The Long Winter Ahead

The days around Jackson right now are becoming noticeably shorter and shorter. The temps are becoming much colder and winter is in the air. It's only a matter of time before the ground freezes and the snow really starts to pile up. I am an avid skier and do welcome the winter, but I am constantly thinking of flyfishing. As I commute out to the mountain each morning, my mind drifts to many of the places that I have been fortunate enough to throw flies. It's common to be riding on a chairlift, thinking not only of that big brown that got away on the Missouri, but to envision the scenes of flyfishing that always bring us back. Here is beautiful shot that Scott Smith snapped of me working a nice brown trout on the Owyhee River, Oregon.

Waiting on Snow

Not much to report here firsthand on local fishing. I've heard some decent reports from the South Fork over the past week by wade anglers doing well on top with midges during the midday. The weather has been very clear and sunny, with cold nights. The lows have been dipping into the teens here in Jackson. As an avid skier, this is the time of year that we start to think about the snow that is on the way. We want every day to be a powder day! At the moment, the valley is still dry, but there is a decent snowpack of about 30" above 8500 feet. What will the winter hold? Will we match our record breaking snowpack of last season? Will it be dry? Obviously, nobody knows yet. It's not just the skiers wondering what the weather will bring, but also the local anglers. The winter weather that some love and some dread holds the key to how the next fishing season will be. With a healthy snowpack come springtime,our local rivers and the fish that reside in them will thrive. In particular, we are hoping for high water content in the snow that falls this year. If we get back into a drought cycle, the trout will suffer. This was very evident this year. Coming off of an enormous winter (well over 600" of snow fell above 8000 feet last year), we saw some of the best fishing in years on streams such as the Green, New Fork and Big Hole whose fish have been suffering from recent low water years. Here's to a wet winter! This Green River Rainbow sure loves when it snows!

Back to the Cold

Rachael, Charlotte and I returned last night from an 8 day trip to Sayulita, Mexico. Sayulita is a small surf town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. I wish I could report on some fishing, but it was strictly a beach/pool/corona drinking trip. This was our first real vacation since having Charlotte last December. She absolutely loved the water and the food. It was perfect; great food, sunny and hot! We flew into Idaho Falls yesterday and drove back to Jackson passing the South Fork. Their were quite a few empty trailers at the spring creek bridge...I'll bet fishing has been good. Water levels are low (908 cfs at Irwin), and the weather seems like it has been just right...cloudy and wet with cool temps. It's back to the ski shop for me, starting this week. I'll keep my ear to the ground on how fishing has been and what to expect before the deep freeze arrives. My buddy Matt left a comment on the previous post wondering about Joel...he did struggle a bit more on the Missouri. I never got a good chance at a nice picture of him...oh well. Incidentally, it was an Obama boat. Hope everyone got out to vote...no matter what your preference, it certainly was an historic election day. We'll still let you come next year, Matt! (I'm holding you to it). Enjoy a couple of pictures from Mexico!