Big Ugly Trout Need Love Too

Dede and Barb have been fly fishing in the Jackson Hole area since the 70’s. I met them as a young buck working in the Jack Dennis Fly Shop in Jackson, Wyoming in 1987. They came in the shop, asked me some questions and quizzed me hard. I was the new kid in town. Fortunately I knew enough that they accepted me and we’ve been friends ever since. For years we never fished together. It’s typical if you work in a fly shop. Your customers become friends but you rarely ever fish with them. It’s because you never have time to fish with all your customer/friends. There’s so many of them and you only have a couple days off a week. But sometimes it works out. Luckily ten years ago it worked out that Granny and I fished with Dede and Barb on one of their secret waters. We had so much fun that we fish together at least once a year ever since.

Kubswin Lake isn’t really one of Dede and Barbs secrets. Anyone who chases big trout about knows Kubswin has some of the largest browns in the entire west, but because it’s a lake they rarely go there. When they go, it’s usually a one time thing because they get skunked. These trout are very hard to catch and as a rule anglers walk away shaking their heads wondering if the lake has any fish in it at all. Granny and I and Dede and Barb have certainly had these days. Nonetheless, that’s where we spent Tuesday and Wednesday

Monday night Granny and I drove to stay and have dinner at Dede and Barbs. These gals take great care of us when we stay over. We brought down some steaks and wine and they cooked it all up with some fresh veggies. Morning came fast and after  some quick coffees we drove to the lake. The weather continues to be as good as you could ask for. Despite Kubswin sitting at over 7,000 ft there was little to no wind and temps reached 80º each day. When we arrived at Kubswin it was almost calm. This sounds good to a rookie lake angler but the truth of the matter is that trout are so spooky under a placid lake that when your cast hits the water all nearby trout retreat to the deep. They think and eagle or an osprey is diving for them. I ran into this repeatedly when I was walking the shoreline and casting to cruisers. All but one took off just from seeing my fly line in the air. The one that stayed around followed and refused my fly.

We all spend more time fly fishing on lakes than the average trout fly fisher and we each have rigs and vests we only take to lakes. My rod of choice is my 6-weight Ross Essence FC. To match that rod I use the Ross Airius Reel and I have five spools to go with. Each spool has a different Rio fly line. There’s a floater, Midge Tip, Intermediate sink, Slow Sink (Type 3), and a Fast Sink (Deep 7). With those I can cover top to bottom of most lakes simply by changing spools. The line I use the most often is the Intermediate which in Rio lines is called the Aqualux.

We each carry a wide range of flies. Most of your once a year lake fly fishers simply pound away with various streamer patterns. Streamers definitely provide some success but I find that most of my catches  are made by patiently sight casting to risers with dry flies or slowly twitching nymph and midge patterns just below the surface. The speed and way you move your flies makes all the difference in the world. Lake fly fishing is extremely challenging and if you haven’t fished them much there’s lots to learn. I enjoy the challenges lakes present me with and especially the chance at catching huge trout. I also find them rarely crowded like many of our best rivers.

It wasn’t until about 1 pm on Tuesday that one of us hooked up. I was daydreaming while retrieving each cast and chatting away with Dede. Then she hooked up. It was obviously a big fish because her reel sang as the beast headed for the middle of the lake. Barb and I reeled in while Granny, who opted  to observe this weekend, came running with the camera. The fight lasted a good five minutes before she netted an obese 23” brown. Fat probably wasn’t the best word to describe this enormous trout. This amazing brown trout was an absolute monster and a perfect example as to why we like the challenge of lake fishing. And rather than eating a huge streamer, this brown ate one of Dede’s small nymphs while she was doing a very slow strip down near the bottom.

Our fishing remained slow both days but was very rewarding. We only landed a total of five fish, but the smallest was 17 inches. Dede caught four of these and three of them were over 20 inches. All the ones over 20 inches were impressive to say the least. One was impressive not only because of his size, but he was one of the ugliest big browns I’ve ever seen! His bottom jaw protruded so far out past his upper it was ridiculous. It’s a wonder he could even eat with this obscurely shaped mouth.

I only landed one but he too was a monster. This brown trout ate an olive bead head leech late in the day  and schooled me out into the lake. I rarely need backing when trout fishing but this fish required about thirty feet of it! It was another great weekend. Next for me will be back to the Harriman Ranch on the Henry’s Fork for the last of the Mahogany Dun hatch.

Our fishing remained slow both days but was very rewarding. We only landed a total of five fish, but the smallest was 17 inches. Dede caught four of these and three of them were over 20 inches. All the ones over 20 inches were impressive to say the least. One was impressive not only because of his size, but he was one of the ugliest big browns I’ve ever seen! His bottom jaw protruded so far out past his upper it was ridiculous. It’s a wonder he could even eat  with this obscurely shaped mouth.

I only landed one but he too was a monster. This brown ate an olive bead head leech late in the day and schooled me out into the lake. I rarely need backing when trout fishing but this fish required about thirty feet of it! It was another great weekend. Next for me will be back to the Ranch on the Henrys Fork for the last of the Mahogany Dun hatch.

as ridiculous. It’s a wonder he could even eat with this obscurely shaped mouth.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Vladi Trzebunia

July 11, 2010

I became a member of the Team USA Fly Fishing Team in 1997. That was back when you didn’t compete to be on the team. It was what was considered a “Gentleman’s Team”. If you were a decent angler and had the connections you could be on. I made my connections in 1996 when the World Championships of Fly Fishing were held in Jackson, Wyoming. I didn't fish on the team that year, but like many Jackson Hole fishing folks of the valley, I gave hours of my time to help the foreign contestants learn the water and techniques to catch cutthroat trout. I also ran a fly shop right in the lobby of the hotel where all the international teams and contestants stayed during the competition. I sold flies and leaders and offered advice to contestants every morning as they set out on my home waters. (You should have seen their faces when they saw their first Chernobyl Ants!) I met many of the worlds greatest fly fisherman (even though I didn’t’ know it at the time) from the Czechs to the Japanese to the Irish and the Kiwis. There were twenty-two teams from around the world in total. It was an awesome experience and I made a lot of great international friends.

I guess it pays to be a nice friendly hard working guy, because during the winter of 1996-97 I got asked to be on Team USA for the World Champs to be held in Zakaopane, Poland. It was under one condition; I had to go two weeks before the competition and fish and learn the Polish waters from our host, Vladi Trzebunia.

Although I should have, I didn’t know of Vladi Trzebunia. Vladi didn’t fish the Jackson Championships. He was a long retired competitor of Team Poland. I should be known that when he competed for Poland, he became a worldwide legend. It was Vladi that introduced what is now referred to as “Polish”, “Czech” or “European Nymphing”. A method of nymphing designed specifically for catching European grayling that just so happens to also work superb on trout, whitefish, yellowfish, chubs and you name it. In 1989, with his (at the time) “secret” method, he carried Team Poland to a Gold Medal on the waters of Finland and also won the individual Gold Medal. Vladi was a World Champion and continues to be one of the best fly fishermen on the planet.

All this greatness under his belt, and Vladi Trzebunia generously offered to be the host of Team USA for the 1997 Fly Fishing World Champs. Why? Simple, because he wanted to improve his English.

I spent two incredible weeks learning from one the worlds greatest and in fact I still learn from him today. Vladi is one of those rare folks you meet and two minutes into the experience you know you’ve met a friend for life. Since that trip to Poland in 1997 Vladi and I have fished and traveled together throughout Europe and the USA. I have a long list of entertaining fishing stories and experiences with Vladi. Someday have me tell the story of the first time Vladi set eyes on the Madison River or when I caught the huchen while with Vladi in Slovakia.

I thought it was a good idea to introduce Vladi to start this blog chapter because in two hours I will be meeting up with him in Oslo, Norway. Vladi used to guide Atlantic salmon in Norway and now he is taking me to camp, fish and visit many of his old friends during the next ten days. I’m presently sitting at the Amsterdam Airport awaiting my flight to Norway. It is absolutely nuts here, more so than normal. Everything is decked out in orange for the World Cup Soccer Game that the Netherlands hopes to win today. It should be a very exciting day for all of Europe. It’s all real cool but I just hope Vladi's travels have served him well and he will be there waiting and for me in Oslo.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Very High on the Big Hole

June 27-28, 2010

The summer is only a week old and seems to be absolutely screaming past. My Henry’s Fork Marathon is history and this past weekend, a trip I’ve awaited nine months, came and went so fast I can’t believe it. The trip was to the Big Hole River in Montana with friend Scott Sanchez (Chez). Chez and I were the hosts for a group of four anglers. This was a trip thought up and sponsored by Jeff Walker of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Jeff generously donated this trip for four to the Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation to be used as a live auction item for their fundraising dinner 2009. The One Fly Foundation is famous for carefully using its funding for various stream restoration projects throughout the Rocky Mountains. Jeff’s donation included three nights lodging at the spectacular Big Hole Ranch (BHR) and two days guided fishing through the Sunrise Fly Shop of Melrose, MT. To spice it up, Jeff asked Chez and I if we would donate our time and be the hosts of this great trip. Being that neither of us is as dumb as we look, we answered without much thought, “Absolutely!”

The lucky purchasers of this fun trip were Peter and Ellen Saphire of Washington DC. As you may have guessed the Saphires' are long time customer/friends of mine and Scott’s. We were excited when we found out they got the trip because although we’ve been talking fishing with them for almost twenty years, we’ve never actually wet a line together. They brought along their twenty-six year old son Jesse, whom I’ve known since he was ten and Peters brother Andy whom we met for the first time.

We all arrived for dinner on Saturday night. For Chez and I it was a four hour drive from the Jackson area. I’ve been to the BHR before but it’s been at least eight or nine years. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. Jeff Walker himself awaited us and our great weekend started off with  some wine tasting followed by a fantastic dinner. After dinner, Andy broke out some mean cigars so we sat on the porch till 11 pm and talked.

Morning came fast with sunrise at 5:45. We had a delicious breakfast and off to the Sunrise Fly Shop we went. We had three guides waiting for us. I was excited to see that two of were old friends of mine, Chuck Page and Rick Rossi. The way the day sorted out, Ellen and I fished together with Chuck. Chez and Peter went with Rick and Jesse and Andy went with a guide named Chris. In MT, outfitters are not   allowed three boats on the same stretch of the Big Hole River so Chris, Andy and Jesse went on a different stretch than the rest of us.

The weather doesn’t get much better. As if the Big Hole River isn’t beautiful enough, skies were a rich blue without a cloud in sight. The temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees with highs expected near 80. Even the mosquitoes weren’t as bad as they can be. The only hardship we faced was high water. With a huge thunderstorm that  dropped heaps of rain on Friday and the first high temperatures of the year melting high country snow at an alarming rate, the Big Hole was swollen well above its banks. However, trips like this are planned far in advance so even though we knew fishing would be challenging to say the least off we went to give it our best shot.

The guides of the Sunrise Fly Shop have a longtime reputation as some of the best in the business. Chuck and Rick have been guiding the Big Hole for as  long as I can remember. I knew that even under the difficult conditions everyone would get into some fish. Chuck rigged Ellen with a stonefly dry and dropped a nymph below it. Chuck would rather I did the same but I’m not much of a nympher and with the high water conditions; I was all about casting streamers. Chuck recommended his favorite bugs and I rigged them on my Ross 6-weight and my favorite streamer line, the RIO Aqualux.

Man did fishing start slow. I rolled a fish  in the first minute and then we went two hours before seeing another. Chuck was in awe at the increased water levels. All the places his clients caught fish on previous days were deep underwater and our day was quickly becoming a “You should have been here yesterday event”. Finally, Ellen actually missed a take on her dry fly only to recast and catch a gorgeous brook trout on her nymph. The skunk was out of the boat!

Getting the skunk out is usually all it takes to improve the day. Sure enough, Ellen caught three more fish on her  nymph. It seems what we really needed was some hot sun to get the insect life and the fish moving. I finally broke down and started nymphing from the back of the boat. I don’t use an indicator and was a little rusty at first. Then, just before the lunch spot I nailed a hefty 18” brown.

In the afternoon Ellen put on a show. While I managed to catch five fish total for the day, Ellen managed to catch at least ten. Under unbelievably tough fishing conditions she kept her fly in the water and took advantage of the very few opportunities. Just to give you an idea how tough the fishing was, our other two boats together landed a total of four fish!

On day two my fishing partner was Jesse. Jesse and I were the odd boat out and while the rest of our group went on the same stretch with Chuck and Rick, Jesse and I went with guide whom I’d never met before, Ryan Barba. Ryan moved to Melrose from Vermont and bought the Sunrise Fly Shop five years ago with his friend and business partner Eric. He’s young and enthusiastic and an excellent hard working guide. We floated from Divide through the Big Hole Canyon to Melrose. Although the water levels stabilized, the river was roaring. You had to be quick with your casting or you would miss the prime spots fast. Ryan rigged up Jesse with a salmon fly dry and no dropper. He encouraged me to use a streamer so I set up my usual double streamer rig like I’ve described in past blogs.

I could see the river was roaring, but when we pushed off it was apparent there was more water in the river than meets the eye. Ryan had to back-row his butt off just to keep us anywhere in the game of pounding our flies to the bank. Miraculously, in the first ten minutes I nailed a scrappy rainbow that not only fought hard but in his last attempt to escape jumped in the boat. Luckily I released him unharmed.

Fishing remained steady for me. I followed up the rainbow with three nice browns including one so beautiful that we stopped for several pictures. Naturally with me, anytime I see a fantastic trout I photograph it for a future painting. Things were going a little slow for Jesse so Ryan took off his dry fly and set up an indicator and two nymphs. Minutes later Jesse started landing some fish. Jesse has been fishing as long as I’ve known him so he can get the fly where it belongs. Once he got the hang of the nymph he started nailing some fish. He caught several nice browns and some trophy whitefish. We were getting it done in the difficult conditions.

The river was cranking so fast that we did the normally full day float in five hours. That was way too short for a day of fishing so Ryan took us back up river for a second float. We decided to give the dry flies a second chance and this time they worked. We weren’t exactly crushing the fish, but both Jesse and I managed to catch several more nice fish.

I waited far too long since my last visit to the Big Hole River. The Big Hole is one the great western rivers and truly one of my all-time favorites. Its scenic beauty and high population of quality trout is what makes it for me. Best of all I got to fish with old friends and new friends which is what this year is becoming all about. For now its rest up and slow this summer down. I have to finish a cutthroat painting then take Granny fishing on Wednesday.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site