The Up & Down Of It All

FISHING HAPPENS

Blogging Stutters

choices are growing

WALLPAPER: RIGGIN' UP

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.. A little rain, a little sun, some fog, some clouds, some bugs, some fish; the catching season in Yellowstone National Park is well under way.

.. The Madison River has cleared remarkably and there are even bugs decorating it's surface and the shoreline weeds. Flows have dropped to the norm for the season and even dipped a bit below. Rains have been a factor in the discharge rates but the clarity is very good.
.. Fishers are turning into catchers with a variety of flies and both the big'uns and little'uns are taking fish with regularity. The neighborhood choice is still with the big'uns as they are groceries for the fish; and they are willing shoppers. The little'uns are usually served submerged and are taken gladly by the fish.

.. The confluence meadow is still a bit spongy but navigable and the Madison River still holds some large fish this high up. The large flies of Fall will still grab a lip if placed in front of the laggards. Downstream stripping of large streamers will also prove productive if presentation is correct.
.. The white millers have appeared along the upper portions of the Madison River and for most of the length of the Firehole River. These morsals are a good bet for those that choose to catch fish on both the surface and under the water. Fished wet or dry the imitations will draw fish to the hook.
.. On the Firehole River the fishers seem to demand surface hatches even where they're are not happening and when they shouldn't be happening.
.. Persistence in a pursuit does not guarantee success. Remember what grandma said: "Nothing will change if you don't change something."
.. Of course, Grandpa said: "If the fish ain't up, they're down." It would seem that there is some strange behavior along the banks of the Firehole River.
.. The neighbors are also invading the canyon stretches of the Gibbon River. The river is dancing along with quite a bit of energy and still has some color but the fish are grabbing subsurface offerings with enough regularity to make it interesting.

.. A couple of brave souls took a walk in the big meadows along the upper portions of the Gibbon River and have reported that the squish underfoot is a delightful experience but that the catching sucks. Bless the explorers.
.. The weather is offering up as big a smorgasbord of conditions as the rivers are bugs. PMD's. BWO's, Caddis, and the miscellaneous early surface beetle and ant. The daily rains vary in position and intensity so that the rivers' ups and downs are capricious at best.
.. Fishers expecting any sort of catching success will have a full and extensive arsenal in their fly boxes - and consult them as often as necessary.

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WALLPAPER:  SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND