Upcoming

FOR THE WEEKEND

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good news  --  bad news

WALLPAPER:  WADING IN THE FIREHOLE

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.. Uniformly bad news: all west side rivers are running below seasonal discharge averages, (LINK-1.) They are also on the marginal side of temperatures for fish health.
.. The Firehole River above Old Faithful on the trail to Lone Star Geyser is cold, clear, and low. The grass is still green and the fish are lonesome.

UPPER FIREHOLE RIVER GRANDEUR

.. The water temperature in Nez Perce Creek, (above the thermal features,) near the old bridge, is surprisingly cool. Guess where the fish are? Beware the Mary Mountain bear!
.. The faithful are already fishing the Firehole River in the mornings. Even with the mid day temperatures still in the high 70's they are at it. Poor fish, (LINK-2.)
.. A few prospectors are dashing around the too warm Madison River looking for heroic fish, (LINK-3.)
.. The big ones are still in Hebgen Reservoir and staging in the Madison Arm.
.. Below the dam the water is cold and the fish are anxious for dance partners. All you need to do is elbow your way in and fight for a beauty, (LINK-4.)

GOOD FOR BROOKIES

.. Unbeknownst to so many experts is the giant willow thicket of Cougar Creek.
.. Both above and below the highway the water is low and slow and cooler than most creeks in the neighborhood. The fish are few but sprightly and larger than this little bit of water would seem to warrant.
.. The estuary and lower portions of Grayling Creek are being visited by a few of our neighbors. The fishing and catching must be pretty good because they are quite quiet about their adventures.
.. The Gallatin River in Yellowstone National Park is just where it ought to be for this time of year, (LINK-5.) The discharge is on the low side but, the water is cold and clear. All the usual suspects, (neighbors and bugs,) are present and accounted for.

A PLACE FOR MADISON FISH

.. Finally, the Gibbon River, (LINK-6,) is in reasonable shape and the plunge pool below the falls has yielded some heroic fish of late. It's worth the scramble.
.. The good news for the weekend is: enjoy the park. Attendance continues to climb and visitation should provide you with many opportunities to experience international driving habits and practices.
.. Mobile condominium traffic is at an all time high and so too is tour bus travel.
.. The available cool water will provide fish to catch. The warmer waters will provide stories, elbows, cell phone numbers and excellent photo opportunities.
.. Sunrises and sunsets should be colorful if the drizzle abates long enough for the sun to peek through.
.. It just may be 25° F on Saturday night and Sunday night, so the waters in the warm sections may finally drop into the safe zone.
.. We're going to visit the mosquitoes down in Bechler country. It seems that it's been so dry that they are both few and  lonely and, the fish in Boundary Creek (around the park line,) are hosting a mosquito farewell party.

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WALLPAPER:   HOMEMADE CRUMPETS

Return Of The Faithful

WATERS COOLING

Too Warm For Our Taste

but . . . if you got'ta

WORLD FAMOUS CELEBRITY AND TIGHT LOOP

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.. Contrary to our best sensibilities we ventured into the visitor morass of Yellowstone National Park over the weekend. Shame on us!
.. But we did catch some fish and, we got to sport our new gift of a peach-colored, tropical weight, fishing shirt with enough pockets and gussets, and dangles, and bangles to disguise us from the neighbors who were taking pictures of the chaos.
.. The weekend rains caused a spike in runoff and a slight drop in temperature of the recently re-opened rivers. Not much really, but enough for the powers-that-be to allow visitors to play in the water.

MADISON MAULERS - SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE

.. You shan't be bored here with the lurid descriptions of traffic tangles, buffalo petting, bear baiting, moose ogling, or centerline parking. You just need to imagine Manhattan, NY with no taxi's and every driver an impaired teenager, (OR - all taxi's with impaired drivers!)
.. Fish were caught. Fish were played to exhaustion. Brand new waders got baptized. Beginners flailed the waters to a froth. Experts waded through dark holes like an adolescent at the beach. It was a sight to behold - indeed.
.. There were noses in every stretch of likely water; even at mid-day. The midges started erupting as the fog lifted at 9:30 AM. The little yellow grasshoppers of the Madison River meadows hopped well into the evening. There were mayflies in the mists of morning along the Firehole River - and not a fisher to be seen. Probably digesting a "Western Breakfast" and the ensuing quart of coffee.
.. By late afternoon we had discovered the dedicated flymph fishers of the Gibbon River canyon. A little later we discovered a professional guide beating the shit out of the Brook Trout in the meadows above Virginia Cascade.
.. We drove home in the parade of mobile condominiums that exits the park at dark. We chuckled at the traffic snarls at the synchronized stop light in West Yellowstone: perhaps the most poorly controlled major traffic intersection in all of North America.
.. Yes, the waters of the Madison River drainage are open to fishing after a very early and long closure. Yes, the faithful have returned to the elbow-bumping joys of standing where the fish were. Yes, Labor Day was crowded. Yes it's still crowded.

Is it October yet?

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FISH DIMPLES, SAILBOATS, AND HOPPER SPLASHES -- MY-MY