Tomorrow's The (opening) Day

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Happy Yellowstone Fourth

YELLOWSTONE RIVERS
IN GREAT SHAPE

Yellowstone Roads Crowded

yellowstone fish hungry

.. The weekend will be a bit warm. The crowds will be a bit dense. The rivers will be a bit crowded. The fish stories will be a bit exaggerated. And, a good time will be had by all.
.. Places where fishing will be good -- AND crowded:
-- Firehole River
-- Madison River
-- Gardiner River
-- Gibbon River, (below Norris Campground)
-- Trout Lake
.. Places where fishing will be good -- AND less crowded:
-- Firehole River, (along the Lone Star Geyser trail)
-- Firehole River, (between Firehole Falls & Madison River)
-- Little Firehole River
-- Iron Spring Creek
-- Nez Perce Creek
-- Gibbon River, (between Norris Campground and Virginia Cascade)
-- Obsidian Creek
-- Solfaterra Creek
.. Places where fishing will be good -- AND nearly empty:
-- Gibbon River, (along the Grebe Lake trail)
-- Fan Creek
-- Duck Creek
-- Grayling Creek
-- Bacon Rind Creek
-- Gallatin River, (above the Fan Creek Confluence)
-- Bechler River
-- Falls River
-- Boundary Creek
-- Heart Lake
-- Grebe Lake
-- Snake River, (in the Thorofare)
-- Hellroaring Creek
-- Trail Creek
-- Mountain Creek
-- Pebble Creek
-- Slough Creek, (along the sagebrush flats)

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.. The weather is going to cooperate for the long weekend. Clouds, thunder storms, wind, and mild temperatures are predicted for the weekend. Not necessarily good picnic weather - but great fishing weather.
.. By Monday the Summer weather will hit its stride. July promises to be a bit hotter than in recent years. This weekend looks like the last of the Spring fishing weather -- and it's going to be great.

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.. We note that Jeff Kennedy has featured the Feather Duster in his post for yesterday. This is most apropos. The Eagle family celebrated 100 years in business, in West Yellowstone, last week.
.. An open house, 300 former employees, and nearly 100 family and relatives graced West Yellowstone with their presence. The stories were rich and varied -- you should have been here.
.. Sam Eagle was the first licensed guide in Yellowstone, Wally Eagle developed the Feather Duster using ostrich plumes from the store's dusters. The fly shop has been in continuous operation for just over 90 years. It features both fly fishing gear and tackle for other disciplines as well.
.. Icons and legends such as Bob Jacklin, Bud Lilly, and Craig Mathews have all worked in the shop.
.. In honor of the Eagle's anniversary, and our nation's independence we're going to fish only Feather Duster's for the next week.
.. They are an amazingly versatile fly. Big and sunken they work wonders in the spring and through the salmonfly hatch. Little and sunken they are just as effective as a Prince Nymph or a Yellowstone Badger. They can be greased and floated through a whole cycle of either caddis or mayfly hatches. The color variants can imitate eggs, and other groceries that a trout is interested in.
.. Thanks to Jeff Kennedy for the wonderful rendition. And special thanks to the Eagle family for giving us an enduring fly fishing tradition and a wonderful fly.

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.. Jack Dennis Sports has revamped their web site and it is very comprehensive. Click HERE for the report.
.. Fishing is continuing apace in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park. For the latest information keep an eye on Parks Fly Shop Reports.
.. West side reports at Blue Ribbon Flies and Madison River Outfitters are current and very informative. Bud Lilly's has been keeping track of Hebgen Lake. The fishing is just shy of stupendous.

_______

.. Time to kiss a fish!

Truly Fine Fishing

GIBBON COMING INTO SHAPE

Firehole Hitting Stride

madison by next week ?

.. Our river maps are undergoing extensive annotation and will be posted in the next day or two. Images of the locales and fly patterns are being added. For now go to Yellowstoner's Maps.

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.. Our Spring was short, unsettled, tentative, and is now gone. Except for the high water we've entered our Summer fishing mode. The rivers on the west side of the park are all fishable. The color is receding and there is just about a week or ten days left of the high water. It looks like our river's flows have peaked.
.. The Firehole River is a bit high, but in excellent condition. Bugs are plentiful and predictable. This week promises to be excellent with an upper level disturbance keeping some clouds in the forecast all week. Air temperatures are approaching mid summer levels a little early, and afternoon thundershowers are going to be the norm. They'll be widely scattered and probably violent. Remember that your rod is an excellent lightning attractor - especially the graphite ones.
.. The Gibbon River canyon has lost most of its brown color and is now just tinged with pink. It is beginning to fish well for the nymph fishers.
.. The small meadows above Virginia Cascades are lush, green and productive. Browns, Brookies, and Grayling await the fisher willing to enjoy catching rather than waiting.
.. The trail to Grebe Lake is drying rapidly and the moose have moved away. Only the bears and a few adventurous souls have wandered the three miles to this Spring fishing hot spot.
.. The Gibbon River in the big meadows surrounding the picnic area is finally clear. There are still bears, elk, and bison to contend with and the grass is lush. The big holes in the meander bends are finally becoming havens for resident trout and stealth is the best tactic here.
.. The Madison River is beginning to fish well. Nymphs and streamers are still the most productive, but the evening caddis hatches are beginning to make themselves felt. The riffle and run sections are still yielding fish to stonefly nymphs. Try a Yellowstone Sally or a Silli-Legs in sizes 6 - 10.

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.. We are at the beginning of the buggy season. The mosquitoes are doing well this year, and the caddis seem to be having a very good time of it as well.
.. The mayflies and the stoneflies are doing just fine too. It's important, as the warm weather approaches, to be able to more closely approximate the bug that the fish are eating.
.. Fly patterns come and go. The fish seem to eat them all. Morphology and size are the first keys to the successful patterns; and color, (shade,) comes in a close third.
.. It seems a bit superfluous to caution that more patterns in the box is better than fewer -- but it seems to be true. The trout psyche is an alien and mysterious thing. Changing flies is often a waste of time -- more often it's a productive endeavor. We have our favorites; habit is a tough thing to break, but the more the merrier.
.. Along with a few Feather Dusters and Shop Vacs we carry the full Spring Box well into Summer. As the trout begin to sky-gaze more in July we augment the assortment with a few well selected dry flies.
.. Right now soft hackles, (floated and sunken,) are doing well. Your favorite big and little -- dark and light, caddis are also productive. Be prepared with some small dry flies as the PMD's and Baetis move through their size machinations. And, of course a fine selection of Hare's Ears, Feather Dusters, Yellowstone Badgers, and Prince nymphs will serve you well.

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.. Poor Tom. After logging more miles behind a steering wheel than Danica Patrick he lost some fishing time to a radiator hose.
.. Exhaustion is second only to the frustration of snapping a graphite rod on a large Montana Trout. Read the complete sad tale of woe HERE.

The Heat Is On

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ON FIRE

FIREHOLE JUST AS HOT

Fish It Now

.. Finally, after some bit of color and high flows, the Firehole River is in great shape. There are bugs galore. There are fish galore. There are fishers galore. And the FFF is in West Yellowstone with sages of all stripes parading the streets instead of fishing.
.. Still high, the Firehole River is clear and the fish are looking up. Hatches of PMD's are getting more dense by the day, and persist into the evening Caddis hatches. It has been better, but not much.
.. The river is providing something for everyone right now. There is a good spinner fall, and the "before coffee crew" are scoring very well with light colored soft hackles, (size 16 - or so,) floated in the eddy's of the quiet stretches.
.. Another fly that is useful in the morning is the Yellowstone Morning Glory. Fish it in the film and hang on. This fly is best in mid-morning: that time between the beginning of the hatch and when you give up on the spinners.
.. By the time brunch is on -- 11:00 or so, the same soft hackle and Morning Glory can be drowned and serve as an emerger. If the hatch is up to snuff and a few clouds obscure the sun it's time for a bit of fluff on top. Many of the neighbors use a CDC dun, in size 16 - 18.
.. Should you pause for a late lunch at 4:30 or 5:00 you won't miss a thing and the caddis will start with the tail end of the PMD's. The Dark Peacock Herl caddis is doing fine, as is the Deer Hair Caddis that we borrowed from Jason Neuswanger over at the Trout Nut. Instructions and recipe for the dark caddis can be found at the Flyfishingconnection, (Recipe.)
.. Nymphing is an all day proposition because of the overlapping hatches and a two fly rig is very productive. We're using a Feather Duster up top with a Prince Nymph at the point. Sizes in the 14 - 18 range are fine.
-- The prospects for catching will increase with overcast days and the bug density is very high right now. There are even some BIG and little stoneflies for those fishers of a dredging bent. Silli-Legs seem to be the most prevalent fly on the river right now. We've used them in yellow and deep orange and done well. The rocky and riffled sections have held some good fish, (to 18"+) in very gratifying numbers over the past few days.
.. With little, (other than the afternoon showers,) precipitation forecast for a week or so, it looks like the Firehole season is upon us.
.. The most elbows are seen in Biscuit Basin, at the south and north ends of the Freight Road, and the riffles and runs in the Midway Basin area. A little walk will bring you to less crowded water such as the nooks and crannies of Pocket Basin.
.. Nez Perce Creek is barely fishable and still full of bears. This is truly adventurous water.
.. The Madison River has maintained its depth but clarity has greatly improved over the last week. Many have called the death of the stonefly hatch, but they are still hatching and they are still productive as lures. The big nymphs and surface flies such as Marcella's Trout Fly, and yellow Woolly Worms are wonderfully plebeian and magnificently effective. In fact, for those that want to catch some of the larger fish these two flies are all that's needed. Silli-Legs in various combination's of colors are also being used by the neighbors with good success.
.. The Gibbon River canyon is still a bit frothy and surprisingly swift. Color is down to a nice shade of pink and visibility is at about 3 or 4 feet. Just about any nymph is a good bet. We like: Yellow Feather Duster, Bead Head Prince, and Green Soft Hackle flies. The little meadows above the Norris Campground are holding small Brown Trout, (to 12",) along with the standard assortment of Brookies and rumors of the occasional Grayling. We missed our iridescent ghost last year and have vowed not to be so humiliated this year.
.. The snow is off the trail to Grebe Lake and all that's left is mud and more mud. Take a brief walk, (about 3 miles in,) and catch the most willing fish in Yellowstone. There are grayling and other dancers just starving for your two-fly rig. A floated soft hackle or elk hair caddis with a small Yellowstone Badger should fill your ego to gigantic proportions. That should provide the energy to get back out. Requirements are: BUG SPRAY, BEAR SPRAY, MOOSE ALERTEDNESS!

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.. Catching should slow down a bit for the rest of this weekend, but the clouds and afternoon showers will be returning for next week. The snow pack will keep the flows up a bit; and should keep the water temperatures in the best range for a few more weeks. The Firehole River is still about 200 cfs above its seasonal average but the clarity is very good. Temperatures are within seasonal norms and showing their typical diurnal/nocturnal swings.
.. The Gibbon River is still the major contributor of color to the Madison River. It's running about 250 cfs above its averages and given the flows is surprisingly clear.
.. The combined discharge rates of the Gibbon River and the Firehole River have kept the Madison River at about 400 cfs above its 81 year seasonal norms. It's amazing that it's fishable at all; let alone as good as it is. It will get better next week as temperatures and clouds contribute to its catch-ability.

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.. Well, the folks in Missoula are trembling as the ancient Chandler Toyota gasps its way toward paradise. Tune in to the Underground Adventure and see what kind of California Shenanigans invade the serene mountains of Montana.
.. An update of the California fires can be found at The Horse's Mouth. They also have an awfully nice image of the purrrfect pout.
.. Jason over at the Troutnut has added some superlative images of both bugs and water. There are some new wallpapers too. give it a click the next time you're interested in a bit of learned esoterica.

The Melt Is On

LOST SIX INCHES IN A WEEK

Becoming Ultimate

WIKIPEDIA ON A RAMPAGE

.. After languishing for years Wikipedia has caught up with Yellowstone Fishing. Thanks go to the heroic efforts of Mike Cline. Over the last six months the section has begun to take shape and promises to become a definitive source for "The History Of Angling In Yellowstone National Park."
.. The bibliography is growing at a rapid pace and already contains an excellent assortment of references. The hatch chart will provide you with a place to start, and the major sources of contemporary fishing information are all listed. A brief introduction to 'the major waters' is included, as is a section on regulations.
.. The section on West Yellowstone is still a little sketchy, failing to note that Bud Lilly, Bob Jacklin, and Craig Mathews all got their start by working at Eagle's Store, and that Sam Eagle was the first licensed guide in Yellowstone.
.. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Eagle fly fishing tradition and the 30th anniversary of the Feather Duster Fly.
.. Interested persons can contribute to Wikipedia and make this fine section an excellent reference. Contributors are finally joining in. We applaud this effort. GOOD SHOW!

Soooooo Fine

GO TO THE FIREHOLE -- NOW !