As You Like It

LESS IS MORE

Submarines Arriving Daily

or, try a beaver dam

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.. This has to be quick. The big fish, running up the Madison River from Hebgen Reservoir, are coming in waves and running fast and far. The Gibbon River in National Park Meadows even has a couple of the monsters - ALREADY!

.. Follow the neighbors. Walk miles and miles. Cover acres and acres of water. You shall be rewarded.

.. The folks that are catching fish are moving around. Moving around as much as fishing.
.. They are behaving like the steelhead fishers of the Pacific Coast. 

.. Try this: CAST - SWING - SHORT JERK RETRIEVE - THREE STEPS - REPEAT. Get in line. Do the conga. Exercise the pool and your arm. Then, (very important,) move on. Move to another pool. Move to another location. Move to another state, (it's easy to do along the park line.)

.. Fish will eat your fly if they choose to. Switch flies if they aren't on it. It is happening right now. Get here and stay for the next month or so.

..If you're not a headhunter there is great fishing all around us. Hebgen Lake still has some gulpers working to the continuing hatches. Try it, you'll like it.
.. The Gallatin River is in perfect shape and the elbows have left the room. Spruce moths continue to swim near the wooded areas. There are morning, (or all day,) hatches on our blessedly cloudy days. Mostly it's BWO's in the forenoon and a few caddis and, yes Betty, hoppers wake up when it gets a bit warmer.
.. You can fish the Gallatin River all day with an Adams followed by a Prince Nymph and do just fine. Fish with a friend and be very bear aware in the northern reachers of the park water. Hell's Bells - be bear aware along the whole valley. There was just a mauling over the hills. An elk hunter called in a sow griz.

.. A couple of the neighbor kids visited the Firehole River. It's still a bit too warm by mid-day. They sampled the Little Firehole River and Nez Perce Creek. They found both bears and fish. They avoided the bears and stuck the fish with soft hackles.
.. All this kind of exuberant activity drains what little energy we have.
.. There are some nice, well hidden, beaver ponds in, and around the neighborhood.
.. They don't get much press. That's fine with us. A leisurely stroll around them will produce as many fish as mosquito bites in July.
.. We like to watch the noses as they slide up beneath the unsuspecting bugs and bits. Brook Trout reign supreme in these little pools of water.
.. There is, on occasion, a surprise in the form of a 14" - 16" monster. We don't expect much in the way of size - the solitude and gentility are compensation enough.
.. Adventurous neighbors have probed the bear closure boundaries of Duck Creek. There are many fish willing to eat anything that comes their way.
..  Campanula Creek has been neglected by most of the neighbors this year - much to the joy of one youngster that can walk that far. The fish rise freely to anything in the size 12 - 16 range. Sparsely tied caddis seem to be the favorite of the hikers. A Royal Wulff is also a good choice. BEAR SPRAY and an alert friend are mandatory. Singing and joking are requisite behaviors also.
.. That's enough for now - got to go visit some kits we know of.

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The Ants Have It

FISH HERE

USE THESE

Here & There

FISH: BIG, LITTLE, ANY

All The Pretty Fishes

anglers getting it done

THE COLORS FADE - THE WINTER COMES

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.. With just a couple of weeks left before the park closes, anglers are rediscovering just how good the catching can be.
.. The Firehole River is still producing a small caddis hatch on the rare bright sunny evenings after the thunder snows. Most afternoons and evenings there are prolific flights of Baetids. All offerings, from realistic imitations to soft hackles are taking fish with ease.
.. The elbow quotient is down a little bit from previous years at this time and general park visitation is a little slow as well. This makes travel and parking in Yellowstone National Park almost pleasant.
.. The Brookie Playground of the Way-Up Firehole River is seeing some increased activity of both the catching and fishing variety. It's less abandoned than usual for late Autumn.
.. The willow morass of Cougar Creek at the park line and at it's confluence with Duck Creek is getting some pressure from guided visitors. Attractors of various small varieties are the frequent choice - including emergers and floating nymphs.
.. Despite the absolute disappearance of all fish from Nez Perce Creek there continue to be reports and cell phone pictures of the fish being taken there.

DRY FLY EVENING ON NEZ PERCE CREEK

..The Madison River is seeing two groups of headhunters: standard and informed varieties are visiting in equal numbers. "FISH THE SPLIT," has become the watchword of highly successful catchers on the river.
.. Where islands, gravel bars, and dense weed beds split the river into two or more streams the enlightened head hunter seeks the submarines in the most gentle flow. Reasoning seems to be that the out of the way places are good for resting after a migration of a dozen miles or so. Seems to produce.
.. Yesterdays snow melted even before most of it reached the ground. Pity! We're off to enjoy some creative parking and post rut elk shenanigans.
.. More coming soon.

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FISH THE SPLITS  -- ADVICE FROM ON HIGH

Sans Elbows

IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD THING

Not Much To Say

catched a few

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.. Went to the neighborhood fishing hole; water high, temperature higher, mosquitoes in force, caught a few: came home.
.. There is a sparse midge hatch in the slow water near the park boundary. The nuisance bear closure is still in effect. The fish are still taking attractor flies. We like the old-fashoned Royal Coachman.

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Better By The Day

CATCHING IS GOOD

Fishing Is Good

gawking is best

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.. This will be the week for glorious fishing stories. The near-term weather is predicted to be perfect for visiting Yellowstone National Park. There will finally be a day or two with 70° F temperature.

.. The west side rivers are still setting daily discharge records but are clearing rapidly. The meadows are getting dry, the bison are laying in the sun, the mobile condominiums are belching fumes, and tour buses are thick as the spinners falling onto the water.
.. Catching is now possible from sunup to sundown. And the next few days will give us the longest catching opportunities of the year. Sunrise is now about 5:10 AM. Sunset is about 9:15 PM. The watchword now is to use your summer solstice well. Starting next week the days will begin their noticeable shortening - all too rapidly.

.. The Gallatin River is high, cold and clear above Taylor Fork. It's a big nymph and streamer proposition. The local naysayers would have you believe that it's too cold to fish. Best believe them, it leaves more room for the neighbors.
.. The last mile of Duck Creek is at grade and surprisingly clear, It too is a subsurface paradise. Be careful and stay in the legal zone by the water. The bears are congregating in this area. Evening caddis have been spotted around 4:00 PM in this stretch.
.. The Madison River is back within it's banks but the previously flooded meadows are spongy. Discharge is high but not near daily records and there are bugs apparent in the early afternoon. Streamers, big ugly unconventional flies, and drowned flies & nymphs are producing well in the gentle stretches.

.. The snow on Mary Mountain is rapidly melting and Nez Perce Creek is at it's banks. Catching is only fair in the bear infested waters and meadow about 1/2 mile above the bridge. The wildflowers are spectacular though.
.. The Firehole River above the cascades is very clear, cold, swift, and beginning to produce beautiful, hungry, eager, Brook Trout.
.. Below Old Faithful, in it's elbow-ridden stretches it's beginning to show it's summer pattern:
===> Spinners early,
===> Nymphs and emergers at mid day, (all day if you like,)
===> Caddis in the evening,
===> BWO & PMD when you see them,
===> Stonefly & Yellow Sally nymphs, all day,  starting now,
===> Salmon Flies soon, listen to rumors in the pubs.
.. We're headed to the big esses around Baker's Hole. This Madison River water requires a Montana Fishing License and a Yellowstone Park Permit. The water is high, the trails and tracks are muddy, the willows eat your body and gear, and the fish are near the bank and unmolested. It's just too much work for visitors. The fish are way too big for their small rods and dinky nets.

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Duck Creek Bottoms

Double Dealin' Mother

ICE GONE - RIVERS UP

What's A Fisher To Do?

the worst is just around the corner

THERE'S LAWN CHAIRS ON THE POINT
AND 300' OF ICE AT THE DAM

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.. Mom has been both loving and cruel this Spring. First she gives us a good snow year that promises to have our rivers running cold well into the summer. Then she throws us a warm spike that takes away a goodly amount of the snow pack. Then just as the ice begins to leave the shores Hebgen Lake she presents us with a rare east wind that pushes the thin ice out of the estuaries.
.. Lately she's been toying with us in a new and wonderfully sadistic manner. The diurnal temperatures have been in the high 40's, while the nocturnal degrees have not dipped much past the mid 30's. Afternoon on Saturday reached 50° F. So the rivers continue to flow freely and the clouds keep the sun from encouraging the bugs, (no it's not quite dreary enough for those other bugs either!)
.. The rivers were so high on Saturday that several roads were closed. The most significant was Highway 191 going to Bozeman. Greek Creek expanded to the point that it was not only out of bank, but out of control as well. It flooded the road and caused a road closure for most of the day and well into the evening.
.. The Madison River is running at a high seasonal average. The Firehole River has slowed to seasonal discharge. The Gibbon River, on the other hand, is being frisky and flows are all over the place.

It's not a fly but it's hot right now

.. So is there a place to fish? Certainly not down-canyon where the Gallatin River is hitting 3,000 cfs and growing. How about using a boat on the lake? It's still good near the ice, and just normal where you find the fish. Trolling a small Kastmaster has galled a couple of reported 24" Brown Trout, (cell phone picture verified.)
.. How's the fishing between the lakes? Glad you asked!
.. It's fair right now, (and crowded,) - BUT - Hebgen Reservoir's Flood Control Pool is full. Discharge is a moderate but fishable 1,250 cfs.
.. The "BUT" is that inflow is 2,200 cfs, and there's only 7 feet left to the spillway. Things are looking pretty bleak for the near future.
.. The only good news to be had is that with the rising lake levels the junction of tributary streams and the lake receeds upstream. Technically some places where the neighbors are fishing are illegal. Practically, if you wade the muddy willow bottoms of Grayling Creek, Duck Creek, Cougar Creek, or the South Fork, you deserve the catching - if there is any.

.. The lowland Madison River is fishing good. The catching is fair. The color is O.K. and bugs are available. Nymphs and streamers are still in play and shoreline catching is as good as drift boat catching.
.. Everything will go to hell quickly if they pull the plug at the dam. It could happen. Or, with current repair crews still working on the intake structure they may just let it fill to the spillway. That could happen about the time the Madison River discharge hits it's maximum: this year projected to be near 2,000+ cfs. That's double what it is now.
.. We're headed to a little stretch of the Gallatin River that is way too cold to fish. It's that little bit of water between the Yellowstone park-line and Taylor Fork Creek. It's so cold the fish are having trouble holding on to the flies. It's so cold that they are eating anything that seems eatable: sticks, leaves, flies, bare hooks, etc. It's so cold that everyone that fishes there tells you it's too cold to fish!

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THE VORTEX IN HEBGEN RESERVOIR IS CAUSED WHEN THEY PULL THE PLUG

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Good Grunge

RAIN, SLEET, GRAUPEL

Very Sweet Weather

pansies stay home

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.. There's been enough sun to let us know it still exists. There's been enough snow to decorate the mountains. There's been enough cool to keep the cold at bay.
.. There's been enough rain to mess with the rivers. There's been enough fish to make it a joy for those that really want them.
.. There's been enough absentee fishers to make the water inviting. And, mom says: " . . . another 6 days of about the same."
.. The Firehole River above it's falls is full of eager fish just waiting to eat the last soft hackle of the year.
.. The fish above Old Faithful are waiting for nothing and ravenous for anything that floats or sinks.
.. The fish between the falls and the confluence are tired of being stabbed in the lip - but still taking Soft Hackles and Woolly Buggers. Even the sacrilegious 'Gob-O-Worms' is scoring big time. We must be in the terminal stages of Fall!

..On the Madison River 'runner fever' has finally made itself apparent. The density of plump Rainbow Trout and slithery Brown Trout is finally at the "CAN'T MISS" point. Fishers haven't figured it out and are staying away in droves. It's just plain nice on the rivers right now.
.. The willow bottoms of Grayling Creek, Duck Creek, and the Madison River are currently hosting hunters, bears, moose, elk, ducks, and fish. Few fisher folks dare brave this jungle - that's probably best.

.. We've another few days of fishing in Yellowstone National Park. The weather is miserably inviting and the fish are cooperating with a frenzied style that beckons us.
.. We've no time for gallantry, gentility, flowery prose, or fantasy fishing - we're off to the water. Torture, maim, and frighten the little devils: 'tis the season!
.. If you need a Yellowstone fix before the snow flies in earnest get here however you can. The roads are empty, the bears are prowling, the elk are screaming, the fish are biting, and all is well with the world.

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