A Perfect Opening

WORD SPREADS FAST

 

Medieval Knights

Elbow Room

Frequent Pastime

In Praise Of Gray

A LOVELY OPENER

Just The Perfect Overcast

bazillions of bugs and noses

PERFECT OVERCAST ON SUNDAY & VERY BRIGHT FOR THE AFTERNOON CADDIS

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.. Not too much to report. Saturday dawned clear and bright without a cloud in the sky. By noon the white wisps had filtered over the continental divide and by mid afternoon the sun was shielded by high thin clouds. The breeze was constant and persistent.
.. A bit of midnight drizzle brought more dense clouds and Sunday was right out of the guide books. It was bright with layered clouds for the first 2/3 of the day and a bit broken in the late afternoon. By 8:00 PM there were patches of blue between the dense gray clouds and the air stilled to dead calm - ruined our casting stroke.

.. Gentle rain and a spit or three punctuated the day and into the evening. The rivers are clear, cool, and slow. Three to four feet visibility in the Madison River and up to six feet in the Firehole River. Nifty. By nightfall there were blessed rains and a few thunder boomers in West Yellowstone.

.. We saw mayflies all day, (even through lunch,) on both the Madison River and the Firehole River.

Green Sparkle & Yellow Traditional - Fish Eat Them

.. Sunday evening produced 18 different kinds of caddis. There were big brown ones, little brown ones, gray ones, tan ones, flying ones, walking ones, big white ones, flying white ones, stationary white ones, variegated ones; ones with battle stripes on their wings, some with short feelers, some with long feelers, a few with no feelers, there were even smashed ones and crippled ones, and swimming ones, and fluttering ones, and floating ones.
.. How do the fish keep track of which ones to eat? We foiled them with a pair of commercially tied soft hackle flies. They flew through the air when we cast them. They floated when we greased them. They sank when we weighted them. They were big to begin with. They were small when we plucked them. They skittered when we stripped them. They caught too many fish to count. We wonder what they were imitating?

CHANGES AND CLARIFICATIONS IN REGULATIONS THIS YEAR

.. The National Park Service has once again re-classified the waters in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The regulations have new wordings and limits of take.
.. Killing is a "must" rather than a "should" in some additional areas. It's best to read the regulations.
.. The regulation book is very clear this year. There should be no questions, (except for the note about disposing of fish in park trash cans.)
.. One note that is very interesting states that tributaries to the West Side Rivers are not restricted to fly fishing. Unless, of course, we read it wrong, (pg. 8 of this year's regulations.)

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Lovely Dark Holes Along The Bank - Six Fish - Four Whistle Pigs (one in lower right corner.)

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.. We found our opening day, isolated, dark holes guarded by Whistle Pigs this year. We watched for a while. They weren't fishing so we tromped through their living room and gathered in some fish. Given our current count of lustra and the state of our non-bionic wheels it's nice that there are so many places to fish that are less that 50' from the car door. Seems that folks just drive by without a look or glance. Fine by us.
..  The Mary Mountain Trail is officially closed. Access to Nez Perce creek from the bridge is possible. If you fish here be sure to understand the bear closure and fishing access rules. Carry, IN YOUR HAND, bear spray. Fish with a hoard of singing Girl Scouts, and do not run if you encounter a bear. The river is clear and cold and has some large fish if that's your cup of bile.
.. More to come in a day or two. It's time for stories and some vitamin "B." There's a new pub in town that's open right now. Another one is opening in a day or two. We suffer by fish and vitamin riches.

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WHISTLE PIGS GUARD THE APPROACH TO EASY FISHING HOLE ON THE MADISON RIVER

Prognosis = Practically Perfect

COME THE DAWNING

Enter The Faithful Hoards

it could be the stuff of stories

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Legal fishing opens tomorrow in Yellowstone National Park.

Here's the neighborhood outlook:

Weather: Mild - high in the 60's, mostly cloudy overcast, occasional and scattered  or widely scattered heavy drizzle or light rain, breezy not windy, bright.
Madison River: Lightly colored, visibility up to two feet, rising slowly, way below seasonal discharge levels, pretty river.
Gibbon River: Cold and approachable in the upper reaches, some slight color in slower sections, noticeable color in canyon and big riffles, stable discharge, below seasonal runoff levels, pretty river.
Gallatin River: Well into runoff regimen, cold but fishable near the banks and back eddy areas, especially attractive in confluence meadow near Fan Creek, pretty river.
Firehole River: As good as it gets this early, below seasonal discharge, rising slowly, fish moving and vigorous, visibility up to five feet, wonderfully cool, very pretty river.
Nez Perce Creek: Distinctly attractive, bears, bison, moose, dangerous.
.. Bugs? Yes, all day long on the Firehole River. Possible in early afternoon on all other west side rivers.
.. Flies? Soft hackle in shallow riffles. Stiff hackle in deep riffles. King Prince Nymph in deep and dark water. Small Pink San Juan worm in meadow sections. Surface and film = size most important.
.. Traffic? Probably not as bad as you'd think but gawdawful anyway. Visitation is lighter than in recent years past for this weekend. Visiting fishers will be happily surprised. Parking possible in most pullouts - if you arrive early.
.. Lodging? All wader friendly lodging plumb full. Rooms still available at plush-carpeted motels and cabins.
.. We had little time to explore the rivers away from our west side environs. Check PARKS' FLY SHOP for rivers in the central, north, and northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park.
.. We may visit some of the best places tomorrow. We may wet a line. We may catch a fish. We probably won't encroach on your elbow room. There's a couple of nice dark holes that we haven't explored since last year. Hope not to see you there.

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Dirty Stuff

WHAT'S A WATER SPOT WORTH?

Happy Anniversary

just another stick of grass ???

Mismatched cork, Water spots, Jordan Seat, Simple Walnut, Casts Great, Catches Fish

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.. Time was when utility was dismissed in favor of aesthetics.
.. Discounting utility for 'the pretty' is still a fairly common practice among fly fishers. Pretty fish, pretty flies, pretty cast, etc.
.. Members of the cult of Arundinaria Amabillis can be heard extolling the beauty of: grain, finish, craftsmanship, taper, uniformity of joints, etc. Oh, by the way it's possible to catch fish with it too.
.. The Orvis "99" rods sneak under the radar of pretty fishers. They look just like a conventional Orvis Impregnated Rod, (from a distance.) But upon closer inspection cult members dismiss the rods as substandard. Water spots in the bamboo are accentuated by the impregnating process, (ugh, dirty stuff.)

Serial Number - Duh

.. Red thread wraps scream abomination to the cult members that extol the aesthetic value of the dark brown thread that is "properly" used for the Orvis rods.
.. The NINETY NINE is a commemorative model. It was introduced in 1955 to commemorate Orvis's 99th anniversary. It's price point was below that of the then existing Battenkill models.
.. The quality of  bamboo, tapers, and construction is all the same. It just wasn't as pretty. There were water spots. You could see, infrequently, some small amounts of joint glue that barely was visible. It had Super Z ferrules, etc. Just not pretty. It catches fish though.
.. The 99's could be had with one or two tips and persisted in the Orvis offerings through 1966. This old friend is a late iteration and just had a birthday: April 1965, made by George Reid and Calvin Skinner. It's a fairly rare eight foot model with one tip section. It casts a 7 weight line and weighs a hefty 4 3/8 ounces. It catches fish just fine.
.. If you are not overwhelmed by pretty, this model can be had for, (in American Dollars,) far less than the pretty rods. It catches fish with the prettiest of them.
.. Orvis bamboo rods, (all of them, even the pretty ones,) are sturdy and meant to be fished. The lower grade rods feel just like a bamboo rod should feel. If you find one that matches your casting style, and can appreciate it's wonderful utility rather than it's pure beauty it can be had for a song in today's market. If you 'collect' sticks these are not for you. They catch fish.

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.. More dirty stuff. The Madison River in Yellowstone National Park is gaining a bit more color. We've had some blessed cool weather and some slow and soaking rains. The west side rivers are at, or below, their seasonal norms and still in the early runoff stage.
.. We suspect that they will all provide catching possibilities for the opening day this coming weekend. We're headed into the park on Thursday and Friday. We shall return with a final and late update. Check the sidebar links to feather merchants for the appropriate flies.

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The Throngs Of Spring

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.  

~Henry David Thoreau

Midnight Snow: May 26 - 27, 2011

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.. They've been arriving on schedule: just like the swallows at Capistrano. It's an annual migration: from the cluttered lowlands of our nation to the idyllic meadows of Yellowstone.
.. Last night while they slept in their cozy motel beds Mom spewed forth a greeting of white stuff for their edification. The kind of greeting that is but a foretaste of tomorrow's opening day in Yellowstone National Park.

Just Like Christmas

.. For the moment, at least, there is no place in our little village that received more than two feet of snow. The famous rivers of the west side of the park are cool, and their meadows can all be traversed without having to trudge through more than knee deep snow.
.. This migration is a ritual that has little to do with fish and much to do with the space between the visitor's ears.
.. Spring, (such as it is this year,) has arrived in Yellowstone. The indicators are present in abundance:
1,] it says so on the calendar,
2.] the Firehole River came within 1 cfs of setting an all-time discharge record last Tuesday, (it's back down to a gentle 100 cfs above seasonal average,)
3,] the Gibbon River broke it's discharge record for the last four days by over 400 cfs, and the trend continues,
4,] the Madison River has been running at between 500 and 700 cfs above the seasonal average for the last week, and is continuing to pump chocolate sludge into Hebgen Reservoir.
5,] feather merchants are dancing with glee at the in-migration of the faithful,
6,] pub proprietors have finally found an outlet for their weirdly named and highly over rated local beers,
7,] park rangers have a fresh supply of ball point pens and stacks of newly printed citation forms for the visitors that have not read this year's new regulations - or are ignoring them - or have parked poorly in their haste to not catch fish.

Full Dress Feather Duster

.. This year opening day will, again, not be about the fish. It's about the ritual, the mentality, the commitment to fish the holy water and conditions be damned!
.. This year it's about slogging around frozen meadows and hanging out in the snow doing senseless things that the wife will not let the old codgers do at home.
.. We'll take our favorite flies, (guaranteed not to catch fish in the current conditions,) and tie them on with our frozen fingers. We'll have a net with holes bigger than any anticipated fish. We will even take a camera to record beautiful scenery because we know that there will be no fish to pose for a portrait.
.. We'll be there tomorrow to participate in the snowstorm, the soggy cigars, and the amber liquids. We've been invited to traipse through the tundra with our neighborhood mud-fishers. It will be a day to remember.
.. Damn the conditions - full haul ahead!

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Your Fee Dollars At Work

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Through The Roof

BRIEF NOTE OF DESPAIR

Day To Day Anxiety

Saturday cometh

SUCH A PRETTY COLOR

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.. We're headed out the door, so this is brief. The Madison River, Gibbon River, Firehole River are responding to the recent and continuing rain in a spectacular fashion. There are no official records yet, and we don't look for them for another hour or so, but the water continues to be high and thick, and very muddy.
.. "Traditionally" the Firehole River is fishable on opening day, (you can fish any water, but catching possibilities are problematic.) Charts below.
.. We'll let you know on Friday where the throngs are going and where the catching might be possible.
.. We're in the park daily and are frequently amused by the long-distance reports and prognoses of folks that have a soft easy chair and piles of historical data. The web is full of: "Traditionally," "Usually," "Frequently," "Ought to be . . .," etc. There is no substitute for "WE STUCK OUR THERMOMETER IN THE MUDDY WATER."

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