TIDES AND TACTICS: Permit Flies and Urchins

There could never be a better shot at a Permit I thought. We motored first towards the flat, cutting the engine as the 23 foot panga cruised over the deep edge and into water shallow enough for an eight foot straightish pole to reach the bottom. The pole was a stick from the mainland that Lincoln had payed five dollars American for. You wouldn’t see this setup in the states, but this was southern Belize, and far from most amenities. As the panga drifted with the tide, we stared towards the gentle surf that rolled easily over the high turtle grass spot on the flat. The flats themselves were narrow strips of coral that rose from 60 feet of water or more, and it seemed the fish were always in certain and predictable areas. A spider-like shape of driftwood lay aground the high spot and to its side broke the waves. Each rolling one foot wave left a trail of whitewash that bubbled over the dark grass. The pair of fins were quickly apparent between the wave breaks. It was a Permit — allowing the tide to wash over its back.

We jumped from the boat (Kevon, our apprentice guide and myself) and walked carefully against the tide and across the coral bottom to get above the fish for a shot. “This was it,” I thought. We had all the time in the world it seemed after Kevon motioned to get even closer to the fish, still holding against the tide within 30 feet of us. I had plenty of line dragging in the current already to cast and carefully made two false casts and then dropped the fly. With tide running the other way, I swung my crab fly into the strike zone, letting the line come tight and stripping slowly with short pauses. The fly was somewhere within inches of the fish’s face. I made another cast, this time landing the fly two feet in front of the fish and waited to come tight. The moment was muddied with adrenaline, angst, and disbelief — all while a Permit’s back broke the surface in front of me. I made a third cast and presentation — this time sure that if he didn’t eat the fly I might accidentally foul hook the fish. Then his back slumped beneath a wave break. We waited to see the fish tail again, but it didn't — and with that, the best Permit shot you could ever get had come and gone.

This same scenario played out several times throughout our time in Belize. Some shots gave us enough time to change flies and even walk back to the boat to grab another rod with even lighter tippet. It was incredibly frustrating — making good casts and presentations to get flies in front of so many Permit without them eating the fly. But we also learned a lot.

Later each day, we discussed our shots with other guides and the lodge manager, all of whom log hundreds of hours with these fish each year. The described this same shot as being difficult because our overcast weather makes their cone of awareness much smaller and thus more wary of food and flies then they might be on a sunny high pressure day. They also aren’t actively seeking food and so don’t respond as well to a crab or a shrimp fly. Many more theories were presented and argued over and then resolved under the common certainty that these fish are an enigma. As much as we know, we don’t know anything. This idea was evidenced no better than through our guide, Lincoln Westby. Lincoln has guided to over two thousand Permit landed and even he can’t always articulate what they’re thinking — but he does seemingly know every fish in the scattered cays and coral ridges that lay east of his home in Hopkins. He notices the same fish on certain flats, in certain places on that flat, and in certain tidal periods. He even mentioned certain fish that he hasn't caught in over a decade and knows it’s that same fish. The story of the White Whale comes to mind when you talk to Lincoln about Permit on certain flats.

To my brother and I, it seemed that those wading shots at tailing fish in the surf were definitely the most frustrating of shots. The fish was there and there was no doubt which direction he was looking, how fast he was moving, how the tide would affect the retrieve, and even how long the cast would have to be (it was short). We tried both several crab flies and Mantis shrimp imitations. We tried bead chain eyes and small dumbbell eyes. We tried chenille claws and hackle claws, rabbit strips and rigid profiles — nothing could gain enough interest to get the Permit to eat. But what if they were eating something else. The fish acted almost like trout in a stream — seining smaller food items that required only opening their mouth. These other food sources could be crab and shrimp larvae or worms or even Urchins. Then we learned that there are species of Urchins in that part of the Caribbean that colored tan and green and ran small. One theory why the Bauer’s flats crab was so successful in that part of the region was because it was tired to resemble a crab, but it also resembled this species of Urchin. Anglers with toast success also mentioned this same tactic of slow swinging lightly weighted Urchin flies to Permit holding against the current.

The theories abound endlessly with Permit and why they don ‘t eat flies like other fish, or at all sometimes. But they do provide ample opportunities to dwell after Caribbean fishing trips and plenty of time to tie new flies for the next trip. I’ll be tying some Urchin flies for the next trip no doubt.

The next River Range Adventures trip is set for the Bay Islands off Honduras this spring. Fortune favors the bold.

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Jackson Hole - 08/19/2021

Around 70 or so fishing trips have been run by Dakota and the River Range Adventures team so far this summer. The crowds of visitors have only increased as the days grew longer and hotter throughout the Jackson Hole Valley. The theme of the summer so far has been the trying times of fishing guides looking for suitable water within odd hours and atypical conditions.

First, the spring was very very dry. Then came the early summer without June snowstorms but rather 90 degree temperatures that dwelled beneath the tall peaks and carried into July. By early July, the surface water equivalent was around 14%. Tributaries had cleared and fished somewhat in the end of June, but after a week or two, they were left running low and slow and seemingly empty. Others, the larger tributaries of the Snake that fish better in August, came into shape by early July. The Snake overtook much of its own banks with abnormally high water as the state of Idaho drew heavy flows from Jackson Lake, to support consumptive AG users on the other side of the mountains. Without much cold water trickling down from the mountains, the Snake struggled to cool overnight and quickly warmed. Hoot owls struck quickly in states like Montana and in Yellowstone National Park. The freestone streams to the south like the Green and Salt became unfishable too early in the guide season. With few options and early morning departures, town guides in Jackson were then hit further with dirty water that poured down the muddy walls of the Buffalo Fork river with an unsubstantial passing storm. Then clouds of smoke finally carried east from CA and OR and WA and NV and everywhere else it seemed. It has been a strange summer no doubt.

THE GOOD NEWS: June fished better than we have ever seen on the Snake. As the river cleared quickly and held warmer water temperatures (low 60’s) the bugs — that usually go unnoticed in high muddy water — were seen. Golden Stoneflies, Green Drakes, Caddis, and PMD’s were all washed into gentle rock bars and back eddies with trout now looking up. The dry fly fishing was incredible in June within GTNP.

Also, with a need to explore the backcountry in search of cold water, the River Range Adventures team found new stretches of productive water that also stoked more adventurous trips than typical drift boat options.

As Dakota and the team has maintained a relationship with Triangle X Ranch, we’ve been able to stay on their permit that grants commercial access in GTNP. This has been paramount in staying within suitable water temperatures and the clear water releases from the Jackson Lake Dam have offered constant fishable water even after lower stretches blow out,

The outlook is better with cooler temperatures and rain on the way. Let’s hope for a big winter to refill the lake.

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BAJA SPRING 2021 (Recap)

Over a week ago, the River Range Adventures crew headed down to one of our favorite off-season locations — BAJA. Dakota and the team have been down to this corner of the ocean the past several seasons trying to attain a rather implausible feat.

Excerpt: Chasing Fast Shadows down the Beach

Once seen, the moment burns quickly into a series of sinking steps, each less powerful as lots of cold cerveza and breakfast tacos announce themselves. The sprint continues though, chasing a fleeting shadow that comes in from the deep blue water on a whim. They don’t have to be here, but as beach anglers we do.

Sometimes an ATV is ready to chase down the beach, then, as fly line drags across sand and shell, we rush to get ahead of the shadow and hopefully within casting range of the bait. The tall mountains rise through haze in the backdrop. Casting form be damned — with this rush to fling a sand-soaked mullet fly over the sloping beach on the backcast and out towards the sea in front taking place in seconds.

The cerulean stripes fade iridescently beneath a light swell and an unencumbered sun as the shape slides closer to the beach. The tail is indistinguishable from the head at first — a black mass now, the speed is striking. It charges hard directly at a faint school of Sardinas (Herring) clinging to a trough beneath the wave breaks. My brother and I race to the bait, casting while in route, trying not to step on our slack. The fish breaks, upending the bait school and throwing water towards the sand. A dorsal fin that undulates into distinct spines combs upward in excitement. We strip rapidly, striking with two hands and shuffling backwards with our feet. The fish turns, almost a complete 360 looking for the bait within the chaos, then tucks the pectoral fins and zips back toward the blue water and the Sea of Cortez. A few expletive words and several hail mary casts towards the blue and it was over.

Gryph looked at me, “These Roosterfish don’t give a f*&% about flies.”

We sulked back towards the ATV and a cold beer, eyes still scanning down the beach, looking for shadows.

The fishing was tough from the beach, but that is what makes the East Cape a yearly trip. The challenge of hooking these pelagic type fish with a fly rod from the sand, without a teaser is without a doubt one of the toughest games in saltwater fly fishing. We did manage to land grouper from the rocky outcroppings to the north and piles of ladyfish around the sandy stretches.

We also spent a boat in the Panga with a Mexican captain out of La Ribera. We rose one Striped Marlin and then hooked up several times on smaller Jack Crevalle, but could not interest any Roosters into casting range.

We enjoyed our small Mexican town situated between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas that included an array of taco joints and endless stretches of beach to explore with the ATV. Sand, Cows, Cactus, Cara Cara, Humpback Whales, lizards, and desert mountains that watch over the tropical sea — the East Cape leaves nothing to be desired for the adventurous fisherman.

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Blackhills Turkey Hunt

Excerpt: BLACK HILLS TURKEYS

Snow continued to blanket our small portable blind. It didn’t seem like Turkey weather; the cold, the snow, and the dark skies that prolonged the roost.

We waited beneath a small stand of ponderosa pines, eyeing the tall treetops above us on the ridge. We could not see the birds, but we could hear them.

Cautious and subdued yelps interrupted by a ringing gobble. This sound permeated the still air of the canyon, perhaps pausing a nearby Coyote and also our relaxed sips of coffee.

We waited.

On the edge of South Dakota farm country, where the flat sage horizons begin to roll and fill with scrub oak and pine, a unique subspecies of turkey has scratched a home where they didn’t exist before modern humans. In 1935, the state of New Mexico traded Wyoming for their Sage Grouse, leaving 15 turkeys in the Cottonwood drainage. They soon expanded their range with the help of a dwindling predator population. The same wolves and mountain lions that once hunted these grounds were run off as ranch barbwire overtook the prairie. Now, throughout these very private lands lay creek bottoms and pine hammocks that cut between cattle fields and offer fine habitat for ground nesting birds like the ones we are after; Merriam’s Turkeys.

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Winter in Wyoming (2021)

Another long and snow filled winter has come and gone in northhwest Wyoming. The usual crew here had our best ice fishing season yet and had many double-digit days with fish into the mid 20” mark on Jackson Lake.

The skiing both on Teton Pass in the backcountry and at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort left nothing more to desire. Good turns and apres beers at the truck were welcome off-day festivities from the daily snowmobile grind — leading backcountry trips into Yellowstone, chasing wolves, and across Togwotee Pass, chasing deep powder.

Excerpt from: A Day Riding Through Togwotee Pass

The lodge was adorned with moose and elk heads atop the gift shop souvenirs that surrounded the dining tables. A crowd of motorsports and sled enthusiasts still clad in gore-tex riding suits filled the room. Quickly the room was loud and rowdy — a cacophony of crude insults and an argument over trailer parking etiquette out front in the snow covered lot. Cheap domestic beer ruled the bar top and the smell of cigarettes emanated from unkept beards and bejeweled western-wear sweatshirts. The room was on a constant precipice between group shots of whiskey and an all out brawl — but the prime rib was spectacular.

As we drove the farm truck back towards Togwotee — somehow it ended that
“lunch pale” had to dive naked into the tall snowbank off the highway. It was five degrees outside and no amount of beer seemed like it could lessen the sting of the icy wall.

The next morning we met at the gas pumps for our last day of riding. I signed out to a region far south of Togwotee Pass; an area rarely visited with both deep snow and few marked entries.

Several close wolf encounters, along with Moose, Bison, and Bighorn Sheep added to the winter scene here in Jackson.

The River Range Adventures team has a few Turkey hunting weekends ahead before a salty trip to Baja to hunt Roosterfish from the beach.

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River Range Adventures Travel Update — Charleston, S.C. 2020

A quick recap of the Charleston redfish-less tour and some upcoming travel updates.

Dakota and the River Range Adventures team headed to the flood tides of Charleston, S.C. for an end of season break in search of Redfish. Although the short trip was filled with lots of wind, cloudy skies and overall tough conditions, the boys managed a bunch of sea trout on fly and kept busy while cast netting shrimp and bait within the creeks. Beers were had and lots of low country fixin’s were prepared at Folly Beach. The 24’ Seahunt went places it wasn’t designed for and only reignited that saltwater fire.

The River Range Adventures team also has a trip to Baja planned for May 2021. Stay tuned for updates on the trip.

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End of Season Recap

It’s been months since we last visited.

The summer began with a great deal of uncertainty, though that quickly faded within a mirage of daily floats and an endless supply of visitors that escaped the Covid grips and headed west! Record visitors — armed with loose rental trailers and cash from cancelled trips to Europe (or the Galapagos) — inundated Jackson Hole and the surrounding National Forest trailheads, bringing long lines to the boat ramps with each fishing guide jostling for a piece of river. It was welcomed too — after an extended spring ski season and shortened winter work duty, myself and other fishing guides had gained back our own recreational pursuits and suddenly longed again for tourism to fill our bank accounts.

The GTNP park service also logged record-setting user groups on the Snake River, compounding the daily traffic across eddies and side channels with Kayaks, Canoes, and unmanned Drift Boats, at times seeming as though a turning blinker was required.

As most of our regular and seasoned clients waited for the prime tides of late August, September, and October, the month of July was dedicated to indicators and high water and high sun and whitefish and long casting lessons. There were plenty of trout tucked against the banks for those capable but those were few and far between. Dakota and the River Range Adventures team ran 45 trips in July alone.

August: Hopper season progressed with heavy tippets and simple double foam fly rigs that, if nothing else, needed little instruction and fishing know how to be plopped close enough to the cobble banks for the now willing Cutthroat to do the rest. At times there was even a several boat procession that traded banks and riversides with a rotation of stonefly and grasshopper imitations that cycled through town shops in an ongoing color spectrum. For those that could fish, a parachute Adams trailer was still the king of surface flies.

Fortunately, many of the River Range Adventures return clients arrived for the prime clarity and recession of backcountry streams that made for a welcome addition to the boat program: hike/walk/wade/climb trips into the Bridger Teton NF.

We also were able to extend much of the fishing program down into the whitewater section of the Snake as well as the South Fork in Idaho.

September was a mix a Grand Teton floats as well as a week guiding in Colorado on a secluded ranch between cattle draws and a private valley. Prime dry fly fishing is always in September and the month provided excellent head hunting beneath the tailwater section of the Jackson Lake Dam, as well as the freestone floats that had dropped and taken shape around new logs and root balls discarded during runoff.

October began on the river but continued into the mountains. Dakota and the team drew several tags this hunting season and were able to notch an early Pronghorn with two Elk tags left to fill before December. Between the big game hunts included lots of mountain grouse action with the Shotgun.

Another incredible season for the River Range Adventures team with a couple trips on the docket and a full winter of skiing and snowmobiling ahead.

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Jackson Hole - 07/01/2020

Summer in Jackson Hole continues to unfurl as the last of the Balsomroot glows yellow across higher elevations and slopes.

We’ve seen several active Grizzlies along the Snake in the last week, a sign that they have moved from the Elk calving grounds towards grazing, foraging, and scavenging along the riverbanks.

The tailwater section beneath Jackson Lake has again come down to around 2700 CFS after several days of cold rain that has put the lake around 100% capacity. These overcast rainy days have brought the best dry fly fishing of the season thus far. As PMDs continue to emerge in great numbers under darker skies, the trout now realize the difficulty these mayflies have in drying their wings and reaching the safety of the air…. until a swallow darts from the bankside Willows. Larger patterns (size 12) seem to get the attention of smaller Cutthroat that hold along seams and drop-offs with moderate current. The largest fish have tucked up against structure such as logs and undercut banks. These fish will require a more subtle pattern — a hackle wing spinner or small parachute. Concentrate on the slow seams and eddies as the water remains on the colder side.

Whitefish have begun to settle into the eddies and will take small pheasant tails on dark days and bright copper johns on sunny days beneath a motionless indicator.

Pacific Creek has now cleared and remains an option for small natives and the occasional large Brown Trout that moves up from the slow Oxbow downstream.

The Buffalo is again turbid after recent rains but is beginning to gain color.

Deadman’s to Moose has excellent bug activity and is nearing the clarity in order to fish. Maybe in a week that stretch will begin fishing as droves of evening Caddis, PMD spinners, and large Golden Stoneflies scurry atop and above the unsettled banks and troughs lined with Willows and Spruce. It’s time to explore the new logs, channels, and back eddies of an entirely different stretch from the year before.

The Firehole is getting warmer by the day but still fishing well through the morning. PMDs and wet flies have worked well on the swing as well as beneath the surface with dropper nymphs.

Runoff season has come and gone in Jackson Hole.

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Jackson Hole - 06/24/2020

After several weeks now of driving long distances from Jackson up toward Yellowstone National Park to search for Brown Trout along the Firehole and resident Cutthroat of Yellowstone Lake, we may be gaining a productive fishery closer to home.

For over a month of guiding the tailwater section below Jackson Lake Dam, the fishing will finally improve daily. I say this because today marked the first time in which flows from the Bureau of Reclamation have been cut to a level right around 2,000 CFS (2,050 to be exact).

This volume of water is important for several reasons but the most important being that each hole and eddy has been defined for many years now within this short section that ends at the Pacific Creek confluence — and 2,000 CFS is now low enough to finally push water out to the banks and back upstream — instead of one giant downstream push. These eddies now circulate food and — similar to Stripers magically appearing alongside Cinder Worms in the northeast salt ponds or Tarpon somehow knowing exactly when to ascend outgoing tides filled with Paolo Worms in the Keys — the native Snake River Cutthroat have an ingrained ability at realizing these fractional changes and when to begin exerting energy in search of food. As if they lay dormant, close to the bottom, monitoring that CFS gauge for when current and insects finally ripen.

The large flushes of water seem to also stunt the ability of early emerging Pale Morning Dun Mayflies to ascend to the surface and provide feeding opportunities for the trout.

I can count on two hands the amount of surface rises in the last two weeks. Today we saw dozens — the first time flows dipped below 2,200 CFS.

The seams have softened, with eddies now swirling with flotsam and insects now trapped as trout take hold in vacant lies from several days earlier.

Why exactly does this specific mark in water release make such a difference in the fishery? I’m not totally sure, but there are idiosyncrasies of these trout within this tailwater stretch of the Snake. Streamers twitched erratically through slow pools of stained water don’t produce like they would on the South Fork, or the Upper Delaware — both with Brown Trout populations. We do have eager surface feeders though, and fish that eat nymphs under a motionless indicator within an eddy. We also have another eager population of fish that stalk within less current — Mountain Whitefish. They don’t do as well within faster currents. Maybe that is providing a false sense as another yank on the Indicator from pre-dry fly fishing on the Snake.

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2020 Summer Season

Well it’s here. After months of uncertainty, canceled trips to Mexico, long spring days full of social distance in the Wyoming backcountry — the visitors have again flocked to Jackson Hole and our 2020 guide season has begun to shape and fill in the calendar.

The Snake is currently 2800 CFS from Jackson Lake Dam and the fishing has remained a subsurface game. The water is high and stained, and most guides have found the best success running a two or three fly nymph rig with rubber legs and natural colored bugs like princes and pheasant tails. Anything flashy becomes a disco ball near the bottom where the fish are currently most prevalent, appearing unusual and detracting interest.

The feeding lanes near the bank continue to lay vacant as most trout have held along current seams and deep eddies. This will change soon however, as large PMD’s 12-14s have appeared in the afternoon beneath riffles and within trickling side channels.

Below Pacific Creek, the water is still a week or two out from fishing. The Buffalo Fork continues to run color under highway 89 and the ramps at Deadman’s Bar and Moose and Wilson continue to satisfy only those in rubber rafts looking up at the mountains and not within the chalky margins of the Snake.

Tributaries have taken some shape, with runs, and troughs and cutbacks all gaining definition. Think the smallest of tributaries, Brook trout sized streams with Cutthroat trout equal in size as the best current backcountry opportunities.

Jenny Lake has seen spurts of surface feeding with ants and caddis along the placid shores lee side of the wind. Target tributary mouths, bars and points for scattered Lake trout and larger Cutthroat.

Morel Season has come and gone. Agates now appear across newly swept gravel bars. Grizzlies persist on rotting carcasses scattered from the winter and yellow bursting Balsomroot. Pronghorns break between and alongside herds of shedding Bison. Forest Service roads have baked and rutted into 4x4 shape, as clouds of dust trail the Jeeps and trucks crawling beneath Shadow Mountain. Summer is here in Jackson Hole.

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UPDATE - Winter 2020

While the world seems to be shutting down around us, even our tiny little backcountry base in Wyoming has been affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As the River Range Adventures team plans for a healthy detox into early season fishing and the inevitable solitude that comes with such distancing, it’s a perfect time for a recap of the last couple months.

Much of the last few months has been passed with the loud rumblings of 2-strokes pinging beneath the mountains and tall snow covered pines of northwestern Wyoming. Dakota and his team has been busy guiding backcountry snowmobile trips in the Bridger-Teton NF and Yellowstone NP. We’ll be putting together a short story very soon regarding this experience and stay tuned for photos on our other mediums.

The guiding season this spring will largely be determined by how this pandemic plays out. With travel and exposure restrictions, the team will have to wait and see whether the Catskills and the Upper Delaware system will be available. Stay Tuned!

As for Late Spring and Summer, the River Range Adventures team will be guiding the Snake River in Grand Teton NP and Wyoming as we have for the last several seasons. Our permit will be under Triangle X Ranch and we are excited to continue this tradition.

Travel News: As far as the 2020 April/May BAJA TRIP. The current travel restrictions will need to sort themselves out before we can confirm this trip, set for late April.

Below you’ll find a few photos and videos from this past winter!

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2019 JACKSON ONE FLY - Creation and Heartbreak

As a guide on the Snake River in Wyoming, a question I get a lot from clients and anglers is “If you had just one fly to fish the Snake, what would it be?” This is a hard question. After all, the Snake is a dynamic fishery that changes more than most from year to year.

The late winter can see bluebird days in the 50s and 60s where slow glides and trickling riffles create ideal flows for imitating midges, BWOs and even large Skwala’s (an early season Stonefly) on the surface. Pre-runoff also brings about the spawning period for Cutthroat trout. This can trigger mature trout into aggressive hunting patterns of smaller fish or upended eggs.

In May, the high plains begin to warm and pour the winters snow back into the valleys and drainages that grow larger as they tumble into the low lying Snake. The river bloats to massive proportions and flooding ensues. Fishing is nearly impossible in the main channel, but the various springs and side channels that dissipate sediment now congregate hungry trout. San Juan worms and Rubber legs and Flashy Streamers all become choice.

As the Snake begins to drop and drift boats crowd the access areas, the two month precession of foam grasshoppers begins and all but consume the branches and overhangings that line the colored banks. The cobble cutbanks are treated to cacophanies of excited hoppers — buzzing beneath the hot sun. These terrestials will be the majority food source for trout during the summer months.

Then in September — as days grow shorter, colder, and wetter — Snake Drakes begin to emerge in the slow riffles and back eddies. This size 12 Mayfly will have Cutthroat staging in shallow water ready to feed on the abundance of late season insects. And for the guides on the Snake River, September also forces us to answer the very question, “If you had just one fly to fish the Snake, what would it be?”

As the Jackson Hole One Fly kicks off, guides eagerly await the conditions that will dictate their one fly choice. Rain storms and sudden weather events can dirty the water and raise flows that will prevent small dry flies from being seen on the main channels. Besides localized weather, the different stretches and water types will also play into the fly choice. Below the Dam is a placid stretch of water not affected by rain storms like downstream beats. A good angler and a size 16 rusty spinner should fool every fish during a hatch. But does that fly have enough meat to last the day? There are also more Lake Trout and Brown Trout up there making the streamer a tempting choice. The floodplain sections can be disasters of down timber, surging current and root balls — all of which can grab flies and ruin scores. Nymphs can snag easily and dry flies require lighter tippets than streamers, but Cutthroat don’t eat streamers like Brown Trout. With each angler receiving scores for just one single fly throughout the day, these variables of weather, stretch, ability, and tactics all affect this choice in fly.

I had drawn a park section of water beneath the Tetons. The 10-mile float from Deadman’s Bar to Moose would cross through a canyon and then a braded plain with a dozen smaller channels that change from year to year. Down timber and debris piles accumulate and create small buckets where foam flies excel. This section also has several spring creeks that hold large trout that will feed consistently on smaller mayflies. With little productive streamer water and a large population of whitefish that both won’t count and potentially weaken a nymphs’ construction, the choice is to stay on the surface.

Now what dry fly will produce the best? On a normal trip, I fish lots of double dry rigs with a larger foam hopper trailered by a parachute Adams variation. This tandem will take just about every fish in the river, but for the tournament my anglers would have to choose between the two patterns. Foam is quite durable and floats well in the fast main channel. Foam can also be colored to change the silhouette and reshaped with scissors. But the large profile is easy to reject for pickier trout. The small side channels and spring creeks will be best fished with a small and sparse mayfly pattern. A parachute Adams or Hecuba (Snake Drake) will be difficult to keep afloat in the faster main channels, resulting in lots of missed water and potential fish.

So the challenge becomes choosing a fly and the target water that will produce best. I want a fly that will fish small and float big. The pattern must also be tied bomb proof and cannot rely too much on the hackle for its profile because hackle is usually the first to unwrap. We learned this the hard way after one of my anglers’ simple parachute Hecuba patterns began to unravel after a few fish. The rest of the day we glued and glued until the fly didn’t resemble much of bug at all.

A pattern that has worked well on the park water for me has been a Hecuba imitation that is tied with wrapped Antron, hidden foam, and grizzly feathers tied in like a hackle spinner. The pattern floats great in the main channel, is easy to see with a white poly post and can fish small in the side channels.

The game plan had been agreed upon and the 2019 tournament was set to begin. Then the rain came. On Friday we received enough rain that the park water below the Buffalo Fork tributary has risen and stained. Lots of anglers were suddenly digging through their streamer boxes. I expected the greenish color to clear after a few hours and I had never done that well with streamers on this section even when conditions seemed right for it. The plan would be to really target the small water and get out of the boat as much as possible. As Saturday played out, we strung together enough decent fish to sit in the top 10 for boats.

As Sunday morning rolled around, the Deadman’s access was again thrown with a curveball. The water was stained again after rains up north and the temperatures were in the 30’s with freezing rain. Today looked even more like a streamer day. Most boats cut the 4x and broke out the big feathers but I just wasn’t convinced. Even with dirty water and cold nasty rain, I knew where enough fish would be sitting just waiting for those surface bugs. And the cold nasty days always saw an afternoon emergence of Hecuba and Mahoganies, or so we hoped. One of my anglers decided against the dries and went with a crystal bugger type streamer. My other angler was local and agreed to gamble on the dries.

The morning began, as expected, very slow. We picked up a couple fish on the streamer but hadn’t so much as a tap on the dries. There were no bugs and certainly no rises to be seen. As we made our way downstream to the first set of braids, there was a log sitting in shallow water on an inside bend that no one every considered fishing. But there was a subtle depression, maybe 2 feet deep adjacent to the log, and there was always a big fish sitting there. We drifted the Hecuba through the trough and watched as a 19 inch yellow belly slowly sipped the bug. We landed the fish downstream in faster water that was still quite off color. Our plan was proving to work — target the small water where we knew there were fish.

We continued to pick through fish here and there in the small water, but things still hadn’t materialized. Then, as we fished a small pocket of water between timber piles on foot, we hooked a medium size trout and suddenly both the fish and the fly were gone. The knot had just landed another medium sized Cutthroat and had no signs of abrasion. Was it a root the line caught? Did the trout cut the line with his teeth? It was just an absolute fluke that left us with a low score card for the dry fly. After excessive profanities, we gathered back in the boat and continued fishing. The streamer was still in play and my dry fly angler continued with the same exact fly from the back of the boat.

We managed a few more fish on the streamer, including a 19” lake trout which I had never seen on that section before. As the boat squeezed into a small side channel, the clouds broke and patches of sunlight began to hit the water. Suddenly the Hecuba began emerging in the soft riffles and floating downstream. No slower were the Cutthroat that quickly began surfacing. There must have been six decent fish all rising from a small trough in this side channel. We tried everything with the streamer — deaddrift, fast retrieve, slow retrieve, twitch, and we even cut back the materials to make the pattern smaller, but nothing seemed to interest the feeding fish.

At the same time, from the back of the boat, my dry fly angler began hooking fish at will. Every rising target would quickly jump on the Hecuba imitation. As we continued down the side channel, each pool had rising fish. We landed a total of zero trout on the streamer and maybe 10 on the Hecuba, with nearly all the fish above 16”. It was an added insult to our scorecard as we chose the right fly and the right game plan. We would’ve won.

Back at the ramp, the other teams felt similar results with lackluster streamer scores. Our Hecuba pattern was the right fly and could’ve been catalogued with the rest of the past winning patterns if it wasn’t for an unlucky break, but that’s fishing. And just like our story, there have been hundreds of similar days, where bad breaks and luck and a single choice of a single pattern all create circumstances for memorable triumphs and heartbreaks on the Snake River.

CHARLESTON SC - Weekend Recap

The River Range Adventures team spent some family time down in Charleston, SC recently over Thanksgiving and got plenty of time on the water. The weather rolled in some dirty water, which made sight casting for Redfish a non-option, but there were plenty of backcountry creeks teeming with Speckled Trout to keep the lines tight.

From the 22 Sea Hunt CC, the team explored Fort Sumter, Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, James Island and headed deep into the backcountry creeks and drifted through water more suited for drift boats and skinny water skiffs than our center console!

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Fall 2019 with River Range Adventures crew

It’s been a busy Fall here at the Jackson HQ. The team is currently gearing up for Winter and Snowmobile trips with the National Forest and Yellowstone. As the snow begins to fly, we’ll soon be skiing and running sleds around, along with a few winter trips throughout the states, but before all this the River Range Adventures team is heading to Charleston, SC for a little Thanksgiving Redfishing.

This Fall was spent in the high country chasing Elk and Mule Deer as the guiding season on the Snake River came to a close.

The River Range Adventures team also headed down to northern CO to large private ranch to guide for a couple weeks in early October. Between the big fish and the big guns it was a heck of a time.

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AT THE VICE - Belize Custom Order

The River Range Adventures team was recently contracted to fill an assortment box of Permit and Tarpon Flies for an angler’s trip down to Belize. Below is a variety of creations that range from “tried and true” to experimental. We scaled different weight ratios and articulations that will be tested south of the border.

Please check back for more from the team regarding custom patterns from our lead fly designer Dakota Richardson. You can also reach him at 203-554-5853 for inquiries on flies and orders.

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Jackson Hole Spring Creek Season

The local spring creeks have continued to fish well recently with many opportunities to sight fish large trout just beneath grass cutbacks.

Fish have been looking for PMD’s, Crane Flies, Hoppers, and Ants.

The River Range Adventures team has been spending many evenings targeting these large trout with light tippets, long leaders and technical approaches.

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Season on the Snake - July/August 2019

From Baja in late June, the River Range Adventures team returned out west to guide the Snake River in Jackson.

Although we have guides that the work the Catskills, Florida, and several other seasonal locations, our home is truly in Jackson, WY. Dakota, his dogs, and a few other affiliated guides take the oars for the majority of the summer months on the Grand Teton section of the Snake.

July started out hot with most trips being guided below the Jackson Lake Dam. As runoff was still affecting much of the freestone sections, the team brought their Upper Delaware tactics of headhunting and spot and stalk type float trips to the meandering slow pools above Pacific Creek. The hatches were much simpler and the pattern selections were far more crude however. A simple parachute in 14 or smaller along with a “GOOD PRESENTATION” was all that was needed for even the pickier fish. Presentation is still everything, no matter where you fish. Several Cutthroat in the 19” class were landed, a fairly giant fish for the Snake.

Along with the daily trip boat float trips in the Park, the River Range Adventures team has acquired access to a unique set of backcountry permits that allows for wilderness excursions into areas that seldom see flies or anglers, maybe just Grizzlies. These trips are great for adventurous anglers that want something different from the drift boat crowds.

As August came, the best fishing on the Snake began to take shape. The holes settles, the rock bars took shape and the upended root balls became fixed to their troughs. The side channels continued to fish well however now the deep banks and big walls provided trout holding tight and looking up for their favorite meal: The HOPPA!

Looking ahead to fall, we should have plenty of water in the Snake River drainage and hope for cooler temperatures to get the fall bugs going…and the Elk. Mahogonies, Hecuba, Classenia, and BWO’s along with some overcast days will bring the best of the fall conditions.

The River Range Adventures team will once again guide the Jackson Hole One Fly and hope to continue two years of high scores. Check back for the Results!

The creative team is also working on a few catalog photo essays to display upcoming destinations and winter trips.

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SEA OF CORTEZ — EAST CAPE — BAJA — 2019 Trip

Before hitting the Snake River in WY, the River Range Adventures team headed south of the border in hopes of Roosterfish from the beach. Upon arrival, we learned that some recent cold water had pushed in and the beach bite had been very very slow.

Baja Day 1:

We hit the beach to see if there were any fish willing to chase flies into the surf. We encountered a few Roosters here and there with no interest in taking flies or chasing a teaser at all. We did manage to pull two smaller fish in on a teaser that were chasing bait on a color change. They charged the teaser hard and then a well placed Mullet fly — fully combed — into the wash and then committed on the fly. The hook-up was short lived with the hook pulling through the smaller Rooster’s mouth. This was the closest shot we came to tailing a Rooster from the beach. The occasional Needlefish and Jack provided some entertainment to an otherwise unproductive East Cape beach.

Day 2:

We headed north towards La Paz to grab a boat and meet our buddies Carlos and Jeff DeBrown from The Reel Baja. We headed out to an island that has been loaded with bait the past few days. After cast netting the 4” Flat Iron Herring aside several other commercial boats, we headed to the nervous schools and began pitching bait to draw a bite. There were larger Jack Crevalle and Grande Roosters that would break in the distance but very difficult to target with fly rods. We managed to bring in a school of Skipjack Tuna, Snapper, Grouper, Needlefish, Triggerfish, and many other non-target species. The Skipjacks provided good fun on fly rods. Next we headed north around the backside of the island to find buoys that might have some Mahi-Mahi. The first two targets were dead, but the third and fourth buoys were loaded with these speedsters that ascended the deep blue water from seemingly nowhere. Our flies pitched behind the structure and retrieved as fast as possible drew strikes. These Mahi leaped and peeled drag and darted around the boat causing several close calls with the motor and the other hooked up angler. The last effort of the day was put back into teasing up Roosters from secluded coves of about 15’. We managed to tease in another pair of smaller fish resulting in a hook-up where an 8 pounder smashed the fly but quickly shook the hook. Another day without the coveted Pez Gallo!

Day 3:

Back to the beach, we knew the odds were not in our favor given the recent conditions, however we came to the East Cape with really one goal in mind — land a Rooster from the beach with a fly rod. And so we headed south towards the famed Lighthouse, with it’s deep water beaches and swift drop offs, hoping to see a Grande. We had two half decent shots early on, where both times the anglers charging from the ATV and got ahead of the cruising fish to deliver a fly with the right retrieval angle. The casts were on the mark and the flies sunk into position. As the fish closed within a few feet the flies dragged across their sight line and moved quickly towards the beach. Both fish turned and followed, with a game of cat and mouse ensuing between the strip cadence and the Rooster’s desire to chase. It was a bit of a heartbreak to have fish chase and then turn their nose up at the last second — but that’s Roosterfishing with a fly rod — one of the toughest games on earth.

It was a great first trip to the area with the team. We’ll definitely be back in the coming years and are excited to get dialed in and put together a program to get down there with some hosted trips.

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SPRING ON THE DELAWARE - 2019 recap

Another terrific season on the Delaware watershed has come to an end and the River Range Adventures team is now gearing up for a summer season out west on the Snake River, South Fork, YNP, and surrounding tributaries.

This season on the Delaware was no different from past seasons with the exception of a slightly delayed hatch chart. The Hendricksons were late and so on were most insects, culminating with the Green Drakes getting strongest towards the END of June!

The high water going into May helped a terrific streamer bite especially in the smaller water sections behind the dams. Their were periods where incredibly large flies produced very well — under high and stained flows with spilling reservoirs we were able to test some new swim styles on patterns that have us excited for next year. The tape never broke the 23” mark this year although a much higher percentage of fish fell in this range from 18” - 22”.

On certain sections that are farther from the tailwater releases, we noticed fish populations were in very healthy shape. Their were lots of fish in the 7” - 14” range, especially small Rainbows. It seems the high flows from the previous summer definitely helped these freestone sections!

After the rains and cool temperatures of early May dissipated, the weather patterns stabilized, the water temperatures rose and the riffles dropped into shape. For about a month from May 20 to June 20, we experienced excellent nymph conditions. The water temperatures only broke 70 degrees on one evening and then returned to the 50’s the following days. These optimal temperatures made landing the large wild Rainbows something of a task. The odds became more like Tarpon fishing where beginner fisherman would land 1 out of 3 fish. Their high metabolisms and acrobatic surges were fun to navigate.

The Coffin Fly bite was incredible this year with two + weeks of excellent fishing after dark. In fact our best day of guiding ever on the system came on June 20th — where one of our boats was able to anchor on the lower river and cast at hundreds of targets with a size 6 Coffin Fly. The sheer biomass of feeding trout on large flies was incredible and the amount of 18” + fish was just amazing to see.

Again, most of the above conditions were small windows around typical fishing patterns where fish can be hard to come by. The Delaware doesn’t give fish easy or without working well past the easy stuff. Late nights, early mornings, rain, wading deep into riffles, long pushes, and even longer boat drags upstream were all necessary to avoid the crowds and find these coveted windows where unpressured fish would feed. Unlike out west, where rivers that drain off the cold and snow-laden Continental divide — the trout here are active mostly at night or conditions that mimicked these periods. So remember that your 8 hour guided trip may be spent hunting certain 2 hour windows and the best guides seem to always increase the amount of windows you might get in a day.

We want to thank everyone who fished with us this past season and hope to see you again somewhere down the line.

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Stay tuned for a quick trip to Baja and then a summer guiding the Snake River in WY!

Upper Delaware Report - END OF MAY 2019

The season on the Upper Delaware River system has been in full swing now for the past several weeks. The River Range Adventures team has been guiding every day on various stretches depending on the ever-changing conditions. We had a strong showing of Hendricksons and Blue Quills this year — especially on the tailwaters — however the fish seemed to respond better on the West Branch.

So far the East Branch has been more spotty with several good bug days resulting in only a few rising fish. It seems that the higher flows from a full capacity reservoir have put the fish into a weird feeding mode. The consistent dry fly fishing has come in only a few spots with some sneaky risers here and there (but thats part of the fun hunting large fish with surface flies). Now, however, the lower CFS has really got the trout in the east looking up.

The West Branch has produced consistent surface activity as expected — with certain days being more difficult than others. Our custom spent caddis patterns have worked well on picky fish along with high-vis hackle spinners.

The storms and high water of early to mid May produced periods of great streamer fishing. We tested some new articulated patterns and experimented with new hook setups that definitely increased the amount of actual hookups.

The recent lower water — along with periods of high sun — has allowed for stretches of efficient nymphing. The riffles are very defined and our anglers can target water that is sure to have more densely concentrated trout populations. Bright and shiny flies have worked best under the sunny conditions.

Although the Toad mating season has been in full swing for over the last two weeks — only very recently have we had the right water conditions and temperatures to begin night fishing with large deer hair frog flies in hopes of triggering a carnivore brown. With temperatures now reaching into the low 60s during the afternoon — the night fishing potential has improved significantly.

March Browns and Sulphurs have taken the bug spotlight as of late — with Green Drakes right around the corner. This is the best period of dry fly fishing during the entire year up in the Catskills!

Call 203-554-5853 or the Beaverkill Angler today to book a trip!

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