Matthew Lenig
Wyoming Trip Summer 05'
July 3, South Fork of the Snake River Float Trip
It was still running high - about 15,000cfs, cold and clear. We put in at
the upper canyon section around 10:30am and floated past mile after mile of
beautiful bank structure without a strike. Eventually, a 14² rainbow
obliged. This was around 2pm. As it turned out, just after lunch the bugs
came off and I enjoyed 3 hours of sensational dry fly fishing yielding 20+
fish. Most of them were 16"-19" cutthroats but also a few heavy rainbows and
a couple nice browns. (No picts of this float b/c, in haste, I forgot the
camera!)
July 6, Teton River Float Trip
After a grueling drive to the put-in and eager to take a look at the water,
Dave (my guide) jumped out of the truck, ran down to the river and turned
back to us with a huge grin - the water was in almost ideal condition. The
Teton River is a tributary of the Henry's Fork of the Snake and drains
through a remote section of eastern Idaho. The last time these guides saw
this water was two weeks ago. We took a calculated risk and it paid off.
This is an incredible and fascinating dry fly river. Even as the guides
readied the boats, I was taking fish out of the riffle just upstream. Then
in the boat, we caught fish everywhere. It was silliness. We used a golden
stone, which were coming off all afternoon, and an ant. Both worked well so
we stayed with them all day. We paddled up into small feeder streams and
found hungry trout there too. The Teton River is made up of rapids separated
by long pools or lakes. At one point youıre fishing to risers in the pools
and then fishing the structure in the fast moving water. Most of the bigger
fish were caught in the faster water, but sight fishing for rising trout is
just as fun. It's an amazing place. There were a few monsters I missed that
day.
The
Teton River put-in is several hundred feet below the water level of the
reservoir that existed here before the Teton Dam broke in 1976. Just as the
reservoir was reaching capacity, the dam broke destroying everything
downstream and killing 11 people. As you drive down to the put-in, you
actually drive over the boat ramps once used for the reservoir and continue
driving down into the canyon hundreds of feet below to the current river
level.
Teton River Cutthroat with
parasite spots. Apparently only cutthroats are
affected by this bird parasite - the older the fish, the more spots. The
fish remain healthy and strong otherwise.
Average Teton River
Cutt-bow.
Teton River. Notice the large pool upstream from the rapids.
July 9, New Fork River Float Trip
We put-in on the New Fork at 10am. Gray drakes were coming off in standard
fashion and the water was clear, though still in run-off mode. The New Fork
is noted for its concentration of brown trout. Itıs sometimes as deep as it
is wide with undercut banks and side channels. We drifted for a short
section and took fish on top and on the dropper. It was already shaping up
to be a fishy day.
Around a large bend from the put-in, a feeder stream joins the river in the
form of a large grass lined pool. Steve rowed us out of the main channel and
into the still pool. We looked up where the feeder comes in and off to the
right we saw a rise, a subtle, but definite rise. We tied on a mayfly
cripple and watched the fish rise a few more times. I gave my best cast and
presented the fly on top of the swirl. A momentary pause and quietly the
large rainbow sipped-in the cripple. Immediately, he darted to the other
side of the pool and surfaced three times before I accidentally stopped the
reel with my finger and... broke him off.
This took all of 3 minutes. I thought the pool was blown out, but looking up
into the feeder stream, Steve spotted another rise. He slowly rowed the boat
into the narrow stream. The water was clear and the bottom mesmerizing. A
big cutthroat swam toward the head of the small stream. We sat and waited
for a rise. Waited another few minutes, still no rise. I told Steve I was
going to cast up into the head of the current to see what happened. He
smiled, I made the cast and, out of the camouflaged bottom, a big cutthroat
smacked the fly. See cutthroat photo below.
We rowed out of the feeder stream and looked ahead to the pool where I broke
off the rainbow. In the very same spot we saw another rise. We got into a
good casting position and watched this fish come up a few times before I
dropped the mayfly into his view. Bang! Another big rainbow - I got a second
chance! See rainbow photo below.
What a morning. It was only 11! Before we rowed back into the main river
channel, we changed up to a foam ant pattern on top and a double dropper
consisting of a small pheasant tail below a stonefly nymph. Browns in the
New Fork love small pheasant tail nymphs. See brown photos below.
New Fork put-in
Cutthroat
Rainbow.
Notice the feeder stream trailing off over Steveıs left shoulder.
Private waters rainbow. These ponds are fed by a New Fork
side channel and
drain back into the main river near the put-in. Theyıre also full of big,
smart rainbows, browns and cutthroats. Rising fish were visible all over the
place. They came up and looked but refused over a dozen dry fly patterns
before I resorted to a nymph and took this guy.