GULPER HO !!!

THE WEEDS ARE RIGHT

It'll Only Get Better,

cruel winds starting later

-------

.. The heat hath it's blessings. One notable blessing is that the zephyrs of the high country have been starting well into the afternoon. Who knows how long this will last - BUT - for now it's a small compensation for the poor showing of afternoon rains.
.. Hebgen Reservoir produces Callibaetis at a prodigious rate. The fish have figured out this simple meal. The fishers are, of course not too far behind.

.. The lore and lure of gulper fishing is varied, contradictory, and profuse - seldom is it profound, often it is profane. It's a simple thing, really. Get an attractive fly in front of a slurping submarine and chances are they will take it.
.. The lake has been like glass. Get on it early. On many mornings Tricos will also hatch early. Midges are still around. The Callibaetis can pop early this year so take your second cup of coffee with you - better yet, take your your breakfast and coffee, and lunch with you as you leave the door.

.. Conventional wisdom dictates a Callibaetis cripple for the floating fly. Almost all patterns work some of the time: go for it. Long precise casts are part of the tradition. Stealth should be too.

-------

.. Although there is a small "purist" tradition building over the last six or eight years, it hasn't reached the obnoxious level of some in the fly fishing world, yet:
**Cast to only one fish.
**Time it's nose appearances.
**Lead it by five feet.
**Cuss when it takes the natural right next to your perfectly presented, exquisitely tied, grotesquely expensive, designer fly.
.. This ritual has a certain snob appeal befitting gurus, guides, feather merchants, and shop dogs. Enjoy the elite feeling and your new found ribald vocabulary.

-------

.. The truth is quite a bit different. There are many fish in the same area. Fish change directions without telling anglers. There are millions of targets for the fish. There are hundreds, (nay, thousands,) for the fisher. It's really just a statistical game.
.. Maybe, just maybe, your fly's number is up! So then, put an appropriate fly in the appropriate area and wait for the appropriate signal to lift.

.. Fishers in tubes take "gulpers" while trolling submerged flies. Maybe they are slurpers and not really gulpers.
.. The double fly rig is popular with our most successful neighbors. Hackle Stacker, Shop Vac, Challenged Callibaetis, Feather Duster, and even PMD's in the right size take fish with surprising regularity.
.. Try a small hopper as a bobber and dangle a very light colored $3 dip about 18" behind it. Hell, even Bill's Pisser accounted for over two dozen fish yesterday morning before a giant sea monster ran off with his last one.
.. What ever your predilection - now is the time. It will get better by the day for the next two - three weeks. Enjoy some of the easiest, (or most challenging: snob-wise,) fishing that the neighborhood has to offer.

-------

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

..

It's In The Air

DON'T TELL THE VISITORS

Sleep With The Windows Open

the rain is getting colder

August 14, 2011 - TAKE THE HINT

-------

.. The signs are all around us. Bow hunters are checking strings, heads and fletching. Boom hunters are cleaning and loading. The grasshoppers have wings. The meadow grasses are drying and beginning their descent into straw. The neighbors are talking about good sleeping weather. This morning's shower was cold and refreshing. We're taking bets on the date of the first snowfall.
.. Abbreviated warm and extended cold is the measure of the seasons in the high country. We're looking forward to the anticipated glorious Autumn. We've scouted the big holes and parking places for the fall-run submarines.

.. We've noted the phenomenal density of ripening berries, (places to avoid in the upcoming weeks.) And we're using the last few warm days to catch some fish in all the familiar, (and less familiar,) places.
.. Catching is still good. We've not much to add about it except that a venture to Winter Creek will prove rewarding. So too, will a stroll down the path at Tower Falls. The "other" gulpers, those at Grebe Lake and the Duck Creek estuary are making their appearance now. Oh, by the way, Soda Butte Creek is on fire with hoppers and beetles.
.. We've not mentioned our idiosyncratic predilection for fishing some interesting structures in and around the neighborhood. We'll let you know about that in a day or two. Right now there is a Trico hatch on the cooling Madison River that the fish have finally discovered  --  SURPRISE!
.. We're headed there instantly, now that the second pot of coffee is gone, the stomach is in rebellion.

-------

TAKE A HORSE TO UPPER FAN CREEK, DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

.

The Snortle Strikes

GULPER GONE DOWN ?

Seek 'Em With A Snortle

fish seem to eat when they can

-------

.. The gulpers are gulping. Not quite like Pac-Man yet but persistent and consistent. Hebgen Lake is drawing the faithful with increasing regularity.

.. The Callibaetis are here and Trico clouds are small but regular. It's a bit different this year. The weed beds are covered by more water than in the recent past.
.. Light is penetrating the water just fine but, the Pac-Fish action is just now becoming apparent. This is probably because weed beds are just a bit deep for the sensitive bugs that inhabit them to be awakened by the requisite photo-period for maximum intense activity.
.. The wind has been coming on strong a skosh early too. So action is truncated by less than desirable conditions earlier in the mid morning than most fishers would like.

.. All-in-all things are proceeding apace with near normality and should develop into the feeding frenzy we're familiar with in the next 5 - 10 days. If you should find a weed bed at the right depth, you will be blessed with gulping action that is superb. Right now the key is water depth. Gulping is not lake-wide - YET!
.. All is not lost if the gulpers abandon the surface. Stay with your selected weed forest and go down. Traditionally, the neighbors use small buggers, leeches, and the local favorite the Snortle.
--The Snortle, (spelling can vary,) is a typical silli-legs pattern that is tied variously by different artisans. The recipe for the one shown above is:
Tail: 2 silli-legs about the length of the hook,
Body: peach Antron ribbed with scarlet Antron twisted on top,
Thorax: coarse hare's mask with two pair of silli-legs,
Hook size: 8, (unusual,) to 14, (a tough proposition.)
.. The most common variation is like the standard variety with black wool yarn substituted for the scarlet Antron. Some of the neighbors use a copper or lead wire under-body.
.. The fly is fished on a short, (5 or 6 foot leader and counted down to the weed tops or sides of the subterranean forest. A slow herky-jerky retrieve is the common action used. Brave and intrepid fishers let it sink into the edge of a weed bed and retrieve with a 2" - 3" motion with a 5 or 6 second pause in between.

-------

.

Gulpers & Gulpers

SOME ARE JUSTLY FAMOUS

Others Nearly Unknown

it's heating up now

-------

.. The world famous gulper action of HEBGEN LAKE has started in earnest.The far less famous gulper action at the neighborhood's secret spot has also started.

.. Calibaetis is the word on every pub-crawler's lips. It's whispered and shouted. It's the critter that's praised and cursed. They have been here for a couple of weeks, but their numbers have finally reached heroic proportions. They're everywhere.
.. The weed beds and soft bottom areas of Hebgen Lake produce prodigious numbers of these big-eyed bugs.
.. They appear at mid morning and the lake erupts with the dimples of fish noses. On the best mornings, (bright, still, warm, and the fog just cleared,) you can hear the slurping from all sides. Popcorn comes to mind, (but it's not nearly so prolific and is much louder.)

.. Near shore and adjacent to some tributaries and springs there is frequently a second hatch of trico's. The males hatch in the evening and hang out in the weeds and trees until morning when the females hatch and take wing. The clouds of diminutive bugs are sometimes thick enough to obscure the trees and willows.

.. Several times during the next few weeks these monster hatches will occur. When it happens, (and it's a spectacle to behold,) catching is hampered by the sheer quantity of bugs. The trout just rise and gulp and rise and gulp and the gulping of your fly is a statistical event.
.. It's a little easier at the neighborhood hole. It's a smaller area. There's just a mite fewer bugs. Casting from shore is possible. The trout see your fly as an individual entity. Catching is glorious.
.. Sometimes the fish are more or less selective during the monster hatches. Other times they seem to be very indiscriminate. Fly offerings are usually best presented on the surface. Sometimes, cagy anglers, will present both imitations.
.. The feeding frenzy can last for up to four hours, but taking of fish can continue to the early afternoon over some weed beds. Bring your sunscreen and wide-brimmed hat.

.. There are various local favorites for flies. There are standard patterns as well. We have a large selection of OPF's that we tie on. The small ones are kindly tied on 6x tippets by the dexterous neighbors whose eyes are better than ours.

..There are several places at Hebgen Lake where the weed beds are near enough to the shore that gulpers can be taken by wading into the lake.
.. Mostly this is a tube or boat proposition. Gentle presentations, sharp eyes, patience, and a smattering of good luck are all rewarded with fish bigger than the net you wear while "stylin' " on the streams.
.. Local knowledge is not necessary but a morning with a good guide will prepare you for a lifetime of spectacular catching. Get here now - or wait a week or two. It won't matter. They are here and it's worth the fishing -- if just for the catching.
.. The image below is from a very interesting site "Harvey's Spiders N Stuff."  Click HERE for more great images and a bit of information as well.

-------

.