Back With A Vengence

Winter returned to Western Wyoming (and most of the Western US) this past week. As of this morning, the mountains have picked up almost 4 feet of snow since Wednesday, and the valley has been blanketed as well with about a foot. Our snowpack and water equivalent is now well above average. Many areas should now be out of any drought danger and should see great fishing conditions this summer...great news! Much of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has been enjoying all of this wet weather. The Jackson Hole Mountain resort has just one week of operation left for this season, and may surpass the 500" mark if this week's forecast holds true. Ahhh...powder skiing!

Warming Up Fast

The weather has turned to spring very quickly this week, with valley temps in the mid 50's. It is spring skiing conditions from the top of the tram all the way down to the valley. This should get area fish really moving now! Leaving work tonight, I crossed the Wilson bridge on the Snake and saw a couple of boats pulling out. This is a great time of year to float when we get nice weather like this. Local guiding legend Paul Bruun writes a weekly column in our local paper, and treated us this week to a great story about This Is Fly, the online fly-fishing magazine that is all the rage. Check the article out at http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=4368&pid=news. Also, my buddy Chris Jensen has just started a blog out of the Lodge at Palisades Creek on the South Fork, it looks pretty good! Check it out at http://tlapc.wordpress.com/ for the latest news from the South Fork of the Snake. Here is a shot of a typical South Fork cutthroat taken last fall...what a beauty.

Valley Rain

There's a very wet weather system moving into Western Wyoming today, bringing snow to the mountains and heavy rain to the valley. Still good news for skiers and anglers. The water content in the snowpack is still on the rise, while we are losing valley snow to the rain. As the valley snow recedes, boat ramps on the Snake will begin to open. Not long now until we are able to float! Although I have not wet a line yet this spring, I am still getting good fishing reports from Southeastern Idaho. Nymphing has been successful for hungry browns and rainbows. Here is a shot of Jack Dennis store manager Chris Jay with a nice Snake River Cutthroat taken below Moose bridge last April on the day they cleared the boat ramp to open.

In Like a Lion

The month of March entered western Wyoming like a lion this week, with ample snowfall and high winds for the mountains. The skiing has been great...plenty of windblown powder and cold temps at the higher elevations. The snowpack continues to grow...good news for the rivers. It's this time of year that fly-fishing starts to creep back towards the front of my mind. The valley temps are slowly rising and with the evenings staying lighter much longer, my thoughts drift to pre-runoff spring fishing. Some of the best trout fishing that the west has to offer takes place in the next few months. Blue-Winged Olives and Midges will make an appearance on area streams soon, and streamer fishing will turn back on...there are some hungry fish out there ready for the end of winter! A much anticipated trip to the Big Hole in southwestern Montana is just around the corner. I have a trip planned with an old friend from my days in Colorado who will be joining me on the Big Hole in early April. An avid and accomplished angler, he has yet to fish Montana and I cannot wait to introduce him to it. Here is a typical Big Hole River Brown trout and a great scenic shot of the river near Melrose.

Spring on the Way!

March is finally here, which psychologically gives anglers around here some hope that winter will actually relieve its grip soon. It has been a very average winter here in Western Wyoming, which means we have had many days of mountain and valley snowfall with very cold temperatures. The water content in the snowpack around the valley is still looking very good. The days are starting to get noticeably longer and warmer, which means water temps should start to slowly rise. As this happens, resident fish will start to move just a little more to take a fly. Although it is still a little cold to be out on the Snake, the fishing on the Henry's Fork right now has been improving. At its lower elevation, the Henry's Fork warms earlier and gets fish moving sooner. One of my favorite fisheries to visit in early spring is the upper Big Horn River in Thermopolis, Wyoming. As it swiftly flows out of the rugged Wind River Canyon, the river actually changes name midstream at a site called the "Wedding of the Waters", where flows slow and the river becomes known as the Big Horn. The water that slowly meanders through the town of Thermopolis holds large numbers of Rainbow, Brown and Cutthroat. This part of Wyoming is known as a "Banana Belt", often staying much warmer and drier throughout the winter. Early spring is a great time to target these fish with wets and dries. Although wading access is limited, floating is very easy. Here is a great scenic shot of the Big Horn...note the dry environment. This rainbow fell for a size 18 BWO dry fly in early April a few years back.

Grayling on Dries

The days are slowly getting longer and warmer here in Wyoming. Although skiing has been very good, my thoughts are continuing to drift towards spring fishing. I am continuing to hear good reports from the Henry's Fork. Wade fishing with nymphs through winter holes sounds like it has been productive below Ashton. I've not heard much from the Snake or South Fork, so if anyone has been fishing there, leave a comment! Usually by early March, it is finally warm enough here to see good results on the Snake, possibly even with small dry flies. Our snowpack is still looking very healthy, which means we should be out of drought troubles this year. Not much else new to report. I am just starting to plot an early April trip with some of the guys in search of some hungry fish. If weather and water clarity permit, we'll probably hit the Big Hole River in southwestern Montana for a four day stint. The Skwala Stoneflies come off in April, and the fishing could be great. Here are a couple of shots from the Big Hole from April 2005. Here is a typical Big Hole Brown taken on a streamer. The second picture is a shot of my brother-in-law Sean Tufts holding a Grayling that he caught on a dry fly. The upper Big Hole River still holds small populations of fluvial Grayling (maybe as few as 100 fish per mile), and they love dry flies!

2009 Jackson Hole One Fly

I received notice a few weeks ago that I will be fishing in the Jackson Hole One Fly this year. Good friend and fishing client John "H-bomb" Holland put together a team and applied last fall. Along with John Wiley and Peter Chung, they kindly invited me to fish with them. After years of guiding in it, I am thrilled to now have a chance to fish in it! I'm already looking forward to it and cannot wait. We will be team "This Is Fly", partially representing the fabulous online fly fishing magazine. The One Fly is an invitation-only event that raises thousands of dollars each year to put towards local stream improvement projects here in Western Wyoming and Southeastern Idaho. Teams of four fish over two days with the limit of only one fly per day, per angler. Founded by Jack Dennis and Paul Bruun in the 1980's, it has turned into a large foundation for stream improvement and the valley's best know fly fishing event each September. Make sure to visit their website at http://jhonefly.org/ The weather here is slowly getting nicer, with warmer valley temps each day, and less snowfall in recent weeks. Fellow guide Josh Graffam waded on the Henry's Fork a couple of days ago and said he did quite well on nymphs, netting a half-dozen nice rainbows. Here is a nice shot of "one fly" from the Big Hole River, Montana...a nice size 12 mother's day caddis. More soon!

It's Snowing Again!

After a good ten days or so of serious high pressure, it's snowing again in Western Wyoming. We've had at least of foot of dry powder in the mountains over the last day and more is forecast. According to the USGS, the water content in the snowpack in the region is looking very good. It is as high as 140% of normal in the Gros Ventre mountains, which is great news for the rivers and our fish. Lets hope the snow continues! Rachael is out skiing this morning with friends enjoying the fresh powder. I'll be out for the afternoon shift...hopefully it will look like this! (Courtesy of Jeff Diener... http://www.jeffdiener.com/ ).

Nice Fish!

The past week here in Western Wyoming has brought us a large high pressure system with abundant sunshine and dry skies. The skiing has been holding up very well and the mountain has been virtually empty. Temps may actually hit forty degrees this week in the valley with the high pressure forecast to continue through the next seven days. It could be a good week to go wet a line on the Snake, South Fork or Henry's fork, as the warmer temps can get hungry trout moving a little more. Here's a nice shot of good friend, and This Is Fly editor Brian Hodges (aka B-Ho), with a beautiful Argentinian Brown. Brian is wintering in South America this year...at least someone is catching fish these days. More soon!

Crazy Weather

The moisture continues to pound Western Wyoming, but now we are actually seeing some rain. The temperatures have risen dramatically the past few days, providing us with some valley rain, and very wet mountain snow. This should actually help our snowpack, providing more water content in storage for our Cutthroat! Enjoy another beautiful Jeff Diener shot taken a few years ago New Year's Morning on Teton Pass. Note the inversion with clouds filling the valley.

Still Snowing

Well, we are through the retail holiday madness, and it is still snowing here in Jackson Hole. The mountain is getting better and better every day, with soft snow almost everywhere. There is significant snowfall predicted for the upcoming week! (Still great news for our rivers!). I would love to be fishing somewhere warm right now, but I'll have to settle for some powder skiing instead. I'd still like to share some great photos that Jeff Diener has loaned me from some of our skiing adventures over the years. Here is another typical powder run in Western Wyoming. Don't forget to visit his site at http://www.jeffdiener.com/. Stay tuned for the announcement of some great fly-fishing related news. More soon!

Happy New Year!

Hello all, here's to a great 2009! The snow continues to pile up here in Western Wyoming. Good news for skiers and for the river systems. Although the snow depths are increasing almost daily, there is a persistent weak layer of snow near the bottom of the snowpack (a result of high altitude rain in November) that is causing dangerous conditions. In the past week, we have seen an inbounds avalanche fatality at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, as well as numerous other slides occurring at the ski area...one of which damaged the restaurant at the top of the gondola. Be careful out there! Not much to report on fishing...too cold and snowy around these parts. Hopefully, I'll get an update soon from friend Brian Hodges who is spending the winter in Argentina. I love winter here and skiing has been great, but my thoughts are always drifting to fishing and warmer climates. I'd rather be here now...the beach at Boca Paila, Mexico.

Finally, Some Snow!

Well, it finally looks like winter around here. We got a nice little snowstorm Friday night into Sunday morning. The valley is now totally white, and the snowpack in the high country has now grown significantly. They've opened more runs at the ski area and also opened the gondola yesterday. Hopefully, we are now in a snow cycle! My good friend and professional photographer Jeff Diener just sent me some great shots from a ski trip we did last winter over to Grand Targhee Resort. Enjoy the photo, and check out Jeff's website at http://www.jeffdiener.com/; he's one of the best in outdoor/adventure photography around here, including fly fishing shots. More soon!

Snow is Coming

Although it has been a dry few weeks here, it looks like we may finally start picking up some significant snow by this weekend...it's definitely time to start building the snowpack for the skiers and the trout! Scott Smith and I had dinner one night this past week with old friend and local guide/photographer/fly fishing legend Tom Montgomery. It's always a treat. Naturally, we spent hours talking about fishing and photography, reminiscing about the many trips the three of us had taken before, and dreaming about upcoming adventures. Although I'm busy in the ski industry this time of year, my mind is always thinking of angling. Here's a great shot of Tom with a nice Cutthroat Trout from the Green River. As a tradition, the three of us always try to get at least one float together on the Green each summer, typically just after runoff. This was a particularly good day, with many eager fish all over our dry flies. More photos to come!

High and Dry

High pressure has been dominating the weather scene around Jackson lately. The valley is still completely brown; dry with no snow cover. There is a little bit of snow in the high country, but not much to ski on yet. Today actually hit 50 degrees with bright sun...very unusual weather for early December. If I were not so busy getting the ski shop ready for the winter, I would have loved to walk the Snake today, it probably was good. I'm sure the snow will come soon enough. Here's some nice shots taken by Scott Smith from this past season. Pondering over which fly to choose is one of the great joys in fly fishing. When fishing dries, emergers or nymphs, picking the right size, shape and color for the conditions is mandatory. Here, picking just the right streamer can be a challenge. Water clarity, as well as the sunshine (or lack thereof), along with size, silhouette and color, all play a role in streamer fishing. Finding a fish to eat the fly that you've chosen completes the circle.