It's Fall -- sort of . . . .

A LITTLE COLD DRIZZLE

A Wayward Flake Or Two

morning finds many big fish

WALLPAPER:  THE MORNING BITE

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.. In the not too distant past only the well wrapped fishers would brave the Autumn weather of the last two weeks of fishing in Yellowstone National Park.

FISH WITH THIS VIEW AT HAND

.. Recently it's been brisk rather than bitter in the mornings. Fishers have been foregoing a second cup of coffee and trekking to the Madison River to gather up the willing runners from Hebgen Reservoir.
.. Catching has been very good this Fall. Not spectacular but satisfyingly rewarding.
.. The fish population seems to be higher than in recent memory, (probably due to the recent mild winters and high recruitment.)

GRAB A BUNCH

.. Success stories and hero photos dominate the evening conversations in the local fish pubs. Of course additional beverages are required to punctuate the tales of heroic battles and ginormous fish. Often this leads to the morning fuzzies and a lack of desire to make it out of bed on the following day  --  oh well!
.. There are pods of fish now staging in the estuary of the South Fork of the Madison River. There are no reports of large spawners moving upstream for this late run but folks in tubes, (Brrrr,) and boats are concentrated in this arm of Hebgen Reservoir.
.. The fly of the hours still seems to be the ubiquitous soft hackle. Big as you have on the Madison River and in the reservoir. Smaller sizes are abundant on the Firehole River.

THIS'LL WORK TOO

.. From Biscuit Basin to Elk Island at the top of Firehole Falls the friendly river has finally seen an increase of fishers. This may be due to the recent few days of low clouds, damp weather, and some dense hatches of mayflies.
.. Some of the neighbors are fishing only soft hackles: sizes 6, 8, 10 for drowning and sizes 14 and 16 for floating. Plucked sparse and greased real good the softies float very well and fool even the most educated of trout.
.. Should you choose to improve your catch rate for the spawners on the Madison River the neighbors have a couple of suggestions: 1.) leave the extra suds at the pub, 2.) arise in the dark and eat hearty, 3.) pour the second cup of coffee in the thermos,  4.) fish the morning fog, 5.) cover water and drive, laying abed just puts off the pain of not going fishing.

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.. Speaking of the weather  --  wha . . . ? NOAA has finally committed themselves to a monster El Niño. They have even told us what to expect over the winter.
Depending on your fishing plans the forecast is either very good or very bad.
.. Here are the temperature and precipitation maps from the forecasters:

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.. Of course there is still good catching on the Gallatin River and, (a bit of a surprise,) Nez Perce Creek.

A WHAT ??

.. On the Gallatin River deeply dredged small dark streamers are gathering up some nice fish. Fish in the Fan Creek confluence meadows under the banks. Sneaking through the willows is mandatory.

.. On Nez Perce Creek,  take a short walk up the Mary Mountain Trail. Bring your friend the bear spray with you.

.. Once above the lower thermal feature cluster wet a line with a Lead Wing Coachman followed by an original Feather Duster. Catch some dandy fish that have run up from the Firehole River. You'll probably have to tie your own.

.. We've heard rumors that the plunge pool below Gibbon Falls has some submarines berthed in the off-side foam line. The water is low enough to easily get there. Perhaps.

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WALLPAPER:  FISH THE MOUNT