Strange Conspiracy

SNOW MELT ACCELERATES

Little Rivers Are Big

no rest for the wicked

-------

.. Despite the predictions for a protracted season of fishing on the Firehole River, Mom and the snow pack have conspired to punctuate angling with a bizarre coincidence. The river spiked to 70° F yesterday and set a new "for-the-day" record discharge at 150 cfs above the previous maximum. Air temperatures in the west side river valleys ranged from 80° to 86°F.

.. We seek the little rivers during the Fourth Of July Madness. This year the rivers were there. The elbows were not there. But, the little bits of water were big bits of water. Normally these streams are not even visible until it's time to cast. This year they were visible from 50 feet away. The fish are hiding from the rapid discharge and it's easy to find them; it's hard to present anything to them.
.. We took a few from a couple of different rivers and exhausted our self during the process. The bushes and stream-side debris won all the battles: the fish won more than their share. It's tough to battle a 10" trout when five feet of your seven foot rod are under the bushes and the 18" leader is wrapped around a branch.

.. We literally had to force feed the obstreperous fish. The allowed us the poke them with the rod. Ah, such is fishing without much catching.
.. A couple of the neighbors wandered the willow jungle along the upper Gallatin River. They saw a moose and some bear sign. They teased some fish and danced with a couple. Good on 'em!
.. At least the wildflowers are out in force. There are ants, beetles, and the first molt of the grasshoppers was observed in one upland are not too far from the river's floodplain. It's really an interesting time to fish.
.. Morning fishing on the Firehole River is picking up. There seems to be some activity all day long. No monster hatches have been encountered yet, but the fish are looking up more frequently. The Madison River is clearing at a good pace despite it height and bug imitations are beginning to replace buggers and streamers as the flies of choice.
.. There are some nice meander bends in the big meadows of the Gibbon River that are starved for love and attention. The fish don't mind at all. The little meadows of the Gibbon River are worth visiting as is the Firehole River above the cascades.
.. Grebe Lake is finally accessible without too much mud-slogging.
.. As long as there is a breeze the mosquitoes have a hard time with their targets. They are worst in the trees right now.
.. Most people park where shown on the map and dash to the lake. We like to park on the road further down by the river and fish our way to the lake.
.. It takes longer, we sometimes don't make it to the lake, and occasionally we take a Grayling along with the others.Remember that a permit is requied if you choose to horse your float tube to the lake.
.. There's more to tell but the sun is already waking the mosquitoes and the lines are astronomically long at the West Gate. We slept late, avoided food for coffee and this post. You just had to know.

-------

.