Thanksgiving in Provo

Who would have guessed that my Thanksgiving break involved fishing? I shared my first experience on the Provo River with my cousin. After two days of instruction, he was consistently putting a bend in his rod with healthy rainbows and browns on the end of the line.

He is also an inspiring photographer and I appreciate his new found talent.

Fishing with Coach

It was special for me to guide my high school basketball coach, Scott Douglas, down the South Fork and Henry's Fork. We were specifically targeting brown trout with streamer flies, and had good success on both days.

Sisters

I was privileged to spend this past weekend with all of my beautiful sisters. Smiles and laughs were shared as we sat around a bonfire, ate Roxanne's homemade macaroni and cheese, and went fishing down the Henry's Fork. We should do this more often.

Bighorn Boys

I planned to rendezvous with three of my old high school teachers and one of their sons on the Bighorn River in southern Montana. Little did I know that the next three days would host some of the best fishing I've experienced this season.

Everyday produced rainbow and brown trout that averaged in size from 14 to 20 inches in length. I often found myself having to borrow my colleagues' landing nets, as I over confidently left mine at home.

The memory of the fish I caught on this trip will soon be overlapped by more recent angling success back at home. However, the memory of the five of us sitting around at day's end as we watched the sun go down over the Montana horizon can only be duplicated once a year.

See you again next year boys.

The Start of The South Fork

This past week I was able to float the South Fork of the Snake River for the first time this season.

HFA guide, Phil Hanamaikai, and I floated "The Canyon" section from the Spring Creek boat access to our private take out owned by Mark Rockefeller. It was a welcomed break from our beloved Henry's Fork, and hosted some great fishing for cutthroat trout in the riffles and brown trout on the banks.

Afternoon PMD mayflies in a riffle

Phil with a native 19-inch cutthroat

Friends and Fish

This past week I guided two college buddies down the river. Mitch sure gave me some "real life experience" as he was consistently tangled, snagged, or had his flies caught in trees. It proved to be good guiding practice, but in the end we did catch some fish, had lots of laughs, and told a few stories. That's what a day on the river should be like.

Nate Peters with a Henry's Fork 21-inch brown trout

Mitch Stephenson and "the big one that got away."

Guide House

This is where I'll be hanging my hat for this fishing season. If you were to walk inside, you'd think you went back in time to the 1970's. Let me introduce you to my roommates...

Captain J.D. Miller has been with Henry's Fork Anglers since 2005. He previously spent several seasons guiding his home waters in Colorado, as well as southern Montana and Yellowstone Park. He is a prolific commercial fly tier and is a fly designer for Montana Fly Company.

John "Hootie" Mauldin was born and raised in Dalton, Georgia. He Graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B.S. degree in Psychology. He began fishing Northwestern Wyoming waters as a young teenager on Summer vacations. 2008 was his first season with Henry's Fork Anglers. Between November and April John can be found guiding for southeastern trout for Unicoi Outfitters.

Dustin Hegsted grew up fishing the Henry's Fork, Teton River, South Fork, Warm River, and many other streams and lakes in the area. Dustin's first fly shop experience was with South Fork Outfitters, where he spent three seasons in the fly shop, followed by a season as a fly fishing guide. The following year, he made the transition to guiding for Henry's Fork Anglers. He recently graduated from BYU-Idaho and plans to eventually obtain an MBA in International Business.

JD's dogs: Ruby and Folsom

Pteronarcys californica...what?

For the past few weeks, the Henry's Fork has been the choice destination for traveling anglers in pursuit of the famous salmonfly. After living in the river for up to three years, these insects migrate toward the banks to transform into their adult form...mate...and then die. This hollowed "hatch" can provide the best dry-fly fishing of your life, or be the biggest let-down of your season.

Living The Dream

It has been over a month since I started my second season with Henry's Fork Anglers located in Island Park, Idaho. The month of May brings melting snow, opening day of the general fishing season, and truck loads of new merchandise. With box cutters in hand, my days are spent opening and stocking the latest gear from companies such as Patagonia, Cloudveil, Columbia, and Simms. It's almost like Christmas...but I don't get to keep any of the presents.

More Steelhead...

I started this post a month ago after making my final steelhead trip to the Salmon River with fellow HFA employee, Chris Lawson. It is now the first week in May, and you may be asking, why are you writing about a fishing trip that has been belated for over a month? In all honesty...only a steelheader would understand.

All week I had been checking the weather, and saw two consecutive days predicting sun and temperatures reaching the mid 60's. This would allow the water temperature to raise and hopefully motivate the steelhead to start moving up river. I already knew why Chris was calling me when my phone rang, and after ending the conversation I immediately started tying dozens of egg patterns in anticipation for the following day.

To make a long story short, the enclosed photograph is the first steelhead I landed that day, and was followed by a dozen more. By days end, Chris and I had landed over thirty fish, and lost many more. At one point we we're hooking up on almost every cast. I may be a fisherman, but I don't lie.

This was a day that I will never forget, and is day that few steelhead fishermen ever experience in their lifetime. I am addicted to steelhead.

Chasing Steelhead

I gathered the necessary supplies, hitched my drift boat to the back of my truck, and headed north for Salmon, Idaho. I had no itinerary, except that I'd be chasing steelhead, a species of rainbow trout that is born in fresh water, goes to the ocean for a number of years to grow, and then returns to fresh water to spawn.

It has been said that there are two types of steelhead fishermen...those that do, and those that don't. Steelhead fishing is unlike regular trout fishing, and a steelhead angler is unlike any other angler. You are pursuing a migratory fish that is maybe not even in the river at the time you are fishing. There is no anticipation of catching different species of trout in the river, because there are none. It's all or nothing. You don't even know if there are any steelhead there, but for some reason you can't stop casting. The feel of a steelhead on the end of your line possess you to go back the next day, and day after that, and the day after that. The Salmon River is lined with tents and campers of obsessed anglers chasing these elusive fish for weeks on end.

One day, I met a physician from Missoula, Montana named Eric. He was also camping and fishing for a few days and I extended him the invitation to float down the river with me. We finished the day catching only one steelhead, and he commented that today was a "good day." With a puzzled look on my face he added that a "bad day" of steelhead fishing is when you wreck your vehicle en route to the river, or you break your rod before you even start fishing...speaking from personal experience.

After living in my waders for four days, I returned to my cozy apartment with all the comforts of modern living, and protection from the elements. However, this personal pilgrimage has started another chapter in my book of fly fishing pursuits that I hope to continue writing for the rest of my mortal life. I am haunted by steelhead.

The Best Day of The Season

Today I officially carved, skid, and tumbled down my first black diamond run at Targhee! It was by no means graceful, but an accomplishment none the less.

Twelve inches of fresh powder from the night before, on top of 26 inches in the past three days, accompanied by blue skies and relatively warm air temperatures resulted in...The Best Day of The Season.

Life as a Lift Operator

My time as a lift operator at the Kelly Canyon Ski Resort will soon be coming to a close. I saw this job as a stepping stone toward finding placement next winter season with one of the larger ski establishments in the area such as Targhee, Jackson Hole Resort, or Big Sky.

The last day of the season will bring a mixture of emotion that can be best described as "bitter sweet." Soon, the snow that has brought me so much joy on the slopes will melt, and that same snow will join the river systems which will bring joy through the means of rod, reel, fly.