There’s nothing more fun to me than to share my waters with friends from afar. Especially when they’ve done the same for me on their home turf. Today Tim Brune and I took my longtime South African friends Rob Scott and Keith Clover, founders of Tourette Fishing (now known as African Waters), fishing in a snowstorm on the Teton River.
The guys had never fished in a snowstorm before. This kind of weather is rare in South Africa. Nor had Keith ever caught a cutthroat trout or a brook trout (Rob has caught them because I took him fishing a few years ago). I’ve helped a few of my African friends get their first cutty and brookie over the years so I grabbed Keith for my boat and at the first turn I found him his first brook trout rising to blue wing olives.
Keith caught a heap of brook trout. They were out in full force today. Rob caught a bunch as well. The cutthroats however were a bit scarcer. I checked a few of my haunts and there were none to be found. It was strange, but my persistence doesn’t let loose and soon enough I found Keith a pod of nice rising cutthroats.
The rise from a big cutthroat on a small mayfly is so subtle it fools most anglers to thinking the fish aren’t big. Keith wasn’t as certain as I was about their size. But I assured him they were decent. He landed two. One fish was his first cutty – a 14 incher to be proud of. The next was a similar rainbow.
There was one more there and his rise was the smallest. Keith told me to go for it but at first I refused. I wanted him or Rob to stick this one. I knew it was a big one. But when neither would try I hopped in and sure enough it was a hefty one of 17” or 18” that we lost at the net.
The weather went south on us fast after those rising cutties. Light snow turned to heavy wet snow. It stuck to everything. The temperature plummeted and the hatch of blue wings ended and all fish stopped rising.
It got to the point where no one wanted to fish anymore and then came the concern about slick roads driving home pulling trailers. It was time to push on downstream. As miserable as it may look, I love this weather thanks to Simms. But I’m not so sure Keith, Rob or Tim agree with me!
We lifted the boats from the Teton around 5:30 PM. It was an excellent day of fishing that Rob and Keith won’t forget anytime soon. After hot showers at the house we walked down to the Knotty Pine for a few celebratory beers and buffalo burgers. The guy’s head out in the morning but what a couple of days!
I know Christmas is two months away but it always creeps up on us fast. I added a new product this week. I now sell sun shirts with hoods and all 80 plus fish that I’ve painted are available on them. Be sure to check them out at my webstore.
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