Journal

Explore The Journal

After years of journaling my days fly fishing the Greater Yellowstone region, I realized the value this information could bring other anglers. In the journal, I tell the story of my fishing trips and go into detail on what techniques worked for me. I detail the weather, water types, flies, and other important information that led to my success or failure. I go over what I learned from the trip and pose questions about what I left the water curious about. 

Fishing an alpine lake.

Fishing a Backcountry Lake

Fishing a backcountry lake is one of the most unique experiences one can have in fly fishing. The time and effort that goes into these trips is often worth the solitude and beautiful views.    My fiance and I went on our first summer hike to an alpine lake this July. It was an adventure that inspired me to recap our trip and what goes into fishing the backcountry.  /*! elementor – v3.22.0 – 26-06-2024

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The salmonfly hatch

Spring Recap 2024

You rarely know what to expect when fishing the spring months in the Greater Yellowstone Region. Full of excitement for wet wading and dry flies, I catch myself pushing summer fishing during spring conditions. I fished a few watersheds before their prime this spring, which led to these trips failing to meet expectations. On the other hand, this spring brought some surprisingly good days for many fisheries. In this article, I share the ups and

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Early morning ladder fishing at Pyramid Lake

Fishing On Ladders – Pyramid Lake Fishing Recap

I could never have imagined the fishing trips fly fishing would take me on when I first picked up a fly rod. Driving twelve hours to stand on a ladder and fish for the biggest cutthroat in the world was a trip I never saw coming.  Since 2019, my friend Lane and I have traveled to Pyramid Lake to fish for the enormous cutthroat that inhabits its waters. Each trip comes with its own challenges,

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Fly fishing the backcountry of Montana

More About Me

It has been about a year since I started The Curious Angler. The Curious Angler is a fly fishing blog where I share what I learn fishing in the Yellowstone region. I still can’t believe it, but a few people read and keep up with my articles and content. It means the world to me, and I have enjoyed the first year of The Curious Angler.    With a year gone by, I wanted to

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Winter Fishing in Montana

Winter Fishing Recap 2024

Winter fishing in the Yellowstone region is special. Little fishing pressure, happy trout, and snowy landscapes make it a peaceful time to fish the region. This winter was no different. In this article,  I recap the winter fishing season from my perspective. I share my setup, what I learned, and what left me curious.   Winter Fishing in Yellowstone 2024 In the fall fishing recap, I shared the epic dry fly days I experienced in November.

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Hooked up to a fish on the Madison River

A Letter To My Future Self

To My Future Self, It is 6:40 am on February 10th, 2024. I’m sitting in a small cabin at the base of the Beartooth Mountains in Red Lodge, Montana. Kameron and I are spending the weekend snowshoeing and celebrating our ninth anniversary. It snowed six inches last night, and Kenai (our Siberian Husky) looks forward to a full day of playing in the snow.    I got an urge to write a letter to you,

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Fly Fishing Yellowstone

End of Year Blog Review (2023)

2023 was a crazy year in my life for many reasons. One of the best things to come out of this year was having the courage to start this blog, The Curious Angler.    In this article, I go over the status of The Curious Angler, how I feel about it, and my goals going forward. I hope this gives you a better perspective on why I started it and my success measures. I greatly

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DJL Drake Fly Pattern

Fly Tying the Green Drake (Part Two)

Fly Tying a Green Drake I am experimenting with a few green drake patterns before tying a drake box for the summer. This is part two of my series documenting my successes, failures, and learnings fly tying the green drake.    Check out part one for my first round of patterns.    I started out challenging myself with hair wing, tilt wing, and hackle stacker flies. It’ll take much more practice to get confident with

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Westslope Cutthroat Trout

Favorite Fish of 2023

Favorite Fish of 2023 While the fish are just a part of what I enjoy about fly fishing, they do make days on the water more memorable. Between the friends on the water, beautiful sunrises, and nights on the vise, some memorable fish were caught this year. While scrolling through the pictures, it was hard to choose a select few that made this year unforgettable. Here are a few of my favorite fish of 2023

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Fly tying a green drake.

Fly Tying a Green Drake (Part One)

As the snow starts to fall here in Bozeman (finally), my mindset has shifted to the vise. While I get out on the water a few times in December, I usually spend more time on the vise as I visit family and reflect on my year fly fishing in Yellowstone country.    I have had a fascination the last few weeks with big mayflies. After experiencing some unbelievable drake hatches this year, I can finally

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Fall brown trout.

Fall Fishing Recap 2023

What a beautiful fall we had here fishing in the Greater Yellowstone Region. As I write this during Thanksgiving week, we have no snow on the ground. This time last year the rivers were frozen and I was ice fishing. When I got out last weekend it was 50 degrees and the baetis hatch was strong. Funny how different it can be year to year. While I am looking forward to snow, I’m not complaining about

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Dry fly fishing an alpine lake.

A Few Things I’m Grateful For

I’m feeling blessed this evening and thought I’d share a few of the many things I am grateful for in my life as Thanksgiving approaches.    I’m grateful for wild trout in cold rivers.  The people who are passionate about protecting our rivers and lakes.  The many fly fishermen who have taught and grown this sport.  I’m grateful to live in the Greater Yellowstone Region.  The old truck that gets me river to river.  The

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