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Wyoming Rambles: The Ham’s Fork
I’ve made it to Wyoming after a somewhat leisurely drive across the Great Basin in 100 degree heat. I had been eying West Wendover, NV for the first night, about five and a half hours out of Reno. But as I approached one of my regular stops, Carlin Canyon on the Humboldt River, I thought…
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Missing Montana
Longing for Big Sky Country and Cool Clear WatersI had planned on making opening day on the Henry’s Fork on June 15, the start of my summer in the Yellowstone periphery. Technically, that would be missing Idaho, but I generally think of my trips to the mountains as “Moving to Montana“. And it is only 30 miles to the border at Targhee Pass.…
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Bugs of Fly Fishing Seasons Past
One of the things that draws me to fly fishing is the consistently interesting topic of, “what are the fish eating today?” Sure, some people like bugs more than others, and maybe go a little too far down the rabbit hole. Some little boys that play with bugs grow up to be scientists, some grow…
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Another Look at the Dark Side of Catch and Release
I came across an article on a Wyoming website today that discusses the pressure fish face on some of the West’s iconic rivers. Actually, the story focuses on the North Platte’s Grey Reef section, which is one river I haven’t made it to yet, but the problem affects many popular rivers. “Almost a quarter of…
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Texas Specks (Salty Toothy Trout)
In 2019, I spent a few winter months pursuing Texas redfish on the fly from North Padre Island eastward over to Matagorda Bay. I caught plenty of small puppy drum blind casting into murky water, but the goal of sight fishing to big reds in clear water was elusive. I did finally find those fish…
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A Madison River Fall Run Flybox
I’ve got a story simmering about the experience of fishing the Madison River above Hebgen lake in the Fall and it just isn’t coming together the way I want it to yet. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the flies that I’ve tied for that event, in West Yellowstone, Montana. Probably…
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A Week on the Big Mo in July
Tricos, Caddis and PMDs, Oh My! The Missouri river in Montana is one of the top destinations in America for fly fishers who prefer the art of the dry fly over chucking bobbers and lead. I first visited “the Big Mo” in 2018, the year that I spent trying to hit all of the big…
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August on the Bighorn: 2021
I had spent a couple of weeks on Hebgen lake near West Yellowstone, and after getting my fill of that top notch dry fly action, I decided it was time to move on. As often happens in my meandering travels, I didn’t have a plan set in stone. The skies had been getting more smoky from…
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Gulpers on the South Fork Arm of Hebgen Lake
July, 2021 I caught a few fish on the first day out from the float tube, but they were on a leech pattern under the surface, and I was searching for gulpers. They are the famous Hebgen trout that methodically eat emerging and spent callibaetis mayflies over a long stretch of the summer, making this…
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Wade Lake, Montana: Turquoise and Rainbows
In the Summer of 2022, I spent a little more than a week camped at Wade Lake, Montana, which is up the road from the famed Three Dollar Bridge on the Madison River. A few years prior, I had fished Cliff Lake, which is the adjoining lake to the south, but I walked the shore…