Imagine my surprise when I saw one of our fellow Mississippi outdoorsmen, John David Santi, on Facebook displaying a trout at Teton Valley Lodge in Idaho recently.

He confirmed that he was guiding for Teton Valley Lodge this summer after graduating from Ole Miss back in the spring.

It just so happened that I was going to be in the area a few days while vacationing at Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I don’t usually fish while on vacation with family, as I do that year-round.

John David, however, invited me to spend a day on the water with him and my wife Kathy insisted.

Imagine that!

I’m an avid bass angler, Bass Pro Staff Team Member, casting instructor, part time guide and former tournament competitor and we have some of the best fishing in the country right here at home.

I’ve been disappointed many times while fishing with “guides” in other states so I usually don’t do it. But in this case, I just couldn’t pass up a trout fishing trip with this talented young angler.

My only hesitation about the trip was that we were going to use fly fishing equipment to catch the trout. Now, I did use a flyrod as a teenager to catch bream and small bass, but I hadn’t fished with one since then and that was too many years ago to count.

Fly fishing for trout might be a stretch, but I decided to give it a whirl.

After launching our boat on the Teton River, we started fishing and it didn’t take long for me to catch my first brook trout.

In fact, with a little instruction from the young master trout guide, I picked it up quickly. Almost all the fish were positioned in the current along eddies or near overhanging willows and steeper outer banks.

Although the river had dropped significantly since his last excursion, Santi knew where the trout would be positioned from prior experience.

Calling the shot

Santi told me to cast just upstream of an overhanging willow, so I gently whipped the rod toward the willows and the fly lit in just the right spot.

“You’re going to catch one right there,” Santi said. “Let it float right by that willow.”

“Wham!” A brook trout smashed my fly and dove for the bottom like it was a tiny torpedo. It was nip and tuck as the battle wore on, but I finally brought him into Santi’s waiting net. We took a couple of pictures and released him to grow some more so another angler could feel the thrill again, too.

Santi had called the shot and he was right on the money! In fact, almost every spot he targeted brought a strike or fish. Since I’m not trout fishermen Santi supplied the equipment, flies and knowledge. Ironically, I never lost a fist after I got them hooked and that’s a rare thing indeed.

Moose alert

“There’s a moose,” Kathy said!

Sure enough, we spotted two bull moose as we rounded the river bend. The largest bull was standing in water up to his bellow munching on willow branches. Another moose was on the bank munching out, too.

We watched in awe as we floated nearby while snapping a few pictures. The monstrous bull moose didn’t pay us any attention until we got a little too close for comfort and then he snorted and moved towards us. Santi hit the oars and rowed us out of harms way. The other moose crashed into the water and followed the first one across the river bend as they moved out of site.

“Hit the left bank,” Santi said. “We’re going to work that outer bank.”

I refocused my attention somewhat reluctantly as viewing the huge moose was breathtaking.

Wham! A large trout smashed the dry fly and I set the hook instantly. This trout was having none of this and began stripping line back out as he fought wildly. I fed all the loose line out and worked him back and forth as Santi waited patiently with the net.

The wild trout thrashed violently across the surface and around the boat in his bid to escape. I finally wore him down and Santi netted him, much to my delight.

The rainbow was my biggest yet and provided much excitement.

I spent the rest of the day catching and releasing rainbow, cutthroat, and brooke trout, catching 20 in all while John David controlled our boat with the oars and directed me.

It just doesn’t get much better than spending a day on the water catching fish with John David Santi while enjoying nature and watching wild moose only a cast a way.

If you’ve ever had a desire to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, and fly fish for trout, then give Santi a call. 

Check them out online at www.tetonvalleylodge.com or call him at 901-834-0107 for more information.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.