Just For Fun

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Choices

SUPER SUNDAY ?

How About Ice Fishing ?

commercials - shamercials

FLAT OUT FAST  !!!

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.. Too much happening to blink at 120 cycles. We'll catch the second half - maybe.
.. The pubs and theater will be full; so too the neighbor's couches.
.. Spent last evening with the kids and snow program at the hockey rink.

Thanks Dad.

.. The evening was another in the series of  "S'mores & More" events: great fun.
.. Fearless 4-yearolds vs. timid adults always results in cathartic confrontations.
.. We're constantly confounded by visitors and the belief that winter is something to be feared.
.. With open arms our neighbors embrace the opportunities of the season. No great fear here.
.. Not even fishing is ignored. The "post card" images of idyllic pools and inviting riffles are lost in the frenzy of preparations for a daily outing on the ice: with augers, coolers, tackle, warmers, (for the hands, feet, and innards,) and all the necessary impedimenta for a grand time.
.. The NAIFC regional Ice Fishing Tournement kicks off on Hebgen Lake in about an hour. Temperatures have warmed up to about -13° F: the sun is bright and the breeze is below 5mph - PERFECT !
.. We may fish. We may officiate. We may just watch. It's a big deal around here. There's a $21,000 pay out.
.. It's a simple thing: you get five hours to catch and keep five fish; top weight wins. Only Rainbow Trout count.
.. Every entry, (2-person team,) is carefully searched at the start, (there's plenty of places to hide a big fish in the gear, clothing, snowmobile, etc.) the gun sounds and if everything goes well you can be at home for the kick-off.  OR NOT !
.. We tried laying on the beach for a year or two. Sum Fun !

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Scrumptious.

Just Push A Bit Harder.

Skates Or Shoes - Your Choice.

YIKES,  IT EXPLODES !

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Season's Greetings From The Neighborhood Kids

Winter's Nearly Here

The neighbors host one of the largest sled dog races in the Rockies.
This year there were 33 human teams and about 46 sled dog teams.
Included were 4 Iditarod winners and several contenders.
We believe running naked and barefoot in the snow is great sport!

It's The Berries - II

Double Sweet Shortcake, California Berries,
Fresh Real Whipped Cream, Hand Shaved Chocolate,
Golden Nectar Of The Gods

Rare Treats

SURF & TURF

Naughty Santa

The Real Santa

Tofurky Day

TO EACH HIS OWN

Fishing For Warmth

IT'LL WARM YOU TWICE !

.. The snow has come and the fishing is good. Some folks are prepared, others . . . .  Oh well.
.. Check out the sage insight about our winter over at WESTERN MUSIC & COWBOY POETRY.

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The Search Begins

CLOSED FOR THE SEASON

Open In About Six Weeks

but not for fishing

READY FOR A LONG WINTER'S NAP

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.. It's time for the neighbors to scatter. Scatter to those places where fish may be found for the next seven months as they wait for the season opening next Spring. It's not a real hardship - but it's a nuisance, gas prices being what they are.
.. Yesterday; the final day of the season in Yellowstone National Park was gloomy, filled with flurries, moderately warm, (35° F,) but a bit blustery as the winds swirled and curled.
.. We pulled out early, (about 3:30 PM,) after sticking an exceptionally small runner with a kype that would do a monster proud - and several residents that took a fly as big as their head.
.. Off to the local pub to swap lies, plan winter strategies, and reminisce: It's entertaining to watch fish grow during the Winter.

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REMEMBER WHEN . . . . ?

MISSING PERSON

YIKES !!!!

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Fising Denied

GIANT ERUPTION AT BISCUIT

Well, Not Too Giant

three pools made into one

FIREHOLE RIVER LOOKING NORTH:  OUTWASH FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

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.. We took our fishing gear into Yellowstone National Park and caught no fish. Instead we took several hours to wander around the thermal features of Biscuit Basin.
.. A thermal explosion and eruption occurred a couple of days ago and rearranged the topography of the three most visited pools along the boardwalk.
.. The debris field, scoured outwash area, and boiling muck now clouding Opal Pool give testimony to the forces at work just below the feet of wading fisher folk: or for that matter, any folk in Yellowstone.
.. Eyewitness reports place the vertical displacement of water at about 70 feet. It was a large single column of water the erupted with a violent explosion and showered debris into the three previously separate pools along the boardwalk.
.. Boiling water, scalding mud, and boulders the size of watermelons were ejected from the newly expanded vent. The amount of water expelled was sufficient to remove vegetation and some subsurface sand all the way to the Firehole River, about 300 feet away.
.. Only a few faithful geyser gazers were present for the eruption. Hoards of visitors are now not streaming to the area to view the scene. After all, this is the last week of the "Summer Season." There are very few folks around to enjoy our protracted salubrious weather. So be it.
.. We're going to make up for not fishin' by going fishing. Golly gee, there's only seven days left.

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VIEW TO THE WEST SHOWING SCOURED AREA AND EJECTA:
Salt & Pepper Spring on the right was filled with debris and is now a pepper & pepper spring.

VIEW TO NE: SALT & PEPPER SPRING,
CURRENTLY SHOWING MUD FROM BOTH VENTS

VIEW TO NW: SHOWING DEBRIS AND SCOURED AREA

SKETCH MAP OF ERUPTION AREA IN BISCUIT BASIN

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IGNOBILITY

OF RODENTS AND BOATS

Even Here !

PROBABLY INEVITABLE

We're Not Too Surprised

THE DAMN THING IS OVER 16" LONG!

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.. And so it goes!! The perfect hackle for our favorite Halloween Leech appeared before our eyes; - on the street, - in our neighborhood, (omygawd!)
.. Rather than wrestling the yourng child to the ground and pulling her hair out by the roots, we asked for a photo. She complied, (thanks Sandy.)
.. She also promised that we could have it when she was done with it, Thanks again.

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HINT

LONG ROD, SHORT LINE, STEALTH, & A GENTLE CAST RECOMMENDED.

One Wonders . . .

At Our Door

Affliction is a treasure,

and scarce any man hath enough of it.

. . . John Donne

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.. Our afflictions are commonplace and numerous: dim vision, shaking hands, wobbly legs, drooping girth, fallen arches, hair migrating from head to ears and nose and shoulders, poor digestion, occasional evacuation, addled memory, fondness for Mozart - Dorsey - Morrison, and eternal optimism. EGAD, what a mess. Still we continue to flail away at mysterious waters as if we would succeed at the game.
.. Success now is just getting there and doing it. We did it yesterday. We succeed. And we walked just 15 feet from the car door to the water and caught some fish. There were no other fishers. There were a couple of teenaged kids on horses. We chatted.
.. They galloped across our favorite bridge and sent the fish scurrying to new hides and holes. We watched and stalked and caught - blessed be the exuberance of youth.
.. The midday sun drove us from the water and we sought solace in a cool dim pub. We gathered information about the best places and the best flies. All has been appropriately filed. It's impertinent. We seldom tread in others footfalls.
.. Big fish are in the Madison River System. Hmmm, happens every year about this time.  Terrestrials are working wonders on the Gallatin River. Hmmm, ditto. The cooling Firehole River is belching forth prodigious quantities of caddis and other aquatic flies. Hmmm, ditto. Nez Perce Creek is now open along the riverside trail for 5 miles. Fish are following the cooling water both up and down it's length. Hmmm, ditto.
.. There are no less than two dozen tributaries to the Madison River System above Hebgen Dam that have "Ghost Runs" of spawning fish. They seldom see a fisher. Hmmm, ditto.
.. By the way, took a 22" buck brown trout on an isolated stretch of an unnamed tributary. The water was, at best, 14" deep. Our afflictions demanded we fish here. Hmmm!
..Didn't bother to squeeze it's guts for the camera.

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Almost As Good As A 24# Brown

NOT FOR FLY FISHERS

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.. It's range is just a neighborhood thing, (most of the town,) but we like the novelty of it all. At 3 AM it's good company to the first cup of coffee.
.. The fish are jumping into the neighbors' waders on the Gallatin River. More tonight.

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THE PINHOLE GALLATIN

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