Brave Souls

STRIDING INTO THE MAW

Hot: With Elbows And Ring Tones

few folks will catch a fish or two

WALLPAPER:  THE FIREHOLE FOURTH

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.. Come Friday the intrepid fishers of the fly will descend with clanking gear to the edge of the Firehole River - no matter what. There they will find many others of the same mindset.

.. They will also find some bathing beauties of all sizes, shapes, colors, and languages. They will whine and cry and bemoan the fact that normal people are in "their water."
.. It will be the Fourth of July: the very day that most Americans consider a grand time of fun and frivolity, a celebration of independence.
.. There will be very little frivolity in the countenance of the fishers. They will be serious about gathering stories about the fabled fishing on the the fabled river.

.. They will have traveled leagues and leagues from their comfortable abodes. They will have braved the turmoil of long waits for bison, elk, ground squirrels, and parking spots. They will have searched for a small bit of open water. Water where neither their backcast nor their forecast will tangle the line of another fisher.
.. They will be either happy, frustrated, determined, or exasperated at the crowded conditions of the supposed wilderness of Yellowstone National Park. Of course there is some semblance of wilderness in Yellowstone National Park. It's just not along the circus parade routes that parallel the west side rivers.
.. As the holiday falls on a Friday, this will be an extraordinarily long weekend. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday are all off days. The careful will have planned for a travel day or two and, presto; it's here now.
.. Starting tomorrow, on many other rivers, there will be lonely fish with no dance partners. They will have been neglected for the fish in the glory waters. We're going to help them feel less neglected. We're going to sneak to a few places that will have parking spaces.

.. Those places may have an old pickup truck with local plates. They will be on dusty gravel roads that discourage shiny sedans and new SUV's. They will require a gentle walk along a poorly trodden trail. We may even fish where we cannot see our car.
.. A quick telephone call to a local feather merchant could put visitors in touch with angry and eagar fish away from the crowds. Ask a few cogent questions and you will have a wonderful holiday fishing experience away from the maddening crowds. Ask where the crowds won't be. Ask where the fish are willing and eagar. Ask the person you are talking to when they last fished where they are recommending that you fish.

.. A couple of years ago we posted some hints about what could be attractive places to tickle a fish and not get tangled up in another fishers tailing loop. Those posts are still pretty accurate and can be scanned RIGHT HERE or EVEN HERE.
.. We're headed down a long road to a little canyon in the northeast of the park. The road is terrible. The fish are small. The bears are still prowling and the water is crystal clear, cool, swift, and full of hungry fish. A few of the neighbors know the water where we're headed. The counter help at our feather merchant emporia probably haven't heard of it.

.. What ever your choice for fishing be sure to pause several times and rejoice in the freedom to make the wrong choice. Rejoice in the freedom to elect wing nuts to public office. Rejoice in the freedom to burden your offspring with enormous debt. And certainly, rejoice in the situation that allows you to fish with companions, elbow to elbow, in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park.
.. We will be rejoicing in the ability to burn some flesh, sip a beverage of our choice, tell lies to the neighbors, and giggle about the fish caught out of sight of the road with no ring tones or elbows to avoid.

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WALLPAPER: CHARRED, PINK, AND FORK TENDER RIB EYE