Fish In The Mud

IT'S NOT EASY WORK

Pick Your Spot

go east young man

Pinhole image of Madison River in National Park Meadows

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.. Should you, like so many of our demented neighbors, demand some "water time" during the muddy season, you will need some local knowledge, a smidgen of luck, and good rain gear.
.. There are fish to be caught. After all, fish got'ta eat! They are forced to the banks and undercuts in swollen rivers. They are even in the grass when the rivers get out of bank.

Yellowstone Coachman [drowned and mangled]

.. They are alert, hungry, and just a skosh indiscriminate in their feeding habits. This doesn't mean it's easy.
.. They will respond to offerings just a bit larger and noisier than they normally would. They will not chase stuff too far. If you hit them in the nose they will grab your fly. The take can be violent or gentle. Of course you need to know where the fish are in order to pull this off.
..Slow water is the key. Back eddy's, snag swirls, boulder pockets & pillows, and grassy banks with undercuts are the main hunting areas.

Quick 'n' Easy

.. The neighbors prowl the banks very softly and slowly. The gelatinous nature of the river bank will transmit vibrations better than when dry.
.. A long rod and a short heavy leader are terminal necessities. A fly that can be seen is important too. White or orange, (or both,) are the preferred colors of the neighborhood crazies.
.. Casts are short and numerous. The action is akin to strolling along behind a recalcitrant sheep in the Pyrenees. Fishing is usually of the upstream variety although, a couple of the neighbors swear by the downstream drift with a fast sink tip. Seldom is more than 3 or 4 feet of line in the water.
.. Recipes for flies on this page are given HERE. There's no guarantees but the neighbors are using these along with Woolly Buggers and San Juan Worms, (white and orange of course.)
.. As the rivers fill and gather sediment they move in new and different courses from the ones during the summer. Often times the big meanders will show cavitation eddy's as they enter the bend. these places are usually dry most of the year. The water here is shallow and slow and often surprisingly clear.
.. The lakes nearby are the recipients of the suspended load of the rivers, (in some deltaic areas the bed load is also carried to the lake.)
.. As the sediment moves into the lake the fish gather and feed on the edges of the debris. This is going on right now in both Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake as Cabin Creek cranks up it's gritty mud. Presentation to edge of the sediment plume will bring results with very little effort.
.. We, on rare occasion, are allowed to traipse along with the mud fishers of West Yellowstone. They smoke sodden cigars, wear wool, whisper in the rain, and pause frequently to warm their innards with amber liquids. It's not as grim as it may sound.
..  They are out there now. This is their kind of fun. You will see their rigs parked in some of the most unusual places. You may or may not see them. The fish don't.

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Return to my youth

.. Should you chose to forgo the pleasures of mud fishing you may want to click on over to THE NEW HEATHENS site. (LINK)
.. There you will find that you can take the boy out of Montana but not Montana out of the boy.
.. Nate Schweber has taken his skills and Smurfette to the Delaware River with results to make you jealous. There is also an enlightening post about river etiquette. from last May. Read about that; HERE.
.. Take a moment to click on a song or two. Even from New York there's a Montana soul in the vibe.

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Fog and rain and snow on the Madison River in Yellowstone Park

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A Pinhole Easter

ON THE RECORD

Image submitted

LION GEYSER

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.. Just submitted a pinhole photograph to WORLDWIDE PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY DAY gallery. Taken yesterday at about 3:30 PM during a light snow flurry at Old Faithful. The data for submission is:

Canon 30D, short extension tube & black cardboard with electrical tape seal. Tin foil pinhole, f256, 1/3 sec. Snowing lightly.

.. Snow has continued to bless us with it's presence and it's been wet and warm. About 12" during the last week. It is usually melted by mid-afternoon. Snow cover on the ground is down to about 3 - 4 feet and melting at a pace that will nourish trees and rivers alike.
.. Fishing & catching continues to be between good and spectacular down canyon on the Gallatin River. Very few midges, but some brownish mayflies are showing up. Fish are eating nymphs and small streamers. There are only a few reports of exceptional surface catching: we're headed down canyon now.

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Hamilton's Store #101 & Light Pole

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Pinhole Fly

FLANGE FOCAL DISTANCE:  44mm

Subject Distance: 1 inch
[brief report]

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.. Not art, not clear and sharp, but we like the novelty of it all.
.. Got another 4" of wet snow last night.
.. Snow pack is now 120% of historical snow water content.
.. Gloomy weather leads to indoor entertainment.
.. The whole damn house is getting documented with pinhole photography. We'll not bore you with details. This shot makes pretty good wallpaper.

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.. Midges and giant streamers sighted in the environs of Craig, Montana. Get thee to the "Mighty MO."
.. Lower Gallatin River Canyon heating up like wildfire. No stonies reported but the fish are taking giant subsurface offerings.
.. The Madison River in the lowlands, where open, is seeing the first of the mayflies and squadrons of snow flies are permeating fisher folk's orifices. Might be a good time to visit.

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Diversions

A DIFFERENT CUP OF TEA

Winter's Haze Enhanced

not for everyone

Digital Pinhole Image: 1/60, on camera flash, f256, distance 1".

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.. The winter is a bit on the long side up here. Fishing becomes a greater chore than usual. We tend to fish less and extemporize more. This winter was the perfect example.

Mahogany Pinhole: 4x5, 79mm focal distance, f156.
Shutter speeds by thumb.

.. During one long evening we stumbled onto an old pinhole camera project in the corner of a long forgotten trunk. Hmmmmm? It sparked interest in this, the earliest of photographic techniques.
.. We diverted our lachrymose moods of winter into useless busywork and puttered with the concept of, and application of pinholes to everything.
.. One bit of silliness involved yards and yards of Duct Tape, black paper, and a hole in our window shade. Thus we turned our front room into a camera obscura.

Canon EOS 30D pinhole.

.. Sheeze, what winter does to the mind. We averted cabin fever with cabin obscura. And, it did pass the time. Given the irregular viewing wall in our 'cabin camera' it brought to mind the weltanschauung we held during the 60's.
.. Lately we've adapted some of our large format gear into primitive hulks that we call cameras. We've also transformed a couple of digital cameras into digital pinhole devices, (the sensors needed cleaning anyway.) It's amazing what you can do with tin foil, electricians tape, a short extension tube, and black card stock.

Indulgent friend.

.. We've even adulterated the view camera with a pinhole. Now that is pure sacrilege! They all will make pictures. The images however, are not for everyone.
.. Today, with post processing, photoshopping, and enhancements - both in and out of camera, images tend to be presented in a cookie cutter fashion: overly sharp, overly saturated, over the top. We call them good and go on down the road.

Indulgent friend's dog.

.. Pinhole images require a bit of engagement. They are not starkly identifiable in an instant. This means that the viewer takes a bit longer to decipher them. It's not what everybody wants or needs. It is fun though.
.. We have badgered our friends and neighbors, (and neighbor's dogs,) into enduring our follies this winter. They endure and indulge us and admire the ethereal images that happen. We nod and accept their friendship.

Back door.

.. Done with panache and aplomb, the images can be quite charming or very disturbing. We've not reached either stage yet, but we're looking forward to opening day in Yellowstone National Park.
.. Our scouting trip this year will combine stream observation with vista observation. Not in the name of art, rather in the name of getting to the best places first.
.. The big images are going to be challenging. Exposure times in the minutes, reciprocity failure, temperature corrections, apertures in the hundreds, and aiming with crude sighting devices should make the venture rewarding. In our case it's as much about observing as it is about the final image.

.. We'll not be posting any fuzzy, ugly, indecipherable images during the season, (we make and break promises with ease,) but we shall take a fresh look at some of the iconic images in Yellowstone Park before the fishing starts.
.. And, why mention this at all? Because Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is just around the corner. It happens on the last Sunday in April, (that's April 24, 2011 - Easter Sunday, this year.)

.. Pinhole fanatics around the globe will take a picture and post it to the website. A snapshot in time that happens every year. We're sending them one from the high country and, meager as it is; it's our contribution.
.. P.S. The fishing and catching, by the way, is now going great guns in the Gallatin River Canyon. After we've fished out all the good holes we'll let you know where it was best.

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