Can It Be ?

FOUR FIVE CONQUERORS?

Woke For July 3 ?

exclusive or inclusive ?

A NATIVE AMERICAN SACRILEGE ?

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.. Some interesting facts:
1) Washington and Jefferson both held slaves,
2)  Lincoln, though he led the abolition of slavery, also approved the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Minnesota after a violent conflict with invading white settlers there,
3)  Roosevelt, a good Republican, is reported to have said, "I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every ten are." He also said, "the most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian.” {LINK}
..  For many Native American people, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Omaha, Arapaho, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache, the monument is a desecration of the Black Hills, which they consider sacred. Lakota people know the area as Paha Sapa — "the heart of everything that is."
.. So, of course, our president a good Republican,  has scheduled a major event at the monument. We have had our head shaken by this juxtaposition of perceptions in this time of conflict, pandemic and, national unrest.
..  Unlikely as it is, many fly fishers, feather merchants, fishing web sites, and YouTube channels avoid comment on the reality of this moment in history; we are fully cognizant of the sociopolitical atmosphere surrounding us. It is troubling! We cannot avoid comment. Silence is not enough.
.. For this celebration of Independence Day, we're trapped in a little tourist town with 1/4 of the shops closed. Montana is not fully "open" yet. Entitled visitors from around the world are trouping through our village. There are very few face masks present. The grocery store aisles are full of normal appearing folks searching the empty shelves.
.. The surreal aspects of our daily existence are entirely missed by those entitled visitors = fly fishers included. We've lost our part time gig due to closures. We're free to observe from our car, porch, patio, and occasional forays into the grocery store, post office, hardware store and gas station = such an awakening. May this never happen again!

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CADDIS TO GO

.. Yesterday's mid-day thunder boomers brought some hail and cool rains to the neighborhood. The result was a brief respite from the warm weather and a moderate period of excellent evening catching.

.. The Firehole River will be fishable for the coming weekend. Catchable is another question. Temperature spikes to 70°F are already here. Early morning is best - very late evening is a fair bet as well. Stick with soft hackles in the shadows. Don't spend any effort with surface flies unless the critters are crawling in your ears. If so, they are probably caddis of one sort or another.

.. The Madison River has fared better this year. Catching has succumbed to the "Madison Holy Trinity" = caddis. PMD and, soft hackles. A dozen of each should endear you to the local counter help. Remember that surface flies may be drowned and still catch those pesky trout.

COACHMAN HACKLE

.. Early morning should find you parked in a wide dirt spot on the Gibbon River. Get there early and pound the riffles and dark slicks with large nymphs.
.. By noon time refugees from the other rivers will inundate the road and the parking spots. When it becomes elbow-crazy a small movement can continue your catching,
.. The meadows around the museum of the ranger and, upstream are full of brook trout and the occasional grayling. This is a good place to practice your stealth stalking skills. Just about any fly on  the surface will bring strikes. Good, long drifts, are best. Don't be too quick of wrist. The little fish often miss and come back for seconds.

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.. With a few neighbors and, no dogs, we're headed to a secluded bend on the Notellum River at the edge of the park boundary. A small fire just beyond the park line and a few steaks, (nearly a week's rent,) along with a cool one and great fellowship with young skeptics and old grouches should celebrate our independence.😎😎😎😎

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WALLPAPER:  CANNELLINI SOUP WITH BACON GARNISH

Happily

BEEN TWO YEARS

Sails Are Nifty

back to norris

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THE BLOND FEATHER DUSTER

.. On a personal note: caught our grayling. In the meadow by the Norris Campground entrance road. On a floating nymph. A blond Feather Duster. Great way to close the season.

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WALLPAPER:  RASPBERRY SHORTCAKE

And A Happy New Year

TOWN FILLED UP

Town Hung Over

time to take stock

WALLPAPER:  DEGLAZE IT

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.. With great heroism and mighty resolve we arose at 10:00 AM, stumbled to the prearranged coffee pot, flipped the switch and sought great aunt Mildred's remedy.
.. By noon the party had cleared out and the mess was cleaned up, dishes done, shanks browned, and a mirepoix ready to be deglazed.

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.. Reflection is a soothing pastime for the morning after and most fitting for the first day of this new year. The last one was long by an extra second and, felt far shorter.

EAT MORE GUACAMOLE

.. Last year we fished and caught more and addressed this epistle less.
.. We retired once again and it seems to have stuck this time.
.. New Year's Resolutions can be either trite or momentous. We've made a few of both kinds.
.. Despite the outrageous prices of the avocado up here we resolve to eat more of them. Eat avocados in guacamole or, in omelets or, with bacon or, with just a spoon and, some salt - or sugar - or smoky lentils. This should be an easy resolution to keep.

Contemporary Conversation

.. Despite our rusty wheels and curlycue lumbar region we resolve to revisit those Yellowstone waters that we first met over 50 years ago. It shall be a chore, of course. But the reminiscences will be worth it - cell phones and elbows be damned.
.. Two resolutions should be enough for this year.

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.. Our water year still has possibilities. Snow depth is up and water content is down. We're hoping for a good run off. The rivers need it. Of course that delays the best catching for a year. We'll take it.
.. This Spring, in Grayling Creek,  the new resident grayling should be mature and feisty; we're going to dance with a few of them.

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WHAT A HOOT !!

.. Already the ice on Hebgen Reservoir is getting punched full of auger holes and giant whitefish are making their presence known. No monster trout yet but they will be taken soon enough.
.. The sun is out and the midges are frolicking Between The Lakes. If it wasn't for the cornbread we'd trot out there and try out one of the neighbors' latest creations, the Fan Wing Rubber Legs Royal Coachman.

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NEEDS CAST IRON

.. The cornbread is out and the pork shanks smell just grand. Time for the black eyed peas.
.. We're doing it again: from the Deep South this time. Food drives some of us. Some folks work to eat. Some folks eat to work. We're not sure where we fall but the food is important.

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WALLPAPER:   JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

Signs 'O' Da Times

BISON HAVING GOOD TIME

Road Construction In Full Swing

visitation near new record

WALLPAPER: GO FAST-PASS BUS-YEE HAW !!

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.. Yellowstone National Park is not a petting zoo. Nor is it set aside as a playground for fly fishers only.
.. Visitors take selfies with their backs turned to the bison just 20' feet away. Fishers stop traffic as they struggle into their waders in the middle of parking lots and narrow roads.

PRIMITIVE PARKING

.. It could be truly entertaining to watch if it wasn't so dangerous. Vehicles pass each other on blind curves. Parking lots are so full that plans are being discussed to expand several of them. Tour buses are larger and more full than ever before. Only the brave venture into the park during "HIGH SEASON."
.. A fifth visitor was gored and trampled by a bison yesterday. The park news service is busy with their standard press release - again, (LINK-1.)
.. Statistics for visitation for the first half of the year show increases for every month. Rate of increase ranges from 4.90% to 48.61%, (LINK-2.)

CIVILIZED PARKING

.. Traffic jams are compounded by the increase in pedestrians and fishers in the road and the multiple construction projects around the park, (LINK-3 , LINK-4.)
.. Parking lots are so full that cars and mobile condominiums are parked in the traffic lanes. Drivers circle the lots for lengthy periods just hoping for a safe place to park.
.. It can take more than 25 minutes to travel the distance through town to the West Entrance Station of the park.

FIREHOLE FUN

.. The buzz and speculation is that the increase is due mostly to lower gasoline prices. That may be a factor.
.. There are others: America's population boom, an affluent generation here just got rid of kids and enjoy the summer to themselves, the burgeoning middle class in China is discovering the world, tour operations present an easy opportunity for good money; AND - Global warming. The park is crowded and will remain that way for decades to come.

MORE FIREHOLE FUN

.. By the way: Disney is now conducting tours of Yellowstone National Park. How long before they run the place? Probably in 2019 or 2020 right after their new Shanghai attraction is finished, (LINK-5.)
.. Injuries from wading and swimming in the Firehole River are on the rise. A woman died by drowning just a few years ago, (LINK-6.)
.. Despite the common misconceptions that the rivers are only for fishing there are many visitors that enjoy playing in the water in the hot Summer.
.. One response by the National Park Service to the increased visitation is an increase in park fees. As of June 1, 2015 the fees have jumped up a notch and are expected to provide an increase in revenue of $3,000,000.00, (LINK-7.) That would make the total take from entrance fees about $15,000,000.00/year.

GREAT BIG SIGN - OFTEN IGNORED

.. National parks are setting records across the country. NOAA has correlated this, (partially,) with warming trends in climate and "good" weather, (LINK-8.)
.. We've been advised that a bellwether condition exists at Arches National Park and Cayonlands National Park, (LINK-9.) Parking is a problem. Bus loads of people are a problem. Congestion and the "visitor experience" are major topics of concern.
.. In our neighborhood the state and the town are already responding. We have new traffic controls including lane assignments, signage, and road improvements.
.. The National Park Service is taking baby steps to address these problems, (LINK-10.) These are small parks compared to Yellowstone National Park. They are feeling the pinch.
.. Yosemite has responded. We can only hope that Yellowstone responds rapidly - right now would not be too soon. [[Thanks to J.C. for the heads up.]]

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.. The fish are doing well in Grayling Creek, (LINK-11.) We've seen them and hope to catch a few in a year or two.
.. These are not the adfluvial Grayling that were dumped in Grebe Lake and move down the Gibbon River. These are native Montana fluvial Grayling from the Big Hole River that are housed in the  refugium of Axolotl Lake near Ennis, Montana.

TRY THIS

.. Caddis are the star attraction on the Gallatin River right now. Even in the rain and during the overcast the little skinny ones are happening. Tie a blade of dead grass on a small hook and catch a dozen fish per hour. How good is that?
.. The recent spate of cool weather has slowed down the ants and beetles. The hoppers are slower but still moving and swimming the backstroke. They should finish their molt in a week or two.
.. Now might be a good time to catch the sunrise in the Lamar Valley.

Then again . . . .

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WALLPAPER: BRAISED SMOKED PORK SHANKS & CANNELLINI BEANS

Three items

MISPERCEPTION

GALLATIN BOUND
Some Breaking And Recent News

WALLPAPER: HIDDEN GALLATIN

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.. #1: Because of storage requirements, traffic counts, longevity of web presence, and content; this little family and friends blog was recently defined as a commercial enterprise. It's not.
.. There is not now, and never has been a paid or unpaid advertisement on our post pages. There never will be.
.. Apparently blogs come and go, and hosting at free Internet Service Providers and hosting services is based on this perception. Our wallpapers and persistent web presence - along with a bit of verbosity removes us from the ephemeral norm of bloggerdom.
.. The proposition was put forth, to us,  that demands upon the free service  were such that some recompense, (in the form of filthy lucre,) should flow toward the service provider. Not from us!
.. We have resolved the conflict and feel that a free, non commercial website deserves to be hosted for free for as long as free hosting is offered. So be it.
-- Many of our images will be, henceforth, hosted at a free service and "hot linked" to these pages. You will not notice a difference. Radio silence has ended.
.. #2: It's time to fish the Gallatin River. The elbows are sparse. Afternoon rains keep many visiting fishers at the pubs, in trinket shops, and roaming the musty aisles of feather merchants.

PICK A FUZZY FLOATER

.. Parking is abundant and safe, (mostly,) fish are exuberant, bugs are plentiful, grasshoppers are in their final molt, (a bit early,) and pretty thick right now.
.. Take your favorite caddis imitation for a pleasant walk along one of the least appreciated streams in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The quiet water is still providing rising fish that seem to want to eat anything. Ants and beetles are just making their presence known and all manner of flotsam is fair game for catching right now.
.. There are a couple of bears around the upper end of the stream and even a cranky moose at Fawn Pass. Hike with other folks and be well armed and alert. Bear spray is your friend.
.. #3: Some important happenings have taken place during our involuntary hiatus.
.. Over 150,000 Grayling eggs have been planted in Grayling Creek. About 35,000 Cutthroat eggs have been planted in the same water. Some fry are present in the expected nursery waters. Perhaps a healthy population will ensue.
.. The, occasionally heated, conversation about sending rotenone, (an odorless, colorless, crystalline ketonic chemical compound used as a piscicide,) down Soda Butte Creek, is in it's final stages.
.. We've been kept abreast of the developments by several readers, most notably "J.B." Thanks ever so much.
.. For those not familiar with the interagency action to remove the willing Brook Trout from the upper reaches of Soda Butte Creek, here are some resources to help you evaluate the action. We're sorry we could not post it during the last few weeks:
-- -- A) Draft E.A. for Soda Butte Creek,
-- -- B) NPS amended conservation plan statement,
-- -- C) Discussion and commentary from Chi Wulf,
-- -- D) Straight news from Billings Gazette,
-- -- E) Straight news from Jackson Hole News & Guide,
-- -- F) Recent News From Bozeman Chronicle.
.. Recent developments revealed by correspondence between the officialdom and our source "J.B." shows us the best approximation of a timetable for the action and the augmented plan to save some of the native cutthroats in the stream.
.. August 24, 2015 is the projected date for the start of the poison phase.
.. Native Cutthroats will try to be saved.
.. If you filed a comment you have the right to appeal the decision on this action. 
.. Back in the saddle.

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WALLPAPER:  GRAYLING SUMMER

No Fish & Fires

FRIENDLY FISH ALL GONE

Less Friendly Fires Arrive

and so it goes in our neighborhood

HDR Wallpaper: 'TWO TOP' fire, 4 miles south of West Yellowstone

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.. We took a little ride up the road and fished for a spell on the Gallatin River.

LOVELY GRAYLING CREEK: devoid of fish & bugs.

.. On the way home we stopped and grabbed a snapshot of our favorite stretch of a little stream that has favored us with many hours of fine escape and solitude.
.. It's still a pretty place but all the fish are dead. Most of the bugs too.
..Low water, high temperatures and a liberal dose of Rotenone have removed the fish and most of the bugs.
..This is part of the native fish conservation plan of Yellowstone National Park.
.. There will be another dose of Rotenone - maybe two. Then Grayling Creek will be the recipient of some grayling and some cutthroat.
.. We should be able to return to fish our neglected bits of water in 5 or 6 years - if we live that long.

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.. The Gallatin River is coughing up some nice fish to the local favorite technique; a double hopper rig.
.. There were hoards of hoppers along Grayling Creek. There were no fish on the surface.
.. We await, (but not with held-breath,) the return of friendly fish to Grayling Creek.

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.. The "TWO TOP" fire is just a smidgen more than four miles south of West Yellowstone. It's burning in heavy and dry timber along the state line.
.. Since the prevailing winds are toward our little village the Interagency Fire Center has called in resources above the normal for a fire of this size, (about 90 acres.) Smoke jumpers based here were quick to the fire.  The Leland Snow "Air Tractors" are bombing the fire with retardant. There is also a siphon helicopter and a couple of fire crews. Local and State, and Federal manpower is on the scene.
.. The fire is "burning in heavy fuels" - the official jargon for a hot one with lots to eat. Fires are a fact of life in our neighborhood. They rejuvenate the forest and maintain a healthy stand of trees. Of course the burned areas don't usually make for postcard views of the neighborhood.
.. It should be rapidly contained. We'll keep you posted.

==> TWO TOP FIRE PAGE.

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B & W Wallpaper:  Watching the "TWO TOP" fire from the edge of town.

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Wallpaper: Leland Snow Air Tractor Tanker,  Modified For Fire Fighting.

Bluster At Last

FISHING HOT

Catching Good

weather colder and grunger

THE END OF AUTUMN IN THE HIGH COUNTRY

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.. It's been cool for a couple of nights. The low clouds have spit a bit and the sparse electric colors of our gentle and dry Fall are gone.
.. Mustard, brown, rust, amber, gray, leaden, and other late fall descriptors should be in your vocabulary if you visit here. You should also practice words like monster, pretty, giant, kype, streamer, rubber legs, woollywhatever, favorite Baetis, etc.
.. It's popcorn time on the Firehole River. Noses are everywhere and Baetis-Sipping can be heard for yards and yards. Splashing is the order of the day when the afternoon sun is just right and the Caddis take wing in frenzied flight to avoid the airborne trout.

.. The Madison River has been great, even in the sunlight, for the Fall-run fish from Hebgen Reservoir. Fishers have found the dark water in places never before fished. The books are obsolete right now. Some of the giant fish that have been pulled from the Madison River have left holes in the water that took hours to fill in.
.. Of course, if you are like us - and had your fill of the conga line, the upper Firehole River is yielding about 20 neon Brook Trout per hour to any competently presented fly, (above or below the surface:) fewer elbows and shielding from the wind by the dense lodgepole desert, are a Fall delight indeed.
.. The open secret of the week is the Gallatin River. A rig with two nymphs of the Prince variety, (different sizes - mind you,) is the current neighborhood choice. Surprisingly this also coincides with the advice from the counter help at many feather merchants.
.. Again this year, the neighbors are tying the KING PRINCE NYMPH. Runners seem to enjoy large nymphs as much as streamers and Woolly Worms Buggers.
.. The big bends of the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park in the now closed Bakers Hole Campground are being visited by folks willing to walk for their fish - there are many in the deep pools and undercut banks of this "fishy" bit of water.
.. Many of the neighbors believe that the biggest fish from the reservoir will not show until the snow arrives. That could be tonight, tomorrow, or as late as Wednesday. So be it.
.. The poor sister of Fall fishing is showing great form right now. The Gibbon River is nearly devoid of elbows above the falls. There are many unmolested fish eager for a dance partner. Drowned Caddis or Baetis cripples should accompany your standard Adams in the big meadows. Cute little bead head nymphs could yield a Grayling above Norris Campground on either Solfatara Creek or the Gibbon River's skinny, but dark, water. Of course the eager Brookies above Virginia Cascade will dance with any thing they can get in their mouth.

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Forgotten Riffles And Runs Of The Gibbon River Are Solace To Trout

Short Fuse, Comments Needed

20 YEAR EFFORT

Comment Now

no whiners

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.. The NATIVE FISH CONSERVATION PLAN is designed as a major effort to respond to the diminished stocks of native fish in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The Environmental Assessment is now open for public comment.

.. Mark your calendars; only two public meetings are scheduled:

* Bozeman, Montana: January 5th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Comfort Inn, 1 370 North 7th Avenue
* Cody, Wyoming: January 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Holiday Inn, 1701 Sheridan Avenue.

.. Written comments may be submitted through the project web site, in person, by mail, or at either of the scheduled public meetings. Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail. All public comments must be received or postmarked by midnight, January 31, 2011.
..  Here are the important Links:
==> Project Home Page,
==> Project Plan Process,
==> Meeting Notices,
==> Project Links,
==> Document List,
==> Comment Form.

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.. The scoping meeting in West Yellowstone last April was poorly attended. No feather merchants were present, one local guide was present, and a handful of concerned fishers attended.
.. Input by these few interested parties helped shape the current document that is now open for review.
.. The EA addresses Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake, other invasive species throughout the rivers in the park, the effects of climate change on native species, and disease.
.. Conservation efforts addressed include: increased gill netting in Yellowstone Lake, establishing barriers and weirs, removing non native species, restoring native populations, and a host of other actions including poisoning fish populations.
.. The key concept is conservation. The actions taken to implement this can be extensive, varied, and vast.
.. It's important that input at this time be concise, reasoned and rational. It will help steer the project and will certainly affect the fishscape of the future.
.. Please understand that, at base, this addresses the question of "What Is The Purpose Of Yellowstone National Park." Several guides have remarked that it does no good to replace one trout with another. They are just concerned with catching any fish.

.. Many guides and fishers of the park will be voicing opinions that catching fish, (the more - the better,) is what the park should provide.
.. There are others that feel it's important to remove all invasive species such as Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout and Brook Trout to foster the recovery of native Cutthroat Trout & Grayling(?).
.. Many feather merchants feel that the role of Yellowstone National Park is to provide fishing opportunities for recreational fishing, (and an economic base for their enterprise.)
.. Some conservationists believe that the only way to enable preservation of native fish is to "restore" the park to "natural" conditions, including removal all planted stocks of fish, (which is a large segment of the current fishable populations.)
.. Definition of terms and concepts will be argued and explored at the public meetings and in the submitted comments. Many oxen could be gored by this project.

.. The subtext of comments will be interesting to observe, as will the rationale behind the proposed actions in those comments.
.. Some fishers of Yellowstone have opined that since Brown Trout have been in the rivers for over 100 years that they are "native."
.. Does that make Lake Trout native if they survive another 70 years?
.. In another 100 years what will the descendants of those fishers say about Rock Snot, New Zealand Mud Snails, and other yet unforeseen invasive species?

.. As the waters warm will we see Yellowstone become a trophy fishery for Carp and Chubs and Largemouth Bass?
.. What will happen if some fool decides to dump Northern Pike or Muskellunge or Lake Trout in Hebgen Reservoir, right at Yellowstone's door?
.. Your input is necessary for the decision making process. We're talking about the future and how history will view the legacy that we leave.
.. Make no mistake about it, this is a significant project. It will last for 20 years, (1/5 of the next 100 years.) It will significantly affect the definition of Yellowstone National Park and it's role in species conservation and recovery.
.. It will also determine who fishes where and for what in the park. It is an historic effort that demands you input and your concern for how Yellowstone is defined: a fun and profitable fishery for visitors seeking "non-native," invasive trout or a refuge for indigenous species - or both.

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