Cool // Not Cool

WEATHER = COOL

Budget = Not Cool

nps = torpedoed

WALLPAPER:  THE GALLATIN ROAD NORTH

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..As our rivers maintain a late bit of high water the fishers in Yellowstone National Park are grumbling.
.. Catching can be good to very good - with a bit of "water savvy" and persistence. We've seen it both ways; great and skunkie.
.. To begin with; the Gallatin River has bloomed into a muddy mess. It's being fed by a very dirty Taylor Fork and evening showers. Such a color.
.. Happily the river has slowed from 5,000cfs to a near normal 3,000cfs almost overnight. The cool weather has slowed the melt; phew!

EARLY EVENING MOON HELPS

.. Even the park water is slightly colored and tough unless you know the river.
.. Big nymphs and deep slow water in undercut banks will find fish: they aint dumb.
.. The Firehole River has just a hint of color; it's temperature is holding in the high 50's and low 60's.
.. Flows have settled down from the recent near record flows to just above average for the date.

PRACTICE WATCHING & WAITING

.. Yesterday's rain and brisk winds brought out a decent Baetid hatch and even some recalcitrant BWO's.
.. Most of the neighbors that braved the wetness ignored the hatch matching and fished ugly flies on the top and a Prince nymph or soft hackle on a dropper.

TOSS AN UGLY ONE IN THE RAIN

.. The moon is up before official sundown and catching at the end of the day is enhanced. Smashed white miller flies floated in back water eddies will entice the nocturnal giants. Be patient and watch and wait; the fish are topside at dusk.
.. The Madison River inside the park is not too bad for the adventurist. Both color and flows have diminished slightly and the water temperature is perfect. Flows are just 100cfs above normal for the date and temperatures are holding in the low to mid 50's.

GOOD SORT OF STUFF

.. PMD's (?) are around but the real play is for the stoneflies in the upper parts of National Park Meadows.
.. The Firehole River Canyon is pumping out some of the big bugs and the neighbors are silent about it.

THESE ARE GOLDEN

.. Double up your favorite stone patterns.
.. Big and little - or, black and yellow - or, top and bottom will all grab a fish where it eats.
.. The Gibbon River has slowed enough for the brave to muck through the big meadows and dodge the wayward bison. There are even cell phone photos to prove that fish are eating stuff in the deep holes. We're not that brave.
.. If you must: the slow water north of Norris Geyser Basin has some eager giants. The stinky hot springs, the ankle deep mud, the occasional moose and the submerged logs are only minor distractions for the committed fisher: to say nothing of the long walk and downfall everywhere. Some neighbors are there now.

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.. Should you be interested in the way our National Parks are administered; then you should probably learn about the impending budget from the White House.

Proposed budget cuts will:

> cut over 1,000 full time staff,
> close facilities and campgrounds,
> reduce service,
> allow 23% less funds for resource management and invasive control,
> near elimination of cultural resource funding.
.. Click on over to WESTWISE to see what the NPS has to say about it all.

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.. Looks to stay cool for a day or two. Then a moderate warm up. Catching will only get better through the sunny days. We've got the urge: maybe go fishing!

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WALLPAPER:  HISTORIC BUD LILLY'S SIGN GONE