History In The Making

A COMING ATTRACTION

You Heard It Here

the circus heats up

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YOUR CHOICE

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WALLPAPER:  SUNDAY BRUNCH

Birds Of A Feather

RESURGENT PATTERN

Neighborhood Variants

pardon the rust

WALLPAPER:  FORGOTTEN BUT NOT GONE

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.. For a myriad of reasons the original COACHMAN fly pattern (LINKS: #1, #2, #3,)  is gaining popularity in our neighborhood.
.. The fly is quick to tie, it is cheap to tie, it is easy to tie, variation is easy,  AND: it works!

TIME FOR ICE

.. It can be wet or dry. It can be hackled or not. It can be drifted, floated, jerked, bobbed, dapped, jigged etc.
.. Right now the neighbors are selecting and tying their own variations for use through holes in the ice of Hebgen Reservoir.
.. With our recent cold temperatures the ice on the reservoir has firmed up very nicely and a couple of weeks early. Most ice fishers use bits of worm or, maggots or, meal worms or, coarse ground hamburger or, minnow jigs or, even a Swedish Pimple.
.. Our neighbors do the same but frequently put a fly in front of the offering. Sometimes just a fly will out fish anything else.
.. It's a catch-as-catch-can sort of game and multiple rods and lures are the most successful. Hanging around and telling stories in the lee of a shelter is also a requisite talent.

BEAD HEAD SOFT HACKLE COACHMAN

.. Right now there are several variants that are emerging as favorites for the sub ice fishers.
.. Each is, (interestingly,) a successful fly in our local waters during the conventional fly fishing fiasco that exhibits itself in the neighborhood during warmer weather.
.. The "BEAD HEAD SOFT HACKLE COACHMAN" is similar to the 1847 "MARLOW BUZZ" fly. It was also known as the "LADY BIRD" fly, "HAZEL FLY," and "WELSHMAN'S BUTTON." 
.. It was initially fished dry in supposed imitation of a trapped and buzzing fly. Today the neighbors usually drown it and use it as an attractor fly.

BEAD HEAD COACHMAN

.. This fly is most often fished beneath the ice all by itself. It is usually found in the arsenal of those ice fishers with a fish finder and, used for luring big fish.
.. The "BEAD HEAD COACHMAN"  is a rather standard neighborhood variation that is fished as a dropper beneath a large dry fly for searching in the early Spring. 
.. Beneath the ice this fly is frequently paired with hamburger or a kernel of corn. It is dropped near weed beds and the edge of structure. It is a deep fly and a useful bit of weight for the ice fisher.

HACKLED COACHMAN

.. The "HACKLED COACHMAN" is a favored fly for both dry and wet fly fishing during the Summer months.
.. This is very close to the original coachman fly. It is a persistent pattern that is tied by most fishers and should be in all boxes.
.. Under the ice it is used with both maggots and meal worms. It is frequently used as 'depth specific' fly once the cruising fish are found. The choice of 'meat' is an individual preference.

ALBINO EMERGENCE

.. The "ALBINO EMERGENCE" is a Summer fly that has made it's appearance under the ice as the bright head of a bit of earthworm.
.. It was initially designed to work the film during those periods when fish are seen rising and nothing else works. It is an excellent ice-out fly as well.

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..  Yes indeed there is rust on some flies in the pictures. Sad, but true, these flies have been used to catch fish. We're not selling flies. We're not winning photo contests. We're showing flies that work.
.. Some have been 'retired.' Some have been lost for some time in the organizational system of a less than anal fisher. What ever the reason these rusty flies have been in the water and poorly curated. Most of them can be, (and will be,) salvaged with a few quick swipes of a diamond hone. Some certainly will break: absolutely earth shattering and devastating. Probably put us off our feed for months.
.. So there you have it.

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PREVIEWS OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

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WALLPAPER:  PRIME AS PRIME CAN BE

Our Mountains

THEY INFLUENCE US

They Influence Weather

they catch our water

WALLPAPER:    OUR MOUNTAINS

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.. In this new year, as we sort through the things around us, our mind comes to rest on our mountains. They are but a small part of the Rocky Mountains yet they are ours.

COLD TODAY

.. They are just down the road. They divide the western continent into separate drainages.
.. They block some weather. They push some weather. They harbor the species of our neighborhood: plants and animals. They contain the geologic record of our past  --  AND, the past of our neighborhood. They are playgrounds and refuges for all things living.
.. They are inviting and dangerous. They are beautiful and menacing. They push and pull in so many ways.
.. Right now they are pushing weather toward the eastern expanse of our continent. They shelter us from tornadoes and hurricanes and the like. They provide fuel for fire and a barrier to it.
.. They give us sunsets and clear skies. They roil the clouds and divert some snows. They stop some clouds and squeeze out some moisture.

SMALL COMPARED TO THE SKY

.. These are the mountains that capture our precious water: the water that nourishes the nation.
.. As the water leaves us it nourishes our fish and bison and bears and voles and wolverines and trees and grass and flowers  --  AND  us.
.. These very mountains, our mountains, hold the headwaters of mighty rivers like the Snake River, the Madison River, and the Gallatin River. These rivers feed the Missouri River, Mississippi River and of course the Columbia River: our mountains.
.. Along its way to the Gulf Of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean, the water nourishes farms and wheat lands and alfalfa fields. It waters orchards and gardens. It creates small streams and giant rivers. These are the waters from our mountains: millions drink from it!

CLOUDS OVER OUR MOUNTAINS

.. Each year about this time we are drawn to the treasure that is being deposited in our mountains.
.. We watch the snow accumulate. We take note of it's moisture content. We speculate on it's depth in the nooks and crannies that are removed from the data gathering stations.
.. We wish for deep and wet snow in the playgrounds of our mountains.  We enjoy the view from our little village. From afar we squint toward hunting camps of our past. We envision the frozen and buried 'secret' streams that will give us the pleasure of quiet fishing and catching and wandering.
.. There are trees and trails that disappear in the green and black and white collage that is our mountains. We know them but can't see them.

ICE OUT BENEATH OUR MOUNTAINS

.. We are pleased to be near to our mountains.
.. Our village is fortunate to be so close to our mountains. We drink from them in many ways: not just the water.
.. Come springtime we will worry about runoff and floods and erosion.
.. Come springtime we will plan our visits to our mountains and their waters. For now, however, we bask in the knowledge that they are there and we can see them and their treasure.

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WALLPAPER:  FRENCH OMELETTE WITH HAM

GOOD MORNING

A FEW DOWN

Another One To Go

make it a good one

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.. So it has come down to this: our cultural reckoning of annual episodes - as if something stopped yesterday and something starts today.

Le Penseur

.. The machines of the universe grind on. The winds blow, the sun shines, the snows come and go, the recycling of all biological stuff continues and all is continuing constancy. Yet we choose to stop something and start something else: curious.
.. We're not fooled by the rationale for our midwinter revels. We know that today has only an artificial status as the first day of a "NEW YEAR." Tell it to the Chinese.
.. The upcoming year of the dog, (4710,) begins on February 16, 2018. Another beginning and another ending. Such are the bits of cultural audacity. The mental ordering of sequential events are seemingly chopped short every 365.2422 days. So be it: we'll play.

狗

.. In most reckonings now is a time of stock taking and resolve based on accumulated evidence from the past.
.. In this cultural milieu we have "New Year's Resolutions." In the Chinese way they have a two week celebration consisting of spreading money around and eating well, (not a bad way for it to be.)
.. 恭喜发财 to you. Resolutions are not as big in the orient as they are here.
.. This might have something to do with the fact that in early Christianity the first day was used to reflect on the past and vow to do better.
.. In the Orient it's best not to repeat the past or reflect too deeply on it. After all the cyclic nature of existence will bring it around again. Just do the best that you can  --  in all instances. There is a realization that no real sundering of past events from the present reality or future occurrences is sensible or comprehensible.
.. A new age for the occidental Christian started about 2018 years ago. and each year was finite and encapsulated.
.. So resolve to "DO BETTER" at something personal.
.. Better manners, better fishing, better catching, better at weight loss, better at gathering wealth, and all things better from a personal perspective. It's as if the past is not connected to the present or the present to the future.  My, my.
.. Most of the various Chinese peoples provide new year wishes for others to have health, wealth, and good fortune.
.. In the Chinese fashion we have had a wish for our president - but the golf club wouldn't fit.
.. For our own thought we wish for the understanding that this is as good as it gets in this cycle, (apart from petty concerns of money, position, advancement, status, ego satisfaction, and all other things valued so highly by fly fishers and other plutocratic sub cultures in our society.)
.. So we wish for you a Happy Disconnected Future  --  free from all past influences. May you be richer, happier, and more healthy than ever before. May you catch all the fish you set out to catch. May you have no worries or anxieties. May all your dreams come true.
.. For us we'll plod along with the frustration of fishless days, bills beyond our means, fatness of the midriff, slowness of stride, anxieties about the health of our water, and fears about the health of the American Rule of Law and and it's vaunted democratic republic  --  one vote for each citizen - HAH!
.. We have no resolutions  we do have a wish: to live a few more healthy years with fewer fishless days and more loving friends.

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WALLPAPER:   A NOBLE CONTINUING TRADITION

Bring It On

IN IT'S STRIDE

A Bit Of Fluff

need water not depth

MODIFIED PATTERN

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.. We keep getting good depth of snowfall  --  BUT, the snow moisture content is not what we would like.
.. Snowballs and snow persons are not possible with the snow as dry as it is. Depth looks good on charts for the neighborhood but the snow moisture content is down around our neighborhood hills.
.. We've been sitting at just above 90% so far this season. Today's figures might make it to 100%. The fluff is fun but we'd like some more moisture in the snow.
.. Part of the problem is that the 'Gulf Of Alaska Low' has weakened and slipped south. This allows the spill of Arctic air in the mid continent to spread out and inhibit our desired pattern.

LOVIN'  DA  POWDER

.. In the most wonderful snow years the low hangs in the gulf and send pulses toward us every three to four days.
.. These strong pulses keep the cold right along the east side of the continental divide. This is a blessed snow pattern for us.
.. When the low weakens and slips south the Arctic air jumps the Continental Divide at the border with Canada. This weakens the flow and saps our moisture. Better snow water content is present further north than we would like to see.
.. The sledheads, on the other hand, love the powder in the high country. Great fun for some - we'll wait and see what the Spring conditions bring us.

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.. Well, it's time to sweep the snow off the porch. We don't mind not using the shovel every now and again.

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WALLPAPER:    PRACTICE FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY

Call It Home

SOME  NEIGHBORS

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Fly Shop Strong - MONTANA from Rajeff Sports on Vimeo.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

STRAIGHT FROM NOAA

A Really Cool Gift

just another memory

THE BOTTOM LINE

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.. Hebgen reservoir, finally, will be solid. The dry and fluffy snow will blow. The ice rink will be glazed. It's looking like the old days. There's a winter wonderland outside our window.
.. Our recent local temperatures are between 10°F and 25°F colder than the North Pole. [Check temperatures at the North Pole HERE.]
.. Visitors are in stark wonderment. Skiers have frosty nostrils. The cops are doing paperwork. Urine freezes in mid air. The aroma of burning pine and pine tar fills the air.
.. It is a very white and very cold Christmas. Pub crawlers are running. All is well with the universe.

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WALLPAPER:  BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE