Bits O' Fluff

BLESS THE HOOLIGANS

Flies Tied In Advance

don't use these right now

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.. So, the neighborhood kids have come through again. They heard us talking about the current magnificent hatches and easy catching on the Firehole River.
.. They took pity on us and gifted us with the appropriate flies for the soon to be encountered "other fishing."

Yellow Belly Parachute

.. The "other fishing" occurs immediately after the poor fish get hammered to a bloody pulp by the current crop of visitors. Despite rumors to the contrary - fish in the Firehole River will not eat just anything.
.. Very, very soon now they will become fussy. They will eyeball your flies and not eat them. They will confuse the experts by eating anything but the stuff sold over the counter at the feather merchants' shops.
.. This fishy behavior will engender a tying frenzy by pros and amateurs alike. They will invent. They will innovate. They will create. There will be a new crop of latest and greatest flies. New materials will be incorporated into old flies. Old flies will be re-named and called something catchy - contemporary merchandising - dontchaknow.

Copper Nice-N-Easy

.. The kids in the neighborhood just made a raid on the local fly shops. They were well behaved. They didn't smirk or giggle. They didn't guffaw 'till they soiled their shorts.
.. They gently cruised the musty aisles. Aisles filled with bins of flies. Aisles decorated with cute gadgets and plastic packaging. Aisles surrounded by pink and chartreuse pastel shirts designed for the liberation of $100.00 or more.
.. And, then, (with eyes as sharp as the visiting ospreys,) they have decided what they should tie, (or modify, or copy.)
.. These kids are on the water every day. They see stuff. They remember stiff. They tie stuff. They fish the stuff. These are just scraps. They call the stuff  "Bits O' Fluff."

Brown And Tan Flossy Spinner

.. They tie these flies while watching old movies or the "X" Games. on HULU. Sometimes they rent a "tying movie," such as an old Abbot & Costello flick - easy to follow without watching.
.. They crank out buckets of flies. On rare occasions there are even two or three flies that are the same. (or nearly so.)
.. Mostly the flies are quick to tie. Mostly they are devised from scraps and other readily available bits currently strewn across the tying bench, (or whatever.) Bless their hearts, they give us some. A dozen of each, more or less.
.. These flies are in no way standardized. They are often too small for us to understand. They infrequently have names. When they have names they are certainly not names that would entice most of the sophisticated technical fishers of the fly.

Loop Wing Cripple

.. As we've mentioned before, the flies usually come with a foot or so of monofilament securely attached. Bless the kids. We asked them for a few without tippet material for some photos.
.. This time they did soil their shorts. The thought that some serious anglers might see the flies and actually use them made the kids roll on the floor holding their sides. They thrashed our miniscule living room to a froth.
.. Happily, not many serious or technical anglers read these posts. They are too busy avoiding catching by fishing the correct flies. The flies fished by the bejeweled and highly decorated, and heavily armored fishers  have names that would make any advertising executive swoon.

Itty Bitty Caddis

.. These flies are presented here for your amusement. They come with no guarantee or implied warranty. We've censored the names in the interest of modesty and our lack of prurient interest.
.. We can tell you that they, (or reasonable facsimiles thereof,)  have been fished by the kids.
.. The kids have caught fish with all of them - BUT - they fish where most do not - AND - they do things unheard of in the guide books and expert publications.
..  Carry, in your hand, bear spray, and by the way, watch for signs like those shown below.

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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

Gallatin Bluster

A COUPLE OF INCHES

That's Good

catching steady at park line

SNOW SQUALS BLOW DOWN THE GALLATIN RIVER WITH REGULARITY

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.. The water is "too cold." So goes the expert wisdom. It just may be that the weather is not sweet enough for gentlemen fishers.


Yellowstone Sally

.. Granted, the fishing high up the Gallatin Canyon is not as easy or attractive as it is down low near  Gallatin Gateway. It is, on the other hand, an hour closer to our front door.
.. The snow of the last couple of days has served to reduce early fishing pressure on the Gallatin River. The fish seem to be a bit less cooperative as well.


Stiff Hackle

.. Subsurface attractor flies are the choice of the neighbors. A few large nymphs are also in the fly box of the brave fishers in the neighborhood.
.. Most of the catching activity starts immediatly north of the northern boundry of Yellowstone National Park - right at Snowflake Springs.
.. Catching along the upper portions of the Gallatin River requires a tedious persistance for covering every inch of water. The fish are there but they are not moving rapidly or with much gusto. "Hit 'em in the nose," is the manditory technique.

.. Along with the Yellowstone Sally a whole stable of Prince Nymphs is being used at the moment. The King Prince is a favorite with some folks down toward Big Sky and has made inroads into the psyche of some of the folks up here.


King Prince

.. Soft Hackles and Stiff Hackles also are getting a workout in the frigid waters. It looks like the trout are living up to their press clippings and are chomping anything that drifts by - within easy reach.
.. For an excellent overview of the varieties of Prince Nymphs check out the PRINCE NYMPH PAGE at  Fly Fishing The Sierra.
.. The tedium of cold water fishing in blustery weather with snow blowing into your eyes and nose and ears is not for the faint of heart. Braving the delays of road construction and the wreckage of disasters is a chore in itself. But if you need to catch a fish or two it is worth it.

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A HOT TAR DOUBLE TANKER RESTING ALONG THE GALLATIN RIVER ROAD

Return Of The Faithful

WATERS COOLING

Too Warm For Our Taste

but . . . if you got'ta

WORLD FAMOUS CELEBRITY AND TIGHT LOOP

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.. Contrary to our best sensibilities we ventured into the visitor morass of Yellowstone National Park over the weekend. Shame on us!
.. But we did catch some fish and, we got to sport our new gift of a peach-colored, tropical weight, fishing shirt with enough pockets and gussets, and dangles, and bangles to disguise us from the neighbors who were taking pictures of the chaos.
.. The weekend rains caused a spike in runoff and a slight drop in temperature of the recently re-opened rivers. Not much really, but enough for the powers-that-be to allow visitors to play in the water.

MADISON MAULERS - SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE

.. You shan't be bored here with the lurid descriptions of traffic tangles, buffalo petting, bear baiting, moose ogling, or centerline parking. You just need to imagine Manhattan, NY with no taxi's and every driver an impaired teenager, (OR - all taxi's with impaired drivers!)
.. Fish were caught. Fish were played to exhaustion. Brand new waders got baptized. Beginners flailed the waters to a froth. Experts waded through dark holes like an adolescent at the beach. It was a sight to behold - indeed.
.. There were noses in every stretch of likely water; even at mid-day. The midges started erupting as the fog lifted at 9:30 AM. The little yellow grasshoppers of the Madison River meadows hopped well into the evening. There were mayflies in the mists of morning along the Firehole River - and not a fisher to be seen. Probably digesting a "Western Breakfast" and the ensuing quart of coffee.
.. By late afternoon we had discovered the dedicated flymph fishers of the Gibbon River canyon. A little later we discovered a professional guide beating the shit out of the Brook Trout in the meadows above Virginia Cascade.
.. We drove home in the parade of mobile condominiums that exits the park at dark. We chuckled at the traffic snarls at the synchronized stop light in West Yellowstone: perhaps the most poorly controlled major traffic intersection in all of North America.
.. Yes, the waters of the Madison River drainage are open to fishing after a very early and long closure. Yes, the faithful have returned to the elbow-bumping joys of standing where the fish were. Yes, Labor Day was crowded. Yes it's still crowded.

Is it October yet?

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FISH DIMPLES, SAILBOATS, AND HOPPER SPLASHES -- MY-MY

Published Tomorrow

OFF THE HOT PRESS

A Prose Tapestry

some fly fishing stuff too

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.. It's not just another, (of the myriad,) Yellowstone Fly Fishing books. It is one in a long line of books about fishing in the park.
.. It's not just another, (of the myriad,) "I did this and so should you!" books.
.. If anything it's a book that highlights and celebrates Yellowstone National Park. It's a tapestry woven of history, anecdotes, personal experiences, interviews, rumors, legends, and fish stories.
.. Offered up are fish stories from people who, have fished, and some who continue to fish in Yellowstone National Park. The stories serve to illustrate the rich diversity of any fishing experience in the park. They are the delights of their tellers and their enthusiasm, reverence, joy and pain are all there for us to read.

.. The intriguing title touts the "50 Best Places." The book covers many more than that.
.. Fishers who love specific river segments or lake localities are used to illuminate the lore of any single piece of water. The famous and infamous have come forth to share insights and delights: you will recognize many of the names and places - some you won't !!
.. If this were an early 19th century work it could just as easily be titled "The Personality of Yellowstone's Fly Fishing." It's all there! Bears, Wolves, Monster Fish, Native Americans, Mountain Men, Explorers, Early Visitors, Bandits, Outlaws, Rapine, Tragedy, and Fishing.
.. Of course there are plenty of illustrations. Certainly there are quite a few tips and tricks about the various waters and the fish inhabiting them. There is even the expected hatch sequences, recommended flies, secret tips and tactics, where to, how to, etc. - it really is all there.
.. This is a "FAT BOOK" and we strongly recommend that you properly break-in the binding. We also suggest that you buy two. If you love the park and it's fishing you'll quickly wear out the first one.
.. If you view fishing in Yellowstone National Park as just another catching destination you should avoid this book. If you would like your experiences in the park to be enriched and informed by it's long history and traditions then this is the book for you. It will even help you catch fish.
.. It's an easy read and one full of everything from gossip to fact. It is readily apparent that the author, (a Montana native son,) is not quite done with the 50 best places. We're sure he'll be back. Perhaps he'll treat us to a sequel.

OFFICIAL DETAILS

English
ISBN: 0811710513 EAN: 9780811710510Category: Sports & Recreation / Fishing/Travel / Parks & Campgrounds
Publisher: Headwater Books, Release Date: 08/01/2012
Author: Nate Schweber
Synopsis: The most important hatches and recommended patterns, along with key fishing techniques and the best times of year to fish there. Interviews with a stunning collection of Yellowstone Park veterans in the know, including fly shop owners Bob Jacklin, Craig Mathews, John Juracek, Richard Parks, and John Bailey.
Writers, including; Tom McGuane, Wild Bill Schneider, and The Drake magazines' Tom Bie. The best spots for Yellowstone cutthroat, westslope cutthroat, Snake River finespotted cutthroat, grayling, rainbows, cuttbows, brown trout, brook trout, mountain whitefish, and Mackinaw lake trout

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Sbmarine Sightings

BIG FISH CAUGHT HERE

On This

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.. Try this at home! A standard Woolly Bugger with a two-toned tail and a two-toned hackle over a fuzzy mustard colored chenille that is under-weighted with fat copper wire and scrubbed to within an inch of it's life with a stiff toothbrush, size 4 streamer hook or 6 2xl will do.

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Coming 'Round

INDIAN SUMMER?

Maybe Yes, Maybe No

lovely days for fishing - and catching

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.. The weather is perfect. For most folks a thundershower is a nuisance. For the Fall visitors to our neighborhood the overcast days and cool evenings come as a surprise. For fisher folks it's a beautiful blessing. We're loving it.
.. The rumors and verification of lake-run fish in the rivers and streams around Hebgen Reservoir are pregnant with anticipation. There are big fish being caught, (a few.) There are brightly colored fish being caught, (god bless PhotoShop.) Fisher folks want giant fish: it's a disease.
..  There's no doubt that anticipation and desire often trump actualization and fulfillment in the game of fishing for runners on the Madison River. Fishing is one thing. Fishing for runners is another. The mindset often destroys a lovely day on the water.
.. Right now the fishing and catching in the neighborhood is very good. The fall feeding frenzy is on. Waters have cooled, flows have been maintained, rains bring oxygen and nitrogen to the rivers, and the fish are exuberant and frisky. What's not to like?
.. A few of the neighbors are happy to take 5 - 10 fish an hour - no matter what their size. A few of the neighbors take 40 - 50 small Brookies in an evening and fry them up for dinner. They are happy and content.
.. Others with the same experiences feel disappointed because they could not exhaust & molest a giant fish; then remove it's slime by holding it out of the water for a photo, while squeezing it's guts into it's gullet, and then bring home a bit of fish porn to impress someone with their prowess. Different strokes!
.. It's early Fall. We may have an Indian Summer. We may not have an Indian Summer. Whatever the case, a few elk are bugling, the bow hunters are stalking the woods and meadows, and vest-pocket prairies, the migrants are migrating and catching is happening all around the neighborhood.
==> Gulpers are still going strong!
==> Hoppers are hopping!
==> Caddis are hatching!
==> Fall mayflies are abundant!
==> Terrestrials are doing the backstroke!
==> Fishing on all Yellowstone waters is as good as it gets!
==> Should you choose to scare a lot of fish on the off chance of catching an early runner use the fly below.

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Are You Ready ?

THE WEEKEND IS HERE

The Visitors Are Here

the bugs are here

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.. So, you're going to make it a four day weekend  --  are you? You're late. There's a pile of folks that are making it a six day weekend, and they are already here.

Claytonia lanceolata

.. Yellowstone National Park is in full bloom. The protracted cool Spring and the wet meadows of just two weeks ago have given us an early summer riot of color that is at least three weeks late. The fishing and catching has followed suit. Everything is in a gloriously verdant state. The temperatures are warming rapidly and 80's should be seen by Monday-next.

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.. The Gibbon River has finally settled down and hatches may be persistent for the weekend. We expect that it's still a soft hackle proposition.
.. We're headed up there tomorrow to see if there are any parking spaces left and if the fish will be cooperative.
.. Conventional and simplified fishing has finally come into it's own on the Firehole River. Visitors with guide books tucked into their kit bags should have no trouble catching fish in the manner prescribed and described by the authors of those books.
.. Hatches, for the purist, are on time. Set your clock and clean your windshield - the bugs are here. We suggest that you scan the reports from the feather merchants in the sidebar.

.. Finding the fish to catch will be a bit different this year. The river has been rearranged from the high flows of the last four years and the cute little names of perfect fishing areas are, at best, misleading. How-to books tend to be static entities, rivers are dynamic.
.. The Madison River has been greatly rearranged. For instance; 9-mile Hole is either 9 1/2-mile hole or 8-mile hole, now. Yet the visiting angler can be easily spotted following the footsteps of authors that describe the very rock to fish near, (the rock is still there on the shore.)

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.. Recent accurate information should be available at our local tackle emporia, from guides that actually fish. Stop and visit, it will enhance your catching chances.
.. The 'correct' fly choice is always a point for heated discussion this time of year. There are so many bugs, in so many stages, and so many flies, in so many variations, that the discussions continue ad nauseum.
.. We tend to agree with that sage fisher, Mortimer Snerd, "The fly that catches the most fish is the one that is in the water."
.. The fish are frisky, hungry, plentiful, and eager to please; just give them a chance. The 'soft water' is still the key right now. Dark holes, gentle bubble and foam lines, undercut banks, mid-river bars, and pillows in front of boulders are all places where the fish are.

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.. There have been a few neighbors testing the waters of the Gallatin River. It's a river connoisseurs game. There are some fish to be caught, (and bears to be avoided.)
.. If you like to make fishing into a competition rather than a 'by-the-numbers' exercise, the Gallatin River should be your choice this coming weekend. Should you want to avoid elbows, test your river-reading skills, and walk to cover a lot of water: have at it.
.. Some of our younger neighbors, (they visit us for feigned conversation and a quick snort,) like to "explore" [their word.] They seem to think that they should pound every inch of all water in the neighborhood. We did that once - maybe?

.. Some of those same kids who enjoy combat fishing have brought back a fly from the far northern reaches of Montana. It's the "X-Stimulator" from the Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop in Missoula. This hybrid monster has taken on a bit of local mystic. The kids mash it and twist it and pull the wing forward and drown it. To each, his own: takes fish!

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.. The traffic in the park is already horrendous. We suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination and that you park where it's safe rather than where it seems to be convenient.
.. We'll provide some documentary posts over the next few days, (time and traffic permitting.) The fishing is glorious, the catching is nearly the same!

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Preparedness

CURRENT BUG ACTIVITY

Anticipated Visitation

some interesting places to fish

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.. Well folks, it's just about as good as it gets. Although the rivers on the west side of Yellowstone National Park are above their seasonal discharge averages, they are rapidly clearing and the catching is getting better by the day. You, (and 150,000 others,) will not want to miss this opportunity.

.. The big bugs are on the Firehole River and the fish have found them. There are Yellow Sallies as big as bananas, the Salmon Flies are like giant zucchinis and the Golden Stone Flies will dwarf a Mazda Miata. This co-emergence is not unheard of, but to happen for the Fourth Of July is a rare occurrence.
.. If you like to fish in the morning on the Firehole River you will find a cool light fog and a spinner fall, (PMD's,) from about 7:30 AM onward. BWO's, Baetids of a couple sorts, and drowned nymphs can gather up fish all day.
.. For the folks that want to catch a lot of fish a rig with a small, (size 12 or less,) dark, floating Woolly Worm followed by a Caddis Nymph, (Rock Worm, Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear, or even a Prince Nymph) imitation will take 10" to 14" fish all day in the deep riffles.
.. We like to use a drowned, green, stiff-hackle in these high water conditions. Sizes 10 through 14 are good depending on what your rock-turning indicates.
.. The forecast for the weekend is a few scattered clouds and a few thundershowers. If you're blessed with overcast at the right time a mid-day mayfly hatch will clog your orifices. You'll need perfect presentation to fool a fish because of the fantastic cloud of the little devils.
.. The caddis have begun to appear in numbers that the fish enjoy. Sunshine in the afternoon is not a cruse right now. A two-fly rig with a large elk hair caddis, (size 10 - 12, or even 8,) followed by either an emerger or nymph will get the attention of even the most wary of trout as dusk covers the valley.

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.. The Madison River at this time of year is touted as a streamer fishery: and that's true, but there are some heavy White Miller hatches happening now that will continue for another week or two.
.. The deep undercut bank, (on the far side of the river from the parking at Barns #1,) has grown to enormous proportions during this high runoff episode. There are fish in there that will suck the cleats from your boots.
.. Take the long way around and sneak up on the bank, (getting your knees dirty is a good idea.) A short line and short, heavy leader with a marabou leech or dark green Wooly Bugger will wake you and the fish. Be prepared.

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..  Nez Perce Creek, (poor neglected sister,) is providing catching so good in all the riffles that should make the legal stretches a designated children's fishery. It's too easy right now. That's probably why it's being ignored.
.. The wade-deep crowd just can't stand to have anything too easy. Drowned and mangled dry flies, big nymphs, or bright yellow Woolly Worms will take more fish that your story can convey.
.. Of course, it requires a walk of about 700 yards to get to the water that provides exceptional catching. That may be too far for the wader-laden visitor.

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.. Visitation is heavy now and will be astronomically high for the Fourth. Caution is highly recommended in driving, gawking, parking and walking.
.. Some of the best fishing in this post-high-water period is reached by parking in a narrow spot, crossing the road, and then a meadow with downfall and bears. Please be careful: restrict your posing for the tourists to the crowded parking lots.
.. The bison are busy re-paving the road from the west entrance station to Madison Junction. This early summer maintenance is a Yellowstone ritual. It has been made an even greater attraction this year because of the wet meadows. The bison don't like to lounge in a wet puddle any more that do the picnickers.
.. If you can handle not fishing in crowded waters we suggest the Firehole River above the cascades along the Lone Star Geyser Trail. There are just a few Brook Trout in the water, but most of them are eager to dance with you.
.. We'll mention the Gibbon River tomorrow . . . we promise. But for now, we commiserate with you if you haven't found lodging. This little burg in the woods has been full for a week. There are a few camping places left, but driving from Bozeman is not too far if you need to fish in Yellowstone National Park over this coming weekend.

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