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!