Training Day

I spent the day today fishing the South Fork Canyon with Justin Burkhart and Weldon Jones. Justin and Weldon have been working in the Jack Dennis Fly Shop for a few years, and are joining our guide staff this season. Today was their unofficial training day on the South Fork. I had the duty of watching them row and fish all day, making sure that they are up to par. We covered everything from fishing techniques, rowing techniques, river etiquette and guiding philosophies. They did great. The weather was beautiful, and we were literally the only boat in the entire canyon today. The river is still a little off color, and running at about 12,800 cfs. We fished streamers and nymphs hard all day, with limited results. We each picked up a few fish, here and there with little consistency. The highlight of our day was the first fish to come to the boat this morning...an enormous brown, pushing the 24" mark, caught by Justin. I guess he passed the fishing portion of our training. The Snake and Green Rivers, as well as almost all of the area tributaries are completely blown out right now...high and muddy. The Salmonflies are on the Henry's Fork right now, between Warm River and Ashton. From most of the reports I have received, it sounds like there are a lot of anglers around, and fishing is fairly tough, due to gorged fish. The Firehole in Yellowstone is open to fishing now...it is also running high, but fishable. More soon!

The Trout Need Our Help

There is a new buzzword swarming this region these days which all anglers should be aware of. The term "ANS", which stands for Aquatic Nuisance Species, is rapidly gaining usage among anglers and guides around Jackson. Aquatic Nuisance Species are just that: non native aquatic organisms that are wreaking havoc in our local fisheries. Whirling disease is probably the most well known issue that has plagued many famous Western trout streams in recent years, but there are some lesser known, yet highly destructive organisms, that are now threatening our fisheries right now. In particular, Zebra Mussels, Quagga Mussels and New Zealand Mud Snails are three invasive species that are starting to show up in Western waters. Not only can these species foul facilities like boat ramps and clog marine engines, they can and will disrupt the aquatic food chain in our rivers and lakes. The piece of the chain that is most affected is the insect life, and if the insects are disturbed, the trout can't eat. Pretty simple. To prevent the spread of these "aquatic hitchhikers", we need everyone to be more conscientious about ANS etiquette. Always properly wash out your driftboat and trailer after each use, especially when moving from one watershed to another. Don't transport river water in your boat. These mussels and snails cannot live outside of water for very long, so give the boat a good rinse, check your trailer axles and wheels, and let everything dry. Give your waders and boots a good rinse too...a solution of water and bleach will kill any spores as well. This beautiful Green River rainbow will sure appreciate it!

Wading the Green

Rachael, Charlotte and I headed down to the Green River yesterday for an afternoon of wade fishing. Charlotte is very content in the backpack when I am casting so it's a great way to spend the afternoon with the family, particularly since we chose a spot with very mellow water. The weather has practically turned to summer over the past few days. The highs were in the high 70's on Saturday, with the 80's arriving by Sunday afternoon, into today. Needless to say, all of the area rivers have come up even more, including the green. The water got pretty murky on us yesterday, and the fishing was tough. As of today, the Green has nearly doubled in size since Saturday, to almost 1,000 cfs. It was a great day to be out, regardless. The Henry's Fork is probably the best option right now, until the South Fork water temps warm up a bit. Yellowstone opens to fishing on Saturday...the Firehole should be in great shape! See ya there!

Nice Art

I just wanted to pass along a new photo I just received from legendary South Fork guide Chris "Jigidy" Jensen...his new tattoo. I never had the guts to go forward with a tattoo myself, although I've always had the urge. A host of flies, or perhaps a Grateful Dead symbol have nearly made it onto my skin permanently over the years. Not sure I would have picked a nymph, though...sorry Chris! (Some of your TIF buddies made me post this). Other than that, not much going on. It's quite sunny and warm today, and is supposed to be in the 70's starting tomorrow. The runoff will most certainly kick in by early this week. More soon!

Spring in Yellowstone

Rachael, Charlotte and I returned on Monday from our annual long weekend trip to Yellowstone National Park in search of spring wildlife. This is probably the best time of year to view wildlife in the park, as the snow cover is receding and the forage is rapidly growing. The lack of crowds also makes it a great time to be in the park. We found everything we were desiring to see, including elk, bison, bighorn sheep, wolves, black and grizzly bear. The fishing season in Yellowstone does not open until Memorial Day Weekend, which is still over a week away. We did stop at the Firehole, the Yellowstone and Madison Rivers to take a look from the bank, and found fish feeding on the surface at all three. It was kind of nice to know that these fish could feed without being bothered, at least for a little bit longer. The weather is finally drying out, and the temps are rising here in Jackson. Hopefully, the runoff will start to kick into a higher gear soon. The sooner it starts, the sooner we will be fishing! The Snake is at about 5400 cfs at Moose and not fishable. The South Fork has actually come down in volume to about 14,000 cfs (which is still big) and is running quite cold. The Green is holding at about 550 cfs and clear, but still very cold. I'd say the best bet on fishing right now is the Green. Expect to be nymphing during the warmest part of the day. Also, keep an eye open for the Salmonflies on the Henry's Fork...could be soon. Here's a shot of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River and a group of bison wading the Madison.

One Last Float

I spent the day today floating the Green River from Warren Bridge to the Hatchery with good friend Chris Stump. He and his wife Melissa are expecting their first child, a baby boy, in just a couple of weeks. I persuaded Chris to sneak out for one last day of fishing before his life seriously changes! It was a cold, yet beautifully bright day on the river. The flows have been hovering around 475 cfs for the past week and the river has just a slight discoloration due to some of the heavy rains we received earlier in the week. With the South Fork in Idaho running at almost 17,000 cfs (and not fishing well), and the Snake getting higher by the day (4700 cfs at Moose), and getting dirtier, the Green is really the only game in town right now. Unfortunately, the fishing today on the Green was fairly slow. There was no dry fly action to speak of, and the nymphing was turning just a few small fish. We each netted a couple of larger browns on streamers, but only after hours of hard casting and lots of stripping. It was a great day, nonetheless. When driving through this part of Wyoming, you would never know that there is a world-class trout stream just off the road, hidden in a beautiful river bottom. In addition to the fishing, the birdwatching and views make these Green River floats very enjoyable. At one point, you could see the Wind River Mountains, the Gros Ventre Mountains and the Wyoming Range all in one view. The story of the day, though, was not fishing or wildlife related. When we got to the take-out, Chris could not find his car keys anywhere. Somehow, Chris inadvertently left them in the car with the shuttle keys. The car got shuttled to the takeout, but all the keys were then locked in. Without roadside assistance service, or the ability for us to break into the car, Chris finally called his extremely understanding wife, who drove down an extra set of keys to us, 80 miles south of Jackson! We certainly owe her one. I think his mind was elsewhere this morning...understandably so. It will be a great story to tell his son one day. Stay tuned!

Blizzard Hatch

I spent this past Saturday floating the Henry's Fork from Warm River to Ashton with good friend and TIF author extraordinaire John Holland. We had received some good reports from some guides over there a few days before, but were not prepared for what we found. We heard consistent reports of midges, BWO's and the possibility of a few caddis. When we put on the river at about 11 am, we did see all of the above with just a few caddis fluttering around. The fishing was dead until about 1:30 pm when a literal "wall" of caddisflies erupted, moving upriver. I don't know if I've ever seen a hatch as thick as this one turned out to be. John agreed. For about two hours, the river, the boat and our bodies were layered in caddisflies. We stopped on a great looking run where there were some nice fish feeding on top. As we took a closer look on foot, we saw dozens of nice browns and rainbows stacked in, feeding voraciously. Since we were on the PhD of all trout streams, we carefully tried to match the hatch exactly. Unfortunately, there was so much food on the water, the chances of any of these fish grabbing our fly was very small. John decided to put on a large royal stimulator just for fun (and ease of sight). My first thought was, "no way, we are on the Henry's Fork, and these fish are smarter than that". Almost immediately, John hooked and landed a big rainbow. And then another, and another after that. I quickly grabbed one of my stonefly boxes, looking furiously for a royal stimulator. Before I could find one, John threw one to me and I was almost instantly hooking fish as well. After awhile, we realized that these fish were taking the stimulator as a "caddis cluster". When the hatch finally ended (due to a heavy rainstorm), they shut down on the stimulator and started looking at single caddis patterns. It was a great learning experience; think outside the box. The pictures attached don't do a great justice of just how thick the hatch was. Click on each photo in order to enlarge and see the bugs. As of this morning, I am still finding caddisflies in my gear bag, camera back, laundry and truck. More soon!