Fishmobiles

CAN THESE HELP YOUR FISHING ?

The Blessed Gray Day

FLOAT YOUR SOFTY

Pick A Fly

.. We've had a few gray days and a few more are in the offing over the next 10 days. It's not picnic weather but it is good for catching. The Firehole River warms a bit more slowly, the bugs are a bit more evident, the visitors a bit fewer, and the polarized glasses seem to work a bit better.
.. This is an excellent chance to float your soft hackle fly. From the classic "HACKLES," through the specialized "FLYMPHS," to the contemporary renditions; these versatile flies will serve you well on gray days and multiple concurrent hatches. Just about any color combination, and any rendition is successful on a gray day. Try 'em, you'll like 'em.
.. For an excellent brief summary of the history and use of these flies, click on over to Jack Gartside's site. There are a few recipes that are quick, easy, and effective.

Jack's Money Quote:
". . . Probably the most common way to fish a soft-hackle wet fly is to cast it across and slightly downstream, letting it sink and then swing in the current, rising with the tightening line much as a natural rises to the surface before hatching. It's on this rise that fish usually strike. Another productive method is to cast the fly upstream on a short cast and then let it dead-drift back to you just under the surface (or, if tied on a light-wire hook, in the surface film). On lakes and ponds a soft hackle fly cast in front of a cruising trout and then twitched slightly can be absolutely deadly. Many soft-hackle fly anglers, especially in Europe, favor fishing two or three of these flies (of different colors and sizes) at a time. . ."

.. The floated wet fly can probably be traced to "Greenwell's Glory" and the emerging 'dry fly' fishing tradition of the mid 1800's. For an excellent recap of those events and some surprisingly modern looking flies a visit to Dr. Andrew Herd's "A FLY FISHING HISTORY" is a must venture. And if success should strike while you are exploring these flies a brief click on over to the SOFT HACKLE PAGE at the English Fly Fishing Shop will give you some additional insight. There is an excellent note about fishing in the rain at the end of the page.

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.. Via MOLDY CHUM, comes news of "THE COMPLETE HATCH." For those of you that would like to fish a complete hatch and imitate the bugs in their whole emergent and death cycle there is a tool for you. Presented in a tidy box are some flies designed to allow fishing to stages of the hatch.
.. Currently there are 15 mayflies represented. These are newly designed flies for each cycle.

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.. Check our local fly shop reports at: Blue Ribbon Flies, Bud Lilly's Trout Shop, Madison River Outfitter's.
.. It's gray outside. It's going to be gray for a couple of days. There may be some sun for lunch. This is the time to wet something.

PETA Poo Poo

TERRORISM AT BERKLEY

.. Fly fishers get enjoyment from the hook induced panic of a trout. PETA gets enjoyment by firebombing houses and breaking windows.
.. 'NUFF SAID.

Brief Reports

FISH NOW

IT'S GETTING WARM

Plan Ahead - Use The Weather

Stat Pack

.. This has to be quick; visitors, don'tcha know. The rivers and streams on the west side of Yellowstone National Park are full of fish, bugs, fishers, and elbows. Summer is in full stride. This is typical. The roads have made it so.
.. Summer weather has set in. The forecast shows a few days during the coming week that will probably still provide some excellent catching opportunities:.. Visitors have choked the pullouts and parking lots, and although there are still some unimpeded stretches of water to fish, solitude is not to be found near the road.
..Be prepared to meet new people and to share any beat on the west side streams. Evening is the most salubrious time, (save for the occasional mosquito,) and spinner falls combined with caddis are the food of choice for the trout on the Madison River and the Firehole River.
.. There are still some long empty stretches of water on the Firehole River - try the trail to Lone Star Geyser for some hot action and nearly a fish per cast with just about any well presented fly in the size 14 - 16 range.
.. There are BIG BUGS around Snowflake Springs on the Gallatin River. They are invading our space - good on 'em. Barring any local deluges the Gallatin River should be the place to be for a few days. Small Sofa Pillows, large Elk Hair Caddis or Marcella's Trout Fly will bring normally shy giants to the surface. Yellowstone Sally, Prince, and Yellowstone Badger nymphs will take more fish, (sizes in the 8 - 12 range.)
.. The Gibbon River canyon is a real delight. Right now the flows are quick but gentle and the fish are beginning to look up. The riffles are still showing some white water, but the slicks are becoming more pronounced. This is the time to put a fly in any bit of water where you can not see the bottom.
.. A few places are beginning to see anglers where there were none just a few weeks ago. The Bechler River, Boundary Creek, and a couple of unnamed tributaries in the area are worth a visit. The mosquitoes shouldn't have this beautiful corner of the park to themselves.
.. Slough Creek has bugs, (mosquitoes, PMD's and some nice sized Drakes,) and the fish are eating everything that they can get to. Don't forget the midges, (clusters and such,) they are prolific right now.
.. Even the big pool at the pull out is dimpled with rising monsters. Visitors just stand and stare.
.. Soda Butte Creek is colored but very attractive. Remember: "FISH GOT'TA EAT." Try a Royal Humpy in the seams.
.. We are pleased to see that the MRO BLOG is persistent in it's first person reports. There is a note about moonlight fishing that we suggest you check out. Do you want to see what lurks in the night?
.. The good folks at Parks Fly Shop let us know that the Gardner River is in fine shape and that catching is almost as good as the fishing. Check out their recommended flies.
.. The expanded site for Jack Dennis Sports is settling down and approaching stability. The podcasts have slowed down, but the reports, and other good sources of information are very current and accurate. Take some time to explore the site. We like it.
.. Want to fish the Brooklyn Bridge? Check out the summer patterns for stripers over at Fishing Jones. Pete sure gets around; interesting comments too.
.. Kiss me baby. How appropriate for THE HORSE'S MOUTH. There seem to be advantages for stripers caught by wahines.
.. In the "SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK" department: jumping sharks and surfers enjoy the same space at New Smyrna Beach. This is the same place where there have been 12 shark-bitten folks this year -- so far!

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.. Here's our second quarter, very brief, statistics report. This little ol' family and friends blog has settled down at the figures shown. Not very big as blogs go.

It's A Friendly Stream

JUST ANOTHER VIDEO

Let's Lose This Weekend

Classic Streams Producing Well
BUT!
SMALLER STREAMS -- BIGGER PLEASURE ??

The Other Yellowstone

.. This comes to you from an early morning clear link and a borrowed laptop. Our friends tell us we've just committed piracy. So be it.

.. The salmonflies on the Madison River, (below Quake Lake,) are just past their peak. The fishing is at its peak. The big bugs are approaching West Yellowstone from two directions: up the Gallatin River, and up the Madison River. We mention this because there are many fishers that dote on this hatch. It has already stuttered and stalled along the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park. But there are hints of a resurgence along the canyon sections of the Firehole River. (Try Dipper Cliff and environs if you're adventurous.)
.. The Gallatin River is currently plagued with the Taylor Fork runoff. But it is still very productive. Yellowstone Sally flies are producing well in the deeper riffles and along the banks. The fisher with a good feel for nymphing will do well all day in the park section of the river. The Confluence Meadows around Fan Creek are a bit cold for dry fly work, but a Prince Nymph followed by a Feather Duster, (original - or colored,) will produce fish. Keep your casts short and work a lot of water. The undercut banks are hard to see right now and the fish have lots of water to explore.
.. Don't abandon the Bacon Rind meadows yet either. Small streamers and floating a size 14 yellow woolly worm will bring quite a few fish to hand.
.. Something that floats in a size 14, 16, 18, 20, is a good place to start for the Firehole River dry fly action. The selectivity factor is still low, but increasing daily. Sparkle Dun, Adams, Yellowstone Cinch, Yellowstone Morning Glory, and your favorite caddis will still bring fish to the surface. Time is running out and there is going to be plenty of technical time in the next week or two.
..Although mid day temperatures are beginning to climb, the cool nights and afternoon overcast have keep the Firehole River an attractive destination.
.. The Iron Bridge, and the confluence with Nez Perce Creek have been excellent evening spots for caddis on the Firehole River.
.. Even the 7-mile Bridge picnic area along the Madison River has seen windshield-clouding caddis in the early evening.

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.. We've fished these waters and enjoyed them for years. There is, however, another Yellowstone that we've enjoyed much more for the past 10 years or so.
.. It's far & away less crowded. It's away from the clatter of roads, and parking lots, and bicyclists, and tour buses. It's a Yellowstone that few fishers come to see. It's the little water. And, yes, it too is being discovered, (see the recent entry at MRO blog.)
.. There are some popular small waters that are more frequently visited than others: Duck Creek, Grayling Creek, Obsidian Creek, Solfaterra Creek, Upper-upper Gibbon River, etc.
.. These places give fishers a chance to enjoy less elbows and more uncluttered scenery than most of the roadside classics in Yellowstone. Many of the smaller waters do, indeed, hold small fish. Trophies are 10" - 12" or so. But, some of the smaller waters also hold 16" - 18" fish that are unmolested and wild.
.. There are many reasons for fishing small waters. One of the most rewarding is the surprise factor. Suppose that you've decided to take an early summer stroll through a vacant meadow. You have your favorite 3-weight rod and a film canister of miscellaneous flies. Most of them are rejects from your attempts at invention and innovation. You are anticipating quite a few dances with eager Brook Trout.
.. And then, your rod is bent double with the energy of an enormous native cutthroat that has no where to go in the 8" deep water. Talk about having your hands full.

The video below will give you some idea about the size of fish that
live in small waters that you can step across.

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.. This little creek is not more than 1/4 mile from the road. It is frequented by many visitors without fishing rods. It has a gentle trail beside the water. It holds enormous trout. They'll eat just about anything that you feed them.

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.. Below are some of the small waters where you will find us for most of the rest of the summer. The photos are indicative, (enough,) of where they are. We hope not to see you. But we'll be pleasantly surprised if we do.

How Deep ??

CLEAR, COOL, RAPID, DEEP !

Yellowstone Fishers Beware

.. Just how deep is the Yellowstone River? The last three 22" Cutthroat Trout that were hooked at Buffalo Ford were lost in just 1 foot of water.
.. They were broken off by the picnic tables at the end of the road!

We suggest that you wait a week or so. Maybe two.