Fall/Winter Newsletter

September-December 2007

01/04/2008

September 1, 2007

David and Katie Dietel from Sierra trading Post came for a weekend in September. It was David's birthday!

 Again the muddy waters had us bobbing and weaving for clear water. We hit the Greybull. The river was still slightly of color but plenty fishable. The fish were deep so we hit them with the Wal-mart wiggler and got several but they were not giving it up easily.

We used the day to work on a little technique moving from one hole to the next while getting a fish here and there. All in all a slow catching day but we had fun!

On David's birthday we started at Newton lake site fishing the big boys. The fish were moving but still tough. David hooked a big rainbow but it came off. Katie landed a nice brown of about 18".

Next we hit a private pond and success was upon us! The fish were up on dries and both anglers were nailing fish from the start. David really got on them and probably landed a dozen or so. Pictures to come.

Finally we hit the North Fork . The only real success was Katie landing the smallest fish ever caught on the river. {right}

Fishing was tough both days. David and Katie fished hard and managed to make something happen! Thanks for a fun couple days! We'll get them next time!

Kitt and Luke Sawitsky gave me a call and were interested in the Clarks Fork canyon adventure. I picked them up at the 7 D dude ranch up in Sunlight basin. These guys were from Boston so this was a pretty big change in scenery for them.

 We hit the bottom and Luke got his line in the water first. Before I could get Kitt rigged up, Luke had a couple fish and was moving up stream. Once they figured out where the fish were and that they wanted a big dry fly under water and moving, it was on!

These guys caught fish all day with wolf and bear sign all over and in one of the most beautiful places in Wyoming! The last couple hours the fish really turned on and it was a blast watching bent rods in every direction! I think Kitt and Luke will remember this one for quite a while!

September 6, 2007

Marc and Annie Angelo from Sierra Trading Post came to fish for a couple days in September. Marc is fairly new to fly fishing and Annie had never caught a fish before!

We decided to stay in Cody and fish lakes to give Annie a good opportunity to learn the basics of casting, knots, fly selection, and basic entomology.

We hit Newton early just to see if we could get a big one. Marc broke off a nice brown and managed to land one rainbow but fishing was slow so we hit another pond. Here's a picture of Annie with her first fish ever on a fly! Congratulations on this once in a life time event! (right)

The fish were up on dries and we learned many things as we attempted to land them in weedy conditions and wind. Many fish were hooked, some landed, all in all a very successful day!

Day two was on the North Tongue. Negotiating the tight willows with short casts is the trick in here. The Wal-mart wiggler rules the Tongue as you can see with Annie's first fish at right. Marc nailed a really nice cutt (left) on the wiggler!

We had a great time site fishing these fish and even a close encounter with a beautiful bull moose! Annie did great for her first time and I look forward to our next trip!

September 17&18, 2007

Kirk Bollinger, Greg Cross, and I hit the South Fork of the Snake for a couple days Sept 17th and 18th. We had a ball! The fishing report said it was slow. The water was running 7500cfs and off color. Right up our alley!

The first day we floated down from the dam. The skies were cloudy and the fish were really up on streamers from the get go. We had a ball catching Snake river cutts, rainbows and cutbows, and browns. Most fish were 15" to 16" but we did get a few real nice browns and rainbows.

The scenery was spectacular. The trees had just begun to turn and many were in prime fall color. The reds and yellows were almost blinding.

The second day we hit the canyon section. The sun was out so the fishing was much slower, especially in the middle of the day. This is a really pretty stretch of water. Lots of moose, eagles, and other assorted wild life. The wind came up in the afternoon and in combination with the 7500cfs flows made fishing from the boat very difficult so we concentrated on the side channels and found fish with a dry dropper. A zebra midge worked well.  Kirk landed a nice brown to end the day.

On the way back we found a secret stream with a good number of cutts, some quite large. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many healthy fish in a spot where we had no expectations. A great way to end a well deserved break!

September 22 & 23, 2007

Jack VanderMass and his dad, Neil, came to fish for a couple days on the 22nd and 23rd of September. We had talked about fishing the Greybull and there was a hole in the weather on the 22nd, so Jack and I took it!

We got there early and began catching fish right off the bat. We used a Bah Behr with a prince dropper and a black and red zebra below that. The fish were on the midge right away. I think Jack probably got 20 fish out of the first hole.

The sun came up and the fish slowed on the midge. We began to see a few come look at the Bah Behr only to reject it. We switched to the Chaos hopper and up they came. For the next couple hours Jack caught fish after fish on the hopper. Lots of nice 16", 17" and even 18" fish!

After lunch (3:00 p.m.) the Hopper fishing slowed and we switched to the Wal-Mart wiggler on a dropper. Here we go again! We continued to catch fish non stop till around 6:30 p.m. I don't think I have ever seen so many large fish caught in one day on the Greybull. Jack, being a great fisherman, didn't hurt the situation either!

The second day was spent on the Lower Shoshone. Conditions were perfect and we got some real nice ones early, but many fronts came in and we really had to work for them later in the day. We started with streamers, but also used a dry dropper. Neil had the big fish (a rainbow) of the day take a zebra midge, but it came unbuttoned at the boat. It would have gone about 4lbs.

In the evening things picked back up and many fish were landed on a streamer, although nothing very big. Must have been the fronts. It was still a fun day. Had these two not fished hard all day, the level of success would have been much less. They both made something happen and I commend them for their effort.

October 7, 2007

Ken Walter and his buddy Robert Tazzy came up to fish in the middle of some inclement weather on the 6th and 7th. I offered them a rain check but they had come to fish so that is what we did. It was raining and spitting snow in Cody so we hung around town and fished some lakes and the canyon. Both guys are new to fly fishing so we learned some basics and just concentrated on catching a few fish. Newton produced a nice brown at left. We then hit a private pond and both guys got the hang of casting, fighting, and landing some nice ones. We ended up in the canyon where the fish were rising to midges and BWO's. We worked on accuracy and drift. A great starter day to get loosened up with good success!

Day 2 was in the Bighorns due to muddy water everywhere in the vicinity of Cody. What a surprise! A foot to a foot and a half of fresh snow! There were some raised eyebrows at first but within a few minutes of arriving we began to catch some fish. Stealth and line management is the game here. Just staying out of the trees is a huge accomplishment! Ken and Robert both did a great job and fished hard , even with the tough weather conditions. A few fronts came in over the course of the day but when the sun came out, it was on! Check out the beautiful snow and fish!

Ken and Robert were both excellent studies. They fished hard in some tough weather and were good sports about it. I could tell by the fish they both caught that they both got the hang of fly fishing and I hope they both will continue to enjoy it. Remember, FLY FISHING is EASY!

December 11, 2007

It's the first week of December and the guiding season is finally winding down. I had a great time fishing with everyone this year. It was the best year yet for Eastgate Anglers. We made many new friends and had a lot of fun. Even with some less than favorable conditions at the end of July and through most of August and September we caught a lot of beautiful fish. Thanks to everyone for their support and friendship! With winter approaching and temperatures dropping, trips are getting fewer but the fishing is getting better!  Now I can fish!

We have been doing a lot of fishing on the Bighorn over in Thermopolis for the past week. The browns are starting to run along with some fall spawn rainbows. The fishing has been great. The average fish over there has been about 18". There are some really nice fish moving out of the canyon.

I fished with my friend Kirk Bollinger December 2nd and 3rd. The fishing was great. We got a lot of nice rainbows and a few nice cutts. The browns were about done with the spawn. We used many techniques. We swung a bugger with an egg or a sow bug. We did some nymphing and even caught some on little tiny dries.

Thursday, November 8th I fished with my friend Mike Moucha and Tye Matlack. Mike now lives in Cody and Tye is from Florida. We have been fishing together now for many years. The guys missed some, broke some off, and caught a bunch of nice rainbows that day. Interestingly no browns. Nymphing was the most successful technique that day. Most of the hits came on a big double beaded stone.

Don Hicks and I fished on Saturday the 10th and had a ball! The browns were really on the move! We caught fish all day long! Don was coming off a string of skunks over here in Cody and did he ever make a come back! Check some of these nice fish. Swinging the bugger with an egg trailer or the world renown Wal-Mart Wiggler was the ticket all day. There was a good midge hatch with a few BWO's bringing some smaller fish to the surface but we stuck with the meat all day and it paid off. Heck of a way to start my fishing season!

Tight Lines!