Thoughts on the 2021 Guide Season- Covid, early water forecast & pre-bookings

Wow, in nearly a blink of eye, we are heading full steam into another Spring season with our peak summer season looming before too long. We hate to see time fly by so quickly, yet it sure is nice to have 2020 in our rear view mirror. For our business we couldn’t have been more fortunate. A strong community covid plan combined with a high demand for outdoor recreation meant we were one of the lucky businesses coming out of 2020, yet the stress and uncertainties were real and we feel tremendously grateful to have had a safe and successful season. Thank you to all who visited and made 2020 more bearable and a special thank you to all our frontline and health care workers everywhere!

So far, 2021 doesn’t feel too different other than we know much more of what to expect and unless things change drastically in the coming weeks, we should continue to see things improve on all levels. We will be keeping our standard covid practices in place until the local authorities say it is unnecessary (likely not until 2022). Expect mask use while riding with our guides (on longer duration trips, following the guide might be the best practice) and a good face covering is recommended while fishing from the boat, ie buffs, sun protection gaiters. Our fly shop and office will be open to the public but will have limited capacity, so please respect these directives.

To touch on our water outlook it is basically way too early to tell but the good news is we are at exactly 100% as of March 6, 2021. The storms of February saved us from what at times in late January looked to be a catastrophic winter. If we can manage an average spring level of precipitation we expect to have a nice water season for 2021. I will note that in the last week the snow has stopped abruptly and the trend is for a warm March. As we have seen in past years, our surplus can move the needle to dry relatively quickly, fingers crossed we get a few wet storms in April/May too.

Our ice fishing trips were a huge hit this past winter, in fact we are still going! Current ice on our private access is nearly 3′ so we expect to run well into April if desired. Currently, the Snake River is beginning to turn on and when this happens most of our visiting angler’s thoughts turn to fly fishing the rivers. We do love our fly fishing and the amazing opportunity for early season dry fly fishing, but make no mistake the ice fishing has been a real treat to provide such an exclusive service to our valued guests. If you have never been ice fishing, look us up and give it try. A very unique and fun experience.

Our pre-bookings for the summer are trending at or slightly above the 3-5 year average. There is no doubt we should be busy and my suggestion to anyone thinking of fly fishing in Jackson Hole with an experienced guide, wether with our staff or another outfitter is to book sooner than you might expect or have in the past. We see year after year an incredible surge right around the Fourth of July, before that it is hit or miss and still somewhat weather and runoff dependent. From July until about the third week in September it is difficult to book a guide less than a week or two out. I would recommend 4-5 weeks or as soon as you know your travel plans.

This is going to be another exciting fishing season and we cannot express enough how honored we are to have you visit our home valley and to come fish with our guide staff, thank you from all of us and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Tight Lines and Best Fishes~

Scott Smith and GTFF Staff