Nothing but Yellow Belly

September 26, 2010

What a September! Today was in the 80ºs. The sky was cloudless and there wasn’t an ounce of wind all day. The willows, aspens and cottonwood trees are glowing with gold and the hillsides are vibrant red from the wild roses, mountain maples and hawthorns. Hardly a single turned leaf has fallen yet. September is truly the best time of year in the Yellowstone area and this year we are having the best of the best.

Today I floated the Moose to Wilson section of the Snake River in Jackson Hole Wyoming with Gary Eckman and Cooper. Cooper you should remember from previous blogs is Gary Eckman’s fourteen year old son that has become quite a proficient fly fisher. We got an early start today of about 8 am. Right now, 8 am is about sunrise here. It should have been freezing cold but instead it was a balmy 50 degrees. We all wet waded from start to finish.

Fishing started surprisingly slow despite the seemingly perfect conditions. I rowed the first hour while Cooper practiced his streamer fishing and Gary plopped an ant pattern along the banks. Other than a follow on the streamer and a small swirl behind the ant the cutthroats were asleep. Wildlife always seems to make up for lack of fish. We saw a gigantic bull moose tearing up some willows, a mule deer and her nearly full grown fawn, numerous elk, eagles and a long tail weasel along the banks as we drifted. Just to spice things up even more we floated into the famous “Bourbon Channel”. I’m not a big fan of the channel as it is one if you are the oarsman you row and that’s it. You can’t relax and enjoy your surroundings for even a split second or you’ll sink the boat. The Bourbon Channel is small and winding. The water moves fast and there are boat flipping snags and debris every inch of the way. It’s probably one of the most treacherous sections of all the Snake River. Take your eyes off what’s ahead of you for a second and your life is in danger.

We successfully navigated through even the most hair-raising mazes of the channel. There was no doubt that my workout for the day was complete. Once we got back to the main river the fishing turned on. It could have been the time of day but I think it was the slower water. This time of year the Snake River cuttys like a steady flow along a rocky ledges and the drop-offs just below riffles. There were plenty of bugs hatching. This late summer weather continues to deliver PMD’s. It’s late for PMD’s but we saw some. Then there were numerous Mahogany Duns and the occasional Snake Drakes, a large mayfly about a size 12. Fish began to rise and we all fished dry flies for the remainder of the day.

Today’s highlight, was watching Cooper catch his biggest fish ever on a dry fly on the Snake. The catch occurred during a time when he was getting a little distracted. The Snake River has one of the best sucker populations you can imagine. If you look into the water from the front of the boat while drifting you notice huge fish moving along the bottom all day long. While many anglers freak out thinking they are all huge trout, most of us know that most of these fish are actually suckers. Naturally, the fact that they are so much bigger than most trout in the river, Cooper wants to catch one bad. And while he should be carefully mending and watching his drifting dry fly, he’s often in a trance staring into the water ahead of the boat. I always watch his drifting fly and find myself constantly telling him to mend, dry your fly, recast and when we are lucky, set the hook. I must sound like a broken record.

Fortunately for us, not the cutthroat, Cooper was watching his fly when a big yellow belly slowly elevated from bottom to the surface and ate his Mahogany Wulff. You could see that this was a big trout and somehow Cooper kept his cool and set the hook on him like a pro. But once the fish was on, Cooper got very nervous. Now he truly knew how big this trout was and like any kid he wanted this fish in the net. He wisely asked for advice on the best way to get him there. Gary and I were thrilled and did our best of coaching Cooper through the event. He handled it beautifully and a few minutes after hook up I netted Cooper’s gorgeous cutthroat trout.

It was another great day on the Snake River in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Cooper relished in his success for an hour or so before going on a full time sucker hunt. Gary and I  enjoyed the weather and scenery and took turns fishing and rowing. We caught plenty of fish but today was by no means as good as it has been in previous weeks. As much as I’m not ready for it, what we really need to trigger our fall fishing is fall weather. Next on the agenda Granny and I will be chasing some big browns and brookies on some secret lakes. Stay tuned . . .

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Thirty Fish or More

Today is Granny’s day, again. Actually it’s mine too because we went to a place we both love very much, the Piniella River. It’s a river we like to float because there’s not much fishing traffic (although today we saw three other boats) and there’s numerous fish to catch on big stupid looking dry flies. I like to twitch the winged Chernobyl Ant in the seams and along the banks. Once again, this is by no means a location for big trout but the small ones are numerous. We get several species – brook trout, rainbow and cutthroat (both Snake River and Yellowstone cutts) and when you want them, plenty of whitefish.

This was a rest day after the hike of yesterday. Granny made us a heck of a lunch and even squeezed a couple of ice cold beers in my dirty cooler. The rowing is easy here so you can kick back and drift, drop anchor or just steer all while you are fishing. We picked a particularly long float so we got a very early start. I was doing a ten mile bike shuttle before 8 am. When I finished Granny had the boat ready to rock and off we went.

On this river, the fish are generally so small that we keep count and set goals. Today we were shooting for 25 fish. Keeping count may sound ridiculous to some but for us it makes it fun. If we don’t set a goofy goal like this then we tend not to put much effort into our fishing on this river. With the high fish goal each fish means something despite their being small. We even do things like no food until we catch three and no beer until you catch five (that will make you concentrate).

Things started slower than expected. There’s hardly room for one boat on this river in August let alone the three others we saw. Naturally they had the same plan as us of starting early so right out of the gate we kept running into one another. They didn’t seem to know the river so we slowed down our pace considerably to get them out of our sight for good. We dropped anchor on a favorite bank of ours and over the course of an hour we managed six fish – an even mix of cuttys and brookies.

We never saw more much more after that other than lots of birds including a family of owls, a porcupine of which I discovered because I heard some willows getting munched and over thirty fish. To our delight, three of these trout were pretty darn nice. We didn’t get off the river until 7:30 pm and it will go down as one of our most relaxing days of the summer.

During these last two days I wore my Granny out. She always teases me when I’m tired after fishing a bunch of days in a row, but she knows. Fishing and being outdoors all day gives you the kind of tired we all need more of. Now its back to work for Granny and believe it or not, I’m going to bust out some art tomorrow. I’m excited to say that I sold some art in my galleries and received more orders from my website then ever. Good stuff!

Today is Granny’s day, again. Actually it’s mine too because we went to a place we both love very much, the Piniella River. It’s a river we like to float because there’s not much fishing traffic (although today we saw three other boats) and there’s numerous fish to catch on big stupid looking dry flies. I like to twitch the winged Chernobyl in the seams and along the banks. Once again, this is by no means a location for big trout but the small ones are numerous. We get several species – brook trout, rainbow and cutthroat (both Snake River and Yellowstone cuts) and when you want them, plenty of whitefish.

This was a rest day after the hike of yesterday. Granny made us a heck of a lunch and even squeezed a couple of ice cold beers in my dirty cooler. The rowing is easy here so you can kick back and drift, drop anchor or just steer all while you are fishing. We picked a particularly long float so we got a very early start. I was doing a ten mile bike shuttle before 8 am. When I finished Granny had the boat ready to rock and off we went.

On this river, the fish are generally so small that we keep count and set goals. Today we were shooting for 25 fish. Keeping count may sound ridiculous to some but for us it makes it fun. If we don’t set a goofy goal like this then we tend not to put much effort into our fishing on this river. With the high fish goal each fish means something despite their being small. We even do things like no food until we catch three and no beer until you catch five (that will make you concentrate).

Things started slower than expected. There’s hardly room for one boat on this river in August let alone the three others we saw. Naturally they had the same plan as us of starting early so right out of the gate we kept running into one another. They didn’t seem to know the river so we slowed down our pace considerably to get them out of our sight for good. We dropped anchor on a favorite bank of ours and over the course of an hour we managed six fish – an even mix of cuttys and brookies.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

The Man Behind the Scene

July 30, 2010

There wouldn’t be a jeffcurrier.com if there wasn’t a man behind the scene. There may even be one less fly fishing blog in the world if it wasn’t for that same man. That man is, Ken Holder from California and Jackson Hole Wyomig. I met Ken over twenty years ago. I sold him a pair of Simms wading shoes back in the late 80’s out of the Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop. I was just a young fly fishing maniac trying to earn enough for my next days off and Ken was desperately trying to land a size 14 wading shoe.

Over the years we got to be friends and one day he suggested I have website. It was the thing to do and he could build it and keep it going as a hobby. He suggested that perhaps if I didn’t have enough material to post I could share the website with a friend. I blew off the idea but Ken went ahead and got it started for me anyway. The site was pretty cool and I started adding things like my books and art and the occasional story or article. Maintaining it was a simple side project/hobby for Ken when he was out on the road working for United Airlines.  Neither of us dreamt that little website would turn into a huge 500 page step towards my self-employment and what is now Global Fly Fishing.

Ken works hours upon hours on the now massive website and that’s why whenever he visits the Yellowstone area I take him fishing. Today was one of his fishing days. He brought along his girlfriend Nati and asked one favor of me, help Nati catch a fish. We got an early start. The sky was deep blue and clear like the days of September even though its not. Throughout the day the clouds built up and it was hot. There were times today I couldn’t believe I was in the Rocky Mountains it was so hot. Regardless of the intense heat, the Pale Morning Duns and the Yellow Sallies hatched all day and the  brookies, rainbows and cuttys were out in full force to eat them.

One of the best ways for me to get a fly fishing newcomer into some fish is to put them in the front of my boat where I can keep an eye on them. I went over some of the basics of casting with Nati and showed her how to manage her line and eventually how to go about fighting and landing a fish. Once that was done we were off and I gave instruction while I was rowing throughout the day.

While all this was going on up front, Ken fished from the back of my boat. He tossed a 5-weight and an elk hair type of yellow sally I chose from his box. In no time Ken was hooked up. While most the fish on this river are small, I heard the trout sip his fly and  I could tell by the sound it belonged to a big one. By the time I looked over, Ken’s line was headed for some sunken trees. The last thing you want is for your fish to get into a snag so Ken prevented this by turning the fish. You accomplish this by putting as much pressure against the fish as you can based on the strength of your tippet by holding your rod tip low and bent. I like to pull downstream and get help from the current. On most trout, once you change their direction from going back to their home, they will usually fight you in from the middle of the river. Ken went on to land a spectacularly colored cutthroat-rainbow hybrid of which I netted and popped a few pictures with my new camera.

I knew I was in trouble the way Nati was looking at Ken's fish. It was the first trout  she’d seen in her life and now she had to have her own something  fierce. Fortunately her casting was getting good so I tied on a sally for her and sure enough the fish liked the fly. She didn’t exactly start putting fish in the  boat. Like anyone learning there were a few mishaps, such as not setting the hook at all, setting too late and completely forgetting what to do when you finally do hook one. Then, Nati got so excited on her first good hook up that she nearly back flipped over the side of my boat!

Nati went on to land some fish and get pretty darn good at fly fishing. In fact, we had a stroke of beginners luck when she boated one of the nicest brook trout you will find in these parts. Ken caught at least a dozen trout of all sizes however he was most happy  with Nati's success and the catch of his big cut bow. As for me, it was another great day on the water with friends.

There wouldn’t be a jeffcurrier.com if there wasn’t a man behind the scene. There may even be one less fly fishing blog in the world if it wasn’t for that same man. That man is, Ken Holder from California and Jackson Hole Wyomig. I met Ken over twenty years ago. I sold him a pair of Simms wading shoes back in the late 80’s out of the Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop. I was just a young fly fishing maniac trying to earn enough for my next days off and Ken was desperately trying to land a size 14 wading shoe.

Over the years we got to be friends and one day he suggested I have website. It was the thing to do and he could build it and keep it going as a hobby. He suggested that perhaps if I didn’t have enough material to post I could share the website with a friend. I blew off

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Granny Puts on a Clinic

July 7, 2010

My legs were a little sore this morning. Granny’s were too that’s why she thought I should hook up the boat and float her down a river. And by the way, get my bike out so I could do an eight mile bike shuttle to start my day. So SHE could rest her legs! Ha!

I pretend to be abused but I love taking my wife down the river and I ride my bike nearly every morning anyhow so at least today I’d have a reason. My tackle is in disarray from my upcoming trip so even though it’s not the set up of choice, I grabbed the already rigged Ross Journey 7 ½ footer that I’ve been using small stream fishing. I packed it in the truck and away we went.

The bike shuttle was a dusty one but there was little wind and overall it was very enjoyable. When I got to Granny she had the boat ready to roll and we pushed off. The river, like most around here is too high to provide good fishing but nonetheless, it would be a nice relaxing float and perhaps we’d find a few hungry fish rising in the dirty water.

Things started very slow. The highlight for the morning was watching a family of magpies. The babies had just left the nest and were fun to watch exploring their new world. At about noon, I actually heard what sounded like a trout sipping a bug. There were some Pale Morning duns on the water. I stared in the direction of the sound and sure enough, the fish sipped again. It was game on.

Granny got a kick out of casting the short rod. It definitely took her a few false casts to adjust, but then she presented her thorax PMD beautifully in the direction of the sipping cutthroat. The way I was holding the boat, we were about fifty feet away so she had to really shake line and feed her fly to the fish. Then, as we hoped, the trout sucked down her fly and downstream he went. Frequently, the more subtle the rise the bigger the fish is. This was a prime example of this. When I first pointed the rise out to Granny she thought it was a little brook trout. I disagreed and when Granny felt the weight of this fish she admitted I was right. A few minutes later I netted a burley Snake River Cutty.

We only saw one more riser today and he turned out to be a rainbow. Granny got him too. He could be one of the best colored up rainbows of the year – truly spectacular! I plan to start painting him today. Most or our rivers are still at least week from coming into their own. When I get home from Europe the fishing should be incredible everywhere.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

 

A New Camera for Norway

July 6, 2010

Part of organizing for this trip to Norway is getting familiar with a new camera. I feel like this adventure will be one of the best ever and getting great photos is a must. The cameras I’ve been using were not up to par with what’s available these days. On that note, even though I couldn’t afford it, I bought the new point and shoot Canon PowerShot G11. Reviews rave about the incredibly clear photos it takes and its ability to shoot both RAW and JPEG format. It also has many features that standard SLR cameras have.

I read the manual the last two days and today it was time to take some pictures. At first I tested it around the yard but then I wanted to test it on some fish. We have terribly high water on most our major rivers so back to the brookie streams I went. Joining me was, Mark Kuhn, better known as Milkfish. Milky and I drove towards Ashton, Idaho and started wetting lines in random small streams. Unfortunately, even the small streams are presently raging and although fishable, they were slightly off color.

My standard fly for blind casting small streams for trout is an elk hair caddis or a yellow sally. I’ve seen a few sallies around lately so I tied one on my 7 ½ foot 4-weight Ross Worldwide youth series rod. Ross sent it to me a few months back and today was a perfect place to test it. By the way, I was very impressed.

Milky did about the same and neither of us had much activity at first. Then, as a pair of sandhill cranes were scolding me from the bank with some God awful cackles, I caught my smallest fish of the year – a 4” brook trout. Such a pretty fish was a perfect test for the camera.

That was the only fish Milky and I caught. This surge of warm weather has melted the last of our high country snow and water levels have risen for the last time. Our small streams are about a week away from being excellent fishing and the major rivers will follow just after. Luckily, our tailwaters like the South Fork of the Snake will be prime in just few more days.

On the way home, Milky ran over a rock. We were backing up through some sagebrush and unfortunately there was a beast of a rock that tore up the bottom of his car. After we thought all was good, we proceeded down the dirt roads and his car was yelping a sound that was very similar to the upset sandhills I met earlier this afternoon. We made it back to Victor but I’ll be curious as to what is really messed up.

I just downloaded all my practice pictures. I’m very pleased with the results and I think with some practice with the camera settings the pictures will only improve. I just hope that next week the viewfinder is full with a huge Norwegian Atlantic salmon!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site