YELLOWSTONE'S GIBBON RIVER IS PINK

LOW FLOOD STAGE IS RAGING
little hope for opener


<- Gibbon River at Canyon Road


-- The Gibbon River in Yellowstone Park is at or above flood stage from Gibbon Falls to above The Gibbon Campground Meadow. Trout are in the grass south of the road to Canyon Village, and some are big for this stretch of the river.
-- Gibbon Meadows and Elk Meadows are partially flooded and show no sign of recession in the near future. The elk and the bison are feeding in 6 - 10 inches of water and loving it. The grass is green and the warm bright sunlight, combined with the afternoon thunder showers have produced an early greening of these popular meadows. It may take more than a week for the river in this section to clear.
-- Below the picnic area, in the confined channel of the canyon the river is a foot above flood stage and is a very pretty pink color. The big plunge pool at the first bridge is full of whitecaps and the suspended load is so heavy the color is striking. The river is eroding the road base, and there will need to be repairs as soon as the water level recedes. There is only a slim chance that any part of this river segment will be productive in less than 10 days.
<- Gibbon River at the First Bridge plunge pool

-- At the Norris Campground Meadows there is a lake, and above the bridge to canyon village there were several large fish finning in the grass where the small lake has formed because of the roadbed and high discharge.
-- This 20 - 30 acre lake might fish pretty good on opening day if you are willing to wade deep and pretend that you are on a bonefish flat. The fish were very active this morning, and the water is gin-clear as the silt load is dumped at the big bend in the upper end of this little meadow.
-- The channel is clearly visible by just following the froth and bubble line. We are going to check the regulations on this. The activity observed seemed like feeding, and there were many fish of a size usually seen in the lower meadows. Only one was close enough to identify - a 12" or better brook trout.



<- Flood Lake, south of road to Canyon Village


<<-- Fish in left-mid-foreground!

FIREHOLE RIVER HIGH & FAST

NOT TOO MUCH COLOR
best west-side bet for success


<-- Firehole at Biscuit Basin Bridge





-- The Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park is high and fast. It is fair shape from Midway Geyser Basin to Biscuit Basin, and in some select spots may be productive on opening day. The canyon stretch starting at the Island Hole, and wending through the picnic area is the most colored and the least fishable, although right at the Island Hole it may be productive next weekend.


<- Firehole River at Island Hole


-- immediately below the bridge at biscuit basin the discharge is very turbulent and running bank to bank in what will be later just some gentle riffles. The approach to Pocket Basin is currently being guarded by a large herd of bison. The Fountain Flats area is greening rapidly due to the early warm-up, and this is holding the large herds together during the birthing period.
-- The Madison River & Gibbon River are in worse shape all the way down. Nez Perce Creek is in fair shape and may hold the best promise if the weather continues with warm days and thunderstorms in the afternoon. The rapid increases in diurnal temperatures is just a bit early this year and may delay spectacular fishing for a week or two.
-- The big eddy just below the confluence of Mallard Creek and the Firehole River is running fairly clear, and is froth covered. Trout are rising to bits of food floating in the foam.

Yellowstone Cutthroat Return To Spotlight

NEWS FLASH ???
the battle rages on
Feds vs. Feds

<-nps photo

--The scientific and bureaucratic battle among the federal agencies charged with protecting our trout continues.
-- With such insightful phrases as " . . Hell in a hand basket . ." our paid public servants are bickering with one another about the Yellowstone Cutthroat. Listing of the fish as threatened or endangered seems to cause anything but reasoned discussion.
-- It seems that fisher folk need to get involved.
READ MORE

Yellowstone Rivers Turn Muddy

FIREHOLE RUNNING HIGH
unseasonable warmth hits the park

-- Now is the time to check your "Dark Nymph" supply! The rivers on the west side of Yellowstone National Park are bank-full and running at discharge rates that exceed the average for the last six years.
-- Even as far upstream as Black Sand Basin, the water is high and off-color. Iron Spring Creek is about to over-top its banks, and the Little Firehole, Firehole, Madison, and Gibbon are close.
-- The 15 year average flow for the Firehole River, for this date, is right at 500 cfs. Today the river is running at just about double that!
-- The 78 year average flow for the Madison River, for this date is about 850 cfs, at the last gauge in the park. Today it is just at 1,200 and climbing - as is the temperature.
-- By the time the Madison river reaches the Kirby Ranch gauge near Camron, Montana is flowing at twice that vol.
-- Even the campground meadow on the Gibbon is flooded. This is a good time to keep an eye on the river gauges, (links in the sidebar,) and the weather forcast. With only a week to go, it would take an extream cold spell of two or three days to slow the rivers.
-- Be sure to have a good supply of dark, buggy, large nymphs for the opener on the west side of Yellowstone.

READ MORE

CUTTHROATS WIN, CUTTHROATS LOSE

Yellowstone Fish Revered
point well taken !


<--nps photo


-- The comments that have been sent this way have been noted! Thank you for the responses. We feel that the "Westies" deserve the 'best' attention possible for their survival in Yellowstone. However, this is still just a partial win, and it seems that there are better ways to save West Slope Cutthroats than killing other Cutthroats.
-- Take yourself to the NPS site below and express your opinion about how you feel that this rescue effort should be conducted.

News
Opinion
Action

YELLOWSTONE SECRETS !!

GREAT PLACE TO FISH
seldom used water

<--nps photo


--This 450 yard stretch of water is highly productive in spring and early summer. It is seldom fished, and yet is less than 1/2 mile from the road. This view is to the southwest and the river is the Firehole. It is flowing, at grade, across bed rock shoals and from left to right.
-- At the upper left corner a gentle run is narrowed by bedrock outcrops as the river flows over some uniform riffles into a small but deep pool. Locally this is known as "Caddis Riffles," and the highly oxyegenated water dumps it's silt at the tail of the pool among some small boulders. Of course you know what to fish here. The pool is only about 125' long but is very productive.
-- As the pool widens, it is interrupted by another outcroup which produces some turbulance, and then a 3' drop over the ledge into a long placid run. Locally this is known as the "Steamy Pool," because of the steam issuing from a hot spring on the east bank. This run is very placid and usually holds several bright fish in the early spring. Fish it deep and slow with a large Feather Duster or any large dark nymph of your choosing. If midges are out then use any small floater.
-- At the placid tail of the pool, (mid ground - above,) the depth shoals to about 2' and on rainy or overcast days many large trout hang here and behave like 'gulpers' on a lake. These fish are hard to approach because of the open terrain. Sneak up on them and hit them with a short cast and any sort of soft hackle fly that has been soaked in flotant. Near the end of the drift, impart some action with a couple of very short strips of the line, (3 -6 inches at most.)
-- As the pool narrows and begins it's big bend there is an undercut on the east bank. This is a very deep undercut and holds the largest fish in this stretch. Surprisingly, it is best fished from the east side as well. Because of the little eddy's, when fished from the west bank, the fly line is usually pulled to the mid stream current before flies can get to the depths of this little secret, (local fishers refer to this as the 'Dugout'.) Use a cast that piles the line at the edge of the bank, and 'back-strip', (feed the line out,) to give the nymphs a chance to sink. The little eddy's that pull the line, when cast from the west bank work to sink the line when cast from the east bank.
-- The bend in the foreground is best fished from the conventional west bank. The boulder in mid-stream is usually jam packed with several good fish. If you can't take a fish here, you are doing something wrong - or - there is just one giant trout resting in the 'pillow' in front of the rock. If that is the case, keep sending Montana Dusters his way.
-- As the bend in the foreground tails out, there is one more deep pool in the middle of a gentle run, (hidden by the trees,) that can hold some very large fish. This mid-stream hole often has midges or caddis on it during mid-day. Elk hair caddis in sizes up to 8 or even 6 work just befor lunch on these days.
-- This is Pocket Basin, and it is just an easy walk across the northern end of Fountain Flat, (there is a narrow trail along the tree line.) You can also reach it by fishing down Nez Perce Creek from the Chief Joseph story board. The confluence of these two streams is often visited by visiting fishermen - only the locals seem to go upstream on the Firehole.
-- Don't step in the quick sand, the hot spring runoff, or the gravel sections. Fish from the bank because the bedrock is as slimy as it gets!

Yellowstone Rivers Rising

WARM SPELL SPEAKS Of COLORED WATER
get the drab nymphs ready



<-- Yellowstone Badger

-- After a brief four day cool spell the sun has come out to melt the snow in the high country and the rivers are speeding up, and gaining volume. On the 12th & 13th both the Madison River and the Firehole River were running at or below their seasonal averages. Today they are considerably higher, and rising.
-- From here on in, until the opener on the 27th of May it's important to check the stream flows on a daily basis. The stream flow sites from the USGS are listed on the right in the 'links section.' This is a quick daily exercise, and will provide very useful information for opening day, and it's week end fishing.
-- If the rivers continue to rise, and color, as it seems that they will; nymphs of a "buggy" nature and dark in color will be most productive. Many of the standard patterns will work fine: pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Prince, etc. in bead head or conventional styles.
-- We've tied up a bunch of Yellowstone Duster's, Feather Duster's, & the Yellowstone Badger, (shown above.) The Yellowstone Badger is a very old and very local fly. This fly is a favorite of the 'crusty' old local fishermen in the region. It is used mostly in the spring and early summer on the upper Firehole River, and the Madison River, (from National Park Meadows to about 9-mile hole.) It is similar to both the pheasant Tail and Hare's Ear nymphs, and is very 'buggy' if tied with the correct hair.

Recipe For Yellowstone Badger
Tail: 5 or 6 very stiff pheasant tail fibers, (use the small stiff ones near the tip of the feather,) Rib: gold colored fine metal tinsel, Body: body hair from the jaw-line of a badger, (be sure to use mostly guard hairs with just a little bit of under hair,) Wing Case / Thorax: pheasant tail fibers mixed with badger hair and wrapped forward, then covered with additional pheasant tail fibers tied in and used as legs as well, Head: a bit of purple or red thread over black. Hooks: 8 - 18 heavy nymph hooks, 1 - 2 xl if desired. Pick out the dubbing and soak overnight before using. A wire or lead underbody may be used. Bead head variations have appeared in the last decade and work well. Fish this nymph in the dappled shadows of the banks and undercuts - dead drift in the slower holding water.

Cuttthroat controversy