The Mysterious Kubswin Lake

I thought the forecast this week was leading into the equinox storm, the few days of cold bad weather that after it passes we don’t see the 70ºs again until May.  It’s also the storm that knocks all the colorful leaves off our trees.  Fortunately however, the unstable weather was short lived and it’s been pushed out of the area by more beautiful 70º temps. 

Granny and I fished these last two days with friends Dede and Barb.  Sad to say, but this was the first time we’ve got together with them in a couple years.  In 2010 we went to the famous Kubswin Lake and absolutely crushed big fish.  Last year however, this high desert lake legendary for huge brown trout and respectable brook trout, fished poorly and we didn’t go.  Although this years report is about the same as last year we decided to take a gamble.

We met up with Dede and Barb Monday night and began the weekend crashing at their house after a feast.  We went to sleep in rain and the coldest temps we’ve experienced in months.  Then Tuesday we woke up to a thick frost and pea soup like fog that didn’t exactly put is in the get up early and go fishing mode.  Instead we lounged around their place drinking coffee and Granny and I strategically set up our Fantasy Baseball teams for the final playoff round until nearly 10 AM. 

When we arrived at Kubswin the fog broke and weather was quite pleasant.  There was a perfect light wind disturbing the surface of the lake under mostly sunny skies.  In the distance however, some nasty looking clouds loomed.  I was overdressed for the sunshine but as we made our first few casts the clouds ate up the sky and the pleasant day turned into a cold windy one fast.  Kubswin Lake was covered in whitecaps.

We thought the changing weather would be a plus but it wasn’t.  We fished our usual hot spots and tried everything from leeches, streamers and some of my special lake nymphs.  Unfortunately after the first four hours of fishing we’d caught two measly brook trout and had a couple “possible” strikes. 

By 1 the weather conditions were miserable so we angled the cars in order to create a wind block and kicked back to eat and enjoy some tasty beverages.  You never go hungry when fishing with Dede and Barb.  We had everything from hot soup and coffee, chicken, hot dogs, homemade chocolate chip cookies and the list goes on.  We are pros; if the fishing stinks we make up for it in food. 

We never saw blue sky again but at around 5 the drizzle and wind subsided.  There were some fish jumping around within casting distance of shore so we began trying for them from the beach.  These weren’t so much fish eating off the surface rises but more jumping for joy splashes that are common with prespawning brown and brook trout.  We covered the rises with leeches and streamers the best we could in hopes we could entice a take.

Not surprisingly we started catching some fish.  As for action and actual numbers of fish caught, our evening session on Kubswin was fantastic.  I’ll bet between the three of us (Granny took the fishing off) we landed about fifteen.  We caught a brown trout each and the rest were brook trout ranging all the way up to 14 inches – beautiful brookies. 

The brown trout we caught were no slouches.  All three were fat and healthy and gorgeous in color.  But these were much shorter than the monster browns Kubswin is well known for.  If you’ve not checked out the blog for Kubswin in 2010, you must.  This lake has giants and although tonight’s fish were quality anywhere else, they were not why you come to this lake.

We headed back to Dede and Barbs house last night and ended our evening with a spaghetti meal to die for.  Then we were up early today despite another thick frost and back to Kubswin.  Today we fished a half day under clear blue sky and almost no wind at all.  As I often say on my lake fishing blogs, no wind is a curse.  We fished hard from 9 till 1 and between the four of us not one fish was caught. 

Kubswin Lake is feast or famine.  This weekend provided a day of each, although yesterday really isn’t why we come here.  Nonetheless it was a great two days with friends.  Tomorrow it will be back to work then on Friday it’s off to Blackfoot Reservoir to bang up the carp one more time.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Jenny Lake on the Last Day of Summer

If you don’t love winter but you live in Idaho, wasting the last day of summer isn’t an option.  That’s why I headed fishing to Jenny Lake with friends Rick Schreiber and Andy Asadorian.  We had clear blue skies and the temperatures were in the high 70ºs.  The only bad ingredient was that this was one of the smokiest days I can remember since the Yellowstone Fires of 1988.

The three of us arrived at Jenny at around 10 AM.  The air was so smoky you could hardly see a ¼ mile.  The Tetons were in a haze.  There was absolutely no wind and Jenny’s surface was like a mirror.  You might think you want lakes to be like a mirror for fly fishing but experienced lake anglers don’t like it at all.  Fish can see through the surface like a continuation of the water column.  The landing of a fly line, the lift for your next cast and pretty much everything scare the fish. 

With the windless setting in mind, I focused on going deep for lake trout.  I fished my 7-weight Ross RX with a very fast sinking WF-7-S Type V Uniform Sinking line by Scientific Anglers.  I used my multiple fly rig with my point fly (last one) being a chartreuse Warpath jig-like fly that sinks like a rock.  I dredged this rig steadily for an hour without even a follow.  We need two things to turn on the lake trout fishing – bad weather and cold temperatures.  Today was the complete opposite.

I took the oars from Rick and he wisely casted a Chernobyl ant concoction dry fly towards the colorful foliaged bank.  Andy clung to streamer fishing.  We didn’t go far before Rick had a boil on his dry.  It was a refusal but interest nonetheless.  Then it happened again, another refusal.  The trout of Jenny Lake were being exceedingly skeptical of Ricks fly in the windless water.  Then we saw a rise, Rick covered the rings perfectly and bam – the first fish was on.

Fish number one was a big cutthroat.  He rose and Rick got him.  By the time we released him a few more trout were rising.  We thought we were about to slay them, but to no avail.  For the next three hours the three of us took turns tossing dry flies of all sorts yet we got nothing but more refusals. 

The fishing was tough, brutally challenging to say the least.  I’m sure our light tippets looked like rope and the trout could see the threads our flies.  And the rises we saw were terribly inconsistent.  The fish were charging the surface nailing insects but quickly retreating back deep.  We were persistent though and sure enough Andy hooked and landed the second fantastic cutthroat. 

I had errands to do in Jackson so after Andy landed his fish I said, “Ok guys let’s go.”  Well, it doesn’t work that way.  They insisted I catch one also.  That was nice of the boys but it wasn’t that easy.  I put on a bad angling performance.  On a day when it was hard to get fish to eat your fly in the first place, I had three huge cutthroats munch my fly and I flossed all three.  I pulled the fly right out of their huge gaping mouths! 

Me landing a fish wasn’t meant to be.  I again suggested we leave.  I was ok with my day.  It was beautiful out there on the lake and I enjoyed watching my friends each nail a brute.  But they insisted I get one more chance.  So I tied on the exact same honey ant I fished in the One Fly two weeks ago.  The actual fly that kicked butt for me on the Snake.  The one, that only because it was tied by Scott Sanchez, had already held up to catching 43 fish.  Could it handle a 44^th? 

I spotted a fish rise in close to the bank around some sunken logs.  The rise didn’t indicate a particularly big trout but any fish would clear the skunk off my slate.  I made several unanswered presentations then out of nowhere a huge head appeared and indulged my offering – fish on – fish landed. 

As for the funny picture of me dropping my cutthroat (in the lake not the bottom of the boat), that was my day.  Seriously, on a day when the fish were hard to fool into eating a fly, I couldn’t set a hook on the few opportunities I had.  Then when I finally landed one, I couldn’t hold him to save my life.  Funny stuff.  What was not funny however is that my Cannon G11 camera, the camera I’ve taken my blog pics with for years, has died.  This has been a great camera but it’s taken on a lot of dust, sand and salt spray over the years.  In fact on my most recent Baja trip the camera took on a complete splash of the Sea of Cortez as we clicked away at a big roosterfish.  Since then it’s been slowly dying.  When I tried to get photos of both Ricks and Andy’s nice fish, the shutter button was immovable.  Rick tried to photograph me with my fish.  I kept smiling and Rick kept pushing.  As expected, my patient fish wasn’t patient anymore and off he went over the side leaving me with a hilarious look on my face.

You couldn’t have asked for a nicer last day of summer.  Amazingly, it appears we have a lot more of this great weather to come.  There’s a chance for some rain for our trip to Kubswin Lake next week but then right back to clear skies and 70º temperatures.  I can handle it as long as it will come!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Magical Weather and Great Fishing on the Upper Nunya

Dragging bottom in our blue-bathtub-looking drift boat down the Upper Nunya wearing a new hat the last couple days was a dream come true for me and Granny.  The summer of 2012 escaped us back in August.  The last time just the two of us spent a weekend fishing was August 6 & 7 when we went to Hebgen and Quake Lake.  That’s way too long ago.  But visitors, a longer than expected trip back east for Dads surgery then One Fly week and lo and behold it’s darn near October!

Just sleeping in the back of the truck Monday night felt good.  I don’t care that I need to mold my body around the wheel well of the Explorer to get comfortable.  I don’t care that we froze because temps dropped below freezing.  It’s good to back to my fishing bum ways sharing time with the Granny.

After a fun Monday night at the nearby brew pub, Granny and I pushed off Tuesday at 9 AM under clear blue skies and a rapidly rising thermometer.  The only damper was that a guide boat put in while we were getting ready.  We were loading up at a snails pace so it was our own fault the dudes jumped ahead of us.  The sad thing is we never saw another boat on the Nunya until last year.  Now we see at least one every trip. 

It only took a matter of minutes to put the first fish in the boat.  Granny was rigged with my Ross RX 5-weight and two winged Chernobyl’s spread 5 feet apart.  I’ve mentioned before, few people twitch and make flies look natural like Granny.  She had fish leaping all over her rig including this nice brown that ate her upper fly. 

Fishing was steady until the day got hot.  We weren’t catching many big fish but little brown trout and one respectable steelhead looking rainbow were munching our flies like crazy.  But when the temperatures reached the upper 70ºs the fishing shut off so we started reducing the weight of our cooler while dead drifting downstream. 

The best part about dead drifting down most rivers is the quiet.  Rowing and casting make more noise than you think.  When you glide silently you’d be amazed at all the wildlife you see.  The bird life was plentiful of eagles, ospreys, various hawks and if you have sharp eye you can pick up on a lot of migrating song birds this time of year.  The green-tailed towhees were abundant hopping along the rivers edge feeding on mayflies and at least several species of warblers were in every willow bush. 

We experienced an impressive number of mammals. Numerous pronghorn antelope swam the river and plenty of mule deer came down for a drink.  But this is the season to see bull moose.  They’re in the rut and unfortunately for them, they get extremely bold.  Granny and I saw more than six handsome bulls that stared at us as we drifted by.   

Fishing picked up again as things cooled down for the evening.  Granny hoisted in several more spectacular brown trout.  It gets dark noticeably earlier these days so at 7 we pulled off the river and set up camp. 

The coyotes were amazingly vocal as were a few great horned owls.  Granny made an extraordinarily hardy camp meal to keep us warm on another cold night.  I cleaned the boat which included crushing all Granny’s tall boy beer cans then I sipped red wine and watched the leaves change.  There’s not a much more beautiful representation of fall than a colony of cottonwood trees bursting in yellow and orange at sunset. 

This morning was a little brisk to say the least.  Day two of our float entails about 18 miles of river so despite cold “unfishy” conditions we pushed off at crack of dawn.  Granny bundled up like on a February ice fishing excursion and rowed until the sun was high enough to warm the air.  I punched out streamers through icy guides and surprisingly landed several nice trout. 

When morning got warm Granny was ready for the rod.  Let’s just say Granny fishes and she’s darn good at it.  But for her to fish hard from morning till dark with no more than one or two beer breaks - that’s unusual.  Granny isn’t the maniac fishing psycho her man is.  However today was different.  It might have been the fact she hasn’t fished much the last month.  Perhaps it was because the fishing was insane.  Honestly, Granny never stopped casting and never stopped catching fish. 

Today Granny caught more fish in a day then she ever has in her life.  We don’t keep count but if it were a contest I’d be clearing space in my den for her 1^st place trophy.  I swear Granny was hooked up no less than once every five minutes.  One time she landed seven browns in seven casts.  Her sheer numbers of brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout were ridiculous! 

Earlier I mentioned the numerous moose we saw and how the coyotes were howling like crazy last night.  Coyotes always howl on the Nunya but last night they put on a concert.  Today we found out why.  We stealthily floated around a corner and downstream on river left there was a coyote ripping on a skeleton.  It’s uncommon that you spot a coyote before he spots you but he was focused on protein.  We finally spooked him when Granny hooked a brown and he heard the splash of the first jump.  We pulled in to check out the carnage and sure enough there was a freshly cleaned moose skeleton with coyote tracks everywhere.  There was no evidence how the moose died but the small amounts of remaining flesh were still fresh.

The biggest fish of the weekend was a brown of about 19 inches but it was this shorter but perfect specimen of a cutthroat that we’ll remember best.  Not because this is such a beautiful cutty, but because it reminds us of a significantly bigger cutthroat Granny hooked earlier in the day that we lost by the net.  The one that got away was massive!

Granny and I had a magnificent two days away from it all.  We both needed the time away and together.  I feel we’re back on track.  We’ll fish the famous Kubswin Lake next week for huge browns with friends.  After that, who knows but its all about fall fishing from here on out. 

I have better news on Dad as well.  Dad got out of the hospital on Monday (the unexpected trip back) and returned to the rehab/nursing home.  Mom said he’s doing much better than before and walked with a walker by himself.  This may not sound like much but it’s a huge jump from when I left New Hampshire.  He’s still confused but actually showing signs of improving his awareness in everything.  He asked Mom to get him an ice cream from his favorite parlor in Wolfeboro the other night.  Good sign!  The photo is Dad with my niece Sierra.

I’ll be sneaking to Jenny Lake on Friday.  Be sure to check in for the report.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Update on Dad and Fishing

The blog has been a bit quiet but this will change now.  I simply needed to catch up on a pile of work after being away a month for Dads surgery followed by immediately jumping right into the Jackson Hole One Fly.

Now my work is under control and I even relished in some of the basics that being home is all about.  Like drinking coffee on the back porch watching the birds hammer our sunflower seeds and ending the day with a nice front porch cocktail hour with Granny enjoying the orangey sunsets we’re having because of the forest fires.  I even kicked back, watched baseball all day and painted this steelhead.  It’s been good but I’m pleased to say Granny and I will be fishing a special place this week. 

As for Dad, things have not gone well of late.  You may remember that when I left New Hampshire on September 4 I was pleased that Dad was finally out of the hospital and settled into a rehab-nursing home close to Mom.  Things were going very well and he was truly improving.  Then on Saturday night during the One Fly he took a fall from his wheel chair.  Everything seemed ok.  But on Wednesday night he ended up back in the hospital due to complications and now a bladder infection.  This is a tough road.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Jackson Hole One Fly 2012 - Day 2

September 9, 2012

Sorry for the lack of pics but I never put down the rod today!

I was fresh and ready to finish the job of winning the One Fly for the “Good Times” team this morning.  I slept fairly well.  I munched a massive breakfast at The Lodge at Palisades Creek.  I was extremely confident that the Scott Sanchez tied honey ant would catch me the six measurable fish I needed along with a whole bunch of two point dinks.  My guide was Lee Moore of the South Fork Lodge.  I’d never met Lee before but after a minute chatting I could tell he was good.  My opponent was Simon Everett of Bermuda.  You wouldn’t think a guy from Bermuda would know much about trout fishing, but let’s just say Simon gets around.  Simon went with a black and white streamer of some sort.

Our One Fly stretch was the poor fishing Upper South Fork.  We put in at the Huskey about two miles below the Palisades Dam.  Simon took the front for starters and I watched him lay beautiful cast one after another hardly missing any of the fishy spots with his streamer.  I followed behind with casts of my own but knew after the crash of his streamer not much would be left to look at my ant.  Simon landed a 17” cutthroat five minutes into the day.  I always cringe when a fish is landed within site of the boat launch.  Fishing usually goes downhill, almost like it becomes jinxed.  Well, it was.  We didn’t see another fish for over two hours. 

At 11:30 I switched to the front of the boat.  I had one two pointer to my total score.  Things were looking bad, yet I remained confident.  A few bugs were starting to hatch and I know it only takes about 20 minutes to land six nice trout.  They simply had to start feeding and I’d get them. 

At 1 PM the hatch had dissipated and the big fish were still hiding.  I’d lucked into nine two pointers from the front of the boat but that was it.  I desperately needed some measurable trout.  My best option was to start wading and covering every inch of water, something difficult to do from the boat.  Simon had already shown he wasn’t much into wading but I was still up front.  I hated to hinder him but it was my call.  From 1 to 2 I did nothing but walk.  As I aggressively fished up a fast flowing side channel a huge cutty sipped my ant.  I stuck him good – I thought.  He put on a much fiercer than the average cutthroat battle and led me into heavy water towards a log jam.  I had no choice but to lean on the speckled fish and to my disgust my hook pulled loose.  My first measurable fish was gone.  I was steamed but there was no time to dwell on it.  I went right back up to the same spot and landed a measly 12 incher.  This late in the day I had no choice but to measure the 12 point fish. 

Just before 2 I went on a wild march.  Lee (who is essentially the judge and follows you with the net) and I were concerned that Simon was getting bored and possibly even upset with my out of boat fishing, but I was still in charge and I’d added a 13 incher to my card.  I needed four more fish.  That’s when I got my best fish of the day.  I was casting upstream along a fast bank.  I was working rapidly.  My casts were short but efficient.  I’d drift my fly then when it dragged I’d take two steps and cast again.  I was methodically hitting every inch of water.  That’s when a fantastic rainbow sipped my ant a rods length from me.  I set and it was game on. 

The last thing you need in the One Fly is a trout that wants to take you to the cleaners.  This was a rainbow and unfortunately for me, he wanted to escape.  He literally ran me all the way to the center of the main channel of the South Fork.   There was no chasing him with the boat.  That was parked too far away.  I thought for sure I would lose my second beautiful measurable trout of the day.  But this was not the case.  I ran down stream, kept the pressure on and miraculously led him to Lee’s net.  Moments later we measured the 18” rainbow. 

The fishing part of the 2012 One Fly Contest came to a close at exactly 4 PM.  I landed a total of 21 trout and measured only three today.  I didn’t know for sure at the time, but I was pretty certain my first place overall finish was gone.  It was.  At the One Fly closing party in Jackson, Wyoming it was official.  I’d dropped to 7^th place overall and so did our team.  Bummer!  There was about a 125 point difference.  If only I didn’t lose that big cutthroat earlier we may have had it. 

Losing a close battle in the One Fly isn’t exactly a huge disappointment.  The One Fly is fun and it raises a lot of money for the health of rivers.  I was very pleased with our overall team performance and glad to get the award as top rod for Saturday.  What was gut wrenching however was that my 20” big fish that claimed the award for Saturday was beaten by a 21” brown on Sunday.  The $3900 that certainly would have been spent on some serious distant angling was gone.  No!

I’m a little beat up from the last month with my unexpected time back east for Dads surgery and then right into the One Fly.  Granny and I might wet a line on Tue or Wed but not for sure.  We may just sit on the back porch.  As for Dad, Mom says he’s about the same, perhaps a tiny bit better.  He took a fall on Saturday night at the rehab center but he seems to be ok.  I’ll definitely continue to update his progress.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Jackson Hole One Fly 2012 - Day 1

September 8, 2012

I love competition fly fishing.  I know many don’t but I’ll be honest, I think comps are a thrill.  Tournaments are the only times when catching numerous small trout matter.  You actually find yourself working to catch them and frowning when they free themselves before you touch your leader.  Big trout are superior to midsize ones and your casting and angling skills must be at their best.  Although competing in the Jackson Hole One Fly is not nearly as competitive as the World Championships once were for me, I still give the two day event my heart and sole.

I am part of a four person One Fly team, the “Good Times”.  My captain and sponsor, whom you should know by now is Gary Eckman.  The other members are famous fly tier Scott Sanchez and owners of the Triangle X Ranch, Don and Ann Turner.  Don and Ann each fish one day of the two day competition.  The actual fishing takes place on Saturday and Sunday.  You get one fly each day.  Not one pattern, one single fly.  If it sucks or it falls apart, you won’t score points.  The idea is to catch and measure at least six fish more than 12 inches for bonus points and as many trout as you can that you don’t measure but each adds two points to your score.  You are judged both as a team and individually. 

Day One – September 8, 2012

Today I competed on the Pritchard to West Table section of the Snake River downstream of Jackson, Wyoming.  My guide/judge and long time friend was Jean Bruun.  Jean is married to Paul Bruun who is frequently on the blog as he and I fish together a bunch when the weather goes bad in late fall.  Jean and I have been on a few big floats together but this was actually the first time I’ve been her boat.  She’s been a fishing guide for almost 20 years and has built a name for herself as one of the best.  Although I didn’t consider myself lucky to draw my stretch, I considered myself extremely fortunate to draw Jean as my guide.

My boat partner and opponent was also a treat.  I fished against Ray Thurston.  I met Ray through my days running the fly shop in Jackson and we have gone on to be great friends.  Ray doesn’t get to fish nearly as much as he would like and even though technically we were competing against one another, Jean and I both assured Ray he was in excellent hands.

My fly was the honey ant I planned on using after yesterday.  Scott Sanchez tied me the bomb proof fly.  Remember, the fly must last all day even if you catch a ton of fish.  Scott is the only tier I trust to make me a fly that will not self destruct after more than 50 fish.

I’ll make this short because I fish tomorrow and I need rest.  The three of us had an incredible day.  Ray fished a Sanchez Double Bunny and although he didn’t fill his six fish card, he landed a few and one was 19 inches.  Ray scored over 200 points on a day when more than half the contestants didn’t break 100 points.  I had an even more fortunate day.  I filled my card and measured six cutthroats from 13 inches to 20 inches and landed a total of 43 trout.  My 20 incher earned me the day 1 big fish award and my 595 points earned me the top score award for day one.  Best of all the “Good Times” team is in 4^th place and not many points separate us from 1^st. 

Most the credit should go to Jean for a superb guiding job.  She supported both Ray and my fly choices and took us to the waters where the two very different fly patterns could do best.  Jean also had a pet fish or two that she guided us to and luckily we caught them.  She is really fantastic!  I also credit Scott for tying me a fly that not only fooled some big fish even though it was attached to 1X, but it still looks new after catching 43 fish!

I’m on the Upper South Fork tomorrow.  Results from there today were awful.  I have my work cut out for me to help move the team into first place and keep my individual status as well.  More important to Granny and me than my individual placement is that my 20 incher not only won today’s big fish award, but that the beast wins big fish for the entire contest.  Granny and I paid $100 to enter the big fish Calcutta and if the fantastic fish stands through tomorrow we will win $3900!!!!!!!!!!!!  I guess best scenario is I catch a bigger one on the South Fork tomorrow.  I will use the same exact ant pattern tied up by Scott.  Time for some well needed rest.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Jackson Hole One Fly Practice on the Snake River

It’s basically been off the plane from New Hampshire and straight into the Jackson Hole One Fly.  I’m not complaining as the One Fly is an absolute blast for me as it means enjoying time with a lot of old customer/friends of mine.  I also get to fish while someone else rows!  Last night the tournament kicked off with the cocktail party where we drew for stretches and guides.  As usual, I drew one of the more difficult sections of the Snake River, Pritchard to West Table (will I ever get a Park stretch?).  That’s Saturday.  Then on Sunday I’ll fish the feared Upper South Fork which already kicked my butt when my team captain Gary Eckman and I practiced on Wednesday. 

Today Gary took us on a guided trip down the Snake with the famous Boots Allen for one last chance to practice.  Boots has been on the blog before.  In fact he was recently on the blog back in April and May because I illustrated his most recent book, Modern Fly Fishing for Trout (Hopefully available by Christmas).  Boots is one of the best guides I’ve ever fished with.  He always explains his game plan from start to finish.   He explains why, tells you where and he listens when you have an idea of your own.  Today our idea was not to practice on one of the stretches that Gary or I drew for the contest, but rather go beat up someone else’s.  We floated Deadman's Bar to Moose.

Deadman's Bar to Moose is the fastest flowing section of the Snake through Grand Teton National Park.  This section sinks more boats in a season than any other.  You must be excellent behind the oars.  This scenic section also requires good angling skills and the ability to get out of the boat and hike and wade the many side channels.

Gary and I started our day with streamers.  Being that we were beating the stretch up I rigged up my typical multiple streamer rig and nailed a couple nice cuttys just to loosen my arm.  Then I switched to a small dry fly as I’m almost sure this is what I will fish during the One Fly on both the Snake and the South Fork.

After playing around with some Pale Morning Dun, Mahogany Dun and ant patterns, I determined that a size 16 honey ant worked best.  I proceeded to see exactly how many fish I could land on the unique ant if I stuck with it.  At the end of the day I’d estimate that I caught about 20 gorgeous cuttys including several up to about 17 inches.  This is definitely the fly for me. 

Fishing such a small fly for two straight days will not be easy.  My eyes aren’t as young as they used to be and concentrating from start to finish on both One Fly days is a must.  I’m ready for it though.  In fact I’m darn right excited as hell! 

The tournament will start at 8:30 AM tomorrow.  My guide is long time friend Jean Bruun and my opponent is also a friend, Ray Thurston.  Fishing Pritchard to West Table will be challenging as it’s not nearly famed for large fish, something you need to win the One Fly.  However, there’s plenty of small fish and they count too.  I’ll have my work cut out for me. 

I’ll be fishing hard and enjoying the after fishing events throughout the weekend so expect the story, photos and results posted on around Tuesday.   

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing