2nd Place wasn’t what we (Team Yellow Dog Flyfishing) were hoping for in this years Jackson Hole One Fly but its not bad. Good enough to do some partying last night for sure. And after such a celebration in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the next morning you rejuvenate with a fantastic Bubba’s breakfast. That’s exactly how today began.
After breakfast I was headed for lake trout on the fly with my friend Scott Smith but he wasn’t going to be ready until noon. With the spare time I walked my Yellow Dog Teammates along the banks of Flat Creek. We purposely didn’t pack a fly rod because they had to head back to Bozeman. There are too many big rising cutthroats that surely would have trapped the boys. It’s a good thing we stuck to the “rodless” plan because we spotted more than a dozen of these yellow-bellied trout rising to Mahogany Duns. They never would have made it home!
Scott picked me up at the upper Flat Creek parking lot and we headed north to Jackson Lake. Twenty something years ago Scott worked for me at the Jackson fly shop. He was one of my best and he worked himself up the system and was soon my top fishing guide out of the shop. After I left the shop in 2009, Scott and a few of my other friends left as well and started their own guide service, Grand Teton Fly Fishing. If you need a guide in the Jackson area, these are the guys.
Jackson Lake is extremely low as you can see from my picture. As usual the region battles drought. On top of that you can see the smoke in the air. The haze was especially thick due to not a single ounce of wind. None!
Scott has a sweet boat fully decked out with a solid fish finder. Lake trout love the humps about 50-60 feet down surrounded by even deeper water. Scott had some places in mind and we drifted over them watching the finder. The fish were there.
I fished my 6-weight with my fast sinking Scientific Anglers Sonar and a heavy Clouser. Normally I’d use a 7 or and 8-weight but I didn’t have one packed for this trip. The first fish we saw on the finder chowed down my fly. It was a nice 20” laker. Scott didn’t start the day facing the challenge of getting a fly deep down and rather jigged with a flashy jig. Though the first few groups of fish continued to choose my fly over his gear, he finally enticed a good one.
Scotts laker was obviously a hefty one. Anyone who says lakers don’t fight, in my mind just stuck their foot in their mouth. Big lakers fight hard and in particular, the 7-12 pounders will beat you up. After a good 4-5 minute tug of war, I scooped the net under this beautiful colored up laker.
I’d land five small lakers on the fly. Scott switched over to fly after his nice fish and picked up one small one also. We were both exhausted after One Fly weekend so we packed it in around 6 PM. It was a great day of fishing and catching up under the Tetons.
It’s been a great week in the Jackson Hole area. I can’t believe I almost turned down this visit. I’m so glad I came. Anytime you can visit with longtime friends, fish in the One Fly and travel to Jackson Hole you should do it. Tomorrow it’s the flight home then hopefully I’ll fish bass and pike with Granny on Wednesday.
With the number of teams in that One Fly, I’d say you guys did exceptional.. The smoke up there has turned into the new normal.. beautiful country though
True Thanks Lance
and yes, the smoke is normal now – but not in WI!