I flew to Jackson Hole, Wyoming yesterday. For anyone new to this blog in the last four years, I’ll let you know I lived in the Jackson area from 1987 until 2021. I’ve spent most of my life in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. No doubt, it felt good to get off the plane and look up and admire the mighty Tetons. And man was there a storm brewing.
The main reason for this trip is I’m helping with a fundraiser for kids of WY with serious health issues. The event is called Fishing for the Fight (FFF) and it’s basically a two-day fly fishing competition based in Pinedale that raises money through its entry fee, raffles and auctions. I’ll be a guide for one of the teams on Friday and another on Saturday on the New Fork River. Saturday night at the evening get-together I’ll be breaking out my Sharpies to draw on a Yeti Cooler live while people watch. The cooler will be auctioned. The last time I worked the FFF was in 2021 and the Yeti went for 6K!
When you travel to WY you need to dedicate some time for yourself. I flew in a day early to see friends and enjoy a day of fishing before the event and I’ll stay a day after. When I got off the plane in Jackson, buddy Scott Smith, owner of Grand Teton Flyfishing, snatched me with the intention of going fishing for a couple hours on Jackson Lake. However, a major thunderstorm led us to a beer at Dornan’s in Moose and back to Scott’s house for the night.
Storms blow by and this morning we awoke to a cool crisp summer day. Scott and I left his house at 6 am with one of his top guides, Matt Frevele, and headed north for some lake fishing. Scott and I share a passion for lake fishing because of their puzzles and it’s also a good way to escape the crowds on the rivers. We arrived at the boat launch around 8:30.
This particular lake is chock full of Yellowstone cutthroats – some of the biggest in the region. I fished here often from shore when living locally and it was a challenge. Today I had the luxury of being on Scotts new lake boat. The boat is a beauty and can handle big waves in case a storm brews up quick.
Our 20-minute boat ride went fast. I took it all in with a smile. The mountains stand tall and there was the occasional elk and buffalo. I thought about how fortunate I’ve been to have lived in the Yellowstone area most of my life. Yes, Wisconsin is exactly where I want to be these days, but it was fun to be back on my old stomping grounds with a best friend.
I had two rods rigged. I had my 6-weight Winston with my SA intermediate sinking Stillwater line WF6I and my 4-weight with a DT4F. Here the fishing is so good that on my 6-weight streamer rig I use one fly rather than my usual two. I had on a brown Woolly Bugger, keeping it simple as usual. Let’s just say, the fly worked well!
We caught an absolute ton of cutthroats. By the end of the day our total was over 30. Most of them were big and when I say big, I’ll bet our smallest fish of the day between the three of us was at least 16”. Most are 17”-18” and there were a few honkers. Most of these came on the streamers. I know the number and the sizes sound crazy but trust me, this place is Jurassic Park for cutthroat trout.
I never leave home without a dry fly rod. That’s why today I had my 4-weight Pure 2 with a long leader and a Parachute Adams rigged and ready. The Adams works great as an imitation for the Callibaetis mayflies. These are mayflies that hatch on lakes and slower moving rivers. We were fortunate that this fun hatch is well underway.
We nailed a few of these big cutties on the dries but it was evident the bulk of the cutty population is still busy feeding underneath. In another week or so there will also be caddis flies hatching. Then the dry fly fishing may be better than the streamer fishing.
We planned to leave the lake around 5 pm to get back to Jackson so I could get a good night sleep before heading to Pinedale tomorrow for the big fundraiser. We hit one last cutthroat spot around 4:30. It was a large sand flat with some geysers trickling hot water into the lake. We spotted a huge shadow cruising in a foot deep of water.
Without hesitation I launched my Bugger. I landed three feet to the lumbering cutthroat’s side. The fish showed zero interest. I wondered if I’d just cast to a rock. But somehow the big cutty simply didn’t see it. When I made my second cast, this trophy cutty made a beeline for my fly. What a way to end our day!
Only that wasn’t the end of our day. Scott, Matt and I had the boat on the trailer by 5:15. On our drive home we pass another gem of a lake. This lake is famous for its brown trout and also has lake trout. As we drove by, we saw a nose poke through the surface. Then another. Brown trout were rising.
I don’t care how tired you are, true anglers don’t leave rising fish. In went the boat again and by 7 pm we were chasing gulpers under the evening light as if we were on Hebgen Lake in Montana.
Gulper fishing takes patience and skill. First you need a riser close enough to reach with a cast. Next you need to make a cast and land your fly where you THINK the fishes next rise will be. Then of course you need the right fly. I had on a CDC Caddis from the Worlds in Italy a few years ago. The fish loved it.
We landed about another ten fish. Most were browns and all on dry flies. There was one time when Scott and I spotted some lakers on the fish finder in deep water. We nailed a couple of them on jig flies in 47 ft then went back to the brown trout.
We made our last cast at 9:40 pm. By the time we got the boat on the trailer, took a look at an old favorite river of mine and made it back to Scott’s it was midnight. So much for the good long sleep. But who cares. There will be plenty of time for sleep. Today was one of the best trout fishing days I’ve had in a few years and we made it last for nearly 14 hours!
Be sure to keep tabs on my IG at @jeffcurrier65
Jeff,
Glad to know that the return to your old Stomping Grounds was memorable and enjoyable.
Good luck at the fund raiser!
Tad
Sounds like a great day on the lakes!!