Spring Newsletter

Spring has sprung on the east gate of Yellowstone country. We are sitting on 100% of snow pack. Due to cool temperatures in the evenings runoff is minimal and the rivers are clear. This makes for some of the best fishing of the year.

Note: All pictures are thumbnails for quicker downloading. You can view the pictures more clearly by double clicking on individual pictures.

My friend, Jerimiah Mackmiller, and I got together for three days on the Northfork of the Shoshone. The lower river is closed for spawning up to Newton Creek so we fished above that point. As you can see from these pictures (left and below) the fishing was fabulous.

Aside from the great fishing, the wild life was out in force. We saw grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, moose elk, deer, eagles, turkeys, otters, and beaver. It was absolutely beautiful.

The hatches were amazing as well. Brown stones were moving toward the banks. We used a #4 brown conehead woolly bugger on a dead drift. In certain areas march browns were also coming off in sheets. Sparkle duns (#14 and #16) and #16 parachute adams were the trick. The fish were in beautiful shape, 16 to 20 inches. They fought like small steelhead.


	In April, Paul Olson from Parson Pillow Bed and Breakfast (Cody, WY) took a trip on the wild side. Fishing the upper Northfork, he caught his first Wyoming trout on a fly. After that first one....he caught a bunch more! It was a great day for both of us!

	Another hot spot right now is Newton Lake. The callibaetis are coming off in blanket hatches from 11 o’clock till 1. Huge fish are gulping #16 mayflies on the surface. It’s a true national geographic moment! It’s your best chance to take a trophy trout on a small dry fly this season! Check out these fish (pictures at left).

The Medium Sized Ugly works best when there is a slight wind.	The fly of choice, for me, during a callibaetis hatch is the medium size ugly. The fly fishes vertically with the shuck and abdomen under the surface. The thorax and wing case are on top exposed to the wind. The recipe follows: Hook: 14 to18 200R Thread: O6, Tan Tail: Copper Antron Body: Callibaetis dubbing Rib: Small copper wire Thorax: White closed cell foam, X wrapped, over dubbed with callibaetis dubbing. Wing: Small clump of bleached elk hair pulled over and secured in up-right position.

One final note on the rivers: The Mothers Day caddis hatch is just around the corner. The lower Shoshone is looking good and should be on fire when the hatch starts. Don’t miss it.

Well folks, it looks like another great season is upon us, so make your reservations early! Looking forward to fishing with you this summer!

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