Fishing Weather

A LITTLE SNOW

A LITTLE RAIN

just what the doctor ordered

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.. It was snowing early this morning. It's raining now. There are bits of white & frozen water in the rain. It must be time to go fishing.
.. The Madison River in Yellowstone National Park, (and down to Hebgen Lake,) is crystal clear and bank-full. The flows are a couple of hundred feet below the seasonal average. This reflects the cool spring we've been having. It looks to continue this way for a week or two.

.. The weather guru's say that there will be a warm-up over the next week. We love the forecasts for this time of year. Predictions for the next week show both snow on a daily basis as well as temperatures climbing to the 40's °F. Visitors call it a mess. We call it "FISHING WEATHER."

.. If only we could fish in the park. The Gibbon River is as clear as the Madison River and fish are splashing water all over the basking bison and the bits of snow remaining in National Park Meadows.
.. The soft precipitation and warmer weather will begin to bring a bit of green to the meadows. It must be time to fish, (just not in Yellowstone Park.)
.. The young Turks of the neighborhood are still on snowmobiles and ravaging the South Fork Estuary.

.. Reports of fish, (so many and so large that we have trouble imagining,) are floating through the dark corners of the local pubs.
.. Giggles from grown men are accompanied by wild gesticulations and beer spouting from flared nostrils as the stories of Spring fishing are elaborated and honed into epic tales.
.. It's a neighborhood thing. There are no guides, visitors from exotic lands, or feather merchants in the pubs; just Bill, Curt, Danny, Bobby, Slick, and Muggs.
.. Pizza gets gobbled and suds get quaffed in splendiferousness without the intervention of pretense or posing. Soon it will be time to regale visitors with the stories. They have to be polished.
.. The snow is becoming rivulets in the street. Riffles and runs are nibbling at the edges of the winter's work and they remind us that there are better, (and fishable,) waters just down the road.
.. Yes, it's fishing weather. Between The Lakes is a destination for the folks with snowshoes and determination. The neighbors at Campfire Lodge have kept the road passable for a couple of hundred yards and it is appreciated by those of us with legs of rubber.
.. The midges have slowed down but the rambunctious migrating fish are cavorting with gay abandon in their sex-charged frenzy. Right now there are fish that are eating sticks, moss, and pebbles. What more can you want?
.. Yellowstone Park is a looming shadow in our psyche. Soon we will fish there. Soon we will battle the gawkers for parking spots. Soon we will seek out bits of water that the swollen rivers have neglected and that hold fish. But for now, It's fishing weather in the neighborhood: a rain and snow mixture - overcast - dreary - heavy - and glorious FISHING WEATHER.

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