SNOW IN THE MORNING
Gone By Afternoon
fish all day
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.. Elbows were scarce on the Firehole River and Madison River before 3 O'clock yesterday. That's O.K. The fish were awake and gobbling streamers for breakfast... The water levels are up a tic and bank-full again.
Color has remained fair with visibility as much as 4' in some places, but certainly in the 2' range for most of the water... The color is a lovely shade of dark orange, and full of colloidal organics.
.. It looks worse than it is, and catching requires only that you pick a place where there are fish.
.. A few of the neighbors started early and fished until dark - catching in the snow, in the rain, in the sun, and at sunset. They noticed that the water levels rose noticeably during the day and plan to rest the water today and tomorrow.
.. Hatches of anything were not reported on the Madison River. Success was developed with large nymphs, (Prince, Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear, Yellow Feather Duster,) and yellow Woolly Worms. Sizes in the 8 - 10 range were most common.
The biggest fish were just off the bank in slow water and behind shore-side sweepers. The bass fishers call this a pattern... The bugs put in an occasional and widespread appearance on the Firehole River between about 3:30 and 6:30, but dimples were rare.
.. Biscuit Basin was productive and crowded. Double soft hackle rigs, (dark and light,) were the ticket in the meadows and even up the Little Firehole River and Iron Spring Creek.
.. A hungry pod of fish hung out at the meadow bridge for most of the afternoon and provided entertainment for the brave souls that slogged through the ankle-biting grasses.
.. The riffles and runs on the Firehole River were tough fishing throughout the day. Woolly Buggers and Soft Hackles provided some success - but only to those that covered a lot of water.
.. The river current at the present levels provides more than just a tug, and there's no real need to wade with the fish hanging close to shore.
.. There are a couple of places where the Firehole River widens out into broad shallow riffles. The slicks in these areas hold fish and provide some of the best catching opportunities right now: the current is a bit slower, the color less dense, the hides more apparent; try it, you'll like it.
.. The Firehole River is still a sub-surface game, and if the warm snows and rains keep up it should remain so for another week. The catching is good, and shoreline fishing is about the easiest that this river will fish all year.
.. Should your psyche demand that you throw something that floats, we suggest dark bodied Sparkle Duns or floating Flymphs... The black Sparkle Dun can be taken for a midge cluster, - or so we've been told, (there are lots of them if you seine a bit.)
.. The wing acts as an indicator for those of us with the weak-eye malady. Flymphs of the appropriate size and color for the current PMD or BWO or whatever can be floated and are very attractive to the fish right now.
.. We started out to fish on the Gibbon River: still a monumental effort. There are fish. They can be caught. Go ahead and give it a try. Then, define masochist.
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