One of our fishing guides, Will Pierce, was out on the water this past week and sent us the following report –

Thursday, November 29th

The fly fishing was good in the 11am-3pm time range, the fish were in pods in the still pools on the sides of faster water.  I caught a handful of fish on a #10 black/tan wooly bugger and saw a number of fish rising to tiny midges hatching on the water.  Too bad I had only brought streamers with me! Soft, deep pools have trout stacked up in them right now, and even though the fish are a little slow on the streamer take they still are eager to feed with the warmer temperatures we’ve had lately!

Friday, November 30th

The weather was a little cooler and the rain kept up throughout the morning and into the afternoon, but the trout were feeding none the less!  This time I had my dry flies and with the help of a #20 BWO Cripple, I was able to land a handful of Cutties in the 12 to 14 inch range.  These trout were feeding in slower water, which made the fly/take easier to see.  Towards the end of the day I switched to an all black streamer and landed a nice 15 inch Brookie!

Best Flies: #20 BWO Sparkle Dun, #20 Zelon Midge, #6 Black Leech, #18-20 PT’s, #18-20 Black or Red Zebra Midge

We salute all the Veterans who have put everything on the line in defense of our country! Winter finally arrived here in the Hole this past Friday.  Weather prior to that was perfect for afternoon dry fly fishing! Highs in the mid 50’s produced solid Midge and BWO hatches and our Cutthroat were on them in the riffles and  flats at the end of runs.  Nymphing has been good with medium sized Stonefly nymphs about 6 feet down trailing Zebra Midges, Lightening Bugs, and Rainbow Warriors all in sizes #16-20. Streamers are still worth fishing, but slow your retrieve way down or just let the fly swing at the end of the drift…

It has remained very consistent on the Snake River here in Jackson Hole.  Our fishing guides are still out on the water regularly getting clients into trout after trout.  The BWO hatch remains strong and the weather we are receiving today will only help it strengthen.  It rained hard here today and the river may even blow out tomorrow! All sections of the Snake are fishing well, but the whitewater might very well be the best.  Our new Aire raft is a spectacular fishing machine and is going to serve us well for years to come. The streamer bite is on as our Cutthroat fatten up for the winter.  There are plenty of trout feeding off the surface daily after 1pm on Blue Wings, Mahoganies, and October Caddis. The best part is that few boats are on the river! Best Flies: #10-12 Oragne Stimulator, #18 BWO Film Critic, #16 Mahogany Cripples, #6 Tan Sculpzilla, #4 Yellow Dungeon, #6 Black Leech

Darrell Ragan shows me how it's done...

Another one of many!

The Snake River here in Jackson Hole continues to fish well, especially on the surface.  Fall hatches of Mahogany Duns, Blue Wing Olives, and October Caddis have kept the Cutthroat looking up, but they definitely are not push-overs. The river has been dropped to winter flows of 300 cfs out of Jackson Lake Dam.  This has the trout podded up in the deeper runs and feeding in preparation for winter. I have lengthened my leaders to 10 feet and am using 5X to fool these pickier trout. The streamer bite is on! Bank-side structure is holding some large Cutties and can be enticed if the fly is placed within inches.  Dry-dropper combinations have also been great with nymphs running close to this structure. These are some really beautiful fish! Best Flies: #12-16 Mahogany Duns, #18 BWO Film Critic, #10-12 Orange Stimulator, #16-18 Lightening Bugs, #14-16 Zug Bugs, #6 Black Leech, #6 Tan Silvey Sculpin

Guide Taylor Upton displays a beautiful Cutthroat caught by Randy McKinney

Gorgeous!

Nothing like floating under the fall colors!

Man, I love fall! Not that I’m ready to dawn all of my winter gear yet, just love the trees changing color and Cutthroat feeding voraciously. The Snake River fished very well for the Jackson Hole One Fly event this past weekend.  I guided Deadman’s – Moose both days and it fished well with #12-14 Hecubas, #12-14 Flying Ants, and a few Stoneflies.  Saturday was cool to start and when the fishing got going, all of the trout in the river were up and feeding.  They ate the Hecuba well, but we also had a fair number of refusals. Maybe it was because we had 3x tied on? Some fish really don’t seem to care, yet others do…. Sunday was warmer overnight and the trout responded earlier.  Flying Ants were a really good choice as the Cutties ate them from first to last cast.  The problem was getting them to stay on the line with a smaller hook.  We finally got it dialed by angling the rod tip more to one side or the other and scored well. Thanks to all who put on the event and especially Under Armour, Smith Sunglasses, and Thomas and Thomas Fly rods.

Hopefully, they won't find me here....