Pick A Fly - Any Fly

WALLPAPERS

 

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The Butter Sponge

'TIS THE SEASON

Just Two Years To Go

. . . when it rains . . .

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.. Distilled in 1983, Bottled in 2003, Ready to Drink in 2013. Twenty years in French Oak in the dark cool underground breeds respect.

BREAKFAST AT NIGHT

.. Ten years to mellow & soften thereafter is not too long to wait. The anticipation is driving us crazy.
.. And, truly, for everything there is a season: the current season demands a bit of mushroom for a midnight breakfast.
.. We are preparing them with a very finely crushed saltine cracker and egg breading, then slowly sauteed in obscene quantities an adequate amount of butter for 5 or 6 minutes, turning frequently. We put them on a paper towel and eat them as we cook the next batch in our 50 year-old cast iron skillet.  The last batch is served with unadorned waffles. It's beyond description.

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.. The rivers have not slowed a bit and Firehole Lake is re-forming and gobbling up the valley. The stories are already being told. TSK, TSK, TSK.
.. We'd tell you more but the third batch is ready and it's a long rainy night ahead.
.. As we contemplate the deluge about to awaken the lowland fishers we need sustenance. We'll have a more plebeian beverage right now and spice up the offering just a bit. The fine amber liquid will have to wait for an even more auspicious occasion - in it's season.

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JUST ENOUGH BUTTER - don't burn it !

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BEYOND BELIEF !!

RECORDS SMASHED !

Rivers Gone Wild

take pictures for posterity

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.. Just enough time to let you know that there is massive flooding in Yellowstone. The west side rivers are spewing forth astronomical amounts of water. And it's raining and the temperature is climbing.
.. We'd post the charts but they're changing too quickly. HERE'S THE LINKS:

==> FIREHOLE RIVER
==> GIBBON RIVER
==> MADISON RIVER

.. If you want to brave it, check the post below.

"DRY FLIES" for the mud

QUICK AND DIRTY

Throw The Rejects

light colors work best

THERE'S A FLY IN MY EYE

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The road to high water success

.. Gawd that's an ugly fly. Wasted a hook on that poor effort! Fingers get fatter and tremble more with age. Give those things to the trash. Put 'em in the reject jar. And so it goes.
.. During every fly tying session there's a fly or two, (in our case many more,) that don't quite make the grade. The proportions are wrong, there are too many fibers in the tail, the hackle is poor, the head is ugly, etc. etc.
.. Most of us either salvage the hooks and do it again, (hopefully better,) or put them in the "reject jar." These flies are just plain ugly. Well, a couple of the crusty neighbors have devised a way to use the rejected flies. In fact two of the old farts actually claim to tie ugly flies on purpose. We nod, smile, and for the sake of civility pretend to believe them.

A once proud dry fly

.. The flies are used as drowned morsels during the high water phase of our rivers, (right now.)
.. Preparation is critical. The flies are rolled and squashed between the fingers and the hackle is well-mussed up and bent.
.. Sometimes the body rolls and the damn thing looks not unlike so much lint from the umbilicus of an orangutan.
.. No flotant is used and the fly is flung with a hope and a prayer into the fishy places of our high water rivers.
.. Fish eat them. Fish eat them with surprising regularity. Fish eat them with gay abandon and gusto.
.. We're not advocating that you lose your hard won tying skills; no way, no how! But on that rare occasion when you mess up a fly we suggest that it may be a diamond in the rough. Choose it, use it, lose it - so what? It just may catch a fish that couldn't see the pretty fly.

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.. With the Firehole River going more than 400 cfs above it's previous record for this day we suggest that a mud fly is appropriate.
.. Don't even think about the Gibbon River it's now way out of bank and flowing at 700 cfs above it's previous record for today.
.. Even the Madison River is flowing at 100 cfs above it's previous record for today. These record flows are going to curtail catching by all but the most savvy, (or lucky,) anglers.
.. Mud flies are in. They work if you can find where the fish are hiding from the current and the dark brown water.

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UGLY GRAPHS BELOW

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VIEW OVER A GREAT FISHING HOLE

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Records Smashed

COME SEE THE WATER

Look Out Downstream

secrets for mud fishing: - tomorrow

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Hot Water

.. Both the Firehole River and the Gibbon River broke their "for-the-day" record yesterday.
.. They did it within an hour of each other and even today's slight cool down is not going to help the catching on either river. The Firehole River reached it's "Official Bankfull Stage" at about 10:00 AM.
.. The Gibbon River already has temperature spikes to 60° F. On Sunday our thermometer showed the Firehole River at 58° F. This is unusual!
.. It's not a new phenomenon. The weather pattens are changing. Our winters have been prolonged and our spring time has been abbreviated. We're just going to have to get used to it.
.. We'll let you in on a dirty little secret tomorrow.

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Perfect Three Days

FLOWS SKYROCKET

Hang On To Your Britches

there's still fish to be had

We don't usually fish the big meadows but
this one was productive on Saturday

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.. Well it looks like the long anticipated perfect spring weekend has happened. If you weren't here, you've missed it.
.. Friday, Saturday, & Sunday were absolutely beautiful. The fishing was borderline spectacular and the catching was pretty good too. The waters of the west side rivers are darkly colored but visibility was good, (up to 4 feet.) All that is about to change.

The Madison River provided catching over the weekend

.. By late Sunday even the Firehole River was experiencing some of the prettiest brown colors imaginable.
.. Fishers still fished and a few bugs, (even the sunshine caddis,) came forth. But, with rain in the forecast, and temperatures in the 60's for the next few days, catching is going to be challenging to say the least.

Visibility was O.K.

.. We took some nice fish at the Barns Holes on the Madison River Friday afternoon. The color was off but the visibility was at least 4' and fish were visible near the bank. There were no visitors while we were there but a few of the neighbors showed up and did pretty good in the catching department.
.. Prince Nymphs and some caddis imitations were successful in the whiskey colored water. Flows were high and the river was bank full but the catching was steady and the fish were spunky.
.. We even took a fish at both snags at Grasshopper Bank. We also caught something too heavy to lift and had to break off twice. Wonder what it was?
.. The Madison River may fish O.K. for another 24 hours. Flows of the Firehole River and Gibbon River will make that decision for us. The water temperature is holding in the low to mid 50's and we're keeping our fingers crossed. Grassy banks, breaks in gradient, back eddy's, snag swirls, and other slack water areas will produce fish for the savvy angler.

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Buffs & Babies lounging in a wet meadow

.. Most of the religious visitors populated the Firehole River over the weekend.
.. They smirked and snarked at nymph fishers, stood around and waited for "the hatch," and fished occasionally. Rumor has it that there were fish caught by these Penitentes who must see their fly to catch a fish.
.. The sunshine was cursed and visitors with emergers and cripples had a field day while the faithful looked on and mumbled. The parking places on the road and in the lots were full of license plates from foreign countries like Idaho and Utah. Some exotic plates from other galaxies like New York and Wyoming were also seen.

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Our favorite Gibbon River Culvert

.. Saturday we fished long & hard on the Gibbon River. News in the local pubs spreads rapidly and it was kind of like a neighborhood block party on the nearly deserted river.
.. While the pros and their minions were gathered on the Firehole River, the neighbors and a very few naive visitors caught buckets of fish in the canyon, on the flats and in the meadows of the beautiful Gibbon River.
.. Parking was easy. The new road made travel from point to point a pleasure, and the fish were surprisingly cooperative. Even the small meadow around Norris Campground yielded fish of a surprising size, (to 14" frequently.)

Crinkled-Leg Ant

.. Woolly Worms of the small and yellow variety brought quite a few fish to hand. Two-toned Feather Dusters in both pink and yellow were also productive.
.. We met a visitor from Hawaii, (true story,) who had seen some ants, (and beetles,) and was catching fish with what he called his "Crinkled-Leg Ant."" He gave us a couple. They are small, (16 - 18,) and we suppose that they could be an ant from a fish's point of view.

SJW

.. The road to Virginia Cascade was still closed. Rumors of a small landslide have not been confirmed. That being the case we spent some time in the water around our favorite Gibbon River culvert.
.. The river was not yet out of bank but there were fish in the grass in some of the eddy's and slack water irregularities near the banks. In one such place we took three eager fish on our yellow San Juan Worm.
.. From the takes we guessed that there was some sort of competition going on in that little eddy.

Fish swirling within inches of the bank

.. We also took the time to wander around one of the big meadows below Norris Geyser Basin. It was not too spongy and the water in the river was plenty clear enough.
.. A couple of the neighbors fished with various emergers and drowned dry flies. When the fly could get a good drift near the grass of the banks there were surface takes.
.. The river was near flood stage and the grass and other shore debris made presentation critical for the surface fishers. Happily, with a bit of stealth, some accurate very short casts were possible thanks to the colored water.

Claytonia lanceolata

.. On Sunday we left the park by 11:00 AM and retreated to the gentle water near Baker's Hole. Getting around is difficult and wading is a life-threatening proposition. But, willows and scrub be damned, the fishing at the bank was very good. We're headed now to the clinic to get the scratches and puncture wounds dressed before all our clothes are badly blood stained.
.. We're hoping that there will be some time during the coming "BLOWN-OUT-STAGE" to get into the park. We know a few places where we won't have to walk too far to find a hungry fish.

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Rumors of a landslide cannot be confirmed

Two snags: two fish.
Not bad for 10 minutes work on the way to some really hot fishing.

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Early Departure

THE MUD IS COMING

We're Trying To Beat It

report tomorrow

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.. Can't tarry: this is the time to be nimble and cagy about where to fish. Everything should be blown by tomorrow. Records will be set.
.. It's finally Spring. It looks to last for 48 hours. Then - full blown Summer. There are even flowers in the meadows. Green is beginning to predominate the vistas.
.. Out the door, coffee in hand, doughnut in cheek, destinations in mind.

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.. Flood Watch: LINK

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
437 AM MDT SUN JUN 5 2011

MTZ008>010-014-015-044>046-048-049-052-053-055-060000-
/O.CON.KTFX.FA.A.0001.000000T0000Z-110606T0000Z/
/00000.0.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
BEAVERHEAD-NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN GLACIER-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY-
EASTERN PONDERA-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN TETON-
JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-GALLATIN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DILLON...BROWNING...CUT BANK...HELENA...
LINCOLN...ENNIS...TWIN BRIDGES...SHELBY...CHESTER...CONRAD...
CHOTEAU...FAIRFIELD...BOULDER...WHITEHALL...TOWNSEND...BOZEMAN...
WEST YELLOWSTONE
437 AM MDT SUN JUN 5 2011

...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...

THE FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR

* PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA...
INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA...
EASTERN GLACIER...EASTERN PONDERA...EASTERN TETON...LIBERTY...
NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT
AND TOOLE. IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA...BEAVERHEAD...BROADWATER...
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK...GALLATIN...JEFFERSON
AND MADISON.

* THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON

* TEMPERATURES WILL BE EVEN WARMER TODAY THAN THEY WERE YESTERDAY.
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING AT MOST
HIGHER ELEVATION LOCATIONS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL NIGHTS. THIS
WILL RESULT IN INCREASED SNOWMELT...LEADING TO RISING WATER
LEVELS ON MANY CREEKS AND RIVERS INTO EARLY THIS WEEK.

* SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BRING LOCALLY HEAVY
PRECIPITATION TO PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA
MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM MAY BRING
ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION LATER IN THE WEEK.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON
CURRENT FORECASTS.

CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR
POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING
SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND SHOULD FLOODING
DEVELOP.