Phase 2 of the intermountain campaign was Wyoming. The original plan to fish Fontenelle Reservoir for large lake trout and salmon was scuttled at the last minute due to equipment failure of the guide's boat the previous day. Unlike some guides (foreshadowing the Idaho / Utah stop), the original guide made some calls and hooked us up with another guide so we could fish Wyoming as scheduled. The new plan entailed traveling to Pinedale, Wyoming to fish the New Fork River. Admittedly trout fishing is not our forte and using fly rods is akin to giving a 5 year old a fire extinguisher, but we have learned to embrace trying new things in our Fish Fifty journey.

We met the guide at the local farm / sports / grocery store common in so many small towns and immediately knew we had lucked into a world class guide. Chris Weber (a former Virginian) was at the meet location 30 minutes early and was raring to go, despite it being his day off. It became very obvious, very quickly, that Chris was excited to get us on some fish.

We loaded up his NRS raft and drove to a remote public launch. How remote? Mike later got a text from the wife asking if we had gotten lost. Apparently, the location displayed on the Find My Phone location tracker was nowhere near any road. The New Fork River, which flows out of the Wind River Range, was in great shape but like every other body of water out West was very low. Undeterred we pushed off. Immediately the sights and sounds of the river surrounded us and we started casting.

Chris was nice enough to set us up with spinning rods due to the tight confines of the raft. The scenery was stunning. It was like being in the quintessential river movie. In the early stages of the float, we encountered a couple wade fishermen over from Cheyenne. The courtesy and cooperation between everybody on the river was incredibly impressive. Chris mentioned a few flies for the others to try and even gifted them a couple. There is a Zen-like vibe with fly fishermen.

Our inexperience at trout fishing was evident immediately. When fishing for bass, you usually get 2-3 chances at the same fish. If you miss a bump, you can expect the bass to hit it again. With trout, you get one shot. We had a few bumps, but landed nothing through the first half of the trip. Unfortunately, the beautiful weather we started in, was replaced by a line of storm clouds. Soon the rain moved in and we fished through a moderate rain for the better part of an hour. Eventually the rain pushed through and the sun came back out. The scenery and casting continued. We were treated with the sight of a bald eagle splashing into the river and emerging with a fish (of some kind). It was storybook moment. After a 9 hour float, we reached the take-out a little before sunset.

The final fish count was 3 (John-1, Mike-2), not that it mattered. This was a scenic journey with a bit of fishing mixed in. And it was an absolute blast. Chris was one of the hardest working guys we've ever fished with. He loved what he was doing and he was exceptionally knowledgeable and encouraging for a couple of newbie trout fishermen. Do yourself a favor and make the trip to western Wyoming and fish with Chris.