Wyoming Trip

This one was from last summer, and in Wyoming, but I still think it's worth adding to the Mt. Hood fishing blog. See, my parents are doctors, and they had a medical conference in Jackson Hole. I flipped out when I first heard this, as Jackson Hole has some of the most legendary fishing in the country. However, the conference would take so much time up that I would be lucky to get even a few casts in, much to my chagrin. Despite the circumstances, I still packed my rod and an assortment of lures, hoping to get an opportunity to fish in one of the nearby lakes and rivers.

The Tetons...I think....

Not sure if I should eat this.

The first place I tried was Jenny Lake. This place pissed me off because you could see dozens of native Cutthroat schooling near the boat dock, the one place you couldn't fish. Grumbling about a 20 incher I saw rise to a floating leaf, I headed off past the legal 100yd zone and tried casting from shore. I tried a Gulp! Alive Minnow, severely pushing the regulations, and caught nothing. The lake was absolutely gorgeous, but that doesn't matter unless you're catching fish.

Jenny Lake in all of its frustrating glory

Snags always seem to happen when the fishing is bad

M

After that little escapade, I put on a small white jig and tried a legal stretch of the river below the bridge. As you might guess, I did just as "well" as I did while fishing at the lake.

  

The next day, I tried fishing Jenny Lake once more, with the same number of strikes as the previous days. As you might begin to guess by now, I was beginning to get more than a little fed up with this track record. I mean, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is worse than getting skunked at a world class fishing destination. That's like getting to pitch at a Yankees game and having your muscles get paralyzed right before. Considering the sanitation services at Yankee Stadium, that is a serious risk. But I was starting to worry. Our time in this beautiful state was running out, fast. I needed to catch a fish.

Finally, when all hope seemed lost, we decided to rent a canoe at Jenny Lake in the hope that fishing on the lake would be more productive. When we headed to the dock, it was super crowded, but we managed to rent a canoe in short order and were soon off on the water. As we passed the schools of cutthroat, I felt tempted to drop my panther martin off the side, but sportsmanship and the forest ranger nearby kept my lines out of the water. Once we passed the buoy marking the legal fishing zone, I let my line a good distance behind the boat, and we began fishing. Of course, my parents were rowing way too fast, but I was able to slow them down. Several minutes after starting the troll, my rod began to bounce a little. I reeled up until a flash of gold was seen deep down in the clear water. Excited now, I continued to battle the fish until it was exhausted and I could lift it into the boat for a picture.

The Lake Trout went around 24 inches, small for a lake trout but not bad for this particular lake. At least that's what I heard. Thankful that this trip to Wyoming was not all for naught, I felt satisfied enough to return to shore right then and there. (Really what happened was a massive, sudden thunderstorm, but I was still pretty satisfied)