Fishing Flies And Lures in Jackson Hole Wyoming

Flies and Lures of Jackson Hole

While Jackson Hole offers quite a variety of fishing opportunities for both the spin and fly fisherman, choice of equipment and terminal tackle need not be complex.

FLY FISHING

As in any other sport, equipment in fly fishing has evolved so that a single rod can often be fine for general fishing. Graphite has improved enough that a 9 foot rod for #5 line will work well for most fishing situations, including smaller streams.

Leader choice will also depend on the water and size of fly you’re fishing. A good rule of thumb is to divide the size of the fly by three and that will give you a good idea of the size of the tippet you should be using. For small streams a 7 foot leader will usually work fine (since you’re making short casts and only have a small amount of fly line outside of the rod tip) and you’ll be generally using a 4X tippet. Most anglers prefer a 9 foot leader for larger waters where you’ll be making longer casts and have more of the fly line outside the tip of the rod. Here again, you’ll usually, but not always, be using a 4X tippet. As with all other parts of fishing flies also evolve. Some of the newer patterns use materials that were either unavailable years ago or just weren’t thought of. One popular fly in this category is the Chernobyl Ant. Since its win in the Jackson Hole One Fly Contest, it has become a standard in many fly boxes. Other popular patterns include Dave’s Hoppers, Stimulators, Parachute Adams, Parachute Hoppers and several varieties of the Turck’s Tarantula. For wet flies, have some Muddlers, Kiwis, Beadhead Buggers, Hare’s Ear Nymphs, Beadheads and Pheasant Tails. For the larger water the Double Bunny is awesome. Size will depend on the size and character of the water. Most of the drys used will be #10-14, streamers will be #6-8 and nymphs will be #8-14, but some of the drys such as the hoppers, Chernobyls and Turck’s will be in #4 - 10. Since most anglers come with a dry line, some small non-toxic split shot will allow you to nymph fish. Streamers are best fished on a dry line also. Lake fly fishing brings about a whole new spectrum of experiences. Since you really never are positive what will happen, a lake fisherman should have floating, sink-tip and sinking lines. Fly choice will be slightly different. Kiwis, Wooly Buggers and beadhead leeches will make up many of the flies fished. Be sure to have some damselfly nymphs for many of the lakes which have weeds around the side. Be prepared with some midges, Adams, caddis and Callibaetis if there is some dry fly activity.

SPIN FISHING

For most spin fishing in this area, an ultra light rod works well. These are generally 5 to 6 feet in length with an ultra light reel filled with 4 to 6 pound line. During July, when trout in some lakes have gone deep, a trolling rig with wire line (if you need to go really deep), down riggers and trolling lures will be needed.

For general stream fishing, Panther Martins are the most popular lures. The silver bladed variety with a yellow body and red dots and also the gold bladed variety with black body and yellow dots are the two most popular colors. On the Snake and other larger waters you can also use Rapalas quite successfully. For Yellowstone Lake both gold Jake’s Spin-A-Lure and gold Thomas Cyclone will do fine. These are generally used in ounce size. Roostertails are also very popular with the brown and black bodied varieties as the best choices.

Lure size will be determined by the size of the water you’re fishing. For small waters 1/8 ounce, or smaller, will work fine. For larger rivers, such as the Snake you’ll need some 1/6 and ounce sizes.