High And Dry

Hopefully everyone reading this had a great Thanksgiving! The weather around here the past week has gone from cold and snowy, to clear and dry, with relatively warm temperatures by each afternoon. We'll be coming into December with virtually no snowpack at all elevations...not good news for skiers. It will undoubtedly be here soon enough. There has been a window each of the last few afternoons of about 2 hours where the temperatures have been in the mid 30's, under clear, calm skies. Rachael, Charlotte and I took a walk yesterday afternoon on the Snake River levee, just north of the Wilson Bridge. We noticed a very small sidechannel with a deep run in it, holding a handful of some very nice fish. As we watched them carefully, we could see them ever so slightly feeding on the surface. If this weather holds a little longer, we could still see some action on the Snake before the big chill really comes. Congrats goes out to my good friend John Holland...he's a new dad! Brooke Holland was born this past week in Seattle to proud parents John and Shelley. Here's a photo of John on the oars from a trip we did last spring to the Henry's Fork during the blizzard Mother's Day Caddis hatch. Click on the image to enlarge it, and check out the bugs!

Just A Memory

The weather around Western Wyoming has turned to full winter mode these past few days. The 2009 fishing and guiding season is now a distant memory. It's time to break out the skis, shovels and sleds. It's snowing heavily today with some wind, and it's piling up. I've been pouring over fishing photos from the past year and recalling just how great it was. For now, the excitement of the upcoming ski season is starting to build, and the daydreaming about future fishing trips will begin! Here is a photo of what I think was the prettiest brown I got the chance to net this season...an absolute leopard. Location: No Tell Canyon. Thanks to everyone who has been following my site this year! Stay in touch, and I'll do the same.

Shoulder Seasons

We're in the middle of another shoulder season right now in Jackson Hole. The summer tourist season is all but forgotten, and the winter ski season is still a few weeks from starting. The "off season" around Jackson can be a good time to recharge the batteries. No one around but locals taking a breather before the next push into winter. Although the outdoor pursuits can be harder to participate in (slower, colder fishing and no skiing yet), it is still a great time to be here. The town is extremely quiet; there is much less auto and pedestrian traffic, and the restaurants that are open have a mellow feel right now. After all the years here, I still don't mind the off seasons. Most of my friends (including myself), have hung up the waders for awhile, so I don't have much of a local fishing report. Make sure to check out Josh Graffam's site on my link list (Teton Trout)...he's in New Zealand for 3 months stalking large brown trout, and will undoubtedly be posting some great pictures. I'm very jealous! I took a drive tonight up to Teton Park to snap some sunset photos with Charlotte. Here's a nice shot of the Sleeping Indian (Sheep Mountain), guarding the valley. Stay tuned!

Guide's Trip

A few of the Jack Dennis guides piled into three boats yesterday to float the Upper South Fork for our annual guides day. The day started with a very greasy (but filling) breakfast at the Angus in Swan Valley. We were on the water about 7 hours, and had pretty good fishing. I spent the day in Scott Smith's boat, along with Tom Montgomery. The day was filled with as much story telling from the guide season as it was with actual fishing. Action was good on streamers all day. There was a very good Midge and Baetis hatch that started late in the morning, and really peaked at about 4 o'clock. There were many pods of rising fish to cast to, but they were tough. There was a lot of food on the water under very bright skies; the fishing felt like they had been seeing some pressure. We did not see any real monsters in our boat...oh well! It was a lot of fun though! We officially bid Jeff Currier farewell at our lunch site...good luck Jeff! He's got a great new blog that should be highlighting his post-Jack Dennis pursuits... check it out... http://flyfishingbum.blogspot.com/ Now would be a great time to go walk the South Fork with a dry fly rod and some light tippet. Fishing from noon until dark should be good. Size 18-22 midges and olives got the most attention.

Warm Start To November

The first week of November here in Western Wyoming has been unseasonably warm. It's been mostly sunny, with our high temps nearing 60 degrees. I've been busy watching Charlotte, and getting back to work at the ski shop in Teton Village, so have been unable to take advantage of any fishing in the nice weather. I've received a handful of good reports from the Snake over the past few days through this warm weather. It sounds like fish are surface feeding on midges in the middle of the day. This time of year, I think the best fishing is on either end of the river; fish the first few miles below Jackson Lake Dam, or on the South end closer to Alpine in the Snake River Canyon. Cutthroat should be "podded" up in their winter holes. The river is at about 1,000 cfs at Moose...a great wading level. It looks like the weather pattern should hold a little longer, so if you can sneak out, it sounds like fishing will be good. The South Fork is holding at 1,830 cfs near Irwin, and should be fishing just as well right now. As I transition into winter mode, I'll be updating the blog a little less frequently, and may recycle some of my favorite photos from the past season. I'd love to hear from some of you with any fishing reports via the blog or email. Don't forget to check out the latest issue of This Is Fly...it's great! http://www.thisisfly.com/ Here's a nice shot of us pulling out the skiff under some beautiful Montana alpenglow. Stay tuned!