Golly Gee Whiz

WE'RE CALLIN' IT

Close On To Spring

some fish are savvy

WALLPAPER:  VISIT TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD

-------

..With a three week forecast calling for day time temperatures in the 30's and 40's we anticipate that 'Official Spring' and 'Real Spring' may arrive together this year.
.. It seldom happens this high up and, it doesn't mean an end to snow, sleet, graupel, thunder snows, high winds or rain.
.. It does mean, however, that the low and mid level snow pack is beginning to melt at a more rapid clip and that there may be a runoff event this year that could produce some flooding and some chocolate colored water that persists for some time. We'll know in a few weeks.
.. The last time it was this persistently warm prior to the 'Official Spring' was in 2011 -12 and 2013 came close with a two week spike.

OH NO: NOT AGAIN

.. The Discharge of the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park is about 30 cfs below the median daily statistic. Downstream things are different: +200 cfs below Hebgen Dam, +80 cfs near Kirby, +100 cfs near Cameron.
.. The high snow pack is holding at between 85% and 99% in both the Upper Gallatin River and Upper Madison River drainage's. That's good  - for now.

WIRED

.. Bits of open water along the shoreline around Beer Bay and Whiskey Bay on Hebgen Reservoir are beginning to get attention from some neighbors with snowmachines. Not a high score rate yet but soon!
.. The Hebgen Tailwater has a good crop of spawning fish and only a moderate amount of foreign fishers tromping the redds. The best catching has been at the head of Quake Lake and the sweeping meanders just above the debauchery.
.. Nymphs just below the surface seem to be the ticket right now. You really don't need more than six feet of leader and tippet if your line floats the way it should.

LOTS OF WIGGLE

.. The fish are hiding in the sun near the shore. Approach with your best duck waddle and exercise the polarized lenses. Small binoculars are a near necessity.
.. Down canyon on the Gallatin River catching is still doing well below Big Sky. The big bug brigade is still touting the giant and wiggly dark nymphs.
.. We're headed to the north shore in search of open water. It will be here before we know it.

-------

WALLPAPER:  RACHEL OR REUBEN ?

One More Week

A HAPPY SURPRISE

Extra Pleasantness

an extra day too

WALLPAPER: BARE PAVEMENT !!

-------

.. We get an extra day of fishing this month on St. Oswald's Day. This is the leaping saint of Worcester not the saint of Northumbria. It confuses us too.
.. But, on the other hand, the weather is leaping into the 40's for the next week: not too shabby.

.. Those neighbors that aren't camping or tickling the smoker have taken to driving down canyon to visit the exceptional catching on the Gallatin River. Some have even gone as far as Ennis to gather up the exceptional streamer fishing on the Madison River.
.. There have been monstrous midge hatches on both rivers with the bright sun. The breeze is occasionally gentle enough to take advantage of the little winter denizens.
.. The Gallatin River is yielding some nice fish to standard and bead head nymphs. Nothing fancy is required, (use the twinkly stuff if you must,) and be sure to work the slow side of the seams in the shadows - down deep.

FISHING INFORMATION

.. Some streamer action has been reported below Big Sky and on the broad sections around Gallatin Gateway.
.. Down on the lowland Madison River there is quite a bit of action using large dark nymphs and small olive streamers, (read Matuka.) Grab your favorite Stonefly imitation and probe the depths where the cobbles turn to boulders near the shore or on the mid river bars.

.. Both Golden Stonefly and Salmonfly nymph imitations are hot right now. Large buggy bits of flotsam on the surface are beginning to interest fish as well.
.. There is a mini-runoff building right now. Our low level snowpack is sparse and has started to melt - early as it is.
.. We're headed to Snowflake Springs - we'll work our way down stream for some distance until the breezes kick up.

-------

WALLPAPER:  PULLA: IN CELEBRATION OF LEAPING

Da Moon

A CHANGE OF PACE

Something Special

for the hunger moon

WALLPAPER: CONTINENTAL STYLE

-------

.. Pork and beans - in the original style. Straight from Southern Italy, (and other pig eating cultures in Europe.) The original ''Pork and Beans." Slow braised smoked pork hocks with cannellini beans and light rye bread.
.. The Hunger Moon is that full moon in February that was also called The Snow Moon by Native Americans along our eastern seaboard and in the Great Lakes region.
.. Both monikers are highly descriptive and accurate - for both man and trout. The full moon occurs tonight this year.

-----

 .. This "Full Snow Moon," (Hunger Moon, Only Bone Moon, etc.) is one of the most productive times for night fishing in our neighborhood.
.. The water, (where not frozen - especially on those secret Gallatin River tributaries,) is very cold.

TRIBUTARY SWEEPER

.. The food for fish is sparse. Large, nocturnal, predatory trout are eager to have a sack of groceries flopping around in their water.
.. Torpor in the fish enhances catching for those fishers that can hit a fish in the nose.
.. Frenzied fingers are busy at the neighborhood tying benches. Splashy and wiggly patterns are emerging from kitchen tables and heated garages in our village.
.. The fishing at night during this time of year is similar to fishing a mouse during the Autumn season. Catching has been very good during this week's warm weather. It looks like the warm days will continue for at least another week.

COMING AT YOU

.. Patterns range from sensible to whimsical, to splendorous. Most of the patterns resemble the most successful fly from a couple of years ago: the "Moonlight Dancer."
.. It is reminiscent of many bass poppers. It is made from spun deer hair and sports a winged tail. It has a large flat face and is fished in the brighter areas of moonlight on the water in the shade of trees and bushes.
.. Strip - pause - strip, strip - pause - strip, strip, strip - long pause: repeat and get ready. There are bigger trout to be had than in your wildest wettest dreams!

-------

WALLPAPER:  MOONLIGHT DANCER
-----

WALLPAPER:  PLUGGED IN AND READY

Priorities

A DAY FOR FOOTBALLS

Today At 4:30 P.M. (MST)

we saw the first one

..

-------

.. Back then it was the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game."
It was not too big a deal and it didn't even fill the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

THE CELEBRATED RAMETTES

.. Tickets cost an outrageous $12.00. The game was broadcast simultaneously by both CBS and NBC.
.. The Los Angeles Ramettes, (baton twirlers in baggy bottoms,) were the featured entertainment along with Al Hirt and a couple of college bands.

'TWAS THE FIRST

.. Oh, the two teams that made their presence felt were the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
.. Vince Lombardy and Bart Starr prevailed by the score of 35 - 10.

TAKE FIVE

.. Halftime entertainment included a brief smoke by K.C. quarterback Len Dawson, (later won the game in 1970.)
.. During the pregame, the University of Arizona band created a physical outline of the continental United States at the center of the field, with the famed Anaheim High School drill team placing banners of each NFL and AFL team at each team's geographical location. AND - 10,000 balloons were released.
.. This year, on this day, it promises to be far less entertaining as a football game but the spectacle should be a bit more grand.

10,000 BALLOONS

.. Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara is smaller than the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and has been expanded for the game to hold 75,000 souls.
.. Tickets cost between $3,000 and infinity depending on the luxury boxes and other amenities. Parking for the masses costs just $150. The pretty people will have their Uber-copter deposit them in the VIP area.
.. According to Stub-Hub the average price for tickets is holding steady at around $5,000 and is nearly sold out. All this to see the Broncos and Panthers play a game that features teams that were non existent in the early days. A good cultural indicator.
.. Oops, the sun is peaking through the trees, breakfast is ready, and the fish are waiting. We'll be back for pre-game snacks.

-------

WALLPAPER:  TODAY'S BREAKFAST

A Winter Song

FROM JIM
For The Neighbors

time on his hands

..
-------

.. So the kid next door got an iMac for Christmas. This one's for Jim. Good show bud, keep it up.

.. Might as well talk a bit about the fishing down canyon on the Gallatin River.

.. The anchor ice has finally started to make it's presence felt and the fish are slowing down apace with the temperature drops.

THAT DAMN DAM

.. There are still a couple of tributaries running and the finny folks are podded up in the discharge channels. There's even a small beaver dam down low, (you Bozeman fishers know where,) that hasn't been blown out or iced over yet - spiffy!

.. It's been mostly overcast with an occasional broken-cloud sunny day. The snow has been slow, the temperatures brisk, and the catching is better than just O.K.

MADISON MAULER

.. Not much surface activity above Big Sky, Montana. Up high the only place where some buglets are on on the surface is just north of the park boundary at Snowflake Springs. Anything small, dark, and mashed may get a fish to check it out.

.. Bead head anything that gets down quick will bang the torpid fish in the nose and give some excellent results. The neighbors are opting for large stuff of the hairy and wiggly sort.

TUNGSTEN RUBBER LEGS

.. The winter bird counters and visiting fly fishers have been sparse so far. Between The Lakes has seen a few brave neighbors fishing in the catching spots down by the Quake Lake Debauchery.

.. We're recovering from the visit to the 'down the hill gang' - it may take weeks. We'll start with lunch.

------- 

WALLPAPER: HOMEMADE CARAWAY RYE, SWISS CHEESE, SAUERKRAUT, PASTRAMI, FRIED TATER SKINS

Long Range Forecast

Data Time

ONE VERY HOT YEAR

Maybe More To Come

not el niño's fault

-------

.. NOAA has been uncharacteristically quick with the previous year's summary this time.  
.. Rightly so, it seems, since el niño was being watched with such ardor.
.. Last year was the second warmest year on record for the United States of America. It was the warmest year on record for the planet as a whole.

.. For the last several years the neighborhood weather gossip and conversation has centered, (primarily,) on the gentility of our winters. Not many national cold record days. Not too many plumber's winters. Not too deep has been the snow. Heating bills have approached the reasonable level. More wood left over in April and May. And so it goes.
.. Our Fall weather has been extended and this has reduced the quick cold snaps that yield frozen sugar in the leaves of trees - hence more muted fall colors.

.. Summers have yielded lower stream and river levels with water temperatures spiking earlier than the fishers would like. More of the neighbors are migrating to Hebgen Reservoir earlier and more often than in the recent past.
.. The outlook for the coming calendar year seems to be more of the same. Change is slow. Recent arrivals to our village still complain about the snow and the cold. They should have been here 20 years ago. Oh well.
..The Hebgen Tailwater is finally attracting visitors from foreign countries such as Idaho, Utah, and even California. It must be some sort of winter pilgrimage. Who knows. The midges have appeared sporadically but in good numbers when they fly. The Griffith's Gnat is back in favor this year with the neighbors. Small dark streamers and large nymphs continue to score as well.

.. Down canyon on the Gallatin River there is less anchor ice for this time of year than usual. There are some midges near the lower exposed gravel bars and adjacent to the eddy's at tributary confluences. Most of the best catching has occurred with slow drifted ugly flies and streamers. Rubber legs of various sorts and stonefly foolers of any ilk seem to be in the greatest numbers.
.. Those fishers with the patience to stalk the good hides will score with classic upstream presentations and a nymph or drowned mosquito in the film. Watch the shadows and fish the edges - good on ya'.
.. Just over the hill at Reynolds Pass on the Madison River the stalk and walk neighbors have been catching the far out of the big fish in the runs and riffles.
.. It's hard to say what works all the time. Be prepared with a good assortment of big _n_little nymphs, bright-n_dark rubber legs, and many midge patterns for the boulder eddy's where the foam and giant fish are to be found.
.. We're headed to the lowlands.

-------