Don't Bother

IT'S TOO DAMN COLD

"It'll Fish Better Later"

muck, mud, bears, and such

BIG FISH AND BEARS GO TOGETHER HERE

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.. Onward to the other fishing opportunities in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The gabfest and elbow convention on the Firehole River is in Full swing. The park and toddle crowd is playing bumper tag along the Madison River. The Gibbon River clique is hooting about soft water and big fish. All good fun for the roadside angler in the park.

.. With buckets of cool water escaping the clouds, and with a dusting of fresh snow in the mountains,  and with ground fog in the morning it's time to visit the places that we're told not to fish.
.. It would be a genuine sacrilege to question the sages that tell us that the water is too cold. It would be downright impertinent to ask the sages if they ever, or even recently, fished where they say, " . . . thou shalt not."
.. It's a funny thing how conventional wisdom is propagated among the mass conformists of the fly fishing world. It doesn't take much for myth to become truth among the listeners to the word.

.. Like most organized religions, orthodox fly fishing has it's saviors, prophets, soothsayers, and holy books. The orthodoxy of the religion is reinforced by repetitive visitations to sacred sites for penance and inspiration.
.. Sheep in the fold of this orthodoxy follow their shepherds advice. They bleat the cant of prophets and soothsayers to the point that it's a solemn mantra of belief.
.. We enjoy this local belief system. It shuns waters with willing fish. The water that is shunned is usually full of fish. Fish that are gullible enough to eat bits of debris nailed to iron or steel hooks.

These Are Here

.. But - someone - at some time - said that those waters were verboten at this time of year. It must be true. They said so.
.. Weird how some things a fisher says are taken as gospel and other things are called exaggerations or even pure prevarication.
.. So, contrarian that we are, we're off to catch the giant fish of the upper Gallatin River.
.. These are fish that are in water that is just "TOO COLD." But not too cold for spawning - eh? Not too cold for swimming, (if you are a fish.)

Cold Water Wonder

.. It is water that is guarded by signs warning us about the bears. It is water guarded by muddy trails and quagmire stream crossings.
.. It is water that requires parking in a muddy gravel lot, (not the ideal place for your BMW, Mercedes, Touareg, or Escalade.)
.. It is water where some local fishing guru got a nick in their paint and mud above the ankles of their $400 waders.
.. We suggest that the orthodox fishers stay with the glory waters where elbows and inspiration combine to reinforce the notion that there is only a couple of places to catch fish this time of year.
.. Mud is the friend of the fisher that likes to catch.

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FISHY PLACES JUST FULL OF COLD WATER