We will meet at a river access about 25 miles up the Greys River Rd., near Alpine, Wyo. The turn will be flagged with orange surveyor tape, and you should see our vehicles from the road. Most participants will be camping on the river Fri. night. Arrangements can be made to stay in Jackson or Alpine and commute to the river Sat. morning.

Teams may fish relay routes, with members fishing from 4 to 6-mile stretches. All contestants should bring a small day pack, water bottle, fishing gear (we will have some extra gear if needed), sleeping bag (if planning on camping on the river), headlamp, 2 extra pairs of medium or lightweight WOOL socks, waders and boots. Food, beverages and first aid equipment will be readily available. A 2-way radio and lots of extra batteries are suggested.

Contact Zac Sexton, Cuttie-thon President, if you have any questions.

This is the 26.5 mile route Cuttie-thoners will be completing this year.

Robert Walters (Zac's younger brother) fighting a fish and working his way across the Greys. This is a common scene for Cuttie-thoners: fighting fish and the river currents. Good times!

Desireable weather, and a bit more sleep before starting, may have been the key to the quick finish. The anglers were supported primarily by Zac’s dad, Tom Sexton, who cooked, moved break stations and monitored the event. Justin Stroup, of Portland, Ore., filmed during the event and just released the first documentary on the Cuttie-thon. His tireless work will help spread the word about the most extreme fly-fishing event in the world. Thank you Justin!

Zac’s catch record dropped a bit in ‘09, but the shorter time spent on the river was likely the reason. “Fishing was great this year,” said Sexton. “I didn’t catch the 30-something fish I usually seem to catch, but I also didn’t fish for the 30-something hours. They really liked dry flies this year.”

After completing the 5th annual ‘Thon, the anglers think back, and would like to thank everyone who donated time, gear and food. It’s the support they get that enables them to cross the finish line. Look for the 6th annual Cuttie-thon in August of 2010, again on the Greys River. Please contact Zac if you’d like more information in participating, to donate, to schedule Zac for a presentation, or to receive your copy of the Cuttie-thon documentary.

A Snake River Cutthroat, caught by Zac, on a bamboo rod he made just before the Cuttie-thon start.

The first morning was wet from a thunderstorm the previous night. We started a little after sunrise after a hot breakfast of Cuttie-thon Coffee and MaryJane’s Farm oatmeal. The good grub got us off to a fine and enthusiastic start at 6:35 a.m. I managed to hook an 8-inch Snake River Cuttie within minutes of casting on the Greys, but unfortunately lost it before getting it to hand.

Special thanks goes out to those who donated time, money and equipment to this year’s ‘Thon. Tom Sexton, my Dad, did an incredible job of making sure we were fed and watered, and even kept dry when we took a break. Mike Peck fished alongside us, and also helped keep us equipped and happy at access points–even managing to find us after we passed all check points in the middle of the night! Tricia Curley, my mom and Jeff Houston, her friend helped keep blisters, cuts and pain to a minimum, with deft first aid kit skills. Ethan Sexton, my youngest brother, helped keep radio contact through the whole event and made sure we stayed on schedule. Heather Johnson and Mandy Mader cooked a delicious array of food for us to enjoy along the route. Jeff Shelly of Big Horn Meat Cutting donated his delicious jalapeno and cheese sausage and Happy Sticks, which did coincidentally keep us happy while snacking on them along the river.

Our corporate sponsors this year did a great job of providing equipment and refreshments that are so vital to our success. Fishing Properties (fishingproperties.com) donated a custom-built graphite fly rod for the angler catching the most fish, a $500 cash donation and access to their Dead Man Ranch on the Greys. The Oskar Blues Brewery donated a wonderfully cold supply of Dale’s Pale Ale and Old Chub for us to enjoy at the finish line. William Joseph provided two Exodus packs which make packing our rain gear, water, food, beer and fishing gear simple. Cloudveil donated a pair of 8x Pro Waders and boots that kept Mike Carlson dry (until he punctured them with a willow, but repaired with the patch kit), and sure-footed astream. Petzel donated two, very bright MYO series headlamps. MaryJane’s Farm donated a supply of her scrumptious, organic dehydrated backpacking dishes that make preparing an energy-filled and healthy meal simple. The Fly Shop of the Bighorns donated more than $250 of fishing gear including tippets, leaders, flies, sink and float putty and Orvis polarized sunglasses. Cliff Outdoors provided their original fly boxes, which I think are the best designs in the market.

Thanks again to everyone helping make this year a success. I will be putting a PowerPoint presentation together soon, to give to any interested parties. Please let me know if your fishing club, diabetes organization, conservation group or business would be interested in having me as a guest speaker. The Cuttie-thon story is an incredible and inspirational one!

Also, raffle tickets for a custom-crafted 6′6″, 3 weight fiberglass fly rod, reel, floating line, leader and box of flies are available. Mike Carlson built the rod and donated it to the Foundation. Thank you Mike! I had a chance to see his work a couple days ago, when we met in Jackson. It is amazing. His wraps are smooth and tight, the grips are comfortable to hold, and the varnish is sexy! Similar rods sell for $1,700. It is $5 for one ticket, or $20 for five tickets.

See, the ‘Buy these products…’ link for more info.

Joe and I have been busy researching the Cuttie-thon route on the Greys, and taking some time to work on my book in the Jackson Hole area. The Greys has finally cleared and is coming down to a fishable level. Caddis, Mayflies, Stoneflies and Dragonflies, are the bugs to match now. Joe, Morrison, a friend and Jackson native, and myself have been doing well on Elk Hair Caddis, Yellow Stimulator with rubber legs, Marathoner, Bison Sculpin, and a variety of smaller, soft hackle beadhead nymphs. Oh, and the mosquitoes have been miserable–hopefully they’ll be dead by August. In fact, I have been bitten by mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, ants, and something else I didn’t see, while fishing the Greys….

The route is going to be challenging. Many willow thickets are impenetrable, surrounded by cliffs and steep hillsides. Sometimes, these obstructions are bordered by deep pools in the river, which would fill your waders. But, we’ve been managing to get through with only a few cuts and bruises. Actually, I guess we have lots of cuts and bruises, but not all are from the Greys It will be easier in August, as we will be able to cross the river once it drops another foot or two. Morrison, a local angling expert, was surprised and disappointed she couldn’t get to the other side. She said the river is much higher than normal now. But she still managed to get around and catch some Cutties!

We will finish marking the route in the next couple days. Soon after, we should have a detailed map of the route and access areas. We are now off to the river–after I finish this delicious tin mug of coffee…. 

On a recent trip to the Bighorn’s west slope, Joe and I found Yellowstone Cutthroat in post spawn condition in two small streams. We caught several natives in the 5″ to 9″ range, in a variety of colors. We also landed a few Brookies–adding them to our creels and eating them for dinner. They were firm with bright orange meat, and tasty! I found the Cutts. in the tributary stream to prefer wet flies, while the Cutts. in the main channel would rise confidently to dries.

The stream dumps in to a beautiful canyon, with ledges that completely overhang the stream’s width. We found arrowhead chippings, a Water Ouzel nest, and Lupine in full bloom. I was still recoverring from a severe migraine headache the previous week, and found myself gaining strength with each step in the canyon–even though I was sucking air like a raging forest fire!