Alaska 2011

Had another great trip to Alaska over labor day weekend this year. My friend Aaron joined me and we stayed with Andy.
We were able to fly over to the Italio River again and stay in Bob's fishing shack for 2 nights. It was quite the adventure. We had a lot of rain, but did catch lots of big silvers. The bad weather did limit our ability to fish on the ocean, so we only caught one halibut.
It was great to see Andy, Trace, and Cherie. I cannot wait to go back.

Snake River

Dad, Adam, and I fished the snake river in August. I took my drift boat when I went to climb the Grand Teton and planned on floating the Snake River and flyfishing.
The first day we floated through Teton National Park. You cannot beat the scenery during this float with the Tetons towering behind you, and we also caught native cutthroat trout. The weather was in the 80s, which is hot for that area.
The second day we floated below Jackson. The float was in a canyon with faster water. Still beautiful, but closer to roads and fishing was not as good.
We enjoyed this so much we will try and make it an annual trip.

Twin's backpack trip

Savannah, Sohpia, and I had our own short overnight backpack trip this summer. We didn't hike very far into the forest, but had a pleasant evening. They are very cute.
I bought them each a harmonica and they had a great time around the campfire.

Wind Rivers 2011

I am attempting to catch up on some of my adventures this summer and fall.
The first is the backpacking trip to the wind rivers. Danny and his son Luke, joined Isaac and me for a 3 night backpack trip into Smith Lake basin. I had been in there before with Gordon and others and we did a gear drop for that trip.
This time we carried all our gear. The weather was good, but the bugs were the worst I've ever had in my life. There was some bug that landed on you and crawled up your arms or legs, (even if they were covered), and bite you many times that left huge marks. Don't know what it was, but it made the trip almost unbearable.
We did catch lots of fish and had a great time.
Jecca had a terrible time with the bugs. Her whole body had bites after the trip and due to her age she was exhausted by the time it was over. I included a picture with her on the way out. Her eye got infected and she laid right in the dusty trail, too tired to care.

Green River

The April Green River trip this year turned out to be very cold and poor fishing. Because of all the snow this winter the flows were much higher than normal and that made the rapids quite fun.
We did enjoy the float both days and tried to stay warm. My drift boat works great, we just need better weather next year.

Spring Fly Fishing

Time can really fly sometimes in your life. I looked at the date on the last post and I realize that I had better add new posts.
I bought a drift boat this spring for fly fishing and have used it several times. 3 trips to the Green River and one to the North Platte.
I floated the North Platte River up by Casper, Wyoming in March of this year. It was cold weather, but we did manage to catch a few big fish. Here are some pictures from that trip. My friend Aaron Johnson is my fishing partner on this trip.

Fishing trip

Randy joined me for an August fishing trip. There are several places in Wyoming that I have never been and wanted to try. I got some information and advice and even one guy told me to cross the border and flyfish in Montana. We started our trip on Monday night and drove to the Bighorn River Recreation area in southeast Montana. It is located near the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn(aka Custer's last stand). It is a very popular flyfishing river so we didn't expect solitude while we floated and fished. On the trip we loaded the truck with 2 pontoons, camping gear and flyfishing equipment. That night we camped by the river in the tent. We awoke early and booked a shuttle for my truck. We floated and fished for 12 hours and got several very large fish. I hooked a monster fish on a grasshopper pattern and it broke me off, it still haunts me. Randy did take a picture of a nice rainbow. We decided it was too challenging and crowded and hot to stay another day so we headed back to Wyoming and to try another place. We made it to the Bighorn Mountains and camped in the forest around midnight. It was cold and quiet that night.
The next day we drove through Cody, Wyoming and headed to Crandall River, which is just outside of Yellowstone Park to the northeast. It is a remote area, that is popular with horseback trips into the wilderness. We hiked up the canyon, but didn't have good fishing. We did see a grizzly bear track in the mud, which reminded me to get the bear spray out of my pack.
We drove back to Cody and stayed in a hotel.
The next morning we drove toward Yellowstone Park east entrance, but stopped and fished the north fork shoshone river. I caught a 19 inch cutthroat among others and was pleased. It was another warm day and we decided to head toward Jackson Hole. This required driving through Yellowstone Park, a very pretty drive, but it takes a long time. We camped just south of the Yellowstone border on the Snake River. It was a beautiful area and again grizzly bear country. The fishing was slow on the river, but we enjoyed a nice stormy night with howling winds in the tent. The next day we fished the Snake river and buffalo fork with moderate success, but having the Tetons in the background means the fishing doesn't have to be that good.
Our last day we floated the Snake River through a section of Grand Teton park. The weather was cold and rainy. I caught several nice native cutthroat trout and enjoyed it. I drove all the way home and made it by 2:00 am, it was fun, and we did more driving than fishing, but exploring is enjoyable.