You might remember when I visited my Jackson Hole friends Paul and Jean Bruun in Florida back in February at their winter fishing grounds. Just to refresh your memory, Paul is on of the first guys I met when I arrived in Jackson Hole back in 1987. I’ve learned a ton from Paul during many days on the water together both fresh and salt. Paul even wrote the foreword to my Saltwater Fly Fishing book.
I met Jean not too long after meeting Paul and at the time she lived in Colorado. Jean and Paul met during our friendships and are now married. Jean is one of the top Snake River fishing guides. She led me to a winning score and the big fish award in the 2012 Jackson Hole One Fly Contest.
The three of us have been trying to pull a fishing day together for about two months but everyone has been working too much. Finally, things have settled and two weeks ago and we put a date on the calendar. Today we found ourselves on Jeans favorite stretch of the Snake River, Prichard to West Table, on a stunning fall day with temps around 50°, sunshine and light winds.
I packed along two rods for the late season Snake River float. I brought my Winston 6-weight Air for hucking three streamers and my 4-weight Pure for some finesse Blue-wing Olive fishing. Due to the cool temperature when we started I began with the streamer rig. Right out of the gates I picked up a golden hued fine spot cutthroat. The stunning colors of these guys always makes me wonder why I don’t fish the Snake around Jackson Hole more often.
Though that first fish came fast, they weren’t breaking down the doors for our streamers. Paul and I picked up the occasional but the catching was far from steady. One of the highlights was watching Paul get yanked around by this sucker that managed to get in the way of one of Paul’s streamers. At noon we anchored and enjoyed a beautiful lunch with hopes that the afternoon would provide faster action.
After my last bite of chicken I spun to Jean and said I was ready to row. Little did I know but I was to be spoiled rotten on this trip. Jean denied my request with a smile. Then I tried to move to the back of the boat changing places with Paul and he refused. About then Jean handed me a Sierra Nevada with a laugh and said I better start catching some fish. Who doesn’t like to be spoiled by the best of friends?
Catching fish is exactly what I went on to do. The sun had warmed up the Snake just enough that after lunch the fish were awake. The three of us went on to boat at least 30 fish. All but one were beautiful cutthroats ranging from 10” to 16”. The one bonus fish was a fat little brown trout. While most were fooled by our streamers we did enjoy about 30 minutes of dry fly fishing.
It was a delightful day on the Snake. Not because I didn’t have to row or fish from the back of the boat. I in fact enjoy doing both these things very much. It was wonderful because I was with a pair of my dearest friends. At 7 PM the fun day came to an end. The sun had set and the fall chill was setting in for the night. We reeled it in and called it a day with hopes we can do it again soon.
Next in line for me starts early tomorrow morning. Granny and I are headed for Yellowstone. The Parks fishing season ends on Sunday and I feel like I need one more dose for 2020. It will be cold camping but hopefully the fish cooperate!
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