Fishing Reports

Saturday, February 8th, Fly Tying Demo with Wes Ashcraft

I work for the City of Pocatello in the “clean” Water Department. I fish for “fun”! I like to find different water and different species especially with my wife and daughter. I tie flies that are simple and catch fish, I love Stillwater, fishing the Snake (not American Falls), but really love a good creek!    I started fly fishing because I got tired of putting worms on my wife’s hooks, naturally she always caught more fish than me!  We fish primarily still water on pontoon boats or from our small boat, but enjoy a nice river or creek now & then.  My wife bought me a fly tying kit for Christmas one year & just started tying flies.  I find fly patterns off the Internet, demos, expos, & YouTube. Social media has also been a great source of reference for me & has helped me connect with some great local people.  Some of the tiers that have influenced me along the way are Collin Carlson, “Wild” Bill Schiess, Shawn Bostic, Aileen Lane, the Fly Fish Food guys, & Gary Barnes.  One of my fondest memories was catching my first fish on a fly I tied myself; now thinking back that must have been the dumbest fish ever!    The flies I will be tying are a variety of my favorite flies, mostly used on still water, but some that I use on systems.

Saturday, February 1st Fly Tying Demo with Tom Provost

Tom was born in Fresno, CA in 1968. At age 12, he took his first fly tying class at the Royal Coachman Fly Shop in Fresno. That began more than 40 years of fly tying and fly fishing addiction. A week never passed without tying a fly for 30 Years.

 Tom has fished, guided and tied flies for Trout and Steelhead in CA and Oregon, Trout, Char, Grayling, Salmon, Pike and Halibut in AK and Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit and Barracuda in the Cayman Islands.  For the last four years Tom returned to the Trout Fishing I cut my teeth on. Now he fishes, guides and ties flies for the Madison River, Yellowstone Park, all area lakes and the Henry’s Fork, Teton and South Fork of the Snake River.

With the materials and innovations now in fly tying, our options as creators of natural, life-like Trout food designs are unlimited. Tom will be talking about fly design and how to effectively fish to bring life to your fly!

For my demo at Jimmy’s Tom will be tying “Trout Spey” flies. He I uses these flies with a “Micro Spey” rod. He will discuss and demonstrate how to use marabou, rabbit, hair, weight and other items to design and tie flies for specific purposes.

Saturday, January 25th Fly Tying Demo with Scott Sanchez

Scott Sanchez began tying flies at age 12. As a youth in Utah he offered his first of many fly tying workshops. He has worked in the fly fishing industry for decades, and is now the manager of JD High Country Outfitters in Jackson. He is also a member of the Scott Rods Pro Staff. Scott has written articles and sold photos internationally, and his photos have won regional and national awards.  His books include Introduction to Salt Water Fly Tying, The Never Ending Stream, and A New Generation of Trout Flies.  In 2007, he received the Arnold Gingrich Lifetime Achievement Award for literature from the Fly Fishers International and in 2010 he was their recipient of the Buz Busek award for contributions to the fly tying world. Scott has been a featured guide on national TV programs. He is considered one of the most innovative fly tiers in the world. During the annual Jackson Hole One Fly he is in high demand for his ultimately effective flies. He has decades of experience fishing around the world but especially in the Greater Yellowstone area. It has been nearly a decade since Scott’s last tying demo at Jimmy’s. At the upcoming demo he will likely offer new patterns he has created since that event.

Saturday, January 18th Fly Tying Demo with Tom Hipp

Tom comes from the upper region of South Carolina.  He is an electrical engineer at the INL where he has worked for 32 years.  He has been blessed to fish some of the premier streams in the world.  These include the Eglington, Brooks, Matura, Bow, and Naknek.  However, the local rivers and lakes of Idaho and Montana offer some of the most fascinating opportunities.  He will gladly share some of the simple patterns and techniques that have proven very effective for him and his wife, Susan.  The audience can express interest in whether they would like to see an 8” articulated leach or a #24 baetis.  Typically, Susan and Tom fish #16s to #24s on local waters.

Saturday, January 11th Fly Tying Demo with Mike Glissmeyer

Michael Glissmeyer grew up in a little town called Pine Valley, Utah.  He lived just minutes from the reservoir and spent every chance he had riding his bike with his fly rod gripped over the handle bars up the 4 mile road to chase trout. It wasn’t long before he wanted to follow his father into the world of fly tying.  At ten years old he had started selling flies at the local lodge.  A few renegades, damsel patterns, and woolly buggers were stuck into a piece of paper titled “Pine Valley Reservoir flies”.  A few years later he moved with his family to Southeast Idaho and the rivers he grew up fishing on family vacations.  A lot has changed since those days on the reservoir but his passion for the sport remains the same.  Michael has what some may call an “addiction” to tying and throwing big streamers which has become his main tying focus.  He has demonstrated his tying skills at events including the Eastern Idaho Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo and that popular evening get-together called Tie One On. He also does fly-fishing destination presentations based on his broad experience fishing regional waters. Mike currently resides in Idaho Falls with his wife and daughter and you can find him running Idaho Fishing Outfitters Shop on Highway 20 just north of Rigby.

Saturday, January 4th Fly Tying Demo with Todd Lanning

Todd grew up on a farm in Melba, Idaho and learned at age nine to fly fish from his grandfather.  He spent almost every summer as a kid with his aunt and uncle in Hamilton, Montana on the banks of the Bitterroot River.  Here he fell in love with Rocky Mountain fly fishing.  Todd served his country with the Marines; beginning soon after high school.    He is a veteran of the Gulf War, Somalia, and the L.A. Riots.  Todd returned to Idaho after his service and took a guiding job for Headwater Outfitters in Ketchum, Idaho.  Years ago Todd spent two years managing the fishing department at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Idaho Falls where he was responsible for one million dollars in inventory.  Next he managed at South Fork Outfitters. Having worked for Mile Lawson at Henry’s Fork Anglers for over a decade is a dream come true and gives Todd further detailed expertise on fishing not only the Henry’s Fork but all quality regional waters. This array of experience, along with many years as a fly tier,  make Todd able to demonstrate and suggest flies for all seasons on local waters.  He is in demand to demonstrate his fly tying skills and to present his experiences on regional waters at fly-fishing events throughout the country.  During his demo Todd will surely have new patterns since his last demo at Jimmy’s in 2015.