Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Gnats Have It

IT'S SNOW FLY TIME
Buzzers, If You Will
warm and periodically still

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.. Mom is fooling with us again. This is the time of year when we normally plunge to the depths of the freezer.
.. Au contraire; despite the recent winter storm warning our high temperatures continue in the 20's and 30', (punctuated by an occasional 40-something.) The lows are not quite in the single digits and, the winds have slowed.
.. Bright overcast interspersed with a bit of blue sky has the midges swarming.
.. The Rainbow Trout are beginning their amorous phase, and fishing is good in the neighborhood.
.. Drag out the "itty-bitty" box and fish any and all of the small nymphs and dinky floaters. Griffiths Gnat is the current neighborhood favorite for floating flies. The bi-colored Renegade is a close second place.
.. Small dark nymphs, or small bright nymphs are equally productive right now.
.. It's about time that the "real fly fishers" caught up with the "ice fly fishers." The hearty hole-drillers have been fishing very small flies for about six weeks now, (LINK #1, LINK #2.)
.. The snow has been deep enough that only a dedicated few nuts fly folks have wandered around the lower stretches of the Madison River at Campfire Lodge.
.. They report, (bless their young legs,) that a few, (probably a gross understatement,) fair-sized fish have been taken.
.. These fish begin to leave Quake Lake about this time each year and spawn in the gravels of the Hebgen Tailwater. Right now is the time for fishing. In just a few weeks, (gadzooks the winter is flying by,) they will start building redds and it will be time to leave them alone as they engage in fishy frivolities.
.. Because of the deep snow on the shoulders of the roads, parking places are at a premium. This is dangerous territory for wader-clad fishers. Please be careful about where you park. Leave an unobstructed width of roadway. Do it legally. Tickets and towing started last week!
.. Below is the annual photo of the "Quake Lake Dancing Nymphs" - by popular request.
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