Parking Lots Full
rivers & weather cooperating
<-- Firehole River @ Midway Geyser Basin
-- The gentleman at left, with his wife in the lawn chair, and the little "Yorkie" yapping all the time, fished 100 feet of the Firehole River for about one hour. The wife and the dog never moved. The fisherman caught more than a dozen fish. We finally made friends with the yapper!
-- Fishing is very good. Word has spread that the rivers are in great shape, and the hatches are doing fine, and textbook regular. They are not as heavy as you dream of, (yet,) but there is no lack of bugs - all day - and no lack of willing takers, either.
-- This is the stuff of stories. Beautiful surroundings, clear skies, afternoon thunderstorms, ravenous fish, easy wading, green grass, wildflowers, yapping "Yorkies," and full parking lots -- ah wilderness.-- The FIREHOLE RIVER is fishing very good. The flows are clear and seasonal. PMD's are getting thin in the morning but a Caddis hatch about 11:00 AM is filling in. The Baetis are also slowing; however a few Gray Drakes have been noticed. The slow mid-day period can be filled with nymphs and soft hackles. Once the sun is low a second Caddis hatch start and peaks about 8:00 PM. This is good since fishing is open until 10:00 PM when the light is gone.
-- NEZ PERCE CREEK is fishing pretty good as well. It's not as hot and heavy as the Firehole, but then again, it's not as crowded. The stretch by the picnic area is about the same as the Firehole. The quicksand at the confluence is yielding big Rainbows, (to 14",) on streamers and soft hackle flies. Upstream from the Chief Joseph story board standard nymphs, (size 12 - 16, prince, hare's ear, and dusters of any stripe,) are working well. The evening Caddis hatch is a little earlier in this section.
-- The MADISON RIVER in National Park Meadow is full of fish that are still dreaming of Salmonflies. The undercut banks have good fish that can be taken on large nymphs. The rising fish in the morning appear to be taking spinners. There is a Caddis hatch late in the afternoon, (about 4:30 - 500 PM,) that is just heavy enough to produce lively fishing. Use Elk Hair Caddis in sizes 10 - 18, as there are two types of bugs hatching during this period. The fish are becoming a bit selective, so choose your size with care.
-- Our quest for our annual Grayling was thwarted again. We fished the GIBBON RIVER hard for three days and came up empty - well, sort'a. The "riffle - run - pocket water" sections in the canyon yielded the standard assortment of 8" - 12" Rainbows and Browns on Elk Hair Caddis and Prince nymphs. (ASIDE: about two miles of this section along the road will be hard to access when the new road and bridge is finished. Fish it now for good action on small fish.) Gibbon Meadows is still a little "squishy" in spots but the fish in the big bends can still be approached on your knees. The water is almost as clear as it gets and there is a good Caddis hatch in the afternoon. Elk Meadows is a little more firm and the same hatch can be found there.
-- The Gibbon's thin water at the campground and above is full of the nursery fish. There are gobs, (technical term,) of Brook Trout in this section; still eager but becoming just a bit shy. Now that the weather has softened there are plenty of folks to bump into on this section. Most of them are busy putting down the fish.
-- Reports from GREEBE LAKE are glowing. The Grayling there are still in the "ice-out" feeding frenzy, and are cruising the shore looking for groceries. Fish the detritus along the windward banks. Some fish have been taken in 8 - 10 inches of water. The meadows are a bit soft and walking is the hardest part of this fishing. It's about 2-1/2 miles to the lake, and a charlie horse in in the offing if you're out of shape and tramp around the soft meadows too much. It's probably worth it if you want a Grayling. At our age, this is a last resort.
-- Down south LEWIS LAKE is getting hot, (figuratively,) and producing good fish on Wooly Buggers and leeches. Soon the Dragon Flies and Damsel Flies will be evident. Fish are also being taken on floating Hare's Ear nymphs.
-- We're taking a mental health day, (yet another,) and going back for more. There has got to be a very stupid Grayling out there somewhere.
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JENNY, Call your mom.