Early Spring?

We're wrapping up a beautiful weekend here in Western Wyoming. We've had sunny skies, temps in the 40's and no wind. Spring is in the air. My brother-in-law Sean Tufts was visiting this weekend with a buddy to catch up on some skiing. I got to sneak out with him today for some great spring skiing this morning. On the way back from Teton Village, we saw a few anglers throwing some flies above Wilson Bridge. I bet they saw a little action today. March can often be a great month to fish the Snake River, particularly when the weather trends like this. I'm anxious to see what the next few weeks brings. Sean and I have had some great fishing adventures over the years, and hope to have more soon. I took him on his first trip to the Big Hole river a number of years ago, and he stumbled across a beautiful Arctic Grayling eating caddisflies on the surface. (The Big Hole holds some of the only remaining native Grayling found in the lower 48). They are known for taking dry flies very eagerly. I was also with Sean on his first flats trip to Boca Paila, on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Here's a shot of that Grayling, along with a photo of Sean's first Bonefish on the line! Kudos out to Chris Hayes who figured out where last week's shot of Jen Hodges Bonefish was from. More soon!

High and Dry

We've got a ridge of high pressure over us right now that is giving us clear and cold days and nights. We took a chilly walk this morning through our neighborhood and went to check in on lower Flat Creek (see attached photo). It was barely above zero degrees, and there was ice coming down the creek. Hopefully in a few more weeks, we should start seeing some warmer days and nights that will turn into some early fishing opportunities here in the valley. My good buddy Brian Hodges and his wife Jen are on another one of their adventures to warmer climates. He just emailed me a shot of Jen with a nice double-digit bonefish. They are checking out a new guide outfit in a location not typically known for its bonefishing. Any readers care to take a guess where this picture is from?

Drier Winter

It's already the middle of February, the days are noticeably longer and my mind continues to drift towards thoughts of warmer weather and dry fly fishing. The winter is proving to be a drier one, which is concerning news for anglers. Although we have had some better snowfall in recent weeks, the snow-water equivalent (the amount of water being held in the area snowpack), is well below normal. Depending on where in the region you are looking, it is averaging about 65% of normal. We had a winter storm warning coming into this weekend, with forecasters calling for over a foot of snow in the valley, and over two feet of snow in the mountains, and it missed us...nothing happened. It's turned out to be a beautiful weekend, with sunny skies. It's true that the spring can often produce a lot of moisture in the Rockies, but as each dry day passes this winter, it is less and less likely that we will make up much ground on our snowpack. On the bright side, we have a near full Jackson Lake, and the string of reservoirs down the Snake River line are also well stocked. Less water will also mean earlier fishing on area freestones...stay tuned this spring for reports! I've learned that the Jackson Hole News and Guide, partially owned by local angler extraordinaire Liz McCabe, will have a One Fly team this year. Liz will be fishing in it both days, representing the newspaper. For those of you who don't know Liz, she will turn an amazing 99 years old this year. I met her through Tom Montgomery a number of years ago, and fish with her now and then each summer. She's an inspiration! Here's a shot of me and Liz on the Snake. Good luck Liz!

Winter Fishing in Montana

I decided to take a quick road trip this weekend up to Dillon, Montana to meet up with my good friend Brian Hodges and do some fishing. The weather forecast looked right; highs in the high 30's to low 40's with sunny skies. There isn't much opportunity to fish in Jackson Hole this time of year, it does not get quite warm enough. We met up early on Saturday morning, grabbed some breakfast at Sparky's in Dillon (highly recommended), and then headed for Poindexter Slough. I had always heard of this piece of water, but had yet to fish it. It tends to be crowded during summer and fall (when I am usually in the area), so I've always passed it up. We hit a beautiful day and had decent fishing. We didn't see anything over 17", but netted a handful of Brown's on streamers with the place to ourselves. I was expecting to grab a room with Brian, and he let me know that he had arranged a room for us with his good friends Jay Burgin and Mary Jacques, proprietors of the world famous Five Rivers Lodge. It was a great getaway. We had cocktails and dinner, while talking fly fishing under the Montana moon. They graciously opened up a room for us, and we woke today to another beautiful day in Montana. We put a couple of hours in on the Beaverhead, before coming home. If anyone reading this is ever thinking of a Montana getaway, the Five Rivers Lodge is just great. They work the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Ruby and Madison Rivers. The accommodations are great, and Jay literally houses the largest fly selection in Montana in his fly shop...it's something to see. Visit them at www.fiveriverslodge.com. Here's a photo of the lodge. We've picked up a little more snow here in the past week, but our snow water equivalent is still a little low, hovering around 60% of normal. At this point, I'm predicting an earlier start to our fishing season...but don't hold me to it. More soon!