Repeat Today!

September 9, 2010

The 2010 Jackson Hole One Fly Contest is underway! The actual competition fishing part didn’t start yet (the fishing is Saturday and Sunday), but the stream of events started tonight. We had the kick off cocktail party and all contestants learned where they will be fishing, who their guide is and who they will be competing against in the boat. On Saturday I will be fishing on the Snake River from the Wilson Bridge to South Park Bridge. My guide is Charles Kempe and my boat partner is Joe Debryan. Although I’m not too excited about that stretch of river, both the guide and boat mate are friends so it should be lots of fun. On Sunday I’m fishing the Lower South Fork Canyon. I lucked out on my guide draw getting Mike Bean whom ironically Gary and I fished with today. My boat mates first name is Scott but I don’t know him and couldn’t not find him tonight. I’m sure he will be fun and we will have a great time.

Before the party, Gary Eckman and I fished together to get in one final practice day and to celebrate Gary’s birthday. You would never know it but Gary turned 70. Just like last week, Gary booked Mike Bean to guide us on the South Fork and I had the good fortune to go along. Since about the beginning of August Gary Eckman and I have fished at least one day a week on either the Snake or the South Fork rivers to sharpen our skills and get tuned in to what flies and tactics are working best this season. Some days we floated and fished on our own but the last three times Gary hired us a guide which I can tell you is quite a treat for me.

Today’s weather signals that fall is right around the corner. We awoke to a cold drizzle. Gary picked me up at my house at 7 and when we went over Pine Creek Pass it was actually spitting snow on top. All I could  think about was the fact that I didn’t bring my waders! Mike met us in Swan Valley Idaho and we were floating and fishing before 9. This was kind of a reconnaissance mission for him too. Guides also want to do well in the One Fly because they are awarded for having top scores from their boats.

I am torn on what fly to use in this contest. Remember, you are only allowed one fly each day. If you choose a lousy one you’re stuck with it. On that note, today I switched each hour to test a variety of bugs. I have come to the conclusion that as far as the South Fork goes I can fish a streamer, a size 18 PMD or even some type of Chernobyl ant and do well. The way the contest works is you really need to just catch six fish that you measure and get good points for. If they average over 15”s then you will get enough bonus points to  do well. I felt that today I could do that with any of these flies. Gary and I absolutely destroyed the fish. Honestly, I’ll bet we caught twenty fish over 16”s EACH! And several were over 18”s. Our scores would have been through the roof!

Today’s weather had a lot to do with it. It stayed nasty, cold and rainy all day. Really it was the kind of day most guide trips get cancelled. That’s a big mistake around here. Rainy weather always means good fishing in the Yellowstone area. The hatches today were the best I can recall and the fish were border line suicidal to eat any fly. The weather for the contest is predicted to be warm and sunny. Fishing conditions will be much different. However, I think that the Good Times Team is ready to rock and perhaps we can repeat today when it counts this weekend!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Northwoods Hardwater Madness

I’m on the way home from our annual Chippewa Retreat Ice Fishing Invitational held in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. Technically a tournament, this is really a fun fishing trip with a little friendly competition amongst friends. The get-together is hosted by George Hillenbrand and based out of John McGraw’s resort, Chippewa Retreat. Well known Wisconsin fishing guides Joe Petska, Brett Jolly and James Petska lead us during the event. It’s great fun. George takes incredible care of us and best of all; we catch lots of fish in one of the most beautiful winter settings imaginable.

Over the years this event has brought out the worst in weather. We’ve suffered through snow storms, subzero temperatures and high winds. Last year the final day greeted us with 25° below zero temps and wind chills down to 75° below zero! But this year Mother Nature treated us to two of the nicest days on the ice we’ve experienced in years. Day 1 was easily 45° and calm. The biggest concern was frying the face from sun and snow reflection.

Most ice fishing in Wisconsin is done with tip-ups. If that’s a new term to you, tip-ups are basically holders of your line that set in the ice hole. There’s a flag attached and rigged in such that if a fish takes the bait, up goes the flag and you get your butt over there and try to hook and land the fish from the icy depths. While you anticipate the pop of the flag, you can relax or you can jig. I personally prefer to drop a tiny jig in about 8-feet of water and beat up the bluegill, black crappie and yellow perch that fall for the treat.

Our fishing on Day 1 did not disappoint. In the state of Wisconsin, three lines are allowed per angler. For most, that means setting up two tip-ups and working one jigging rod. Fishing was so good that we never got all our lines in the water. Northern pike were setting off tip-up flags so fast that no one had much time to drop a jig. By the end of the day we had exercised over 50 pike up to 25”s! David Baker landed 17 pike himself. Mixed in were some very respectable largemouth bass. The biggest taken by John that measured 19” – not bad for a largemouth through the ice!

Catching fish all day is hard to beat, but rather than another pike filled day, we spent Day 2 trying for walleyes. From personal experience chasing walleye through the ice, I knew a 50 fish day was not in the cards. With all the tip-ups set out, we kicked back and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. Two hours into the day only four flags had popped, none of which produced a fish. The walleye weren’t feeding, but rather perch were tripping the flags. I broke out the jigging rod and started whacking the perch. In a short time I iced over 20. George’s tournament judges you on numbers of fish caught and I felt I had “most fish” in the bag. I moved to deeper water in search of a mid day walleye on the jig. Walleyes don’t feed particularly well during the day so I knew it was a long shot; however there’s always a chance.

I took a seat in our ice shelter with George’s friend Marvin Hirn and joined him in some jigging. We put in a couple hours of effort, but we managed nothing more than some great conversation and a few Leinenkugel's. It was soon brought to my attention that Larry F. Burtschy II, a fierce competitor in his own, had found a school of perch and his fish count was now eighteen. Even though a fun tourney among friends, that was all it took for me to head back to my perch hole. I dropped my jig down and after a few minutes regained the proper jig motion and began hammering the perch. Larry remained hot on my tail until his 26th. His 27th fish eluded him for some time and I broke away and ended with a final count of 49. The tournament ended at 3 pm.

It was another enjoyable day despite the lack of walleye, and while most of the gang left after the tournament, Rick Schreiber, Larry and I and the guides hung out through sunset in hopes the walleye bite would occur. It didn’t. We had about ten flags pop, but only two cigar sized walleyes to show for it. Although some of us were reluctant to leave, at 6 pm we used the last light of the day and collected our gear and returned to Chippewa Retreat.

After a good shower, George took us all to dinner at one of the finest restaurants in Manitowish Waters, Smokey’s. Eating on this trip is as much fun as the fishing itself. George does not mess around. No one has ever left one of his dinners hungry. NO ONE! To give you an example, we had about ten people at the table, yet we ordered over a dozen appetizers. Some of these appetizers weren’t appetizers at all, but rather full entrees that we split up. Two of these entrees were the king crab dinners! Needless to say, we relished in several major feasts over the last few days.

This fantastic trip ends with our rest-up day. This day generally entails hitting some of the local taverns that Northern WI is famous for. Rick and I love to play pool and there’s no better place in the world. We had a great time shooting and watching Olympic Hockey and the NASCAR Race with the locals while the others rolled dice and challenged us on occasion.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. George announced weeks ago that this was our last ice fishing trip. However, not all bad news, George is replacing it with a fully guided fly fishing for musky trip in October 2011. It’s a ways away and it’s sad to see five great years of ice fishing come to an end, however the new trip will be extremely exciting.

Now, Rick and I are somewhere in the air between Minneapolis and Salt Lake City. I’m already back to work on the computer getting this blog done and gearing up for a weekend in Pleasanton, CA in which I will be speaking at the Fly Fishing Show. I have several presentations to give and some casting demonstrations. I’ll look forward to seeing some of you there!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site