Speaking for everyone at North Fork Anglers, I extend our very best to each and every one of you as we all enter into a new year, eager to experience the many fly fishing days that lie ahead!

Thank you all for being part of our North Fork Anglers family. In the bizarre times of today, it is a good feeling to know you have fly fishing friends all over the USA and, in fact the world, that want North Fork Anglers to be around the next time they come to NW Wyoming.

One thing is certain, my hope is that all of you feel welcome whenever you walk under our 'Leaping Neon Trout' in downtown Cody and enter the doors of North Fork Anglers.

Once inside, we will do our best to help you have your best ever day of fly fishing, whether you come in January, or any other month of the year. The area's fat, tippet smashing trout are here to be caught and released by you (and us when you're not here!) and it's our job to help you catch them, whether you ask for a guide, or want to go it alone with the trout.

For the immediate record, please take note. Midges are hatching throughout the middle of the day on the Shoshone River tail water. Water temps are in the mid 40's and the trout really respond to dries and emergers right now. This is common, believe it or not. One would expect streamers in this time of year when fishing in Cody, right?!

I mentioned midges because this Streamide edition has a special treat for you. Guy Highland has been guiding for North Fork Anglers a long time now ('97) and is well-known for his skills on the water.

A great person (known as 'Superguide' by his clients), wild trout advocate, husband, father and friend, Guy has submitted a winter fly fishing piece for you written from a guide's perspective. His writing is right on and well said. Thank you, Guy.

Please enjoy the rest of Streamside. Enjoy the rest of this year, too. May it be filled with many rod-bent days and your nets be full of fat trout.

We look forward to seeing you at North Fork Anglers as often as possible in the days ahead!

Where has the time gone? I swear it was just a few weeks ago that I was enjoying the last of the hopper action on the North Fork with some guests in October. Next thing I know, November and December had flown by and so had the chance to get out a newsletter before Christmas!

When guided trips slowed down in November, that left Chip and I to get pre-season's done and re-stocking the shop after a great 2010 season. Thank you, again, for your support with guided trips and with in-store and on-line purchases throughout the year.

2010 was a great year for fly fishing. The third year of good snowpack and runoff conditions greeted anglers with trout larger than the year before. I know this sounds like bragging, but many of you can testify 1X tippets were needed most days. The superb fishing continued right on into the fall and early winter months.

We ran more guided trips in 2010 than ever. We added 4 new Orvis Endorsed guides (Lance, Barrett, Aaron, Scott) to our outfitting operation last year, which brought our guide total to 12. With reservations coming in at a brisk clip, they went to work right away and the feed back on all North Fork Anglers guides was positive and enthusiastic.

Another great water year is forecast for 2011. Last year, I admit to panicking when the snow just kept coming in May, then June and no runoff! I thought for sure we wouldn't get boats on the water until August. As it turned out, the runoff came slower than expected, which gave us a great start to July's float trip and walk/wade season. The rest of the year was just plain awesome and would take too long to describe.

From January through December, the fly fishing was par excellence! Good water conditions make for healthy trout, no doubt. This year is going to have even bigger trout brought to the net on the North Fork of the Shoshone and Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone. Hatches are going to be awesome too.

Guided trips are already begin to fill for July-September. Many of you have already booked your dates for 2011 and that is appreciated. Float Trips are expected to go fast as everyone tries to reserve boats for the prime float months, July/August. We'll do our best to get you matched up with your guide and boat. We're just asking you don't wait too long.

Guy Highland's article will give you a good read on the excellent fly fishing found in our "off season", November through February. March-May are months that provide great fishing on most of our rivers, streams and lakes without the crowds or pressure found in summer. This is mentioned in case you have flexibility in your fishing schedule and can take a trip now, or when you want to sample all the fishing 'seasons' in Cody.

Inside the fly shop, we are bringing in all the new gear from Sage, Orvis, Winston, Ross, Lamson, Abel, Simms, Fishpond, Korkers, Redington, St. Croix, and more. The new fly rods from Orvis, Sage, St. Croix and Winston this year are
s-w-e-e-t!

Our two on-line stores are working well for us. Many of the new products are on the on-line store and in stock for your shopping convenience. Our PayPal order method works well and we are shipping most items the same day. Check us out. If you don't find what you're looking for such as Flies, fly tying materials and books, shoot us an email and let us know what you are looking for. More often than not we have it in the fly shop, but not yet on-line.

"A Tailwater Like No Other" By Guy Highland

Winter fishing in the Rocky Mountain West typically consists of nymphing a handful of overcrowded tailwaters. The Shoshone River in northwestern Wyoming offers a respite from this bobber watching hum-drum. Because a large hot spring contributes to its flow, mid-winter temperatures can be above 45 degrees! This is significantly warmer than most western tailwaters which run around 37-38 degrees. This temperature boost means that fish actively feed on dries and emergers throughout the winter. Add to that the fact the lower Shoshone receives very little pressure and you have a winter fishing paradise!

The Shoshone starts high in the Absaroka Mountains along the eastern border of Yellowstone National Park. Its North and South Forks come together at Buffalo Bill Reservoir near Cody, Wyoming. While the North Fork has been depicted in a previous article (see The North Fork of the Shoshone: The other side of Yellowstone July 2002), this article will concern itself with the tailwater or "Lower Shoshone" as it is called by locals.

The Shoshone is smaller than most well known western tailwaters. Winter flows run between 150 and 450 cfs. This is a mere trickle compared to winter destinations like the Bighorn, the Green, the San Juan, or Lees Ferry. The river's size and character make it very fishable on foot or from a boat or raft. Its makeup runs the gamut from deep pools and eddies; classic riffle-run; swift pocket water and "lakey" flats. The stream bottom is comprised of cobble, solid rock ledges and silt. Much of this structure is weed covered. Moss, grass and watercress provide a haven for the multitude of invertebrates that make for fast growing chunky trout. While weeds annoy some anglers, keep in mind that Shoshone trout require weeds for cover and a food source. If you're not in the weeds, you're not in the fish!

When most of my clients hear that we will be floating through town, they think of urban fishing: i.e. "smokestacks and sewer pipes." In Cody, this could not be further from the truth. Keep in mind, Cody with a population less than 10,000 is no metropolis. In fact, even if it were, most of the river runs through a secluded canyon. For the first mile of float below the Belfry Bridge one can see the occasional residential or commercial structure. From then on, all you see and hear are sipping trout and singing reels.

Don't forget to look up on occasion or you will miss the abundant wildlife. One can see mule deer, whitetails, wild horses, beaver, otter and muskrat. Bird watchers can glimpse eagles, hawks, falcons, ospreys, herons, kingfishers, songbirds and waterfowl. The Shoshone is truly a hidden oasis.

The Shoshone is home to approximately 2000 trout per mile. It boasts 3 subspecies of Wyoming cutthroat. Depending on the stretch I'm guiding, one may catch Snake River, Bonneville or Yellowstone cutthroat. Browns and Rainbows also call this river home and are part of the day's catch. Most of the trout are in the 10-18 inch range with the occasional fish topping 20 inches or more.

River flows reach permanent winter levels around the middle of October, when irrigation demands stop. Flows can vary from year to year depending on reservoir levels and snowpack predictions. Like fall on all rivers, this is a transitional period. With the dropping flows fish move from the watercress choked banks into deeper runs and pockets. They see fewer big bugs and start keying on smaller mayflies and midges.
There are also occasional hatches of fall caddis. Beadheads, like the copper John and local favorite Wade's North Fork special, fished below a royal trude or Turks tarantula produce as prospecting rigs throughout October. In October one can still catch fish on hoppers on warmer days!

Mild cloudy days in November produce thick hatches of BWOs. These occur midday and range in size from 18-22. The best patterns include parachute olives, CDC sparkle duns and snowshoe duns. During this mayfly hatch period, it is not unusual to see pods of good sized fish rising steadily. If these fish prove wise to your dry fly, they can often be caught on an emerger.

By December, the BWO hatches have largely tapered off. Upward looking trout now focus on midges. The most activity occurs during the warmest part of the day, usually from 11:00 to 3:00. As with BWOs, cloudy and even wet days make for the thickest hatches with the most heads up.

Standard cluster patterns like renegades and Griffith's gnats work on occasion but I much prefer single adult patterns like a parachute midge emerger or a Morgan's midge. My floating paliminos and low rider midges can prove deadly on these fickle winter sippers.

When mid-winter (December/January) trout are not actively rising or taking shallow pupae, nymphing is the name of the game. As with the dries at this time of the year, think light and small. I recommend 5x leaders for nymphing. I will also tie on year 'round food sources such as scuds, sow bugs, aquatic worms and leaches. Deep runs, pour overs and inside seams are the best bets for winter nymphing. However, because the Shoshone runs warmer than your average tailwater, anglers often catch fish in faster, shallower water than expected.

If fish are not visibly feeding, or seem downright picky on the lower Shoshone, you can bet that I'll be tying on a woolly bugger or other streamer fly for my clients. Most trout guides, when asked to pick one fly for life, chose a black bugger. This is especially true on the Shoshone. "Chuck and duck" fishing is especially deadly in October, November and early December, when the browns are most aggressive. Sinking lines are not necessary.

By mid February air and water temperatures warm enough for BWOs to make their spring appearance. The spring BWOs are larger in size (16-18) than those seen in the fall and emerge in greater numbers. On cloudy days, when the mercury rises above freezing, one can experience an epic hatch.

March on the Shoshone provides the best match-the-hatch fishing of the year. This 'Spring' hatch seems to garner much more attention by anglers and can result in some finicky trout, which requires smarter fisherman response. One remedy I discovered on a windy day on the river was to fish a soft hackle under a tiny indicator or dry fly.
The trout would not touch my dries or even high riding natural duns.

Upon further inspection, I found some fish sipping cripples where they had blown into an eddy. I greased a soft hackle and caught a 16" cutt on my first cast. I've since developed what I call my "blow-down dun." It is basically a buoyant, grey soft hackle tied on a light wire hook.

No matter the season, the key to success on the Shoshone is flexibility. You can sometimes "force-feed" the fish your favorite fly, but isn't it easier to play the game the fish are playing? I love to float the river with 3 or 4 rods strung and ready to fish. That way one can fish according to the activity and water type. When fish are rising, the choice is obvious. When we come to a good inside bend, we go deep. When we want to hustle down the river, we throw streamers. There are so many ways to catch fish on the Shoshone that it boils down to a matter of style. If fishing dries on an unknown river in the dead of winter suits your style, the Shoshone may be your next favorite river.