SAO Pages

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Westward Bound Part II; Wyoming's North Fork Powder River

Theresa and I woke early to grab a quick breakfast before meeting up with Brett for our second day of fishing in Wyoming. Today would be bitter sweet for me, and my last day of fishing in Wyoming before heading to the trout streams of Montana. Brett McCrae had chosen to fish the North Fork of the Powder River, which was one of his and Rock Creek Angler's favorite western streams.

After a pleasant drive and a little off road maneuvering we found ourselves lost in nothing but the sounds of the river and the wildlife surrounding it. I feel times like this are very hard to come by these days, and I really took the time to take it all in. I treated like it could be the last time I would ever fly fish for trout...

Setting up base camp and prepping gear for our day on the
North fork of the Powder River.

The North Fork of the Powder River is a small winding stream that runs through desert like landscapes of red rock, vast rancher grass fields, and herds of cattle. The Powder was running very cool and ultra clear this morning. The entire stream was brushy, filled with woody debris, and maintained long gravel flats and riffles. This was trout water at its best, and saying it was fishy as all hell is a slight understatement.

Today was going to be nothing but small hoppers, caddis, and small foam Sally dry flies, with a chance of a dropper nymph here and there. As we entered the stream it didn't take long for Theresa to hit her first brown trout of the day on a small hopper, little did we know this would be the start of one of the best days of dry fly fishing I had ever experienced!

Brett and Theresa pose with her first dry fly brown trout of the day.

The Colors on many of the Powder's Trout were magnificent!

When I arrived in Wyoming I had hoped we would hit the epic hopper hatches that we all have read about in our favorite fly fishing publications, but the season was running a little late and most of the area had been treated for the hopper infestation. Normally this treatment only puts a small dent in the hopper population, but for some reason this year hoppers were way down. With this being said; the trout were still looking up and waiting for this high protein food source.

SAO Guide Brett McCrae Cast a hopper to several feeding trout.

Theresa with another nice Powder River Brown Trout.

The day flew by with everyone catching several trout on the surface, and losing quite a few more. It was about as fun a day as I could remember, and I was just stoked at how well Theresa was doing on the fly rod. Casting here would be very difficult in places, and good drifts were needed after every cast. There actually came a point in the day that she seemed to have been fishing on the fly since childhood, and that I was the beginner.... We'll just chalk that up as beginners luck and leave it at that!!!

Brett with a nice Powder River Brown Trout fooled by a hopper.

Theresa runs a hopper/Dropper through a nice run
where Brett spotted several good fish.

We ended the day on several nice Brown Trout, and everyone got cracks at some really big and aggressive trout. Once again, the heat, and now some serious hay fever, were setting in and taking its tole on us. So, we decided to hike out and grab a steak at one of the local restaurants on the way back to the hotel. Below are a few more pictures I shot from our day with Brett on the North Fork of the Powder River.

Brett is all smiles while holding this beefy Brown Trout!

What a beautiful display of what Wyoming has to offer!

As the day closed I realized I was so focused on getting pictures of my wife and Brett fishing, that I really didn't capture any of the really great trout I had the pleasure of catching, so I fooled a good fish to the surface on the way out and was able to get this shot...

Here is one of the many Browns I was able to fool on dries.

The powders Brown Trout blend in so well with there surroundings!

Theresa even hit a small Rainbow Trout on the walk out as well.

A face every angler loves!

Theresa and I are very grateful for the hospitality and expert services provided to us while in Wyoming. Brett McCrae and the entire Staff at Rock Creek Angler's are suberb fly fishing guides and were very generous hosts! We will be seeing you all again in the future! Our next stop takes us to Livingston, Montana, Yellowstone, and a wild hike into the Lamar Valley for Cutthroat with great friend and fellow guide Scott McClintock.

Until next time...

Greg Senyo
Owner/Operator
Steelhead Alley Outfitters

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