Road Work

STARTS NOW

Be Very Careful

an essential service

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.. In the midst of our current trials the Montana Department Of Transportation is continuing with extensive improvements to Highway 191 north of West Yellowstone.
.. This is the most significant, (and disruptive,) of the recent  work on this section of highway. We take this opportunity to post the entire notice for our highway department.

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US Highway 191 near West Yellowstone draws thousands of drivers each year, many on their way to witness the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. Roads in this region are seeing increasing usage on top of wear-and-tear from harsh winters and frequent underground geologic activity. As a result, US Highway 191 between Big Sky and West Yellowstone has degraded, showing numerous cracks and potholes. It needs to be rehabilitated.
To ensure this roadway remains safe and smooth for the thousands of drivers on this route for years to come, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) will complete the Highway 191 – North of West Yellowstone project.
23 miles of roadway improvements will include:

• Creation of a northbound left turn lane at Rainbow Point Road
• Bridge crossing repairs over Specimen Creek and the Gallatin River
• Installation of new guardrail
• Road resurfacing

What to Expect

The project is split into two, with a roughly five-mile gap between construction areas: 1.) A turn lane will be constructed at Rainbow Point Road, north of West Yellowstone, to provide safer access for the growing communities along the roadway. 2.) The road will be repaved from Grayling Creek by US Forest Service Road 986 to Tepee Creek Trailhead by Elk Horn Ranch Road.
Work for both projects is expected to begin early May and last through August 2020. Traffic will be limited to one lane. Work on the turn lane at Rainbow Point Road will be slightly delayed until June to allow for bison herd migration in the spring. These timelines are all weather dependent.
Drivers can expect delays of up to 15 minutes in each construction zone from early May through August. Work is expected to occur in daylight hours, Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 5-minute delays should be expected during non-work hours.

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Weekly updates are available throughout construction. To sign up:

• Email: Takami
• SMS Text Update: HIGHWAY191 to 41411
• Project hotline: 406-207-4484 during business hours

Recycling Pavement

MDT recognizes that for many Montanans, our environment is key to our wellbeing. As part of each project, we identify ways to limit our impacts as much as possible. For this project, we are utilizing an environmentally-friendly technique called "hot-in-place recycling" to improve the road.
During the warmest months of the year, July and August, conditions are best for repaving. This process involves three main steps:

1. Crews align equipment in a "train." The first driver manages a heater that heats the roadway to the point where the top layer becomes soft and removable.
2. A second worker assists in removing the surface layer of asphalt. They mix it with rejuvenator which helps restore the asphalt to a like-new condition.
3. The “caboose” works on laying the asphalt back down on the road, as if they were laying new asphalt.

This technique reduces the amount of mining needed and requires fewer asphalt trucks, making it more environmentally friendly. Crews use the existing asphalt and recycle it to prolong the life of the road. Through this recycling, we continue to keep good roads good and our state beautiful.

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.. Our village continues to show increased activity as shops show signs of life. The Post Office has cars and bicycles clustered around it. The hardware store has cautious activity and, correctly parked pickumups, (how unusual.)

LIMITED CHOICES

.. The grocery stores still have empty shelf sections but there are small amounts of toilet paper on display. Product limits are still in place and "spit, (sneeze,) guards" have made their appearance around the checker stations.
.. Interestingly some excellent produce and meat cuts have made their appearance. Shopping early has it's rewards. Avocados are still grossly oerpriced as are the excellent rib eye steaks. Such is life.
.. A few more of the neighbors are venturing to the nearby fishing locations. Big Grizzle Bears and giant Black Bears have been reported close to town. Even the South Fork Moose Family is close to the bridge:  AND = even on the road west of town.

THE ORIGINAL BLUE BOTTOM

.. Sneaky fisher folks have invaded the mushy, slushy, gooey, bottoms of Grayling Creek, Cabin Creek and, even Beaver Creek at the Quake Lake estuary. They have ignored the water below Hebgen Dam to allow the spawners a rest and, avoid trampling the redds. Also, there are too many Lexus and 'TRD' pickups from Utah.
.. Some surface action on Cabin Creek and in the Grayling Creek bottoms is being reported. The neighbors fly of choice is the Original Blue Bottom which can be fished on top or underneath - such fun.
.. We apologize for the erratic schedule of our posts. It has something to do with couch time and, garden time and, streaming 'B' movies from the 50's.

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WALLPAPER:  STANDARD AMERICAN BREAKFAST

The Lamar Five

NO FANCY NAMES HERE

Stuff  'Em In An Altoids® Tin

share them with friends

CUSTOM FLY BOX

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.. Oh to have the legs and exuberance of youth. For us, that time is long gone. Some of the neighbor kids still have it all.
.. They travel light and fast. They fish the best water at the best time and in the best way. They are on intimate terms with the lakes, rivers and streams in our neighborhood and in Yellowstone National Park. They cram a month's worth of fishing into each week and a year's worth into each month.
.. For reasons unknown these kids have befriended us and treat us far more kindly than the cliquish establishment fly fraternity. They probably know more and fish more as well. They don't have to impress visitors. They don't have to sell the latest and greatest. They don't have to engage in hyperbole and fantasy by the day or hour. They are out there and doing it.
.. One rule that permeates all of their catching endeavors is expedience and effectiveness. Their gear is good and effective. It is not limited to fly fishing stuff. It is catching oriented, not stylistic. It is pared to the bare minimum.
.. Their flies are designed from what they see on the rivers and creeks. They will occasionally cruise the local feather merchant's aisles. Ideas are gathered from all points of the compass and then shared with each other over a brew or two. Experimentation is rampant. "Keepers" become legend and they eventually become standardized, (more or less.) The flies are tied at the kitchen table after the dishes are done.

.. There are certain groups of flies that are used for specific times and places. These are loosely codified by river drainage and occasionally time of year. The assemblages are simple. They have no formal designations -- neither do the flies -- usually. Occasionally descriptive terms are applied to specific flies that have proven themselves. Terms like: The Footed Monster, The Spaghetti Muddler, The Green Floater, etc. Some are varieties of well known flies. Right now the Red Humpy is in ascendancy.
.. The kids currently are expending enormous amounts of energy and gasoline traveling to the hinterland of the northeast corner of the park. Only a few flies are used. They  can be made to cover all situations. Sizes are situational. They work: only one has a familiar name.
.. The names are: Dark Floater, Light Floater, Winged PT, Spaghetti Muddler, Red Humpy. The kids have allowed me to make some pictures of the Lamar Five. You should not have any trouble matching the names to the faces.

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We See Water

CABIN CREEK FROZEN

All Others Open
(large images big enough for wallpaper)

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.. On the last day of last year's ticket we explored the local water again and then fished between the lakes.
.. Even Yellowstone Creek, (the little drainage ditch in town,) is flowing during mid-day; just a trickle mind you, but flowing.
.. The Madison River is running just a bit below mean average flow, and Grayling Creek is nearly ice & snow free.
.. The new USGS water flow data pages are very comprehensive, but do take some getting familiar with.
.. The South Fork of the Madison River has slowed some from last week, and is showing dimples in the estuary and at the Highway 20 Bridge.
.. The discharge from Beaver Creek is making a dent in the ice on Quake Lake.
.. There will soon be open water from the Quake Lake inlet to the Beaver Creek discharge and the neighbors are already dunking some worms.
.. The outlet of Quake Lake has been productive on small drowned caddis flies and great big night crawlers; the fish are ready.
.. Took a couple of fish on Prince Nymphs near the Campfire Lodge Dining Room in the fast water. The spawners are sparse but present. Most of the neighbors are still taking fish through auger holes behind the dam, but the surface slush is getting deep. We hear whispers of an early ice-out on Hebgan Lake.
.. Brief report, time for breakfast.

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Short Takes

HEBGEN BREACH
MAKES BEACHES

Madison River This Fall

other fine places

.. There are new beaches for the viewing and fishing. The low water levels from the Hebgen Dam breach have exposed beaches that are usually not available for fishing at this time of year. Depending on the rate of fill for the reservoir, this should be a boon for Fall fishers.
.. The expansive beaches around the Happy Hour Bar are gaining much attention from some of our neighbors. Gulpers are still active and are especially hungry. Enormous pods of fish are cruising the inshore waters of Rainbow Point.
.. These fish are wonderfully indiscriminate in their feeding habits. A double fly rig with a small soft hackle and floating nymph will bring quite a few fish to shore.
.. Evening time, and through an hour after sunset are highly productive. Don't kick the lawn chairs or step in the worm cans. Build a fire just before dark and enjoy the stars.
.. As the reservoir level stabilizes the parked spawners at the Madison River delta will begin a more vigorous ascent of the river. A bit of cool weather would surely help.
.. There are also some nice Rainbows that have already made their way to the plunge pool at the base of Gibbon Falls. Swing a streamer in the cavitation eddy if you can cast that far.
.. Remember to report tagged fish and avoid the area around the fish weir near Baker's Hole.
.. This year's dry Fall weather has kept flows low in our rivers and streams. Fish are concentrated in dark water, beneath undercuts, and in the shade on our smaller tributaries. They are occasionally "joyously large," as one neighbor puts it.
.. Cabin Creek, Duck Creek, Obsidian Creek, Indian Creek, Cougar Creek, and Grayling Creek are all fishing exceptionally well right now. Terrestrials and soft hackles, (sunken or floated,) will exercise your reel if not your backing.
.. Indian Summer provides an exceptional time to avoid the rabid trophy fisher. A stroll along a small creek, with casts of 15' or less, probing the bushes and undercuts between shallow pools is a fine way to fish the neighborhood.
.. The run is on -- but it's still a trickle. There's plenty of cold fog, mist, drizzle, rain, and snow in the coming weeks. That's the time for stories and trophies.
.. It's time for breakfast: SOS, a quart of milk, and blueberry pancakes for desert. It'll take some fishing to get rid of that.

The Weather Outside's Delightful

RIVERS SLOW, PRECIP UP, AVERAGES EXCEEDED

Visitors Bogged Down with Short Memories

the high country rocks
fishing report / winter video / casting video

.. A quick glance at our neighborhood SNOTEL and River Data, (see sidebar,) confirm that Spring is arriving at a nice slow pace. It will get here: it always has. The graphs for accumulated precipitation are looking normal and following the average slope with just a little more than average precipitation.
.. The discharge graphs are running just a little below average. There are a few river gauges that are frozen and provide only interrupted data.
.. With the snow pack at between 90% and 115% of average this is certainly not a banner year.

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.. This is "Spring Break" - whatever that means. Visitors from the lowlands visit West Yellowstone to "See Snow." They whine that there's too much snow and they have to walk in it too.
.. They complain that their cars get stuck. They bemoan the gray skies and snow falling from the sky - "is that really where it comes from?"
.. The "cute" little cabin that they rented two years ago is now buried. They can't make snowmen because they have to shovel a path to the door. It breaks their back and spirit.
.. They turn on the T.V. and are transported to the outer world by microwave transmission. They tune in their local news channel and catch up on what they are missing. They didn't even bring a fly rod or wax for their skis.
.. The snow last night brought the five day total to about 20" and there's more on the way. Bring it on.
.. It makes the neighborhood look clean. It covers the blemishes, it builds a soft edge on the angularity of "rustic" architecture. We're loving it. Our memory is long enough to know that there is noting 'unusual' about this year.
.. The town looks clean and uncluttered. It's flaws and blemishes are hidden beneath a soft white comforter that obscures the pimples and rashes. We like it this way. We like it the other way too.
.. Having little in the way of Zen Mastery, (cf. Chandler #I & #II,) we just drove around town and took some snapshots. Perhaps they will satisfy the urge to "see snow" and the lowlanders will not be so put out by having to be in it.

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.. The wondrous caprice of nature has given us an early run of fish into the Hebgen Tailwater. This is probably not a permanent condition. The fish seek food wherever it may be found; and the brief warm up of last week did make Beaver Creek and Cabin Creek a kind of buffet on a conveyor belt for the trout. The cooling trend of the last few days and the projected coolness for the coming week suggest that the fish will drop back down to Quake Lake in the near future. Not to worry, they'll be back.

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.. The poor lowly carp is getting it's gills slapped around by viewers on You Tube. "They dirty the water." My, My, do you know what trout do in the water? Some people do too!
.. Well it looks like the third iteration of Fishing Jones is in the final throes of completion. The look is clean, the prose concise, and golly we're glad he's back from all that globe trotting. Click over there and see what a Peacock Bass looks like. Pete's just fishin' and sharing the joy. After all as he says: "I’m just a guy who likes to fish and waste time blogging about it." Hear - Hear!

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P.S. -- Hazardous Weather Outlook


HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
413 AM MDT MON MAR 31 2008

MTZ008-012>015-050>055-011015-
BEAVERHEAD-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-
MADISON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN-
413 AM MDT MON MAR 31 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A SPRING STORM SYTEM MOVING THROUGH THE REGION WILL BRING WIDESPREAD
SNOW TO PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA TODAY. A SNOW
ADVISORY REMINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER TUESDAY THROUGH
SUNDAY IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT..

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

Bye The Way, The Weather's Rotten

MONTANA LEGISLATURE SHIRKS RESPONSIBILITY
Weather Cold - Fishing Hot
California To Slap Boaters ??
Quagga's Threaten Utah

.. It seem a simple thing. Just affirm that the state law - already on the books - is the right law and that it means what it says. Not in Montana!
.. The Montana Legislature has shirked it's responsibility and tabled the stream access bill that would have clarified the meaning of the law.
.. The law is simply worded and not ambiguous: people can access their water from public property and use that water between high-water marks. Back in 2000, Montana's attorney General, Joe Mazurek said:

"Montana's Constitution guarantees the public the right to use all of our state's waters for recreation, our legal research revealed that bridges on county roads are basically the intersection between two public rights-of-way: the road and the stream or river. When the public has the legal right to use both, it wouldn't make any sense to conclude that people can't use the point where they intersect."

.. Recently there have been some notes in various posts on the web, and an occasional note in newspapers. However, the issue is larger than the play it has been getting. This has been simmering for at least 10 years and has only recently gotten some attention in the media.
.. And, lest the pictures of jury-rigged barbed wire and electric fencing fool you into thinking that this is just a transient problem on a few rivers, we provide you with another to clarify how substantial the threat is, and how much money and effort go into keeping the public from their water.
.. 10 years ago the issue was reignited by the need for county workers to access bridges in order to maintain these structures. They discovered that hunters and fishers were being illegally excluded by the attachment of private fencing to public structures - which also excluded the county workers. The conflict from it's inception is well documented by Three Rivers Park, in their series of excerpted articles.
.. In 2005 the skirmish escalated from low to high gear as the Cox Foundation began honking their horn about their rights. An article in New West spells out the vitriol that entered into the discussion at that time. It was this article that provided the picture used in most web posts about the conflict.
.. The New West article posted yesterday brings us up to date on the current status of the issue.
.. An intriguing 'sidebar' note in the issue is the role(s) of Trout Unlimited. The Montana chapter of the organization was instrumental in drafting the current bill - the national organization wanted nothing to do with stream access - but have decided now to study the situation. Hal Herring, in New West, has detailed this, and of course provided another classic picture. You can check the local reaction in the post by A Step Apart.
.. By avoiding their responsibility, the current legislature will allow this issue to go to the courts and deprive the public of their say in the issue. Given the players, and the attitude of moneyed interests, this promises to be a grand fight indeed. Fishers and the rest of the public stand to have their constitutional rights decided by entities outside of Montana because the legislature is not doing their job.
.. Those folks interested in how avoidance works in Montana can follow it at the official Montana State Legislature site.

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.. The waters are clearing a bit thanks to the typical cold spring days we've had for a week now. Fishing has picked up, and fishers with gumption are finding the fish a bit more cooperative than last week, (and they were pretty cooperative then.)
.. The Madison River tailwater fishery between the lakes has seen a few of the large fish enter the stream. Spawning will begin any day now and by this weekend, or next - for sure - will be at the point that we will abandon this stretch of water to the fish and those that would trample redds.
.. Right now is a good time to tie on some small nymphs and fish the faster water and the bigger pools at the head of the runs. A Yellowstone Badger in size 16 - 18 will do nicely, and for prospecting use the Yellowstone Winter Grub. The snow flies are still abundant and you can use any diminutive bit of fluff for a midge cluster imitation. Good results are also possible with a bead head prince or a pink Montana Duster.
.. The ice and snow is off Cabin Creek. It warmed enough last week to produce a silt plume and is beginning to see some fish. About a week's worth of fishing is available here before spawning takes place. This is an excellent time to use a rubber legs Golden Stone imitation, or a yellow Montana Duster: sizes 8 - 12 are producing well now.
.. If you happen to find yourself on the north side of Yellowstone National Park, stop in at Park's Fly Shop. They report that there is some surface action beginning on the Yellowstone River near Gardiner, (can you say BWO?)

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.. From Protect Your Waters comes news that there is a distinct possibility that California will slap boaters with an enormous tax - $1,500. We can only wonder what it will cost to launch a float tube in the land of Queen Califia.
.. They also report that the Quagga Mussel is poised to invade the waters of Utah. It will be only a matter time before these too, are in Yellowstone's waters.

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.. The map at the bottom of the page is slowly growing and has attracted the attention of the Platial Blog. - - - - - - - We're flattered.