In Wyoming, summer has now reached it's apex. The days are long and often hot. The grass is deep and the deer are sleek because of it. Life is slower now, easier and without the edge winter brings on its icy shoulders. Summer in Wyoming is pastoral except for when rain clouds organize from perfectly clear skies. Soon massive roiling thunderheads send flashes of brilliant white light into the mountains and roll thunder out into the grasslands. After the storm, the winds die quickly. After an afternoon storm, the sun soon pops out to ride a blue sky. If the storm rumbles through at night, stars soon shine brightly in an atmosphere cleansed by the storm. In either case, the only reminder of the storm are tiny flashes of light on the horizon and the rich smell of ozone in the now humid air. It is then that you can hear the earth exhale while the plants drink from the rains. Life is good, life is easy... it's summer.
For the angler, life is easier too and all on the surface if you want it. While baetis, pmd's and caddis hatch during these months, it's the big bugs that make this time of year special. Hoppers, cicadas, crickets, damselflies, beetles and other assorted huge arthropods fatten the summer trout. The biggest trout take up the best lies next to cutbanks or in the shadows of the willows. Here, they can remain hidden, but can also snatch any big bug that is blown from the tall bankside grasses or falls from the bushes. The trout are not shy in grabbing these protein-rich offerings and their imitations. The take on a big bug is violent and thrilling. These moments with big flies and big trout ARE summer for a trout fisherman in Wyoming.
What follows is a multi-part series presenting big days with big bugs for big trout. I'll post them as they occur. I hope you enjoy them. Next is Part 2.
