The Latest from Our World
Late August, 2010
Hank and I are just back from our last mountain trip of the season. Jim is still out. The mountains have finally dried out and it has seemed like summer, although we have already had a few frosts. Hank and I found the golden trout fishing tough on the last trip. They just didn't appear to be there (we know they were). Still caught some fish in the 18" range. We saw beautiful country in perfect shape. Hoppers are still heavy in the Lander area and fishing is great! It has cooled off some and water temps should start to drop, which helps the fish and makes them more active in the middle of the day. Come join us this fall.
August 8, 2010
Just back from a week trip. Don't know if I have ever seen the mountains as beautiful. ALL the flowers are out and the bugs aren't as bad as many say. We've had quite a few thunderstorms and I think that has knocked them back a bit. The boletas mushrooms should be coming up soon! Reports around town say the fishing is fantastic! Lots of hoppers and the water levels are staying up! Hank and I just had a cancellation for late August, so now have from the 20th free for day fishing or a mountain trip. Enjoy the rest of the summer.
July 22, 2010
Early season fishing in the high Winds has been utterly spectacular! When you can't even fathom how many fish you caught, that says something. Water levels are still high but dropping and the mosquito levels are impressive. Not, however, of Alaska proportions. Lowland waters are still higher than is optimal, but clear. August should be exceptional. Still look for lots of hoppers. This also speaks well to our fall fishing. Jim, Hank and I still have spots available for September. Jim also has a few days for day fishing throughout the rest of the summer. Don't forget to have fun!
Late June, 2010
The floods are over in Lander! Local rivers peaked on June 8, with considerable flooding in our area, with more of the same in Saratoga and Laramie. Rivers are now down by half, but are still running quite high. I would predict fishable water around July 4. We have finally had a turn toward summer with really pleasant temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's. Everything is really green on the East side of the Winds. Should bode well for a great summer of fishing. Paula has been taking all the precautions for her garden. She is on the warpath over hoppers......looks like it might be one of those years. Time to get out fishing!
June, 2010
Well, the rivers are sure flowing full in the Landiego area. And they're likely to come up more. Both Boysen and Yellowtail Dams in the Bighorn drainage are dumping water in anticipation of more. Our snow pack on the east side of the Winds is in the 150% range, and it has risen to over 90% on the Green River side. Flowers are out in force on the flanks of the Winds. Sure does seem like we'll have plenty of water for late in the summer. Anyone going into the mountains should anticipate heavy mosquitos from the middle of July into early August.
May 14, 2010
Wow! Lander had 3.25 inches of moisture in the form of snow and rain and various snotel sites in the mountains measured more than three feet of snow. The Wind River Drainage is now showing a 135% snowpack, and the Green River Drainage is at 73%. The Wind River out of Boysen is flowing at 2300 cfs and most of the drainages in Wyoming (except for the Snake and Yellowstone) are near or above average for their snowpacks now. Yes, again it is spring in Wyoming! Runoff will start in earnest next week when the highs are predicted to be in the 70's.
May 2010
Another snow day in the Wyoming spring! Our spring weather has hardly been consistent. We have had only a few of what I would call a "Wyoming blue sky day." This is reflected in the snow pack on the Wind River side of the Range. Today we are showing a 98% snowpack, with Togwottee Pass coming in at 80% and South Pass at 89%. Many other snotel values are above 100%, with the one right above Lander at the highest for the range at 140%. The Green River side of the range is showing an overall snowpack of 58%. Who snows what it is really like along the Continental Divide? Don't plan on early trips from the East side! Bureau of Reclamation has recently increased the flow of the Wind into Wind River Canyon to 1600 cfs, and Bull Lake Creek is now at 70 cfs. As soon as we get some weather in the 70's our local streams will be experiencing runoff with levels too high to fish pleasantly. Those with dams, as always, will be OK. Most people have been reporting quite good fishing in the Lander area, with even a few fish on caddis and March brown dries. The bluebirds are starting to nest and we even have reports of a few hummingbirds (the'll be cold today!). Not many flowers, other than a scattering of buttercups, have come up along the slopers of the Winds. Kind weather in the 50's and 60's and lack of wind will bring everyone, including the bike riders, out.
April 2010
What a difference a month makes in Wyoming! We went from a cold and snowy winter to a cold and snowy spring! The West side of the Winds is showing a 62% snowpack, where our side (the East) is now showing 97%. Much of that is on the southern end. Imagine that! Fortunately, Paula and I were in the Bahamas when most of that snow fell. Hank has been fishing locally and reports excellent results. The Wind (Bighorn) River is flowing at 700 cfs and is very fishable in Wind River Canyon and below at Thermopolis. The locals are going crazy for some real spring and we do notice the signs--bluebirds, marmots, and prarie dogs are certainly around. The grass will certainly be green when it warms up. Jim Ferguson has returned from another winter in Chile and reports it was one of the best ever. He did some scouting on a new river which seemed perfect after perusing his photos. Happy Spring!
March 2010
Hank Hunker has just returned from the Bahamas after plenty of fishing adventures. See his bonefishing video. We could all use a little of this after a long, cold winter here in Wyoming. Snowpack levels are light in the Wind River Range. Most values are in the 50 to 60% range, except in the Lander area which is in the 70% range. Without wopping big spring moisture, we can anticipate low water levels in August and maybe fewer mosquitos in the mountains in July.
2009 In Review
After an above normal spring snowfall, we continued with a wet and cool early summer, producing profuse flowers and mosquitos. August was a bit drier but also cool, which led to a September which was dry and 
more like August should have been. We really didn't have a significant snowfall in all of September. Then October hit and found us with major snows and the streams in the low country running more full than anytime in recent history. Lander has recorded almost four more inches of precipitation than is normal for this time of year. Fishing was quite good wherever Hank, Jim, and I went. We got quite a few last minute bookings for mountain trips, which Jim took care of. We did very little guided fishing in the lowlands around Lander due to our busy schedules in the mountains. And that is way too bad because there was an incredible hopper hatch and the old browns were really on the take. We heard tons of great hopper stories. When we did slow down in September, it lived up to the billing. The Hunker family including Paula and all three children (Louisa 28, Molly 26, and Hank 24) took off for Alaska the last two weeks of August and had a wonderful eleven day backpack adventure in the Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic National Park, part of the Brooks Range. It wasn't exactly a fishing expedition, but it was an awesome escapade, especially considering the years of wear and tear on Paula and myself.
It has been a typical fall with fine weather interspersed with snow storms. We have managed to fish a bunch locally especially the little mayflies on the Bighorn at Thermopolis. It is so fun to work at catching big slurping pigs on tiny dry flies! Hank has been working the nymphs locally. The favorite is a tiny Hare's Ear with a pink chenille thorax (I think it could resemble a nymph with a whitefish egg in it's mouth). He tells me of the numerous twenty inch browns and rainbows he lands. Jim Ferguson has again headed down to Chile for the winter. This year he has left his niece Anna Ferguson in charge of his house in Lander. He and Anna did all their mountain trips together, and they have made a good team.This was Anna's second season working with Jim. Anna has grown up in Sweden and this is her first year away from home and on her own.
2009 Season Outlook
It is springtime in Wyoming, and you know what
that means. Yes, it is more like winter than spring. In early April we
have now had five snowstorms in about two weeks (all concentrating on
the Lander end of the Wind Rivers). Our snowpack was very thin through
the winter, but now the eastern side of the Winds is almost all
slightly above normal. The only exception is the Sweetwater Drainage
which is now about 80%. The Green River side of the Winds is also
sitting around 100%. What does this mean? It means a late spring in the
mountains.....don't think about trips until very late June or early
July (especially up to timberline). This also bodes well for our small
streams like the branches of the Popo Agie. I am looking for our
highest runoff in late May or early June and for local streams to be in
fishable condition by late June.We are very pleased to see two seasons
in a row with adequate water. This is particularly beneficial to our
small streams, which suffered heavily through eight years of drought.
Dam releases on the upper Bighorn (around Thermopolis) should be good.
The Wind River will have plenty of water in it and will be dirty from
now until probably late July.
2008
For those of you who love to peruse this website for our secrets,
here it is! What do you think of this golden caught by Hank Hunker this
summer in the Winds? Needless to say we had a great summer. There was
an 
incredible snowpack which made trips, even in late June,
problamatic. It did make for a beautiful season and lots of adventure.
We had flowers and mosquitos your wouldn't believe. Hank and I were
particularly busy and we only went to the same place twice. We did a 12
day trip with llamas that we hadn't done before and was particularly
adventure-filled (like swimming 10 llamas across a large river).Overall it was a cool, dry summer. The fishing held up well,
although we did have some smoke from fires late in the season. We
managed a short snowstorm on the 15th of August.
We didn't fish much in the Lander area until the fall. Streams in our area didn't really get fishable until mid-July and steadily fell until September. It was a cool summer in the valley too, with no days in the 100's. Streams fell low enough that it was very helpful for trout to have these cooler temperatures. Fall fishing has been quite good when we don't fish one spot too heavily. We have seen lots of nice browns. The Bighorn at Thermop has had it's fine fall trico and baetis fishing, which will continue into November. October 12 saw a snowfall of about 2 feet which will bring our waters a "fresh" which will serve them well through the winter.
I've been enjoying tying on a soft hackle on almost every rig I use, including tiny trico and baetis. If you haven't used a soft hackle, tie one on above your first knot (just using a short piece of tippet and tying it direct to the leader with a clinch knot). You'll be surprised how many fish take the soft hackle.
Have you seen Hank's video on Bonefishing in the Bahamas? March,2010.
A profile of George appeared on the Audubon Wyoming website, 2010.
Check out the article about us in the "April 2006 Angling Report" on one of our 2005 trips.
•Read our most recent newsletter (pdf).
•Read about Jim Ferguson in "High-Desert Browns" — a reprint of the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of American Angler (1MB in pdf)
•Read about us in "The Angling Report" — a reprint of the November 2004 issue (800KB in pdf)
