Very Important Download

NATIVE FISH CONSERVATION

EA Available

3-part PDF

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.. In Rapid fashion Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service have completed the Environmental Assessment for the Native Fish Conservation Plan.
.. We just received notification and downloaded the files. We'll study them and let you know our thoughts.

GET THE EA & APPENDICES HERE.

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Coming Attractions

GET THEE TO A RIVER NOW

Persistent Gentility Reigns

it's all good

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.. This has got to be a quickie! The weather and the fish have begun to cooperate. Elbows are proliferating throughout Yellowstone National Park at rates approaching those of rabbit procreation.
.. Today and tomorrow, (and maybe Friday,) should be great for hatching bugs. The cloud cover will only last a couple of days - then a glorious weekend for tourons. Mostly sunny and warm with scattered clouds and thundershowers for the ending of September - rare indeed.

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.. The Lamar River has finally slowed down and is pumping out fish with reckless abandon. The short canyon section is, for some reason, a very popular stop for  eager fish & fishers. The cottonwoods are also the scene of great gatherings of anticipatory fishers.
.. Deep pools hold the fish during this low water phase. Midge madness prevails in the AM, (check out Midge Man's Fly Box.) There are a few drakes and BWO's for the afternoon and evening. Terrestrials and extraterrestrials are a key to success as well. Exercise the whole fly box because the fish have seen most flies by this time of year, and their interest needs to be piqued with the unusual. Streamers on the small side have worked sporadically.

.. Check the sidebar and call a fly shop for word on Slough Creek and Soda Butte Creek. We suspect that they are very crowded and that it's the fishers getting educated by the fish this time of the year.
.. Grebe Lake has stayed consistent all summer and is now entering it's silly phase. If you've got the legs for a stroll in the woods, (armed with a lot of noise and bear spray,) you will be amply rewarded with dance partners of the gray variety. The iridescent colors of a spawning grayling are too hard to capture by photo. Go see for yourself.
.. Schizophrenic weather for the next two or three days means that a wide variety of flies will be needed to entice the resident fish in the west side rivers. There are still hoppers, beetles, and ants - they will be active on the warmer afternoons.
.. Soft hackles, nymphs and streamers may be needed if the grunge rolls in with darkness and dampness. The cherished baetis could make their first substantial appearance today & tomorrow. There have been a few small hatches recently, but a long cool, gray day will have them erupting like popcorn on the Gibbon River, Firehole River, and Madison River.

.. Runners from Hebgen Lake have penetrated the Madison River drainage to the point that both sightings and catchings are being reported with greater frequency. This little burst of fall weather may be just the ticket for those anglers seeking the big fish of the invasion force.
.. The faithful have dug deep and dragged out the big flies. You can see the neighborhood favorites HERE. Streamers are in far greater abundance this year than in years past. However there are still quite a few fishers using a pair of very large soft hackles. Sizes 2 and 4 seem strange numbers, indeed, when talking about soft hackles - but there you have it.

.. You won't find them in the dusty aisles of the feather merchants - tie 'em yourself. Dark brown, hare's ear, green, and black are the current preferences.
.. There is a continually growing hoard of fishers using the Baker's Hole Bugger. This monster streamer along with the Brindle And Hen are challenging the traditional Spruce Flies for supremacy in the minds and boxes of runner devotees.
.. The population of anglers on our rivers right now rivals anything in recent memory. Be prepared to take your turn. Enjoy the wait and partake of the conversation and comradeship of the faithful. The crowded conditions demand sensitivity and courtesy. 100 yards is not too great a space to give your nearest fisher.

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20 Years Later

GRAYLING GETTING A CHANCE

We Had A Visitation Last Month

'bout time

Photo courtesy of Center For Biological Diversity
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.. From New West, (via Trout Underground,) we learn that the USFWS is reconsidering it's previously misguided decision about the value and precarious position of the Arctic Grayling in the lower 48.
.. We've loved this fish for years and had gone two years without a visitation until last month. Over the years we've posted a few notes about the plight of the gray ghost. Perhaps some sensibility has returned to the USFWS.
.. The status review was initiated in October of last year, (LINK,) and is ongoing today. The Center For Biological Diversity has been a key player in this long struggle. Many Montanans have also been active in the struggle because of our precious Big Hole River population. We appreciate their work.
.. Persistence has paid off and we're thankful for it. Read the finding HERE.

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Photo courtesy of Montana chapter of American Fisheries Society.