It’s been a strange summer.  It’s been great, however it includes very little fishing.  With Granny’s hurt shoulder we simply haven’t done much on her days off.  I’ve made a few carp trips to Blackfoot with friends but for the most part it’s been hanging at home doing projects, getting in shape and enjoying my artwork.  But last night Granny and I met my sister Becky and her husband Don and their two kids, Sierra and Eli, for s’mores at our favorite family campsite.

It was a leisurely night catching up.  Then first thing this morning I had Sierra and Eli following me upstream with their new fly rods.  Attached to each were big bushy dry flies – something the beautiful Snake River Cutthroats of Jackson Hole cannot resist.

These two have been fishing with me since they were young.  Sierra is now 12 and Eli is 8.  We most recently fished for sunfish back in New Hampshire in June.  I noticed there that they have each grown into very good little fly fishers.  I should mention that while they both enjoy fly fishing, Eli is flat out insane about it.  Could it be that his middle name is after his Uncle Jeff?

Once I got the kids down to the river I gave them a rundown on how to approach the pools.  Then they went to work.  I was not disappointed.

Both kids casted beautifully.  There were very few tangles and I was amazed how well they read the water.  No doubt it took a few attempts to hook the speedy striking cutthroats but after missing only a couple it was game on starting with Eli gleaming over his first cutthroat.

This place is loaded with fish.  While I’ve taken a few good ones over the years, for the most part its little guys.  They’re aggressive and perfect for keeping any new fly fishers attention all day.  In fact we were enjoying ourselves so much that their parents showed up around 2 PM to make sure their kids weren’t starving to death.  The three of us had no idea it was past noon!

Sierra was ready to head back but no doubt if I’d have kept hiking with Eli he’d have kept fishing.  But we didn’t leave just then.  Eli asked if the river had whitefish.  Wow.  His question caught me by surprise.  How did he even know about them?  I said yes and he surprised me again.  He wanted to catch one because he has started his own species list like his Uncle Jeff.  There was no way I wasn’t rigging him up with a dry dropper.  Five minutes in and he had his first whitey!

I kid you not, but I looked up after photographing Eli with his whitefish and along came a group of anglers and there were 15 of them.  This is not an easy location to get too.  I was shocked.  But I also laughed.  We smoked the fish well and now these folks wouldn’t only have to fight each other, they had to fish water Eli and Sierra already caught ton of fish from.

My fun never ends with my nieces and nephews.  I brought along some surprise camp entertainment.  I brought a yeti roping dummy bull head with a rope.  I’m no master but I have some odd skills people don’t know about.  And after a quick demonstration the kids were locked in on roping for the rest of the day.

It was a super fun trip to the family camp spot.  Not only that, it was extremely satisfying for me.  Although I haven’t been fishing enough since June, the years of working with my nieces and nephew have finally paid off.  From Montana and her big smallmouth bass back in June to today.  I can watch the kids catch fish on their own.

I began with a quick statement about Granny being injured.  She had an MRI last week on her shoulder and tomorrow we meet with a shoulder specialist who will go over the results with us.  If she needs surgery (from my observation she does) our life could get hectic with perhaps less fishing for a few months.  Stay tuned for this one. . . . .

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing