Lowland Madison

WAY TOO GOOD THIS EARLY

Pods & Pods & Pods Of Eagar Fish

we're loving it to death

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.. It is an unusual and wonderful situation. The sparse Spring runoff event, (to date,) has enticed us to the lowlands in order to partake of catching beyond the dreams of even the head hunters and the fin counters.

.. Guides are marking the prows of their drift boats with fish silhouettes like they were WWII bombers.  And those are just the fish over 20".  Small fry aren't even photographed. Anglers are praying for LDR's with each weak tug. Get 'em off and get 'em gone. Such a circus is hard to believe. But, it's true.
.. We're arm weary and eye sore from all the fish. And, we're going back for more. Rare indeed for us. Then again, this only happens infrequently. Forget the correct fly patterns. Throw what you like - the fish will like it too.
.. Needing some rest now. Back at it early . . . . . . . . .

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The Transmogrification

AWAKENINGS IN THE PARK

Waters Flowing Cold & Clear

the very same but different

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.. As winter's mantle lifts from the west side of Yellowstone National Park the waters look the very same as we left them - but different.
.. A couple of snags have shifted slightly, some banks have fallen in. a tree or two has been uprooted, a thermal feature has encroached into the Firehole River, and not a few boulders are in different places, OR GONE. Yet, on the whole, it's comfortably familiar.
.. Spring, so far, has been cool and the waters are clear. Visibility is easily as much as ten feet on the Firehole River. It's just a little less on the Madison River, and maybe just five feet on the Gibbon River.
.. As the weather warms changes will respond to the increased flows and there will be more to note. Already there are changed weed beds and new sand bars. The dynamics of the rivers ensure that change will be constant. Over the long winter the changes are are noticeable, but boarding on the insignificant. On a day to day basis they often go unnoticed. By the time a decade or two has been tucked under our belts, (if memory serves,) the waters are new and fresh and foreign.

.. We spent the weekend, on and off, cruising around the west side of the park.The low snow pack has given us access to the water's edge in more places than usual for this early in the year. Green is already spreading along river banks at the water's edge. The Artemesia, never completely buried in most places this winter, is already past the gray-green stage and moving toward the light olive color of Summer.
.. Fish were rising along most sections of the rivers. Midges and some big mayflies were on the menu. We watched for quite some time as the Spring Smorgasbord was devoured. The bugs seem bigger and earlier than usual - but then we wanted them to be.
.. The two-toned ants have already built hives as tall as a foot and two feet in diameter. Blue birds and cranes have taken up residence. The geese have consorts and some have nesting spots. As cool as it's been, Spring seems well along on the west side of Yellowstone National Park.
.. The bison have moved down to the fresh blades of grass along the roads and out to the periphery of Hebgen Reservoir. The sparse herd of elk is loosely scattered in the yet unflooded meadows along the Madison River. They look good with very few ribs showing.
.. Eagles and the first of the pairs of ospreys are already in place. No robins yet. very few visitors as well. The raimbow of spandex has sprouted and bicyclists are as numerous as the cars - more so perhaps.
.. We'll keep an eye on the park waters for the next month or so and then go a catching: runoff permitting.

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Of Fires, Osprey, Swans & Cutthroat

TOO MUCH GOING ON

Fourth Of July Fishing Locations Tomorrow

.. The forest is on fire - it must be August! No; still June. The fire north of town has drawn national attention. It has burned hotter than the 1988 fires in spots. It's not out yet. It's not in the park yet. The Gallatin National Forest office is the best source of accurate news for this fire and the Stage I Restrictions.
.. There are a few bits of news that have escaped the journalistic frenzy to report a "Yellowstone Fire:" a black bear wandered into town while avoiding the fire, (yes it's that close,) poor thing posed for camera phone pictures in an apartment complex for an hour. It was tranquilized and removed.
.. A borate bomber lost an engine and had to dump it's load over Hebgen Lake to reduce weight and get safely to the runway at the West Yellowstone airport.
.. Travel on highway 191 north of West Yellowstone is subject to closure at any time. For road information call the Gallatin National Forest-Hebgen Lake District office, (406)-823-6961, or the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, (406)-646-7701.
.. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but the crews on the line have intimated that it was an illegal campfire by illegal campers - we'll see.

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.. Terry McEneaney, Yellowstone's ornithologist has reported that the Trumpeter Swans of Yellowstone are dwindling in numbers. So too, the Ospreys.
.. The ospreys are losing ground because of fire and diminished cutthroat numbers. An article in the Casper Star Tribune has the details; money quote:

One of the biggest problems for the osprey is that Yellowstone cutthroat trout, a key food, has been hit hard by nonnative lake trout in recent years. At one spot on the lake where more than 70,000 cutthroat were counted in the 1970s, just 471 were tallied last year, the lowest number since record keeping began in 1945. There are other factors, too, including a 2003 wildfire on Frank Island, in the middle of the lake, that burned 570 of the island's 600 acres, wiping out nearly all the old-growth trees that were a popular spot for nesting ospreys.

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.. Time to get some biscuits and gravy. The folks at the horse's mouth have provided us with a lot of conversational fodder.