Countdown

BE HERE NOW

2 Weeks Left For Catching

some snow has spit at us - no stickeee

MADISON RIVER AT THE PARK LINE - VERY FISHY  !!

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.. As the peaks around Hebgen Basin can attest - some snow has fallen in the neighborhood. It even made it to the ground here in town. It melted as soon as it hit the ground. There's none here now. The fish near are here and loving it.

Tradition Will Out  !!

.. It's an interesting thing that's going on right here and right now. The neighbors are smacking the fish in the tributaries and shallow parts of the lakes.
.. The visitors are smacking the low water on the main stem of the Madison River, Gallatin River, Firehole River, and even the Mighty MO!
.. Although the Madison River and the Firehole River are at - OR - just a smidgen below seasonal flows; the Gallatin River is off by quite a bit.
.. Of course the neighbors are clustered around Specimen Creek, Bacon Rind Creek, the West Fork, and other secret debouches along the course of the river.
.. Bears be damned, (carry the spray and sing and dance and fish with a friend,) this is the time of year that Campanula Creek, Grayling Creek, and Duck Creek are visited by sturdy and adventurous souls. Bless them all and the bushels of fish that they catch.

Right Form, Wrong Color, Works Guud !!

.. Despite all of the myriad flies available for catching the migrating submarines of our waters, the Woolly Bugger continues as a favorite fly of the neighbors and visitors alike. We prefer the Snortle or a simple Woolly Worm ourselves.
.. The Curmudgeon Corps in the neighborhood is busy with the entertainment of the hour.
.. Enjoyment, for them, comes in the form of gently poking fun at both the neighbors and visitors who catch enough fish to feed Wyoming - and keep none of them. [[Curmudgeon defined below*]]
.. They, themselves, are busy catching and smoking fish at a rapid pace. Some have even gone to the trouble of seeking the lowland hardwoods for their smoking chores. Alder and Apple are this year's choice.
.. We usually give them a wide berth at this time of year. We will nod if we pass them at the grocery store. We do smile as we wait in line at the post office. We wave to the familiar vehicles on the street.
.. Engaging conversation, however, is reserved for those times, (coming soon,) when they accost us and offer a fish or two - YUM!
.. Well, with just a couple of weeks left for legal fishing in Yellowstone National Park, we're headed up to a shady, undercut bank, on the low-water Gallatin River. Rumor has it there's a flotilla of giant fish engaged in some sort of sexual shenanigans in the adjacent waters.
.. Finally, with a gentle whisper, we do say: "confluence of Nez Perce Creek and Firehole River."

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Afternoon Sunshine + An Undercut Bank + Pea Gravel + Aerated Water = FISH

[[*   ".. A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy.
.. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor.
.. They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment.
.. Nature, having failed to equip them with a serviceable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
.. Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
.. Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: they have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud senseless mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor."

- - - JON WINOKUR ]]