It's In The Air

SMOKE, COLOR, AROMA,

Early Prospectors In The Water

some fish being caught - some lost

Pinkish Skies and Yellowish Meadows Signal The Coming Death Of Summer

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.. As the grasses turn yellow and the sky colors with the haze from our seasonal fires, fisher folk in the neighborhood are drifting back to the glory waters nearby.
.. There's nothing too serious about the brief forays to the waters. The cold waters are still the focus of serious fishing but the need to see what's what is persistent in the fly fisher's heart and soul. Anticipation, exploration, familiarization, and determination are constituents of the fisher's soul.

The Mysterious Nymph Of The Neighborhood.

.. As often as we fish these waters is as often as we realize the differences from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, season to season, year to year, decade to decade  --  etc. So we revisit the water.
.. It is both grossly the same and minutely different. Slumped banks, exposed point bars, shifted snags and sweepers, new weed beds, scoured bottoms, and oh so much else. Of course it will change over the next 5 or 6 weeks but, we anticipate the direction and amount of change and speculate about the hides of Fall.
.. The water is low now and in anticipation of higher water in the upcoming Fall we plan our approaches to the choice parking spots for the "Fall Run Fish." We note the conditions today and then move on. There is a lot of territory to cover. There is a lot of water to "NOT FISH." The information is valuable. The guide books seldom mention the subtle and not so subtle changes. They are designed to catche fishers - not so much fish, (sort of like fly patterns.)

Turn Here.

.. The glory bits of the Firehole River continue in a gentle cooling trend, the Gibbon River likewise. Both are a bit low and slow. The Madison River has plenty of bugs but few noses during the mid day hours. Hoppers happen and the fish will take a few.
.. Visitors and eager fishers are pounding the waters of the north and east portions of Yellowstone National Park. The fish are biting but the catching is tough most of the time, We are still pounding the cool waters of the Gallatin River above the BIGHORN trail head.
.. The cavorting Brook Trout of the upper Firehole River are still willing to dance and the water is cooler than most on this side of the park.
.. Many of the neighbors are stuck in "Gulper Mode," although the catching has been good but spotty. When you find them they are angry and eager.
.. Some of us are sharpening broadheads and loading ammo for the hunt - it's here now and for the foreseeable future. Decision is the name of the game at this time of year: hunt, fish, tour, etc.
.. Now is the time for ants, moths, hoppers, and beetles on the top. For the submariners among us it's a double nymph rig or a rubberlegs with nymph trailer. The fish are most active in the morning. The big fish eat at night and with the sundown rule in Yellowstone the mouse fishing can be problematic - but rewarding if you do your homework.
.. We've returned to fishing a Hornberg on the surface with an ant dropper. We roll the Hornberg pattern around to the side so that it displays a lot of wing as it floats. Doesn't seem to affect the hooking abilities of the fly at all.
.. We're of to check the poison river and the dead fish.

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Looks Like Rain, Feels Like Rain, Smells Like Rain; Blows On Over - Oh Well !