Saratoga, Wyoming
Hi! I'm Jim Fortune.
Yes. That is my
real name. I could tell you some stories but let's move on . .
.
You know,
everyone has done it at one time or another. Made a
mistake, that is. I'll bet you came to this web site,
www.saratogainnresort.com and
expected to see a web site that would
tell you about the very nice place in Saratoga, WY that has several hot pools, a couple
of massage
packages to choose from and three meals a day all at one
place. Well I don't
want to disappoint you. The magazine where you might have seen this web
site made a mistake and
published the wrong web site address. I decided to correct it for
the Inn.
Why
not "click here"
to go to the Saratoga Inn
and make your reservation. When you make your reservation, tell them
Jim Fortune's web site
sent you. Maybe I'll get a free dunk in the big hot pool
!!! :-) And maybe I'll get tossed
in the cold pool. :-(
Have you
voted for the Golden Vise Award yet. The Golden Vise is
an award that is given to the Best Fly Tyer - as in the flies used in
fly fishing. A vise is the tool
that a fly tyer uses to hold the hook while they design a fly that will
catch a fish under specific conditions. There are as many hand
tied flies around as there are seconds in a minute and minutes in an
hour and
hours in a day and . . . Well you get the idea.
That's
a lot of flies. And I might be off by a few.
The recepient of the award is not choosen by their fly tying peers but
by the people who know them personally and use their product.
That is one of
the things that makes this award so much fun. There is
a Golden Vise Award competition being right now in Montana. I am
not sure
how many
other states do this since I read about the award on a Montana fly
fishing web site. You can vote for a Montana Fly Tyer of your
choice right now
at www.montanaflyfishingtips.com.
The link
is right at the top of the page and it only takes a minute to take the
poll. I just checked on Google and there is a site called www.goldenvise.com where they
list the Montana competition and also that the Wyoming competition is
coming up!! Yippee!!!
There is a place on the poll that asks how you heard about the
award, mention my name. I
might get some brownie points or maybe a free fly from the 2006 First
Place winner. :-)
Looking for a
nice place to stay in Saratoga that's TERRIFIC
if you're going there for
fly fishing? Check out the Riviera Lodge at 104 E Saratoga.
This is where I always stay when I am in town. Kay and Lee
Tromble are the owners. Bring your laptop. The motel has
high speed internet - both with blue Ethernet cables and
wireless. I wish I had saved the picture of my room the last time
I stayed there. It was huge. Fishing is right out the back
door. No kidding! And the public hot pool is close by for a
dip in the hobo pool if you are so inclined. Give Lee a call to
make a reservation at 307-326-5651. Also tell them you heard
about them from Jim Fortune and this web site.
You are doing "catch and release" right? Well you are going to
need a nice place to have dinner. Plan on getting up early for
fishing. I would check out a ½ day trip from Stoney
Creek Outfitters and see if Shilo is available. I don't know
from personal experience but it is a name worth checking out. A
½ day wade will set you back $325 for two people or a full day
wade for two for $425. You are going to be hungry when you get
back. They will wade your butt off and you will have a
blast! Rest when you get back with a short nap. Plan on getting
over for dinner around 4 ish. I know. You are thinking "4 ish for
dinner - is this guy MAD!!!!!
I am going to send you to the Wolf Hotel for dinner. Trust
me. You need to get there early. Especially in the
summer. But you know, the more I tink about it, the last time I
was there, I got right in. O.K. - It was a snowy January night - Tuesday as I remember.
Please trust me - The Wolf is
THE place to eat in Saratoga. If you get there at five and there
is a line, don't say I didn't warn you. Ask the guide you get a
Stoney Creek and they will tell you that you have to be at The Wolf early!
Until next time,
The Wyoming Fly
Fishing Guy