ROCK SNOT - ROCK SNOT - ROCK SNOT
DAMNITALL - ROCK SNOT
It's Here !
(brief fishing report too)
(brief fishing report too)
.. Sometimes called Sea Snot,the diatom Didymosphenia geminata - DIDYMO, for short, has been documented in the Snake River Drainage just south of Yellowstone National Park. We've posted several notes about this threat to Yellowstone Waters over the past year.
.. This is a threat to the rivers and fishing in Yellowstone National Park and it is immanent! The latest report of the deadly goo comes from the USGS after they discovered it in Lake Creek near the Moose-Wilson Road bridge, and notified Grand Teton National Park last week... According to a story in the Jackson Hole Daily, (jhnews and guide.com,) Lexey Wauters, executive director of The Snake River Fund has stated that Didymo has the potential to “really decimate a watershed.”
.. Research in New Zealand has provided promising results for the battle against
Didymo; these have been reported by Protect Your Waters. We posted an extensive note about the possibilities for containment in February of this year... Max Bothwell, of Environment Canada, broadcast a segment on the radio show Quirks & Quarks in March of this year - (Listen to it here, open it in a new tab and listen to it in the background.)
.. The Didymo organism can alter the food chain by covering the river bed with a slimy mat that kills the benthic invertebrates that trout eat. The best research suggests that fly fishers are the major culprits in the spread of this menace. The mechanism is felt-soled-waders that can carry unique genomes of indigenous variants of Didymo to new environments thus allowing the diatom to behave as an invasive species, rather than an endemic species.
.. Clean and dry waders are a necessary tool in the battle to prevent the spread of this fresh water organism. Check out the non-felt wader boots at the Trout Underground.
(Click on the images below for a better view.)
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.. On a lighter note, our Friday biscuits and gravy breakfasts are mightily enhanced by the good folks over at The Horse's Mouth.
.. We heartily endorse their sentiment HOORAY, IT'S FRIDAY !
.. And, by the way, the Fish on Fridays post is just as spectacular as the Weekend Wahine. All the old grunts at the breakfast table are eagerly anticipating this winter's posts as hungrily
as we look forward to the next shipment of Viagra to this remote location... Speaking of Viagra, have you seen the Obscene Bangers at Get Outdoors? Ugh! A Slaw Dawg it ain't!
.. Straight from Thee Ass Hooked Whitey comes a video so full of giggles that we fell off the bar stool. This is not just another flying carp piece - it's too good to pass up.
.. On the sidebar we've added the link to Yellowstone Wilderness Outfitters. And, like Yellowstone Mountain Guides they are truly expert guides, outfitters, and most importantly fishers. These folks are the backcountry pioneers and experts of Yellowstone. If you would like to catch a trout as it swims over the continental divide, check out the animated Thorofare Map. The water's low in the backcountry too - but the fishing pressure is ever-so-slight.
.. A note at Yellowstone Park News led us to read about the low
water and melting glaciers in Glacier National Park. It seems that many of the rivers, containing glacial melt water that feed the lakes, are not getting to the lakes. This is definitely hard on Montana's very rare Bull Trout. The Missoulian carries the story and the situation sounds dire at best.. . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. There are quite a few lake fish moving into the Madison River. 
They are moving slowly, (though we anticipate that this spate of cool weather will speed them up,) and are stalled at the park line. Although a few fish have made it upstream, the large schools of fish have podded-up between the estuary and Baker's Hole. You'll need a Montana fishing license if you fish outside of the park.
.. The neighbors are now using a variety of flies for these recalcitrant migrants.
The old favorite Hornberg is making its fall appearance. It is fished both wet and dry and is on the end of many a fly line. Use the bigger sizes for the wet version, (4 - 8,) and the smaller sizes for the dry, (10-14.) The wet is fished as a streamer on the drift with a full swing to a tight line at the end. Some neighbors can strip this fly faster than the current - if you can do it this, it is a deadly technique for the deep holes.
.. The Yellowstone Spruce Fly and the Yellowstone Winter Grub are making their appearance along side the Dark Spruce Fly and the dark olive green Woolly Bugger.
.. A local cult has sprung up around the Hairwing Dark Spruce Fly. You can find it at the Thread & Feathers section of Montanawild Gallery. It's a fairly old rendition of the fly that has been experiencing a renewed vitality among the neighbors.
.. Soft hackle flies are doing their share of the work as well.
The visitors are buying what the fly shops sell and are doing all right, the neighbors are sticking with the Royal Prince Soft Hackle and doing a bit better. Although the run is on, it should get better very soon. It should also get more crowded - and it's already full of fishers in the traditional places. Rumor and tradition do a lot to mitigate against the understanding that the river changes annually and with its flows. 
Try some new water, Try a different fly - you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.
.. Try this little beetle fly in the slow deep water of undercut banks. Toss it into a foam line and let it float lazily along its merry way - hold on tight!
They are moving slowly, (though we anticipate that this spate of cool weather will speed them up,) and are stalled at the park line. Although a few fish have made it upstream, the large schools of fish have podded-up between the estuary and Baker's Hole. You'll need a Montana fishing license if you fish outside of the park... The neighbors are now using a variety of flies for these recalcitrant migrants.
The old favorite Hornberg is making its fall appearance. It is fished both wet and dry and is on the end of many a fly line. Use the bigger sizes for the wet version, (4 - 8,) and the smaller sizes for the dry, (10-14.) The wet is fished as a streamer on the drift with a full swing to a tight line at the end. Some neighbors can strip this fly faster than the current - if you can do it this, it is a deadly technique for the deep holes.
.. The Yellowstone Spruce Fly and the Yellowstone Winter Grub are making their appearance along side the Dark Spruce Fly and the dark olive green Woolly Bugger... A local cult has sprung up around the Hairwing Dark Spruce Fly. You can find it at the Thread & Feathers section of Montanawild Gallery. It's a fairly old rendition of the fly that has been experiencing a renewed vitality among the neighbors.
.. Soft hackle flies are doing their share of the work as well.
The visitors are buying what the fly shops sell and are doing all right, the neighbors are sticking with the Royal Prince Soft Hackle and doing a bit better. Although the run is on, it should get better very soon. It should also get more crowded - and it's already full of fishers in the traditional places. Rumor and tradition do a lot to mitigate against the understanding that the river changes annually and with its flows. 
Try some new water, Try a different fly - you'll probably be pleasantly surprised... Try this little beetle fly in the slow deep water of undercut banks. Toss it into a foam line and let it float lazily along its merry way - hold on tight!
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.. We're headed to the park to see if the log jam has broken. There are rumors of big fish as high up as the falls on the Gibbon River - we'll let you know.