YELLOWSTONE'S GIBBON RIVER IS PINK

LOW FLOOD STAGE IS RAGING
little hope for opener


<- Gibbon River at Canyon Road


-- The Gibbon River in Yellowstone Park is at or above flood stage from Gibbon Falls to above The Gibbon Campground Meadow. Trout are in the grass south of the road to Canyon Village, and some are big for this stretch of the river.
-- Gibbon Meadows and Elk Meadows are partially flooded and show no sign of recession in the near future. The elk and the bison are feeding in 6 - 10 inches of water and loving it. The grass is green and the warm bright sunlight, combined with the afternoon thunder showers have produced an early greening of these popular meadows. It may take more than a week for the river in this section to clear.
-- Below the picnic area, in the confined channel of the canyon the river is a foot above flood stage and is a very pretty pink color. The big plunge pool at the first bridge is full of whitecaps and the suspended load is so heavy the color is striking. The river is eroding the road base, and there will need to be repairs as soon as the water level recedes. There is only a slim chance that any part of this river segment will be productive in less than 10 days.
<- Gibbon River at the First Bridge plunge pool

-- At the Norris Campground Meadows there is a lake, and above the bridge to canyon village there were several large fish finning in the grass where the small lake has formed because of the roadbed and high discharge.
-- This 20 - 30 acre lake might fish pretty good on opening day if you are willing to wade deep and pretend that you are on a bonefish flat. The fish were very active this morning, and the water is gin-clear as the silt load is dumped at the big bend in the upper end of this little meadow.
-- The channel is clearly visible by just following the froth and bubble line. We are going to check the regulations on this. The activity observed seemed like feeding, and there were many fish of a size usually seen in the lower meadows. Only one was close enough to identify - a 12" or better brook trout.



<- Flood Lake, south of road to Canyon Village


<<-- Fish in left-mid-foreground!