Last summer I had a fun guest, Garth Wellman of South Africa. Garth is a good friend and well-rounded angler. One of his goals on his visit was to catch a quality Snake River Cutthroat. I took him a few places and we caught them but no big boys. As a last resort I took him to Flat Creek on the National Elk Refuge outside of Jackson, WY.
Flat was my last choice at a hefty Snake River Cutty because I didn’t want to deal with crowds. It turned out the crowds weren’t so bad and our fishing was incredible. All day long Garth stated, “Currier, I can’t believe you don’t come out here!”
I was asking myself why I didn’t fish Flat Creek more that very night. No doubt as I get older crowds put me off. But that wasn’t all it was. Back on October 1, 2013, Granny, myself and friend Rob Parkins went to Flat and were removed from it because of Obama’s “Government Shut Down”. After our long drive over the pass we were literally kicked out. That left a real bad taste.
But thanks to the trip last year, today I was back on Flat. I shared the day with my good friend Norm Thomas. Norm is from Tennessee but has a family foothold in Jackson Hole that goes back generations. We hadn’t fished together in a few years but we recently made a point to do so because next year we’ll be in Kamchatka together.
It was a classic spectacular September day. The morning was cool but once the sun rose above Sleeping Indian things warmed fast. In no time we had hatches of Mahogany Duns and Pale Morning Duns and a few Snake Drakes trickled down as well. That’s all it takes to get a few big cutties feeding on top.
I was moving slow today thanks to one of my usual awful nights of sleep. I’d also been up since 5 AM because earlier in the morning I was filmed for a Jackson Hole One Fly documentary that will air in a couple years. During the first hour instead of fishing I indulged on a Mt Dew and took some pictures of Norm. He nailed the first fish he saw – this beautiful 13 incher.
Norms fish and my Dew got me moving. I’m kind of like a reptile on these days so it didn’t hurt that the sun warmed me up as well. Before I knew it I was heaving on a few nice cutthroats of my own.
Fishing was mind blowing from about 11 AM till 3 PM. Norm and I each fooled at least a dozen rising cutties into taking our dries. For me it was the size 16 Thorax Mahogany Dun. Norm was using a size 18 Pink Sparkle Dun. Of those fish, we missed a few takes but in the end landed about six beautiful cutthroat. The biggest was this thick bodied 17 incher.
I’m over missing out on Flat Creek. Honestly I’d like to sneak out there one more time this year. Regardless of when my next time will be, it won’t be years before I’m back. This little gem of a stream is far to amazing not to fish more often!
The creek is so beautiful the fish are just an amazing bonus!
I totally agree Dan!