and Henry's Fork are seeing some action today. Anyone out there fishing around here today? I would love to hear a report! While skiing today with good buddies John Holland and Jon Wylie, we were trying to plot a few fishing adventures for summer 2011. With growing job and family responsibilities, it seems like we have to plan earlier and earlier each year to pull off our favorite trips. We came up with a great idea (which we ran by our wives in the gondola today): a 20-day "punch card" that we can use from spring until fall to allow us that elusive "hall pass" to get out and fish. What do all the guys out there think of this idea? Stay tuned for my progress on this :) Attached are a couple of photos of a local friend that likes to visit our front porch from time to time. There are a handful of Moose that winter in our neighborhood, and this one decided to take a nap outside our front door. More soon!

Tyin' Flies

2011-01-09T19:34:00.008-07:00

With the busy holiday season now behind us, fly-tying season is now just beginning for me. Although I love fly-tying, I unfortunately don't do it consistently enough. Once the fishing and guiding season begins, I often have very little time to devote to it. The first part of the year is when I typically find some extra time to sit down at the vise and whip out some bugs. By this time of year, I'm starting to think about the upcoming fishing season, and tying some flies just makes sense now. With our snowpack at over 100% of average right now and frigid temps almost every day, wetting a line right now is just not an option around here. For those of you that know me or have fished with me, you'll recall that I row a South Fork Skiff, which is a low-sided driftboat, meant to fish out of in a sitting position. Most of the boats that you see drifting on Western water these days are higher sided, with casting braces that allow anglers to stand as they fish. There are different theories as to which one is "better"; in general it's a personal preference. Although many anglers have an easier time casting distance while standing, it is generally thought that in a sitting position, there is less chance of spooking fish, particularly any fish that are feeding on top. Sight fishing to large, spooky fish from Skiffs is the way to go. Low-pros also tend to do a little better in the wind. I have always been an avid believer in low profile skiffs or "prams". The South Fork Skiff that I row (now owned by Ro Driftboats) has always done me well. There's a new player now on the market that is worth checking out. Click the link here to learn more about Adipose Boats, out of Helena, Montana. These Missouri River guides look like they have designed a sweet product. I've attached a couple of pictures too. These boats look great! http://www.adiposeboatworks.com/ I'd also like to shout out to my photographer buddy Jeff Diener. He just launched a great new stock photography site worth looking at: http://www.jacksonholegallery.com/ I've known Jeff for many years; we've spent a lot of time together skiing and fishing, often while I'm on the other side of his lens. If you're looking for some great images, don't miss this local talent.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-30T14:10:00.008-07:00

As each year draws to a close, I typically like to reminisce and reflect on the events that helped shape my year. The older we get, the faster each year seems to pass. 2010 was no exception. With a young family, work obligations and the burning desire to get out there and play, the time seems to go by faster than ever. One of the highlights of my year was the chance to watch my daughter Charlotte develop from a vibrant two-year old into an amazing three-year old, while watching Hannah blossom out of infancy. The last couple of months of 2010 saw both girls starting to play together and the seeds of a strong sibling relationship developing.
The year in fly-fishing was a great one. After a lackluster winter, the skies opened up with spring snow and rain to bump up our water content which helped the fishing tremendously. From the pre-runoff angling on the Snake and Green, to the Salmonflies, Drakes and PMD's on the South Fork, the first half of the summer was stellar. It only got better from there, with record low flows on the Snake through the fall, which made it easy for us to find the goods. The year culminated with a great fall streamer bite. Thanks to everyone this year, clients and guides alike, that made it so special. The summer was also bittersweet; the river accidents that took the lives of Rob Merrill and Phil Blumquist on the South Fork remind us of how fragile life is, and of why we do the things we do. My thoughts were with them this holiday season. Here's to a great 2011...hope to see all of you on the river. I'll be celebrating a rather large birthday this coming year and will be planning a truly epic fishing adventure to ring it in ...more on that later. Make sure to visit the Trout Unlimited Feed on my site (all the way down on the right). Click on Jackson Hole Fly Fishing Dreams to view a great video that my good buddy Scott Smith produced. Enjoy a few photos...the best seat in the house of 2010 on the Wind River; the prettiest Cutthroat of 2010 in my net; the best conversationalist in my boat in 2010 (Tom Brokaw); the two cutest daughters around enjoying a Christmas snowstorm. See ya next year!

The Winter Solstice

2010-12-21T08:11:00.013-07:00

The Winter Solstice has arrived! The days are now finally starting to get longer again. Living at this latitude, there are many days that we leave for work and come home from work both in the dark. Obviously, the sun is the cornerstone to life on earth, but it is also pivotal in keeping spirits up. The warming effects of the sun on the body and mind are amazing. That big orange ball in the sky also rules the life-cycle of aquatic insects and trout.
Rays of light allow vegetation to grow in our rivers and along their banks, creating breeding factories for Mayflies, Caddisflies and Stoneflies...all of which feed our trout. Rachael and I have always celebrated the 21st of December as a bright day. It is also our daughter Hannah's first birthday today...Happy Birthday Hannah!
The snow continues to fall around here; we're on our way to a record winter of snowfall. We had a huge storm over the weekend. Seventeen inches of snow was reported at Teton Village in 24 hours. The skiing Sunday was amazing, with coverage looking more like late February. I shoveled our driveway and walk three times on Sunday, barely keeping up with it.
I've put together a collage of some of my favorite photos of some amazing sunlight from our travels. Sunset on Ko Tao Island, Thailand; sunset from Tamarindo, Costa Rica; sunset on the island of Santorini, Greece; sunset from the boat dock at Boca Paila, Yucatan Peninsula; sunrise from the beach at the Palometa Club, Yucatan Peninsula. Happy Holidays!

Nice Fish Josh!

2010-12-13T21:11:00.005-07:00

It's been all about the skiing around here lately. The snow continues to fall heavily while another winter storm warning goes into affect today. If it keeps up at this rate, we may not be fishing anywhere next summer until August! With all of the moisture we have been getting, the temperatures have been staying relatively warm. The La Nina weather pattern usually brings ample moisture with warmer air...this is exactly what we have been seeing. I've received some great reports from the South Fork from Paul Bruun, Tom Montgomery and Jeff Currier lately. Check out Currier's Blog (below on my link list) for some details. Click on this link to take the Trout Unlimited Quiz: www.youdontknowtrout.com How well do you know trout? You'll be entered to win a Dream Fishing Trip to one of my favorites: The Bighorn River in Southeastern Montana. Enjoy this recent picture of my buddy Josh Graffam. He's just finishing up a whirlwind tour of New Zealand. He apparently knows trout very well...

Traditions

2010-12-05T20:58:00.005-07:00

Rachael and I took the girls today on our annual hunt for our Christmas tree. It's a great tradition that usually involves good four-wheel driving through the Bridger-Teton National Forest, hiking through the snow and some good hot chocolate. It was a great day for it...the temps were in the high 30's which made it very pleasant. We chose a spot South of town that I had never explored before; I think we'll check it out again this summer in search of some fish! On the drive out, Charlotte actually asked: "Daddy, are we going fishing?". I guess it looked fishy. Not bad considering she is just about to turn only 3! If you have not seen the Trout Unlimited live feed that I have on this site (all the way down on the right side), check it out and click on "A Monster on the Horizon". Wild Salmon fisheries may be facing a new threat: genetically modified fish that could do irreparable harm to the wild strains. Scary stuff. If you are not a TU member, consider joining today! It is a critical non-profit organization that has the sole mission of protecting our nations cold-water fisheries. Check them out.

Winter Has Arrived

2010-11-28T14:31:00.006-07:00

Rachael and I took the girls to Seattle for Thanksgiving to visit family and had a great trip. It was a quick trip filled with lots of good family time...not quite enough time to wet a line, though. The region is well known for its salmon and steelhead fishing, as well as a place to target sea-run cutthroat trout. The weather was quite wet, with rain and snow; I'll bet the steelheading on the Olympic Peninsula is prime right now. We arrived home last night to find extreme winter conditions here. There is a good snowpack in the valley already, and an unusually deep snowpack in the mountains for this time of year. It's still snowing today with more forecast for the week. The La Nina weather pattern we are currently in should give us a wet winter. Skiing should be great and our water content next year promises to be healthy. The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opened yesterday for the season. The entire mountain opened...top to bottom, which almost never happens this early. Not much to report on the fishing front; for now, this image tells the story around here...

No More Dams!

2010-11-19T14:48:00.010-07:00

The weather around Western Wyoming has begun its transition into late fall mode. The cottonwoods and aspens have completely shed their leaves, the sky is grey and the wind is blowing. A winter storm watch is in effect for the weekend and the 2010 fly-fishing season is now a distant memory for me. Time to start thinking about some skiing! In the meantime, here is yet another update regarding the Green River dam proposal for the Warren Bridge area.

The last report I gave made it sound as if this project had no possibility of going through. There was yet another article to run on this story in the Jackson Hole Daily last week. Click this link for all of the details: http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=6676 The recommendation from the Wyoming Water Development Commission to not fund this study apparently stemmed from opposition from Governor Dave Freudenthal. It now looks like our new Governor-elect Matt Mead may in fact support this project. Let's hope not!

Just after this story ran, another disturbing story made the front page a day later. There is growing support over the hill in Idaho to rebuild the Teton Dam, on the Teton River. This project would flood and fill the beautiful Teton Canyon. The original dam broke on June 5, 1976 releasing 300,000 acre feet of water and killing 14 people. Idaho farmers are worried about back-to-back drought years and think that rebuilding this dam will solidify their water needs. This has yet to be determined. The Teton Canyon is a critical winter range for Mule Deer and Elk, not to mention a pristine fishery for wild trout. Click this link for more info: http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=6679 There certainly must be other solutions out there to address the water needs of farmers and ranchers. Here's to more days like this on the Green River...good times with Scott Smith and Tom Montgomery. Happy Thanksgiving!

Green River Update

2010-11-12T13:40:00.005-07:00

Since my last post, local anglers have received good news regarding the proposed Green River dam above Warren Bridge, South of Jackson. Members of the Wyoming Water Development Commission turned down a funding request of $750,000 to study whether or not we need to build a $45,000,000 dam on the Green River. Although the issue is not completely dead in the water, it has now jumped a major hurdle in turning it down. In December, Wyoming state legislators on the select water committee will decide if anything warrants the proposal to move into the legislature for discussion. From everything I have seen and heard, it looks like it will likely not move forward. Water Development commissioner and local Jackson resident Bill Resor cited many reasons why we don't need to dam the Green, including the fact that the recreational arguements for building a dam there "don't hold up". Thanks Bill!! Here's a link to the most recent story that ran in our local paper this week: http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?ctg=4 Thanks for all of the feedback from my readers on this. Your emails helped! Here's a pair of Green River rainbows that Scott Smith and I successfully released below Warren Bridge that will be very happy with this news!

A Dam On The Green River?

2010-11-04T20:13:00.011-06:00

Sublette County Wyoming commissioners are steadily moving forward with a plan to dam the Green River about a mile above the Warren Bridge. Proponents of this project want to take more control of water rights on the river and potentially harness hydro-power near the headwaters of the Green River, just south of Jackson Hole. They are also claiming that there are other benefits such as "boating, camping and fisheries". Guess what...it's already there, and we don't need to put a dam up for those reasons. There is already world-class camping, fishing and driftboating found here. For those readers who are not familiar with the area, the Green above and below the Warren Bridge is an exceptional trout stream, home to trophy Brown, Rainbow and Cutthroat trout. It is also home to a healthy Brook Trout population and native Whitefish. The amount of public access above Warren Bridge through mostly BLM land is unrivaled. The area is also right in the middle of a very critical migration corridor for Antelope. It seems to me that putting a dam up in this pristine area would prove to be a devastating decision that could not be reversed. The Wyoming Water Development Commission and Legislature’s Selective Water Committee met in Casper today and will meet tomorrow to consider the request for funding. There will be a vote tomorrow, and a final vote in December to decide on the future of this proposal. Your comments can be emailed to this commission before the December vote. For those of you that have been with me on a guided trip on this unique fishery, or have been there on your own experiencing the great camping and fishing, please consider passing along your thoughts to this commission. Here are two different email addresses to use that will be forwarded to this commission: jwade@state.wy.us or mpurce@state.wy.us. Also, here is a link to the article on this that ran in today's Jackson Hole Daily: http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=6644 Enjoy a photo I took this summer of the beautiful Green River as it meanders above the Warren Bridge through sagebrush country. The second picture exemplifies why we visit the Green: a perfect Green River Brown trout. More soon...

The Weather Extremes

2010-10-27T20:03:00.007-06:00

What a difference a week makes. My previous report from last week was titled "Amazing Weather", describing the incredible run of weather that the inter-mountain west had been experiencing for weeks. Since then, a fast moving, cold weather system moved in over the weekend and has dropped over 40" of snow in the high country, and a good 6 inches in the valley as of today. People are actually skiing Teton Pass already. Our first day on the Missouri River last week had us basking in abundant sunshine and warm weather; local guides we spoke to at the boat ramp were still talking of hopper activity. By the end of the trip, we were chucking streamers in foul weather, and sight-fishing in thick Baetis hatches. We had a great time traveling through the "Last Best Place", covering water on the Missouri and Beaverhead Rivers.
If you're ever up that way, don't miss Montana River Outfitters in Wolf Creek for great lodging options, The Trout Shop in Craig for bugs, and Izaak's in Craig for a great steak. The drive home was rugged through snow and wind. Anglers here are all now flocking to their favorite Brown trout spots looking for aggressive fall feeders. This weather should certainly do the trick. With the "La Nina" weather pattern settling in, forecasters are calling for a big winter. Good news for the rivers and the skiers. I can't remember ever seeing so much snow fall, so early in the season. Here's a few shots from our trip. Stan and I holding the typical Missouri River Rainbow. A great shot of the sunset below Craig, and a view of the broad 'Mo from the Wolf Creek bridge.

Amazing Weather

2010-10-21T14:40:00.005-06:00

We are now going on seven weeks of some of the most amazing Fall weather that I have ever seen since living in Wyoming. The temperatures have been reaching highs into the middle 60's with calm winds and abundant sunshine. The foliage is still hanging on in many parts of the valley too. This time of year, the weather can go either way. It can literally cool down and begin to snow in September some years; this year has been an absolute treat. If you're chasing Brown trout right now, I'm sure you are wishing for a weather change. Since fishing the South Fork last week, I've only been out fishing once. Stan Czarniak and I walked the Snake yesterday below Moose under these perfect weather conditions. The fishing was OK...not great. There was not much of a hatch, and the streamer bite was marginal. As an avid Fall angler, I must say it is time for a weather shift. The amazing weather unfortunately has its consequences on the fishing. Bright skies makes these fish nervous; cloudy, foul weather would also spark some serious BWO's, Midges and a streamer bite too. Stan and I are leaving tomorrow with four days ahead of us on the Missouri River in central Montana. For those of you who know me well, you know how much I love this river and the region it flows through. The weather up there lately has been similar...very warm and bright. The most recent report I've received was that fish were actually still looking at hoppers! The forecast looks good for the weekend up there...increasing clouds with a few showers. Bring on the hatch! We'll keep our fingers crossed. Either way, heading North to Big Sky country this time of year always promises to be a great trip. Fall in Montana is not a season, but a state of mind that I look forward to experiencing all year. Enjoy a couple of photos here from prior trips to Montana. Scott Smith snapped this first amazing shot of myself and Meeks Krueger fishing the Clark Fork. The second one is a sunset shot after taking out on the Big Hole. Lastly, here's a typical Missouri River 'Bow. More soon...

Guides Weekend

2010-10-16T13:59:00.003-06:00

At the end of each guiding season, the Jack Dennis guiding crew usually puts together at least a day trip to kick back and do some fishing amongst ourselves. Since the weather this fall has been so nice, we decided to do an overnight on the South Fork. We spent the past two days floating between Conant and Byington, serving up streamers and dry flies to some hungry fish. The fishing was great, but what was even better was all of the periphery things that come with an overnight river trip. Fantastic weather and foliage made it an absolute delight to be on the water. Camping around Gormer Canyon was the icing on the cake. We picked one of the most beautiful campsites on the river, and sat around a campfire sipping beer and wine, and eating flank steaks wonderfully prepared by Scott Smith. Great time guys...thank you! The river has dropped significantly over there; we're looking at about 4,400 cfs near Irwin. The fish are really starting to concentrate over here too. Streamers, mahoganies and even a few hoppers did the trick. Look for the South Fork to drop even further soon. These next few weeks should see some more aggressive eats from the Browns; whether you are on the South Fork or up in Yellowstone, the fall bite should be kicking into high gear with some cooler temps on the way. Instead of posting photos of guides holding ridiculously large fish, enjoy a few lifestyle shots that exemplify why we do what we do.

Slowing Down

2010-10-11T20:53:00.004-06:00

The second week of October is upon us. The days are noticeably shorter and cooler; the auto and pedestrian traffic around town has diminished. The local streams are quiet and the fishing is good. I've just about wrapped up the 2010 guiding season. Although there is still fantastic fishing to be had, the pool of potential fishing clientele is virtually empty. The guiding season went by very fast for me this year. May and June brought us some very wet and cold weather, which produced very high water. Before we knew it, it was early July and the fishing was beginning to turn on. The "summer" consisted of only July and August. Fortunately, September was spectacular: great weather and fine fishing. The Green, South Fork and Snake all produced consistently good fishing, and I was fortunate to guide some really great people this year. Thanks to all of my clients and guiding colleagues for such a great summer. If you are thinking about fishing the Snake this week, I'd go for it. The weather is still great, and the river is low (377 cfs our of Jackson Lake Dam), so the fish are stacked! Look for mayflies early near the Dam, and later in the day on the lower river. I wouldn't hesitate to throw a hopper either late in the day. The Jack Dennis fishing guides are headed to the South Fork later this week for an overnight trip to celebrate the end of our season, and to usher in some serious fall fishing. After that, it will be time to head north to the grand Missouri River to experience fall fishing Montana style. Stay tuned for more reports. Here's a few fresh photos to enjoy. Fall colors at the Oxbow Bend in Teton Park; a healthy brown that fell for a dry fly; the joy of a large fish exploding on a surface fly, and the exhilaration of a bent rod and a tight line. More soon!

Snake River Water Cuts

2010-10-04T20:15:00.004-06:00

Late last night, the Bureau of Reclamation began cutting the water flows from Jackson Lake Dam, which affects the Snake River levels through our valley. Typically, the first week of October is when we see the Snake River reduced to its "winter flows". The plan that many of us saw over the last few weeks via email had the Bureau gradually cutting the water over a four day period. Well, after moving the river from 1,100 cfs to 850 overnight, they proceeded to drop it to 500 cfs during the day today, and then actually raise it back up to 550 cfs. Not sure why they did this. The ultimate level that we will end up seeing will likely be below 500 cfs. Anglers would prefer to see a more gradual drop during these water cuts. Not only does a drastic cut in flows affect the fishing, it also can potentially strand fish in side-channels throughout the river, since they may not have enough time to react to the dropping water. I was not happy to see the graph tonight on the USGS site showing such a drastic drop. (Check my link list below for Wyoming Streamflow data, and go to the Snake River near Moran). Despite all of this, I did have a fantastic day of guiding today on the Snake from the Dam to Pacific Creek. The Trico hatch is still happening in full force in the mornings, and we hit it pretty good. Although they were tough, there were plenty of larger fish up on dries in very shallow water...good fun! Here's a couple of pictures I've been meaning to post for awhile: brothers Fred and Ted Thranhardt with a pair of great fish that fell for dry flies from the South Fork Canyon last week. The third photo is one I snapped on Deadman's to Moose recently: the classic Fall shot of the Tetons. Enjoy!

Peaking Foliage

2010-09-28T21:26:00.007-06:00

The weather and scenery over the last few days on the river has been absolutely beautiful. The skies have had abundant sunshine, very calm winds and temperatures in the 80's. Coinciding with this fantastic weather has been an amazing feast for the eyes in the form of fall foliage. All over the region, the Cottonwoods, Aspens, Mountain Ash and Willows have been peaking in color. If you have not been on the river bottom lately, I'd head out soon! The icing on the cake is this: the fishing is fantastic right now! Mahoganies and hoppers are getting the job done still. I've been over on the South Fork the last couple of days; fishing for fun yesterday on the Lower section, and guiding today in the Canyon. The foliage is about one week behind what we are seeing in Jackson, and it is just as pretty. Here's a couple of shots from the past few days. A stunning fall Cutthroat that fell for a streamer on my day off; Scott Smith putting Jon Wylie on to some fish; Scott Smith sight fishing in a quiet side channel. More soon...

The Wind Tunnel

2010-09-25T09:19:00.004-06:00

Whether you are fresh or saltwater fly-fishing, some of the best destinations around the world are also some of the windiest. Jackson Hole is no exception. Typically, our windiest month on the river is in August. This season, it seems like it has been blowing non-stop. This past week on the Snake and South Fork were very windy for me and my clients. I'm not sure which is more frustrating: rowing in heavy wind, or casting in it. Trying to hold a steady line with the boat while watching your anglers flail is one of the hardest things in guiding. Yesterday on Moose to Wilson saw some very impressive gusts that blew what few mayflies were hatching all the way to Nebraska. Despite all of this, it was a great week of fishing. Mahoganies ruled the Snake and South Fork in my boat; late-day hopper fishing is also still happening. Now that September is almost gone, local anglers are starting to think about the Fall Brown trout bite. The weather has been very warm and sunny still, so I wouldn't be rushing up to Lewis Lake just yet. I spent my day off Thursday fishing with Scott Smith and Darren Calhoun on the other side of the hill. We traded the oars all day in search of trophies and had a great time. Darren won top rod with this 23" Brown that came in over 5 pounds on a dry fly. Nice one Darren! Here's a few shots from the day...

Friends on the River

2010-09-19T10:32:00.006-06:00

A good portion of my guiding clientele these days comes from local sources. I have a number of friends and acquaintances that hire me for themselves, or for their own friends and family that are visiting Jackson Hole. I always look forward to these bookings, they tend to be very fun. I had the chance to guide a handful of friends over the last week or so, and the fishing was great. Great fishing is always a treat, but it is particularly nice when I get to take locals. The Snake and South Fork are in great shape right now. Early fall weather has arrived; clear skies, warm temps and changing colors are making a feast for the eyes on the water right now. Big game is also starting to move near the river. The icing on the cake is that the fish are aggressively looking for flies. Although the nights are getting colder, I've still been finding eager fish on dries in the mornings, particularly on the Snake. The Snake at Moose is hovering at a low 1,400 cfs. Nice fish are still showing up in the main river channel. The South Fork has been turning on later in the day; hoppers and Caddisflies are working well over there. The next couple of weeks looks busy, and then it starts to slow down for me...time to fish! I've got a few great trips planned, more soon on that. I've added a new link on my list below to check out...visit Montana Angler Fly Fishing if you are planning any kind of angling adventure to Big Sky country. Here's a few photo highlights from last week. A nice group of Elk crossing the river in Teton Park; my buddy George Putnam displaying one of many nice fish he caught on his birthday with me; lastly, Al Renneisen with one of the more colorful Snake River Cutties I've seen awhile.

25th Annual Jackson Hole One Fly

2010-09-13T10:50:00.003-06:00

I just finished two days of guiding in the 2010 Jackson Hole One Fly event. This was the 25th One Fly Event held to raise money for stream improvement projects on the Snake and South Fork Rivers. Coming into the event late last week, the weather was truly foul; cold temperatures, rain and sleet lasted through Friday night. The skies cleared for the weekend, with bright blue conditions and few clouds. While Saturday stayed a little cooler, Sunday warmed up to the low 70's. Forty teams of four anglers per team float two days, and can only use one fly per day. I fished Deadman's to Moose on the Snake both days. All four of my anglers kept their fly, and had a variety of scores. We fished a couple of small Mayfly attractors, a large Stonefly attractor, and a small Chernobyl ant. By far, the best fly in my boat over the weekend was the Small brown Chernobyl Ant thrown by none other than journalist Tom Brokaw. He fished well, and was a pleasure to guide. Great fishing, along with some fantastic conversation made the day yesterday fly by. The winning team in the event this year was the Worldcast Anglers crew. I've not heard what fly one the event yet with the most points, but local angler Mike Dawes helped carry these guys to victory. The largest fish in the net came off of the South Fork...a 23.5 inch Brown that fell for a Stonefly nymph at the hands of guide Ed Emory. In addition to Tom Brokaw, a couple of other legends fished the event this year. Actor Tom Skerritt, as well as local angler Liz McCabe (at 99 years old) also participated. (Nice job Liz!!) I'm off the river today, letting the fish rest a bit before giving it a shot tomorrow. The leaves are starting to change rapidly, and the thrill of Fall fishing is just about here. Enjoy a few pictures from my day yesterday with Mr. Brokaw.

Wild Weather Again

2010-09-09T20:55:00.005-06:00

Over the past few days, I've seen a very mixed bag of fishing results on the Snake River. Monday and Tuesday brought us some beautiful early fall weather, with bright sun, calm winds and pleasant temperatures. Both days also saw lackluster fishing. I had good anglers from Deadman's to Moose each of those days, and we saw a lot of smaller fish on a variety of dry flies, with just a few larger fish acting very shy. I awoke Wednesday to some good cloud cover and fairly warm temps; I headed to Moose to put in and run the 14 mile stretch to Wilson with San Francisco resident Tom Steele. We hammered them. He fished a Parachute Hare's Ear from Moose all the way down to Wilson, and we found nice fish all over the place. Even though there was not much of a hatch, the fish were eagerly looking up. I think they were looking for the Drake hatch, and our fly did the trick. I decided to try it again today. Again, we awoke to good cloud cover, and slightly cooler temps. We put on at Moose and found a few fish, but before we knew it, the skies opened up with rain and sleet. The thermometer dropped to the low 40's and we began to freeze. The wind began gusting toward the 30 mile an hour mark. One storm after another rolled in on us, and my clients opted to row out to Wilson and head home. We cherry-picked a few holes on the way down, and found a couple of fish on small dries. I think if we had stuck with it, the fishing would have produced again. At one point, the clouds lifted a bit, and we could see that some significant snow had fallen above about 8,000 feet. It's pouring rain tonight, and it's still quite cold. We'll see what tomorrow brings. This weekend is the 25th annual Jackson Hole One Fly event. Forty teams will compete on the Snake and South Fork this weekend with one fly per angler, per day. Good luck! I'll have more on this after the weekend. Here's a couple of pictures of my buddy Larry Stephenson, who I guided last week. We had a great day looking for Cutties on dries. After visiting me here, he headed up to Oregon chasing Deschutes River Steelhead. Here's a picture he sent me from his trip...what a fish!! Check out Larry's link off of my list below to see his great artwork. More soon.

A Bittersweet Week

2010-09-05T07:50:00.005-06:00

I just wrapped up one of the most consistent weeks of guiding this summer, with fantastic fishing on both the Snake and the South Fork. The cold weather, cloud cover and moisture we saw this week jump-started many of the fish into early fall mode. Drakes, Mahoganies, Hecubas and Hoppers all worked well for the anglers in my boat. Even once the skies cleared, and the hatches cooled down, the fish were still looking up for the Hoppers. There were also plenty of Caddisflies in the mornings, particularly on the South Fork. The tragic news of the accident that took the life of local fishing guide Rob Merrill put a serious damper on the mood on the water, and reminded us of the realities of life and some of the risks in fly-fishing. Rob worked for the Jack Dennis Fly Shop for a lengthy period, in between guiding stints on the South Fork, Henry's Fork and in Russia. Rob was guiding Wednesday on the Upper South Fork, when one of his oars became tangled with his anglers fishing line. While attempting to loosen the line, the boat drifted into a willow and overturned. While both clients made it to shore safely, Rob did not. It was a cold day, and he had waders on. Not sure yet if this played a role in his drowning, but it's likely. One moment, three people were enjoying some great evening fishing, the next moment, an instant tragedy. My thoughts are with Rob and his family right now. While guiding on that same section of the South Fork on Friday, both of my clients (who knew Rob from the Driggs fly shop where he was currently working), and myself were thinking of him all day. The river is obviously very demanding, and even letting down your guard for a moment can have dire consequences. Although the fishing was very good for us that day, it didn't seem as fun...Rob lost his life doing what he loved: trying to put a couple of people onto some fish. I'm sure Rob will be missed on the river. Check out a new link on my link list below. Click on "Troutbugs" to view the blog of Montana angler Joshua Bergen and also don't miss his website. Good stuff. Here's a nice shot of Charlie Howorth from the South Fork with a typical Cutthroat...plump and colorful. Also, a shot sent to me from Dan Beistel from our day on the Snake last week. Nice fish guys!

The Perfect Storm

2010-08-30T19:50:00.007-06:00

As many of you may know, the Snake River does not typically produce very prolific insect hatches in August. The weather is usually hot, clear and dry which is not very favorable to thick bug activity. A running joke between my guiding buddy Chris Stump and I goes something like this: "Hey Mark", says Chris at the takeout, "did you see that PMD near the Miracle Bank today at about 1:30?". Such is the case most days during late July and August. Once in awhile, we get lucky. The perfect storm of conditions takes place to change all of this. When the correct combination of temperature, light and moisture come together at the end of August or early September, the Snake can produce a blanket hatch. It happened today. I had my best day of the summer guiding on the Snake today under these conditions. We awoke today to thick cloud cover and light rain. The temps never got out of the low 50's on the water. No one was on the river...it was deserted.
My good friend and client Denny Cobb, of Virginia Beach, VA, and I put on today at Moose with high expectations, and they were all met. Fish were all over attractors right from the beginning, and by late morning, a thick hatch of Mahoganies and Drakes were pouring off everywhere. The hatch lasted all the way to the Wilson Bridge this evening. The river literally came uncorked; fish were feeding everywhere. Days like this on the Snake can be rare; it fished more like the South Fork, with eager Cutthroat rising to the occasion. The rest of the week looks like it will be warming with plentiful sun...oh well. Keep an eye on the Weather Channel; the next cold front could be your day. Here's a shot of Denny with a nice fish from today. The weather around here started changing on Saturday. I spent most of the day with the kids watching the rain fall, while Rachael spent the day floating the canyon section of the Snake on a ladies outing. Here's a nice shot of her with a great fish. More soon!

The Demanding Snake

2010-08-26T21:06:00.003-06:00

For those readers familiar with the Snake River below Jackson Lake Dam, you know just how demanding a river it is to row. Floating on most of the stretches around here involves navigating your boat through significant elevation loss and numerous large log jams consisting of downed Cottonwood trees. Drifting this river, whether done from a driftboat, raft or canoe, requires not only good rowing skills, but a heightened awareness of your surroundings. Just earlier this season, two local anglers dumped their boats in log jams between Moose and Wilson. Both parties fortunately escaped without serious injury. Even though the river is running very low in volume right now (1,600 cfs at Moose), the danger is still there. While guiding today, my clients and I witnessed a canoe flip over on Deadman's to Moose, and its two older occupants get tossed in the river. We pulled our flies in, and I immediately rowed over to help. We got the couple to the bank and helped them out. I asked if they had floated this section before, and they said "No...why?". "Well", I said, "this section sees the most accidents of any section on this river. It loses a lot of elevation between Deadman's and Moose, and there are a ton of strainers. You have not even hit the maze yet, where most of the dangers are". They quickly asked, "What are strainers?". "Really", I thought to myself. I told the couple that if they had dumped their canoe into a strainer, they could have drowned. It turns out they never even saw or read the warnings at the Deadman's put-in. Pay attention people! On a lighter note, here is a great photo of my buddy John Holland with an absolute monster caught on the upper Smith River in Montana, near the Bar Z ranch. They're hitting hoppers right now hard. To learn more about this incredible fishery, visit Brian Hodges travel site at http:, //www.doublehaultravel.com click on the Bar Z Riverside Ranch.

Tougher River

2010-08-22T14:49:00.004-06:00

The fishing on the Snake got a little harder this past week. Hot temperatures and very clear skies for most of the week kept many of the fish lockjawed around my boat. The brief cloudcover that I saw on Thursday morning sparked the river for a few hours, which was great news for my buddy Peter Chung who was in my boat. It further reinforced my theories on bright conditions and good fishing on the Snake this time of year; bright days can be tough and overcast skies are best! The river continues to drop, and the fish are becoming even more concentrated. We're approaching 1,600 cfs at Moose. The Art Association Art Fair is going on this weekend in Jackson at Miller Park. I took the girls down for a few hours today to check it out. There were a number of vendors exhibiting some great fly-fishing related art, including my friend Larry Stephenson. Larry resides in Wichita, Kansas, and puts out some very colorful and fun fishing related prints. I'll be fishing with him this week, so look for a photo soon. Click on his link off of my link list below to learn more about him. I spent the day yesterday in the Wind River Canyon on my annual trip to visit Darren Calhoun near Thermopolis, Wyoming. I headed over in style with Tom Smith on board his Cheyenne Piper, and had a great day. The temps in Thermopolis hit almost 100 degrees yesterday. Despite this, the fishing was solid, with many nice fish caught in fast water. Getting wet through the whitewater was sure a bonus. Click on Darren's link below, as well, to learn more about the unique product he offers on the Wind River. Here are a few shots from yesterday. Tom Smith with a fish on; a typical Wind River Brown; the view from the cockpit coming home last night near a local wildfire. More soon...

August Half Over?

2010-08-15T14:26:00.005-06:00

This summer has been flying by for me faster than any other that I can remember! It might have something to do with the fact that we had rain and snow well into June; being busy guiding with two young kids at home is probably adding fuel to this fire. Just this past week, we had two days that struggled to get out of the high 60's. With some breeze on the river, it really felt like fall had already arrived. I sure hope we have a long, dry fall season. Fortunately, it's warmed up a little this weekend. Temps are in the high 70's and skies are very bright. The Snake River continues to drop, with levels just above 1,700 cfs at Moose. Some of my favorite side channels are now almost too low to float. Fish are really concentrating in their holes and looking up, as the main channel continues to fish well. This is also a great time to be fishing the local tributaries. Don't miss the Gros Ventre, Hoback or the Grey's right now...they are prime. The girls and I hit the Gros Ventre and Granite Creek this weekend and it was great. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has been making a great effort this summer with their Aquatic Nuisance Species checkpoint station just north of the Airport in Teton Park. All watercraft are required to stop here on their way to any of the rivers or lakes in the parks. Their goal is not to ticket people as much as it is for education. Cleaning boats and intakes on motorized boats can help reduce the chance of bringing invasive species into our local waters; pulling in to get checked only takes a few minutes. I chatted with one of the officials there the other morning and they have already found some potential aquatic "hitchhikers" being transported from our neighbors to the south into our local waters in the past few weeks. Good work! If you are hitting local waters and have not registered your boat yet with an ANS sticker, visit the Fish and Game office on the way out of town and pick one up. Here are a few fresh pictures of summer in Jackson Hole. Me and Charlotte on Granite Creek; Sam Lightner with a great fish last Friday on the Snake; Stan Czarniak displaying a very tight line on a Yellowstone backcountry stream. More soon...

Red Hot Snake

2010-08-08T20:00:00.004-06:00

I had another great week of guiding last week on the Snake River here in Jackson. All of my days on the river were in Teton Park, and the fishing was solid. Although the fish are starting to look more closely at the larger flies, they were feeding with reckless abandon on smaller attractors and mayflies. The river is now running at about 1,900 cfs at Moose. Historically, for this date, it has averaged about 4,000 cfs. In other words, we have a very low river right now. The fish are very concentrated in their holes, and the larger fish have comfortably moved into their prime lies. The good news is that it is giving us some pretty darn good fishing right now. The bad news, in my opinion, is that it may make for tougher fishing as we get through August into September. While the water continues to warm this month, and the fish get stuck each day, they will get tougher and tougher. The first cold snap will solve this, but it's likely a month away. If you have not fished the Snake yet, I'd get on it soon! The South Fork continues to fish well with PMD's, and if you are on the Green early, it should be good. If you have not been in the new fly shop yet (70 South King Street, Jackson), then come on in! We've really added a lot of gear in the past few weeks, including a great fly selection. Rods from Thomas and Thomas, as well as Redington have arrived, along with Abel reels. We also just got in some beautiful handcrafted, wooden fly boxes and landing nets from local builder Steve Shibuya. Hope to see you in there. I was saddened to hear last week of the passing of Irwin, Idaho fly-tyer Phil Blomquist. He passed away in an accident last week and will be missed. He tied a variety of flies for our new shop, including some Orange Crushes, Pepperoni Yuk Bugs and some fantastic Sparkle Dun PMD's. Come check them out before they are gone. We'll miss ya Phil. Here is Marc LeBaron with a nice Cutty, measuring 19", from last week that fell for a dry fly. More soon!

The Boat Parade

2010-08-02T19:15:00.004-06:00

Traffic on the Snake was noticeably higher today...at least where I was floating in Teton Park. There were at least a dozen boats on the same stretch I was on, and I felt like I was playing a chess game with my boat all day. Trying to secure a spot in some of my favorite areas was difficult. Oh well...I guess it's August now. Fishing was decent...we saw plenty of fish to the net in the 8" to 12" class. Most of the bigger fish we saw were very shy, likely due to the bright sun and the amount of boats going by today. Many looked up, and went right back down. I've had a variety of anglers recently, covering the entire spectrum of abilities. Beginners are certainly fun to take, and sometimes easier, because they often have very low expectations. Some novices actually think that they won't even catch a fish, but they always do. The more advanced anglers can sometimes be harder; finding bigger fish is often the goal. It's fun, though, being on the oars watching a "rod" work the water. I often learn something new about how to cast or present a fly when I have a good angler in the boat. Here's my tip of the day: keep the fly on the water! The anglers that false cast incessantly, or are constantly tangled up simply don't do as well. Their flies are just not spending enough time on the water. When it's time to cast, pick up just once, and present it in one cast. Yesterday was the opener on Flat Creek through the National Elk Refuge. I worked in the shop for a few hours yesterday afternoon, and had numerous people stop by with reports of big fish being caught. Get out there soon before they get too educated! Here's a couple of shots from No Tell Canyon last weekend; Stan Czarniak and I hit the trail in Southern Montana in search of large Brown Trout and struck gold. More soon!

It's Good Everywhere

2010-07-28T20:53:00.006-06:00

Since my last post, I've been all over the place guiding and fishing. No matter which direction you head from Jackson, you should be able to find good fishing right now. I guided the South Fork Canyon overnight on Sunday and Monday this week with Joe Strazzeri and friends, and it was a great trip. We do our overnight through Heise Expeditions; our host Mike Quinn took very good care of us with an outstanding steak dinner on Sunday, and breakfast the next morning. The fishing over there is pretty good right now. Fish were eating large dry fly attractors on the banks, with Yellow Sally trailers behind them. The main event right now is the PMD hatch. Park yourself on any riffle by about noon, and look for the Cutthroat hitting the surface. They are eating these bugs ravenously. It won't be long before they get a little picky, I'm sure. The Snake yesterday was great; Deadman's to Moose fished solid with Sallies and large attractors. I guided today on the Green River near Pinedale. We arrived to the boat launch very early under cloudy skies. Although the water temps are getting warm, and the river is low, we had great fishing. The cloud cover really helped. We netted a half dozen fish in the 18"-20" class...all Browns. We also saw a handful of rainbows. Large chernobyls with beadhead droppers did the trick.
I also had a first on the river today: we came around a corner to find a young mountain lion taking a sip of water. He immediately jumped on the bank and ran off...sorry, no photo. As some of you may know, there is sometimes tension between guides and anglers in this region. For example, it's common knowledge that some folks on the South Fork do not like Jackson Hole guides coming over there to work. Well, many of our clients like to fish there, and I like to think we are helping their local economy. We are perfectly legal to be guiding there and only want to introduce our clients to the river. The same goes for Sublette County, Wyoming...home of the Green River. Many residents down there do not like seeing us working or playing there...not sure why. I snapped a photo today of a sign we found on one of the bridges we floated under. Pretty funny. What is interesting is that we did not see a single boat today anywhere on or near the Green other than ourselves. Here's a couple of shots of today's fish with Larry Kown and Jeff Cummings. Stay tuned for some photos in the next post from No Tell Canyon.

Getting Busy

2010-07-22T20:44:00.003-06:00

Over the past week, the traffic around town and on the river has really surged. Despite more anglers being on the river, the Snake is holding up very well. I've been guiding mostly in Teton Park, and the dry fly fishing has been quite good. Withing the past two days, I've been starting to see some larger fish looking up. Chernobyl Ants, Yellow Sallies and Copper John droppers have all been doing a fine job. Yesterday was a very wild day on the river with local angler Dennis Butcher. We did Moose to Wilson, and spent most of the day dodging lightning, and very heavy rain. Despite this, he picked up some nice fish, including a 19" cutthroat on a large dry fly (no photo, sorry). The Buffalo Fork came up in volume overnight, but barely affected the river clarity today. The South Fork sounds like it has still been red hot, especially in the Canyon. Most of the tributaries are now ready to go...low and clear. I'm heading back to No Tell Canyon tomorrow with Stan Czarniak for a couple of days, then on to a South Fork overnight with good client Joe Strazzeri. Hopefully, I'll have some good reports coming up! Here is Denton Rea, of Odessa Texas, with our best fish of the day today.

The Snake Is Ready

2010-07-18T12:33:00.005-06:00

I've been guiding on the Snake the past five days, and I must say that the fishing has exceeded my expectations. Once the runoff has subsided and the river clears, the action can often take some time to really spark. There's been no delay this year. The dry fly action this week was stellar. Although I only saw a few bigger fish, the action on smaller fish was non-stop. Chernobyl Ants and Wulff Attractors brought most of the fish to the surface. The couple days that I ran Deadman's to Moose saw a very thick Yellow Sally hatch in the afternoons; fish were eagerly taking Sally imitations in the riffles. Copper John droppers under the bigger dries also brought many fish to the net. The flows are good too...2,840 cfs at Moose as of today. By the end of next week, we should see even lower flows with bigger fish looking up. Rendezvous bowl is now clear of snow, and the water clarity is almost perfect. For those of you floating between Deadman's Bar and Wilson, be prepared for many new channels and snags. The high runoff in June has really changed the shape of the river in this area. There are many new, interesting looking channels and gravel bars. There's also many new log jams and obstacles to add a little challenge to the rowing. Keep your head up! Reports from the South Fork Canyon have been very good...large and small stones are turning many nice fish, with perfect water levels (12,500 cfs near Irwin). Here's Rene Ciarametaro with a chunky Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat Trout. Nice fish Rene!

Jack Dennis Fly Fishing

2010-07-13T19:42:00.003-06:00

For those of you reading this that don't know my history, I have been in Jackson, Wyoming for almost 15 years now, and have been working as a fly-fishing guide for Jack Dennis' Snake River Fishing Trips. Jack's guide service, aka Jack Dennis Fishing Trips, has been working out of the Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop on Broadway since the late 1960's. Since then, Jack has acquired numerous concessions permits that allow us to legally guide in Grand Teton National Park, Bridger-Teton National Forest, the BLM areas on the Green River and in Yellowstone National Park. We also have a relationship with Heise Expeditions, on the South Fork of the Snake, that allow us to legally guide in Idaho. Since the beginning, Jack has proudly offered only the highest quality guides to his clientele. Over the past winter, Jack and his former partners at the Jack Dennis Outdoor shop severed their relationship; Jack essentially pulled his premier guide service from the Broadway location to start anew in another fly shop, built from the ground up. I am pleased to announce that we are now officially open! Please visit us at 70 South King Street (across from the Sweetwater Restaurant), just off the town square. (Or call 307-734-8103). We have a great fly selection from Montana Fly Company, Umpqua, Rainy's Flies, Dan Bailey's Flies as well as patterns from local tier Phil Blumquist. We've also got gear from Abel, Thomas and Thomas, Loon, Dr. Slick, Scientific Anglers, Bailey's and RIO. It's a great new spot for us to book our trips, meet our clients and present some flies. It's a new beginning that is sure to take off. For those of you on Facebook, click on the Jack Dennis Fishing Trips badge on the right side of this page to see our store page!
As for the fishing lately...
I've been on the Snake the past few days and it has been extremely windy. The best fishing right now is definitely below South Park. The water clarity and hatch activity (stones and caddis), is much better on the lower river right now than it is in the Park. I've been quite busy lately helping Jack set up his new shop, so I don't have a first hand report from the South Fork or Green. Through the grapevine, however, I've heard that both are turning on nicely. Drakes showing up on the Green early in the day, and stones on the South Fork. More soon!

Ri-Drake-Ulous

2010-07-06T21:09:00.003-06:00

I guided today on the Canyon section of the South Fork with Kazou Seta, a client from Tokyo I take every few years. As an avid fly fisherman, it's a treat for him to visit the Western States to pursue some trout fishing. There's a few spots on the North island of Japan that offer some angling to stocked trout, but nothing like Wyoming or Idaho has to offer. We had been emailing for the past couple of weeks about where to fish; the obvious choices for early July were the Green or the South Fork. Although the Green is now down to 1,100 cfs at Warren Bridge, we opted to chase the Salmonflies on the South Fork. Over the past few days, I had been hearing reports of the big bugs on the lower section, but could not get confirmation. We decided to do the Canyon (since he had never done it, and wanted to see the scenery), so we got on early and motored down. I prefer staying well above the hatch just in case it moves quickly. The water is still very cold over there...49 degrees this morning. We picked up fish on large Stonefly nymphs all morning, but did not see a single adult Stonefly anywhere. After a quick lunch, the hatch hit...but not the Salmonflies. The thickest Green Drake hatch I have ever seen on the South Fork began pouring off. We had about 3 hours of stellar dry fly fishing. We did not see any really big fish...17" was the best, but the sheer numbers of Rainbow, Brown and Cutthroat we caught was amazing. As the water warms over the next few days, I'm sure the Stoneflies will show up...until then, enjoy the drakes! The Snake is getting close. The snowfield in Rendezvous bowl is almost completely gone. Old-timers use this rule as an indicator letting the valley know when the Snake is ready to fish. When all of the snow is gone, it's fishin' time. The river looked as clear as I've seen it in awhile as I crossed it tonight in Wilson. Stay tuned.

Salmonflies?

2010-06-30T20:02:00.003-06:00

It's the end of June, and everyone I've been talking to is getting anxious. We're all ready to fish dry flies. Granted, there's been some very good dry fly fishing lately on Lewis Lake and the Firehole River. Now we're ready to throw some big dries from the driftboat. The South Fork of the Snake has been holding steady at about 16,000 cfs for the past week; no sign yet of the big bugs, but it should be any day. For now, it's still nymphing well. The temperatures around here have been very hot for a few days now, so this should help that tailwater to finally heat up. A little warmer water should get the Salmonflies moving. The Snake and Green Rivers are both still running high and dirty (6,800 cfs and 2,000 cfs respectively). It's going to be at least a week on the Green, and probably two weeks on the Snake before we see better dry fly conditions. I did guide yesterday from Jackson Lake Dam to Pacific Creek on the Snake (above the dirtiest water), and had decent fishing. The water is still a little high, with a green tint. Although the Yellow Sally hatch was thick, there were only a few fish around looking up. I'm headed back up there on Friday, so hopefully I'll have a better report. For those readers that don't know...Jack Dennis' guide service (Jack Dennis Fishing Trips), is no longer operating out of the Jack Dennis Sports store on the town square in Jackson. We've moved around the corner to 70 South King Street (across from the Sweetwater Restaurant). We are receiving inventory as we speak, and should be open for business soon! I'll have more details soon...

Yellowstone Lake

2010-06-22T14:03:00.007-06:00

The rivers around Western Wyoming and Eastern Idaho are beginning to stabilize after many weeks of rain and snow. The warmer temperatures lately have helped many of the local rivers reach their runoff peaks. Although it is still muddy, the Snake at Moose is running around 6,000 cfs. We should see better fishing conditions in a few weeks on the Snake. The Green has been a bit of a roller coaster; it's been fluctuating between 1,200 and 2,000 cfs over the past week, with varying degrees of clarity. I spent the weekend with the family camping above Warren Bridge, and we fished it both days. Although it is still high, and has limited visibility, the streamer fishing was surprisingly good. The South Fork had come down as low as 12,500 cfs over the past few days, and was brought back up again today to 14,600 cfs. I'm not sure if the Bureau of Reclamation even knows where to leave it right now, as Palisades is nearly full. If they can level it off where it is now, the dry fly fishing should really pop soon, particularly on the lower river. It's been a late start all over the region. Cool temps and high water have stalled the Salmonfly hatch on the Big Hole and the Madison Rivers. This should change this week with better weather.
Stan Czarniak and I spent Friday on Yellowstone Lake, near West Thumb. The streamer fishing was fantastic. In recent years, the numbers of fish that fly-rodders have been tying into has gone down. The fishing the other day sure felt better. We saw over a dozen fish in the net, including a 5-pounder.
Although it was not a fifty-fish day reminiscent of ten years ago, it was a heck of a lot better than the fishing I've had in the past few years. Hopefully these beautiful Cutthroat are making their comeback here. Headed to the Firehole tomorrow with some clients. More soon!

Wind River Canyon Update

2010-06-18T19:43:00.003-06:00

Darren Calhoun, owner/operator of Wind River Canyon Whitewater and Fly-Fishing called me this week with a very positive update concerning the train derailment last month in the Wind River Canyon. It looks like the BNSF train derailment caused very negligible effects, if any at all. This is great news! For those of you who don't know much about this canyon, it is home to some of the finest trout fishing for Brown and Rainbow that Wyoming has to offer. Tumbling through some very rugged whitewater and rolling through the Wind River Indian Reservation, Darren's operation is the only way to truly experience this piece of water. Darren and I have both been getting many questions on how the fishing may be affected, and fortunately it looks like the minor spill, in conjunction with the very high spring flows, has had no affect on the fishery. I'm already looking forward to my annual trip. Check his link out below for details. Here's a great shot of Darren, and my wife Rachael, with a typical Wind River Canyon Brown. Stay tuned for a Yellowstone Lake update!

Huge Runoff...Firehole "On Fire"

2010-06-13T06:31:00.005-06:00

Water levels throughout Wyoming and Eastern Idaho surged this week, as very heavy rains pounded the deep snow pack in the high peaks. Throughout the region, a very cool and wet May prevented much of the spring runoff from beginning. It really kicked into high gear this week. Heavy rains, and warmer temperatures brought the Snake River up to near record runoff levels. For those who do not know, the river volume is measured in "cfs", meaning "cubic feet per second". By drawing an imaginary line across the river, hydrologists can measure how many cubic feet of water are flowing by per second. Although we have not seen the record levels recorded from June 1997, the flows measured last week were very close.
Here are a few photos from the Snake River I snapped a few days ago. The first two at South Park Bridge, show a Snake River full of debris, looking more like chocolate milk, than river water. The third photo was taken at the Moose boat launch in Teton Park. The ramp is completely under water here. The South Park photos were taken on Wednesday, when the river was running about 22,000 cfs. For comparison, most guides would agree that after runoff, the Snake fishes best at about 2,500 cfs.
The South Fork of the Snake in Idaho, spilling out of Palisades Reservoir, was brought up to almost 22,000 cfs this weekend, in response to so much water coming out of Wyoming. I guided there last Tuesday at 14,500 cfs, and had tough fishing.
Although it is limiting our fishing options right now, the good news is that in high runoff years, the angling later in the summer can be excellent! The best bet around here right now is the Firehole River, in Yellowstone National Park. I spent the day there on Friday, and found stellar fishing; dries and nymphs were OK, but the streamer fishing was on fire. This can be the case in the spring when the river is higher.

Heavy Rains

2010-06-06T16:39:00.003-06:00

The past few days around Western Wyoming and Eastern Idaho have brought us some very heavy rains, and warmer temperatures. The runoff has now been kicked into a much higher gear. The Buffalo Fork, Pacific Creek and the Gros Ventre River are all running at a very high level, with a chocolate milk coloring. The Snake River is running over 16,000 cfs at the bottom of the Snake River Canyon, and it is still rising. They are increasing the flows out of Jackson Lake Dam, as Jackson Lake nears capacity. The Green River is also running high and dirty at 1,860 cfs. Flood warnings were issued today also for the Henry's Fork River near Ashton, Idaho. A couple of months ago, we were worried about snowpack and water; at this point, things are looking much better. There is still a significant amount of snow left in Rendezvous Bowl at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. This is the snowfield that locals use as a gage to figure out when the Snake will be ready to fish. I'd say it will now be another 4 weeks at least before we are back on the Snake River. The best bet right now for local fishing is either on the Firehole River (which is running a little high also at almost 800 cfs), or the South Fork of the Snake. The South Fork is running at almost 9,000 cfs near Irwin, which is a great level to float. Both Palisades Creek and Pine Creek are putting in some muddy water right now, so be aware. The river is still fishable, with much of the dirty water mixing in. I guided on the Upper South Fork on Friday and had decent nymph fishing. Lightning Bugs and Red Copper Johns did fairly well. There was virtually no action on dries or streamers that we could find. Here's Memphis resident Ed Robertson with our best fish of the day...an 18" Brown trout. Nice fish Ed!

The Real Wyoming

2010-05-31T17:12:00.007-06:00

Happy Memorial Day to everyone out there. I'm sure there were plenty of barbeque's, beers and probably some fishing done out there this weekend. To quote my good friend Jeremy Larsen Kiuhara on Facebook today: "You are not forgotten". That about sums up Memorial Day for me. The fishing season in Yellowstone National Park opened on Saturday, and as usual, the main event was on the Firehole River. Typically, this river is at its best this time of year. With warmer water temperatures, and a gentle runoff there, the fishing and hatches can often be fantastic in late May. I got two different reports from some guides who went up to fish, and it sounds like the angling was great. The weather North of here was snowy and cold; I'm sure the BWO's were out. The guys I talked to also said it was very crowded; that's OK...there's a lot of water up there to spread out on. If you are thinking about the Firehole, the next few weeks should be prime. I headed South yesterday by myself to walk the Green River. It was a real treat. Living in Jackson Hole, one can sometimes forget that they live in "Wyoming". Most of the state of Wyoming is not like Jackson. Jackson Hole is visually a fairly narrow valley; it does not have the wide-open feel that the rest of the state has. As far as the culture, it's clearly a more manicured and affluent area, with plenty of "bling". Many non-Teton county residents of the Cowboy State do not even consider Jackson part of Wyoming. Heading South to the Green is always a drive I look forward to. Climbing out of Bondurant to the top of the Rim, the "real" Wyoming appears. Wide open, sage-brush flats with mountains in the distance, in every direction. Antelope dot the landscape, along with cattle and their ranchers. It feels like another world, in a different time. As for the fishing...it was solid. The river is still low, hovering around 400 cfs, which is a great wading level. I picked up a few fish on dry caddisflies early, and then found great action on streamers. The river is still a little low to float, in my opinion. Hopefully, the runoff will kick in soon down there. Once it does start, I don't think it will last long. On a related note, now that winter is over, our second "season" in Wyoming has arrived: road construction. They have just started a project north of Bondurant on highway 191 that stretches for about 6 miles. It should slow things down all summer on the way to and from all the Pinedale fishing. Beware! Here's a classic shot of the upper Green River and the wide-open country around it. More soon!

Stalled Again

2010-05-24T10:08:00.010-06:00

Well, another blast of cold temperatures and snow this weekend has stalled our runoff yet again. The Snake River Basin-wide snow-water equivalent average was up to 75% as of this morning, with more snow and rain forecast for today. The Snake River is running 1,770 cfs at Moose (compared to an average of almost 7,000 cfs for this date). The Buffalo Fork and Pacific Creek have dropped and cleared as well. The Green River is running just over 300 cfs at Warren Bridge (compared to an average of 1,500 cfs for this date). Lots of very low water for late May. We should see temperatures back up toward 70 degrees by Wednesday; this will hopefully jump start things again. The South Fork "flush" appears to be over, with the river down to about 11,500 cfs near Irwin. Fishing should be turning back on over there this week. Stonefly nymphs should get the job down, particularly on the lower river. I took the family up to Yellowstone for the weekend for our annual spring wildlife viewing expedition. May is a great time to visit the park and view Elk, Bison, Wolves and Bears. We had a great trip, despite the snowstorm on Saturday. As of yesterday, the Firehole and the Madison were running fairly clear. The Yellowstone opener next weekend should not be missed. The Firehole often fishes very well right out of the gate. Don't miss my good buddy Brian Hodges' new website: http://www.doublehaultravel.com If anyone has the "travel bug", click on this link or click on the Brian Hodges link from my list below. Whether you are interested in Abaco Lodge in the Bahamas, or the Bar Z Riverside ranch in Montana, Brian can help you get there! Here is Mr. Hodges with fish on!

Let The Runoff Begin

2010-05-16T14:29:00.002-06:00

It finally looks like the grasp of winter has let go. The past few days have seen temperatures in the valley close to 70 degrees, which is just what we need to get this runoff started. I can't remember ever seeing the Snake river so clear in the middle of May. The fishing on the Snake this past week has been exceptional. Cutthroat rising to dry Skwala and Caddis patterns have been reported up and down the river. Today may be the last decent day of fishing for awhile. The temps the next few days are supposed to be even warmer, and many of the tributaries on now on the rise. Pacific Creek and the Buffalo Fork have both spiked in volume today, which is undoubtedly going to send silt into the river. That's OK...we need to get the runoff started. The Green River has barely hit 150 cfs this week at Warren Bridge, which is very low. It will probably come up as well this week. I fished on Wednesday with my buddy Stan Czarniak on the lower South Fork. We had good fishing early in the day on streamers, but it got tough as the river came up. The Bureau of Reclamation has brought the South Fork up to over 17,000 cfs as of this weekend. I'd probably steer clear of that river for awhile. Scary news out of central Wyoming this week. A BNSF freight train derailed 5 miles south of Thermopolis, sending two of the lead diesel locomotives and one freight car into the Wind River. As you may know, this is a cherished area for me and many others; the Wind is home to some wild water and magnificent trout. Some reports have estimated that as many as 15,000 gallons of fuel were spilled into the river. The train tumbled into the water after striking a truck-sized boulder, just at the bottom of the canyon. I've been in touch with Darren Calhoun (owner/operator of Wind River Canyon Whitewater and Fishing), and he's keeping me updated. Hopefully, high spring flows will help minimize any major effects. I'll report more as I learn it.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-10T15:08:00.003-06:00

Hope everyone out there had a great Mother's Day yesterday. Here's to all the incredible mom's out there (my wife included!). As an angler living in Wyoming, Mother's Day certainly brings a secondary thought to mind: Caddisflies! This time of year, many of the rivers in this region put out a serious Caddisfly hatch that trout absolutely gorge on. It's already been happening on the Henry's Fork and the Yellowstone, and it looks like the Big Hole is next. On the rivers that do see a blizzard hatch, anglers come from far and wide to experience this dry fly madness. Emergers often end up doing the best, however, since there are just as many bugs sub-surface as there are on top, and they're easier to grab. Good luck out there if you hit it! I attended the Bridger-Teton National Forest spring outfitters meeting this past week. The main agenda item of note concerns the upcoming construction project at Hoback Junction. For those of you that have not heard, WYDOT is going to replace the bridge crossing the Snake River at Hoback Junction, starting this year. It is a 3 year project, that will undoubtedly cause traffic delays and maybe even some river closures. According to WYDOT, this summer should only see prep work, and not actual bridge construction. It looks like they will not be working during peak times, ie morning and evening rush hour...we'll see. By next summer, they will likely be doing actual bridge construction, and there may be periods where the river is closed to boat traffic in order to keep it safe. Not much else new here; still fairly cool weather, and no run-off yet. The Snake is at 990 cfs at Moose, compared to the historical average for this day of over 4,000 cfs. Hopefully it'll start soon! Ahhh...which streamer to pick today??

Still Winter

2010-05-03T09:33:00.003-06:00

For anyone following my journal and seeing the weather report at the top, you will know that winter is still hanging on around here. It's been a cool, wet week in Western Wyoming; the high country has picked up significant snowfall in the past few days. I'm getting more reports of friends skiing powder on Teton Pass than I am hitting local waters. The total precipitation in the Upper Snake River Basin has reached over 70% of average, which is great news. If this weather lasts much longer, we may actually see a longer runoff than I had previously thought. Time will tell. The Snake has been fishing well through this weather; I got some great reports from last week. The water is still low and clear (1,040 cfs at Moose, well below the average for this time of year which is about 2,800 cfs). Keep an eye out for Mother's Day Caddis on the Henry's Fork...should be any time. Sounds like the Big Hole is on fire right now, too. Streamer fishing, along with adult skwalas are keeping the action hot near Melrose. Give the boys at the Sunrise Fly Shop a call for details. For those of you tired of the cold, wet weather around here...enjoy this tropical photo of Jon "Law Dawg" Wylie with a great 'Cuda caught a couple of weeks ago near Ascension Bay, Mexico.

False Start

2010-04-26T19:53:00.003-06:00

With warm temperatures and some heavy rains last week, the Snake River came up significantly and turned a very dark green for a few days. The river had been holding steady at about 1,100 cfs at Moose, until Thursday night when it jumped up over 600 cfs. By Friday, I thought we were seeing the beginning of the runoff. With a higher, murkier river, the fishing immediately shut down. By Saturday night, the temperatures had cooled down again; with drier weather upon us, the river has now fallen and cleared. I spent the afternoon today on foot in Teton Park, near Moose, walking the river, looking for feeders. It was a beautiful, warm day, and was expecting some dry fly action, but couldn't find it. I covered about a mile of river and made a ton of casts, with no success. Nymphs or streamers probably would have done the trick, but I only had dry flies with me. Still a fun day. Before I left Moose, I stopped by the visitors center to register my boat for the season. The Park is making a nice effort to address the issue of Aquatic Nuisance Species. In order to register your boat, you are required to read some information on the subject and agree to properly wash your boat and trailer while changing watersheds. Aquatic Invasive Species can wreak havoc on streams and lakes, when non-native species are inadvertently transported from one area to another. Check out the Trout Unlimited feed below to see what Orvis is doing about it. Here are a couple of more photos from last week; Stan Czarniak putting me right on the goods.

Back On The Oars

2010-04-18T19:48:00.004-06:00

I just returned from a couple of days away with my good buddies Scott Smith and Stan Czarniak. These guys are always up for an adventure, so they were willing to tag along with me to Southern Wyoming to float a couple of sections of No Tell Creek. It was a great trip; the weather was beautiful, good company, and good fishing. This was my first outing this year in the driftboat, so it felt good to get back on the oars and warm up for some guiding. The water temps were a little cold still, so all of our fish were on streamers stripped slowly; we picked up a few on nymphs too. We caught a handful of brown and rainbow each day under warm, blue skies. It was one of those trips where gearing up for it, driving down there and cooking dinner was just as much fun as the fishing. Here's a great shot of Scott with a typical brown trout. I'll have more pictures soon from this trip as I get them from the other guys. The temperatures got quite warm this weekend throughout the region. While driving back, we did notice that the Hoback River, as well as the Green River below Horse Creek were getting pretty muddy. The Snake still looks good, and I think we should still see clear water for another couple of weeks. Here's an FYI for those who have not heard: there is a new boating regulation in Wyoming for 2010. Based on direction from the Wyoming legislature, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has implemented emergency regulations to address the aquatic invasive species threat. What this means for us, is that anyone operating a driftboat or motorized boat over 10 feet long will need to purchase a decal and display it on their boats. The threat is real, and I'm glad to see wyoming addressing it. Visit http://gf.state.wy.us for details.

Warmin' Up

2010-04-14T20:02:00.002-06:00

I've been out of town for the past week in the Pacific Northwest visiting family, and have returned to find springlike conditions here. The weather is warm, and the valley seems to be drying out. I have not been on the river in a awhile, but from what I've heard through the grapevine, the Snake is fishing quite well right now. Good nymphing, streamer fishing and dry fly action have all been reported from reliable sources. It sounds like the further south you go, the better the fishing. I've got a getaway planned for this weekend, back to No Tell Canyon with a couple of buddies. Time to get on the oars and hunt some fish. Hopefully, my next report will be a good one. While visiting Seattle, we took the kids to the Zoo. Charlotte loved it. For all of the fly-tyers out there, check out this picture of this lovely Peacock...nice!

Winter Is Back!

2010-04-06T13:44:00.010-06:00

The ski season officially ended on Sunday at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, with the last tram of the season departing at 3:30. For the past ten days or so, the weather throughout the intermountain west has returned to winter. We have received well over 3 feet of snow in the high country this week, and it is still snowing today. Our snowpack and snow-water equivalent has seen a nice boost as we enter springtime. The Snake River Basin water equivalent is up over 60% of average now, which is great news. Don't forget that this Saturday, April 10th is the 16th annual Whitefish Derby at the Wilson boat ramp, put on by our local Trout Unlimited chapter. Should be fun! Check the Trout Unlimited feed at the bottom, right hand side of my site. Click on the "Cash for Rainbows" program that is going on over on the South Fork. The state of Idaho and Trout Unlimited are teaming up to offer cash for Rainbows harvested out of the South Fork. They are threatening the native Cutthroat population and now, drastic measures are being taken. Not sure how I feel about it yet. Good luck to my buddies Brian Hodges and Jon Wylie as they head to the Yucatan on Friday. Wish I could make this trip with you, it should be a blast! Take a shot at one of these for me...a nice 16 pound Permit that fell for a crab pattern. More soon!