Hunt for the Big Iron

Getting geared up for next week. It looks like Andrew D, Josh Graffam and myself are going to be heading into the upper Green on Monday. Andrew and I have been talking about doing this in the winter for a couple years now and with some recently heard rumors, it sounds like we need to get there. I've been working on some patterns for an endangered baitfish species that lives in the area and is supposedly high on the trout hitlist. Hopefully we'll find something worthwhile (double digit browns are the goal) but however it goes, I have a feeling it's going to be good. Who knows, Josh might finally get his monster...

Snake River Canyon Feb. 17

I still can't figure out why everbody goes all the way to the South Fork in the winter. Andrew D. and I headed down the Snake canyon today for a shot at some areas that practically never get fished. After a long snowshoe in and no small amount of fumbling through deadfall on snowshoes, we started working some runs with nymph rigs. By midday, after catching nothing despite bein able to spot fish, we had worked up to some bouldery pocket water that Andrew had spotted on the hike in. After about a minute of checking it out fish started porpoising all across the river. With a pretty steady snow coming down, we opted for midge nymps and proceeded to beat up on the large pod of cuts and whities. I was throwing a #18 zebra midge with a gray bodied emerger and andrew was throwing a blood midge nymph unweighted. We pulled a few dozen cuts to 18" as well as a pile of whitefish that started to be a nuisance after a while. Having to pick them up nearly every cast made for some very wet gloves that went really well with the steady wind and snow blowing on us. We headed in once the cuts seemed to slow down their feeding around 2:30 but were still seeing sporadic rises as we started the hike out. Andrew finally got his redemption after being skunked the past few times out on the Snake.

Historical Weirdness

Weird to say the least.  There is an incredibly slim chance that there is a remnant population of landlocked atlantic salmon floating around the upper Snake river.  Absurd?  Maybe.  My research indicates that there were stocking attempts in Yellowstone and Duck lakes in 1890.  Based on some recently heard stories and a recent personal experience on the Snake, I'm not convinced the stocking efforts completely failed.  In fact, the current theory is that a small population of these fish survived and have been mistakenly identified as Loch Leven strain brown trout over the years when they are occasionally caught.  The only way to be sure at this point is to catch another one.....

Blackfoot Carp Tournament

Got the official word a few days ago, the Blackfoot Reservoir Carp Classic will be May 15-16 this year.  The info isn't up on the web just yet, but check out www.fin-chasers.com/carp.htm for previous years' info.  Brooks Montgomery seems to be planning some sort of extravagant (I know, that word doesn't really fit in the same paragraph as "carp") shindig this year that he's hinted at calling Carp-a-palooza.  Whatever happens, it's sure to be a good time.

The Fishin Dog

Introducing the Fishin Dog, Jessie the wonder mutt.

Latest ridiculousness

It's winter in Jackson, but I'm not skiing.  No sir, this nut is out fishing.  Does a 300 grain sinking line make sense around here?  Probably not, but dragging streamers on the bottom of the Snake seems to be the ticket these days.  Sure, there are some sporadic midge hatches from time to time which can be pretty darn productive, but most of the time it's too cold and the only way to get a tug on the line is to put some meat where the fish are.  Andrew D. looks to be joining in the insanity for the next few days in the Snake Canyon.  Snowshoes, guide grease, and numb fingers, here we come.....

And so it begins

Hey y'all, here it is, the beginning of Fishin Dog, bringing you the latest from a Wyoming based fly fishing fiend and related scuttlebutt.