Bluster At Last

FISHING HOT

Catching Good

weather colder and grunger

THE END OF AUTUMN IN THE HIGH COUNTRY

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.. It's been cool for a couple of nights. The low clouds have spit a bit and the sparse electric colors of our gentle and dry Fall are gone.
.. Mustard, brown, rust, amber, gray, leaden, and other late fall descriptors should be in your vocabulary if you visit here. You should also practice words like monster, pretty, giant, kype, streamer, rubber legs, woollywhatever, favorite Baetis, etc.
.. It's popcorn time on the Firehole River. Noses are everywhere and Baetis-Sipping can be heard for yards and yards. Splashing is the order of the day when the afternoon sun is just right and the Caddis take wing in frenzied flight to avoid the airborne trout.

.. The Madison River has been great, even in the sunlight, for the Fall-run fish from Hebgen Reservoir. Fishers have found the dark water in places never before fished. The books are obsolete right now. Some of the giant fish that have been pulled from the Madison River have left holes in the water that took hours to fill in.
.. Of course, if you are like us - and had your fill of the conga line, the upper Firehole River is yielding about 20 neon Brook Trout per hour to any competently presented fly, (above or below the surface:) fewer elbows and shielding from the wind by the dense lodgepole desert, are a Fall delight indeed.
.. The open secret of the week is the Gallatin River. A rig with two nymphs of the Prince variety, (different sizes - mind you,) is the current neighborhood choice. Surprisingly this also coincides with the advice from the counter help at many feather merchants.
.. Again this year, the neighbors are tying the KING PRINCE NYMPH. Runners seem to enjoy large nymphs as much as streamers and Woolly Worms Buggers.
.. The big bends of the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park in the now closed Bakers Hole Campground are being visited by folks willing to walk for their fish - there are many in the deep pools and undercut banks of this "fishy" bit of water.
.. Many of the neighbors believe that the biggest fish from the reservoir will not show until the snow arrives. That could be tonight, tomorrow, or as late as Wednesday. So be it.
.. The poor sister of Fall fishing is showing great form right now. The Gibbon River is nearly devoid of elbows above the falls. There are many unmolested fish eager for a dance partner. Drowned Caddis or Baetis cripples should accompany your standard Adams in the big meadows. Cute little bead head nymphs could yield a Grayling above Norris Campground on either Solfatara Creek or the Gibbon River's skinny, but dark, water. Of course the eager Brookies above Virginia Cascade will dance with any thing they can get in their mouth.

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Forgotten Riffles And Runs Of The Gibbon River Are Solace To Trout

Short Fuse, Comments Needed

20 YEAR EFFORT

Comment Now

no whiners

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.. The NATIVE FISH CONSERVATION PLAN is designed as a major effort to respond to the diminished stocks of native fish in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The Environmental Assessment is now open for public comment.

.. Mark your calendars; only two public meetings are scheduled:

* Bozeman, Montana: January 5th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Comfort Inn, 1 370 North 7th Avenue
* Cody, Wyoming: January 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Holiday Inn, 1701 Sheridan Avenue.

.. Written comments may be submitted through the project web site, in person, by mail, or at either of the scheduled public meetings. Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail. All public comments must be received or postmarked by midnight, January 31, 2011.
..  Here are the important Links:
==> Project Home Page,
==> Project Plan Process,
==> Meeting Notices,
==> Project Links,
==> Document List,
==> Comment Form.

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.. The scoping meeting in West Yellowstone last April was poorly attended. No feather merchants were present, one local guide was present, and a handful of concerned fishers attended.
.. Input by these few interested parties helped shape the current document that is now open for review.
.. The EA addresses Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake, other invasive species throughout the rivers in the park, the effects of climate change on native species, and disease.
.. Conservation efforts addressed include: increased gill netting in Yellowstone Lake, establishing barriers and weirs, removing non native species, restoring native populations, and a host of other actions including poisoning fish populations.
.. The key concept is conservation. The actions taken to implement this can be extensive, varied, and vast.
.. It's important that input at this time be concise, reasoned and rational. It will help steer the project and will certainly affect the fishscape of the future.
.. Please understand that, at base, this addresses the question of "What Is The Purpose Of Yellowstone National Park." Several guides have remarked that it does no good to replace one trout with another. They are just concerned with catching any fish.

.. Many guides and fishers of the park will be voicing opinions that catching fish, (the more - the better,) is what the park should provide.
.. There are others that feel it's important to remove all invasive species such as Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout and Brook Trout to foster the recovery of native Cutthroat Trout & Grayling(?).
.. Many feather merchants feel that the role of Yellowstone National Park is to provide fishing opportunities for recreational fishing, (and an economic base for their enterprise.)
.. Some conservationists believe that the only way to enable preservation of native fish is to "restore" the park to "natural" conditions, including removal all planted stocks of fish, (which is a large segment of the current fishable populations.)
.. Definition of terms and concepts will be argued and explored at the public meetings and in the submitted comments. Many oxen could be gored by this project.

.. The subtext of comments will be interesting to observe, as will the rationale behind the proposed actions in those comments.
.. Some fishers of Yellowstone have opined that since Brown Trout have been in the rivers for over 100 years that they are "native."
.. Does that make Lake Trout native if they survive another 70 years?
.. In another 100 years what will the descendants of those fishers say about Rock Snot, New Zealand Mud Snails, and other yet unforeseen invasive species?

.. As the waters warm will we see Yellowstone become a trophy fishery for Carp and Chubs and Largemouth Bass?
.. What will happen if some fool decides to dump Northern Pike or Muskellunge or Lake Trout in Hebgen Reservoir, right at Yellowstone's door?
.. Your input is necessary for the decision making process. We're talking about the future and how history will view the legacy that we leave.
.. Make no mistake about it, this is a significant project. It will last for 20 years, (1/5 of the next 100 years.) It will significantly affect the definition of Yellowstone National Park and it's role in species conservation and recovery.
.. It will also determine who fishes where and for what in the park. It is an historic effort that demands you input and your concern for how Yellowstone is defined: a fun and profitable fishery for visitors seeking "non-native," invasive trout or a refuge for indigenous species - or both.

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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.