WFS 269 – A Guide to Yellowstone Fly Fishing with Bruce Staples

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/269

Bruce Staples walks us through Yellowstone fly fishing – get more familiar with the country, backcountry, and high country fishing by digging into his books about the Yellowstone where he covered most of the significant waters that you should try fishing today.

We talk about how imitating an insect in each water area would be effective for increasing your chance to catch that fish – plus the tips and strategy on how not to spook the fish and using the current to get a natural drift.

Yellowstone Fly Fishing Show Notes with Bruce Staples

03:20 – Bruce wrote his first book called, Snake River Flies and Waters, published by Frank Amato in 1992

03:39 – Frank Amato was on the podcast at WFS 113

05:06 – Bruce wrote 6 books in total – 3 was published by Frank and 3 by Stackpole

05:43 – The book Fly Fishing the Greater Yellowstone Backcountry was published in 2017 by Stackpole

08:29 – In the book, Bruce talks about some of the water bodies like Fall River Basin, Shoshone Lake, Upper Slough Creek, and Heart Lake Basin – click here to see more

9:12 – Get more familiar with the Slough Creek in the backcountry book – how to get there, what to do when you get there, who to talk to, and the best time to fish there

14:55 – A strategy when fishing early in the season

19:43 – The Yellow Sally as Bruce describes

21:24 – The Wooly Bugger is one of Bruce’s favorite flies during the early season (July) or anything that imitates a dragonfly nymph

23:08 – Bruce describes his experience fishing in the Beckler River

24:11 – The Leisenring lift explained

24:50 – James Leisenring was the guy who introduced the Leisenring technique – he was a fly fisherman who wrote books about fly fishing and one of which was The Art of Tying the Wet Fly & Fishing the Flymph

25:52 – Bruce mentioned Harley Reno who was a doctor/biologist, guide, and a fly tying instructor – unfortunately, he passed away early this year

31:00 – Bruce talks about fishing in the Fall River Basin 

35:40 – Bruce tells the story of how he met Bob Jacklin

37:38 – In his new book, Fly Fishing West Yellow Stone, Bruce talked about the history of Bob Jacklin, Craig Matthews, Bob Willy, etc.

45:23 – Bruce’s favorite wet fly is the Peacock Leech

46:10 – When it comes to streamer fishing, he particularly likes Soft Hackle

46:46 – In still waters, he uses a fly that imitates a damselfly (or a dragonfly nymph if it’s the early season)

56:54 – Bruce also talked about how to behave around the wildlife in his Backcountry book

Yellowstone Fly Fishing Conclusion with Bruce Staples

Bruce Staples walks us through Yellowstone fly fishing with a focus on the backcountry. Bruce has a number of great books about the Yellowstone Country. Click the link below and listen to the full Yellowstone Podcast!

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/269