The Swarm Continues

305 AND COUNTING

Even Fishers  Felt It

gray days blossom

THE CAMPANULA CREEK SWARM

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.. For those of us living on the flanks of an active volcano the temblors are commonplace. Most go unfelt. Those that are felt seem routine.
..Yesterday there was a "FEELER" [what the neighbor kids call an earthquake that they feel.] It registered about 4.5 on the Richter Scale and had it's epicenter along Campanula Creek in Yellowstone National Park.
.. The quake was the latest in an earthquake swarm that started on May 31, 2017 and has produced 305 measurable temblors. Most are below the 'feeler' threshold of 2,5 on the Richter Scale.

DUCK CREEK MEADOWS

.. A few pictures in West Yellowstone fell from the walls.
.. Some dogs went into apoplectic barking fits.
.. The visitors in local shops had jangled nerves and a new topic of conversation to share with their neighbors back home.
.. Some fishers around Taylor Fork noted the temblor but, (sadly,) reported that the catching did not improve. The Duck Creek meadows, (at the edge of the swarm,) are currently closed for bear management.
.. We occasionally fish Campanula Creek, [LINK-CC.] It's a trek we make less often now. This friendly little creek drains the uplands at the southern toe of the Gallatin Mountain Range north of West Yellowstone.
.. It joins Richard's Creek in the lush Duck Creek Meadows to form Duck Creek. You can bet that we'll chug up there this coming fall when the bottom lands open to the mosquito squadrons and fishers.

.. Yesterday presented us with a perfect afternoon for catching.
.. With a minor miracle in the making the clouds rolled in about 2 o'clock and by 4 PM the air was hardly moving.
.. By 5 o'clock it was fully overcast, near dead-still, earthquake weather, (for those of you in California.)
.. Temperatures dropped slightly and an eruption of bugs flooded the atmosphere near the ground along the Firehole River and the Madison River.

GREEN ONES WORK

.. For a good three hours just about anything in the box worked - it happens.
.. The fly floaters were happily matching what they thought was the hatch. The fly sinkers were using all the discards from the winter's experimentation's.
.. A grand time was had by all. Fish were even dragged out of the Gibbon River near the Grand Loop Bridge = slow seemingly sterile deep runs. My oh my!
.. Sadly we arrived about 8 o'clock and only caught a few dozen fish - so be it. Today may be just as good if the snow stays away.

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.. Forecast for mid 50's and drizzle. Perfect weather for the fisher folks. Perfect weather for the retail establishment in town. We'll have a second pot of coffee and pack three lunches. It promises to be a grand extravaganza.

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WALLPAPER:  HOMEMADE ARTISAN PIZZA

Countdown

BE HERE NOW

2 Weeks Left For Catching

some snow has spit at us - no stickeee

MADISON RIVER AT THE PARK LINE - VERY FISHY  !!

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.. As the peaks around Hebgen Basin can attest - some snow has fallen in the neighborhood. It even made it to the ground here in town. It melted as soon as it hit the ground. There's none here now. The fish near are here and loving it.

Tradition Will Out  !!

.. It's an interesting thing that's going on right here and right now. The neighbors are smacking the fish in the tributaries and shallow parts of the lakes.
.. The visitors are smacking the low water on the main stem of the Madison River, Gallatin River, Firehole River, and even the Mighty MO!
.. Although the Madison River and the Firehole River are at - OR - just a smidgen below seasonal flows; the Gallatin River is off by quite a bit.
.. Of course the neighbors are clustered around Specimen Creek, Bacon Rind Creek, the West Fork, and other secret debouches along the course of the river.
.. Bears be damned, (carry the spray and sing and dance and fish with a friend,) this is the time of year that Campanula Creek, Grayling Creek, and Duck Creek are visited by sturdy and adventurous souls. Bless them all and the bushels of fish that they catch.

Right Form, Wrong Color, Works Guud !!

.. Despite all of the myriad flies available for catching the migrating submarines of our waters, the Woolly Bugger continues as a favorite fly of the neighbors and visitors alike. We prefer the Snortle or a simple Woolly Worm ourselves.
.. The Curmudgeon Corps in the neighborhood is busy with the entertainment of the hour.
.. Enjoyment, for them, comes in the form of gently poking fun at both the neighbors and visitors who catch enough fish to feed Wyoming - and keep none of them. [[Curmudgeon defined below*]]
.. They, themselves, are busy catching and smoking fish at a rapid pace. Some have even gone to the trouble of seeking the lowland hardwoods for their smoking chores. Alder and Apple are this year's choice.
.. We usually give them a wide berth at this time of year. We will nod if we pass them at the grocery store. We do smile as we wait in line at the post office. We wave to the familiar vehicles on the street.
.. Engaging conversation, however, is reserved for those times, (coming soon,) when they accost us and offer a fish or two - YUM!
.. Well, with just a couple of weeks left for legal fishing in Yellowstone National Park, we're headed up to a shady, undercut bank, on the low-water Gallatin River. Rumor has it there's a flotilla of giant fish engaged in some sort of sexual shenanigans in the adjacent waters.
.. Finally, with a gentle whisper, we do say: "confluence of Nez Perce Creek and Firehole River."

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Afternoon Sunshine + An Undercut Bank + Pea Gravel + Aerated Water = FISH

[[*   ".. A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy.
.. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor.
.. They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment.
.. Nature, having failed to equip them with a serviceable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
.. Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
.. Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: they have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud senseless mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor."

- - - JON WINOKUR ]]

As You Like It

LESS IS MORE

Submarines Arriving Daily

or, try a beaver dam

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.. This has to be quick. The big fish, running up the Madison River from Hebgen Reservoir, are coming in waves and running fast and far. The Gibbon River in National Park Meadows even has a couple of the monsters - ALREADY!

.. Follow the neighbors. Walk miles and miles. Cover acres and acres of water. You shall be rewarded.

.. The folks that are catching fish are moving around. Moving around as much as fishing.
.. They are behaving like the steelhead fishers of the Pacific Coast. 

.. Try this: CAST - SWING - SHORT JERK RETRIEVE - THREE STEPS - REPEAT. Get in line. Do the conga. Exercise the pool and your arm. Then, (very important,) move on. Move to another pool. Move to another location. Move to another state, (it's easy to do along the park line.)

.. Fish will eat your fly if they choose to. Switch flies if they aren't on it. It is happening right now. Get here and stay for the next month or so.

..If you're not a headhunter there is great fishing all around us. Hebgen Lake still has some gulpers working to the continuing hatches. Try it, you'll like it.
.. The Gallatin River is in perfect shape and the elbows have left the room. Spruce moths continue to swim near the wooded areas. There are morning, (or all day,) hatches on our blessedly cloudy days. Mostly it's BWO's in the forenoon and a few caddis and, yes Betty, hoppers wake up when it gets a bit warmer.
.. You can fish the Gallatin River all day with an Adams followed by a Prince Nymph and do just fine. Fish with a friend and be very bear aware in the northern reachers of the park water. Hell's Bells - be bear aware along the whole valley. There was just a mauling over the hills. An elk hunter called in a sow griz.

.. A couple of the neighbor kids visited the Firehole River. It's still a bit too warm by mid-day. They sampled the Little Firehole River and Nez Perce Creek. They found both bears and fish. They avoided the bears and stuck the fish with soft hackles.
.. All this kind of exuberant activity drains what little energy we have.
.. There are some nice, well hidden, beaver ponds in, and around the neighborhood.
.. They don't get much press. That's fine with us. A leisurely stroll around them will produce as many fish as mosquito bites in July.
.. We like to watch the noses as they slide up beneath the unsuspecting bugs and bits. Brook Trout reign supreme in these little pools of water.
.. There is, on occasion, a surprise in the form of a 14" - 16" monster. We don't expect much in the way of size - the solitude and gentility are compensation enough.
.. Adventurous neighbors have probed the bear closure boundaries of Duck Creek. There are many fish willing to eat anything that comes their way.
..  Campanula Creek has been neglected by most of the neighbors this year - much to the joy of one youngster that can walk that far. The fish rise freely to anything in the size 12 - 16 range. Sparsely tied caddis seem to be the favorite of the hikers. A Royal Wulff is also a good choice. BEAR SPRAY and an alert friend are mandatory. Singing and joking are requisite behaviors also.
.. That's enough for now - got to go visit some kits we know of.

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What A Terrible Place

SUZUKI SIZED
MOSQUITOES

Impenetrable Willow Jungles

bears & bison & moose

lots of fish too

(All images are 'clickable' - some are huge!)
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.. It's just not a wholesome place to visit. The Duck Creek Meadows are six or seven times the size of National Park Meadows.
.. They are closed right now because of bears. Bison haunt the pine and willow thickets. Moose gallop from bog to marsh. The flats are dusty. The road in to this place is dusty & full of tank traps.

.. There are dark pools in the rivers. Campanula Creek drains the uplands, Richards Creek drains the high meadows. Both join Gneiss Creek to form Duck Creek in the self-same tangle of mosquito bogs and dense willows. The meanders are so convoluted it's hard to tell which creek is which.

.. The neighbors want you to become mired in the muck and goo. They have even erected a sign so that you don't get lost. Just follow the arrow.
.. The NPS is vigilant in it's warnings. This is now & always has been, one of the most clearly marked boundaries in all of Yellowstone National Park. Enter at your own risk!
.. Despite the terrible road & despite the dust & despite the fact that the guides and feather merchants ignore this bit of paradise; the neighbors visit regularly.
.. Armed with bear spray, ribald songs and hoots like drunken owls they trudge the paths and game trails in search of fish. Some even catch fish. There are tagged fish to be caught and they should be reported.
.. There is "mouse water" right at the boundary between the forest and the park. It's best in the glow of twilight. That's when the trout turn into bass. They cavort in the darkness. They splash as would a brick dropped from a mosquito. They eat things full of calories and fur.
.. The scenery here is drab and mundane. The pedestrian surroundings have kept the gawkers and casual visitors from this vest-pocket wilderness. After all, it's necessary to leave your car behind. The best catching water is out of sight of your vehicle - horror of horrors!
.. Guides spurn the place. Internet forums tell and retell tales of once visited - twice shy experiences. After all, the glory of fishing in Yellowstone National Park is narrated in terms of waters adjacent to the roads. We're pleased that this is the case.
.. The cosmopolitan fishers write the books and articles. They go where others have gone. They relate the same stories of the same places and vicariously wade in the footfalls of long dead authors and current celebrities. [Hint: rivers do change!]
.. We catch hell every time we make mention of the neighborhood fishing holes. Rightly so! This is a bit of paradise that requires intimacy. It's not a simple fishery. You don't just show up and catch.
.. Walking is required, (a tough task for aged legs,) but it's worth it. Frequent visitation will allow an understanding of the personality of the meadows and their waters. Wet years are best - for fish, fishers, and mosquitoes. The holes are darker: the willows thicker, the visitors fewer.
.. Experts and authors become instant novices in the face of the six little creeks in this basin. After all they only have a few hours to visit. Guides can't brag about the number and size of their mosquito bites. Feather merchants haven't developed the "perfect fly" for these waters. It's just a wasteland.
.. Campanula, Cougar, Duck, Gneiss, Maple, & Richards Creeks are not storied in "THE LITERATURE."
.. The fish that are caught are small and few - so say the visiting fishers. They probably never caught a fish in Gneiss Creek or, for that matter, Maple Creek. Not in the legends! Too hard! Too small! How many springs dot the shores of the creeks? Not mentioned in the guide books! How about the beaver ponds on Richards Creek? Where?
.. We spent the weekend on the edge of the bear closure. There was rain each morning, and on & off all day each and every day. The mosquitoes loved it. We caught some fish. We reported a 13" tagged rainbow.
.. We can't wait until the September, 30th opening of Area "B": then we can visit the springs and swamps, and pools, and snags, and mosquitoes, along Richards Creek. It should be just in time for some submarines. But, you didn't hear it here!
.. Appearing below is a little video compiled in the dark of night. A warning to the adventurous: stay out of this wasteland. You have to abandon your car and walk to the catching!

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