Yellowstone Blogging

Why Blog
other blogs


-- This site started out as a simple means to communicate with neighbors and friends who visit Yellowstone National Park. Many of our neighbors and friends have tight schedules and need to plan their hectic lives around conditions at their destinations. We started this blog to help with that.
-- The damn thing has grown, and there are now many folks that we don't know using the site. This is an ego satisfying result, but it wasn't our intent. We now get requests for much that was outside the scope of the original plan. We are happy to comply where we can. We have time for much more than fishing, and have learned to search the web and find news for our busy friends. This is also a satisfying task. There is a wealth of good information as well as pure junk out there.
-- There are no advertisements, pop-ups, redirections, or other www-impediment's on this site. The intent is not to make money, even as an ancillary act. We intend to keep it that way. Our personal fishing includes much more than just Yellowstone Park, and we find it hard to keep that stuff from creeping in - for that we apologize.
-- However, we find ourselves returning to some sites time and again because of their information content and their entertainment value. Most of the sites we use are listed in the sidebar. Most are Yellowstone related in one way or another. The others are just plain fun.




<-- Map of the 100 most recent visitors from North America.

-- Because blogs are more dynamic and current than web sites we visit them more frequently. Web sites trend toward static marketing tools and provide us with little current information.
-- There are some places on the web that demand attention. Fujioka's Home Page is one such place. It is well organized and has a high information and entertainment value. So does The Trout Underground, as does Moldy Chum. If you are interested in links try Fujioka's page, also MRO has an excellent Yellowstone related links page. Our friends often travel to Washington D.C. and we always send them to Rose River Farms to help with jet lag and home-sickness. MidCurrent is a standard for information and entertainment. Two exceptional sites for the buggy folks are Troutnut and Flyfishing Entomology.
-- Our current perspective is geocentric and has a West Yellowstone bias. We make no apology for that. This place is certainly not the best place in the universe for fly fishing. It is however the best place for a variety of accessible excellent fly fishing. At our age it is a blessing to be able to drive to exceptional fishing sites and back home in the same day.
-- All this is by way of saying thank you to the new friends and neighbors that this blog has generated. And, as they say in Mongolia - "tight lines & don't catch 'em all!"
.
--We're off on our annual Grayling quest.

YELLOWSTONE’S RAINY DAY FISHING

FIREHOLE UP AND DOWN
Madison Quickens
Gibbon very stable
river reports and rumors
BLOG VISITATIONS

· Of course it has to happen; the Yellowstone Park rain has slowed fishing just a bit. Some people just don’t fish, some don’t fish as hard, and some tell stories. We fished a bit today, then told stories, then went to town to enjoy some of the local whistle wetter's.
· The Firehole River collected enough rapid runoff to deepen it’s color a bit and nearly double its discharge. There were a few brave souls, and some silly ones too, (we plead guilty to the latter,) that fished through some torrential rains. It was a “WASHOUGAL DAY’ - minus the Steelhead and the deep pools. This morning the river gauge shows it has slowed again, and the thunderstorms of last night have abated. We look for fishing to improve this afternoon and evening. There are still stoneflies in the canyon and along the road. We’re headed back in to verify our silliness.
· We have spoken to no one that has fished Nez Perce Creek in the last couple of days. The forest pond should have fish in it, and we intend to visit it mid-week or later: weather and mosquitoes permitting.
· The Madison River absorbed the discharge from the Firehole and the Gibbon without too much damage. Visibility is about 18” - 30” and if the sun comes out before noon tomorrow there might be some PMD action. If it stays blustery and broken we’ll be blessed with another Baetis swarm. We have reports of Salmonflies in the rapid sections around the talus turn-out, and Mt. Haynes. More to follow.
· The Gibbon River provided us with grand entertainment yesterday, and we are going to return for more this afternoon. We intend to catch our annual Grayling, and then stalk the big meadows for some larger fish. Rain gear is certainly in order.
· We occasionally cruise the web for news and entertainment from other fishing blogs. We’re sorry to hear from the folks at The Trout Underground that the Upper Sac has decided to be recalcitrant in clearing this year. They have been getting the same storms that we are and the mountains there are wringing out the clouds in an efficient manner. However, they have found us a place that allows us to "Sleep With The Fishes."
· The kind people at Moldy Chum always have something interesting to report. And for a reality check visit TroutGrrrl at Science & Sarcasm.
-- Well it's time for pecan waffles, a couple of eggs, biscuits and gravy, coffee, milk, and maybe some marmalade on toast. Then back to the battle. It's another gray day and if the clouds break this morning the PMD hatch will be dispersed but reliable. If it gets grungy in the afternoon the Baetis will burst forth. Hope springs eternal.

GIBBON RIVER BLUES

OFF TO CATCH A GRAYLING:
How 'Bout A Brookie,
wouldja settle for a whitefish?
MADISON STILL HOT
Firehole Discharge Down
try the Lewis River


<-- "HELLIFIKNOW"


-- It shouldn't take seven hours to drive 31 miles; even if the speed limit is 45 mph, and the road is wet, and there is bison poop smeared on the asphalt, and the motor homes are stopping in the middle of the road - but it did.
-- The day dawned soft and gray with the hint of fog. We had breakfast at 8:oo AM; then off to the park for a leisurely drive to the Upper Gibbon. We started our annual pilgrimage to the upper Gibbon River on Friday. Our stated goal, this time each year, is to take a Grayling. Sometimes We Do! It started to drizzle: an absolutely perfect June morning.
-- A brief detour to see the Madison at the Barns Holes and a visit with some folks from Nebraska. The river is still swift but clear and fishable. We flung some Montana Dusters into the seams and took a couple of whitefish at Barnes #1. Then back to Da Ford.
-- We paused a couple of places along Riverside Drive to watch some Golden Eye Ducks rafting downstream. There was a Merganser with something in its bill, and a Great Blue Heron with the tail of a fish hanging out of its beak. There were some cars at the Muskrat Hole across from Grasshopper Bank (6 miles from the West Entrance,) we paused again to inspect the river. One angler had a nice fish and landed it as we watched.
-- There was no one at 9-mile hole so we re-rigged and fished the end of the PMD hatch with some Yellowstone Morning Glory flies, (size 16 - 18,) and then smoked a cigar. The upper end of the swift water had several fish rising & we went back for more. We took a dozen fish each, (+/-,) then gave up the hole to some local fishing guides who had never fished in Yellowstone. We suggested that they try the deep run in the middle of the river, over by the large erratic boulder on the shore, (titter, titter, titter.)
-- We paused a couple of places along the Gibbon River near National Park Meadows but decided that since the rain had quit we should continue on up toward Gibbon Falls. However, we hadn't fished the meadow near Tuff Cliffs in over two years. So we parked Da Ford, walked across the meadow, (it's firm and poses no problem now,) and tried a couple of rising fish. No luck with the little dry flies. Floated some big olive Wooly Worms and took a 14" Brown Trout. There are still Salmonflies, (Willow Flies if you're from Colorado,) working in this section. This lower section of the Gibbon River is very lightly fished, and will occasionally produce a Grayling so we justified the detour as the official beginning of the Grayling quest. Back to Da Ford.
-- As we climbed past Gibbon Falls and into Tanker Bend, (a fuel tank truck wrecked here long ago,) the riffle and run sections were clear and frothy. Some color reamins in the fast sections of the Gibbon in the canyon, but we saw several fisherfolk addressing the turbulent stream - we waved and wished them luck.
-- There was a cloud of bugs at the Artish Paint Pot turn-out. Da Ford killed about 200 for us and we stopped to identify them. Probably Baetis of some sort? We turned into the picnic area between the meadows to look at the stream.
-- Rumbling stomachs and grumbling thunder, (or the other way 'round,) announced lunch time - 2:30 PM and we weren't there yet. The Gibbon has cleared very nicely - thank you, and we visited with a pair of writer-fishers who had walked the Elk Meadows stretch. They had good stories 'bout some large fish and the clarity of the big sweeping bends that held them.
-- Lunch was disposed of quickly, and then we drove to the pull-out just past Norris Junction and parked. It was 3:20 PM. The rain was fairly serious and the sky was dark; no thunder or lightning for the last hour or so. We rigged up with our Grayling armaments: small Elk Hair Caddis', and the local secret fly - "HELLIFIKNOW." (The simple recipe for this fly is given below.)
-- Rumor has it that a local famous fisher-writer was using the fly one day and was asked the name of it: "Hell If I Know," was his answer, and it stuck. It is too simple to have caught on with many "serious" fly fishers. We love it, (are we not serious?)
-- We fished from the Campground Pool, upstream to the road to Canyon Village: across the road to the single-cast-water. The vest-pocket meadows here are still a little damp and "squishy," (technical term.) This water is running at grade, & is soooo clear that you only get one cast per holding area. It's grossly under fished, challenging, and rewarding. There is a good population of Grayling in these little meadows. There is also a giant population of Brook Trout.
-- At about 6:30 the sky threatened again and our stomachs, (or thunder,) let us know that it was time to head back to Da Ford. We arrived at the parking lot at the same time as the hail and a couple of folks from Bozeman, Montana. We finished some chips and shared stories -- window to window, then headed back down the road. We took easily two dozen fish each, (probably more - every one of them a twinkling little Brook Trout of 6" - 10".) Grayling will be caught tomorrow - no pausing along the Madison!
-- At Madison Junction, (mandatory drainage break,) we met some folks from Jackson that had been fishing the Lewis River near the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park. They were dry fly purists and reported that just about any fly in a size 18 - 20 was working late in the afternoon. They reported that the Lewis River had cleared early and that they just came up for the Stoneflies on the Madison.
-- How does one measure success? Is it even a concept that should be applied to a day of fishing? We ended the day feeling a bit disappointed. We had not caught our Grayling. We don't keep track of numbers, and on occasion have been known to deflate or inflate numbers in a situational context -- yet we caught a lot of fish and were still just a little morose -- go figure! Just a case of the Gibbon River Blues: tomorrow we will catch a grayling. - Or, the next day.
.
Recipe for "HELLIFIKNOW"
Tail: dyed red squirrel, or red synthetic fibers, Body: silver tinsel, (mylar works, we use French metal,) Beard: reddish brown rump feather fibers from golden pheasant, Head: red thread. Hook: heavy nymph, size 4-12. Fish on short light leader in shallow clear water or long heavy leader in colored water. Brookies, Grayling, and other precocious young trout take this just the way a Bluegill takes an empty gold-plated hook.

GET A BADGE IN YELLOWSTONE

TAKE A BOY SCOUT FISHING,
There Is No Better Time,
TU has merit badge for fly fishing.




Trout Unlimited
Merit Badge Page

can you tie an arbor knot?

The Madison's Dirty Little Secret

DON'T TELL THE NEIGHBORS
Pretend It's New
use obscure language


-- It was roaring hot yesterday and the mosquitoes loved it. There is not enough OFF or CUTTER'S to drive them away.
-- (As an aside, Ralph Cutter invented the "a bump is a win" fishing game. Just cut the hook in the middle of the bend so there is no point to stab the fish. Float the fly in a feeding lane. If a fish bumps it -- you win! He used to spend hours doing this on the Owens River while poor Joe Tomelleri was taking pictures, and making sketches of a fish that they had trapped for illustration purposes. Great fun.)
-- The Madison River is in fine shape, and the riffle and run sections above 7-mile bridge have a hatch - of sorts - going on. The cognoscenti use words like "Yellow Sally," "Thunder Bug," "Pteronarcidae," "Taeniopterygidae," "Capniidae," and other words that strike fear and awe in the casual fly fisher. The words we use generally sound like "the big ones," "the middle-sized ones," and "the little ones."

<-- Marcella's Trout Fly
Courtesy Marcella Oswald




-- Depending on what section of the Madison you choose to fish; have some of each. Right now the big ones are beginning to fly and the fish are rising to surface flies.
-- Yesterday 9-mile hole, (yup, it's nine miles from the west entrance to Yellowstone,) had some fast action from about 2:00 PM, until the sky got so dark that a headlight was necessary at about 7:30 PM. The rain was horrendous and then a little hail, and then the sky lit up with lightning and called the game. Marcella's Trout Fly dragged down a couple of nice fish.
-- The nymphal forms of all these flies are very active now, and the fish are really staying down to get their groceries. Only those sections where the emergence is in full swing are they coming to the surface.
--HERE'S THE SECRET: "As plebeian as it seems, you can fish it all with two sizes and two colors of Wooly Worm."
-- The colors are Yellow and Olive. The sizes are 10-12, and 4-6. With a double handfull of these flies and some thought you will do very well indeed. Grease some up and they float just fine. Soak some overnight and you don't need much weight to get them down. Tie a few with extra long hackle and they become a very effective fly 'on the swing' just like a soft hackle. Remember - don't tell the neighbors.

Decision Time In Yellowstone

stay on the firehole?
Follow Stoneflies On The Madison?
VISIT THE GIBBON AND SEEK GRAYLING?
MAYBE THE GALLATIN?

<--nps photo



-- It had to happen. The wide open bite, (party boat term,) on the Firehole River has slowed to just very good and the hatches have settled into the June pattern.
-- Believe it or don't - the fish seem to have gotten a bit shy. The Salmonfly hatch this year seems a bit sparse - but more widely dispersed. Fish are still taking submerged forms, and floaters as well. Skittering the fly across the surface will sometimes bring spectacular refusals --- and then again; George caught a 14" rainbow that took the fly on the way up! Sky rocket takes are not the norm, but it sure was fun to see. This was in the narrow lower canyon just below Firehole Falls. The water in the pool he was probing was only about 2-1/2 feet deep.
-- The Madison River in National Park Meadows, (at Madison Junction,) is as pretty as it gets. The fish are hiding under the bank, and very happy to accept Wooly Buggers in pink and yellow. They are also being indiscriminate about surface flies. A size 14 - 16 Elk Hair Caddis will suffice for anything but the early PMD fishing. From National Park meadow to "Big Bend" the water is still a bit off color but fishing fairly well.
-- The fish in the riffle and run sections below Big Bend are starting to see the big nymphs of two kinds of Stoneflies: Pteronarcys californica (the salmonfly), and Calineura california (yellow stonefly). Both of these flies are present in abundance and the recent warm days may bring both to the surface at the same time. I've seen this happen a couple of times in the last 10 years - what a festival! We'll know in the next few days if this happens; and we'll let you know.
-- The Gibbon has cleared and reports suggest that the upper meadows are fishable now. At this time it is really enjoyable to fish the thin water above the upper meadows and take dozens of eager Brook Trout, (some to 10",) and hope that a grayling will be found as well. The Grayling demand the cold clear water that is found in this upper stretch. A few can be found in the riffle pools in the narrow part of the river just above National Park Meadows. This bit of water requires some walking and is not fished as heavily as others.
-- The Gallatin River in Yellowstone National Park has warmed quicker than usual this year. The flows are still a bit high, and The Taylor Fork is still dumping quite a load into the Gallatin. The Park section at the Fawn Pass parking area has produced some small fish. The sections below Baconrind Creek might just be ready by the weekend.
-- These decisions are tough. Maybe we'll just sleep in on Saturday and watch T.V. Probably not!

Firehole River Hints

THERE ARE NO SECRETS
There Are Less Used Places
check out these

-- As fishing on the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park progresses into the season it becomes crowded and, in places, elbow to elbow.
-- People often ask about secret places that hold fish and can be fished in less crowded circumstances. Truth-be-told, there are no secret places. The Firehole is well known, short, and celebrated in many books and articles. There are, however, places that hold good fish, in good numbers, that get fished less than other places.
-- Here are a few places where you can gather in good fish and probably have long stretches of the river to yourself -- relatively speaking.

<-- Ouzel Falls. Before we knew that the American Dipper was not the Water Ouzel of Europe we called this place Ouzel Falls.
--It's really not a waterfall, and it's inhabited year 'round by American Dippers. This bit of rapid water is coming to be referred to as "Dipper Cliff," which is a more appropriate name. Here the Firehole River cascades over some bedrock and forms two nice pools.
-- The pool above the rapids is really a rather long run with a rocky bottom that harbors at least three kinds of Stoneflies. Today the large salmonflies are emerging. For the next two weeks or so there will also be an emergence of little yellow stoneflies. The trout in this section will take nymphs up to size 4 with vigor. The drawbacks to this stretch at the lower end of the upper Firehole Canyon are poor parking, traffic at streamside, and the real possibility of hooking a tour bus with your back cast.
-- The pool below the rapids is a long gentle run that also holds fish and occasionally will provide excellent dry fly fishing to a late evening caddis hatch. Both pools are neglected by contemporary fisherfolk because of the traffic and lack of safe parking. If you are willing to walk a bit along the side of the road, and endure the sounds of continuous motor vehicles there is good fishing to be had here.



<-- Elk Island Pool. This pool is at the very lower end of the upper Firehole River Canyon. The river exits this pool over the upper Firehole Falls. There is a parking area here and a NPS sign that announces "Fly Fishing Only."
-- There are some good hatches of caddis here, and the trout will also rise to dry flies during the sparse hatches of mayflies during the season. Most local anglers pause in the parking area and watch the pool for rising fish before moving upstream to the meadow sections of the Firehole. The pool is slick and deep and harbors some large fish, as well as many fish in the 8" - 14" range. The disadvantages to this pool are the same as for the stretch mentioned above.



<-- Nez Perce Creek. The last 1/2 mile of Nez Perce Creek fishes just like the Firehole, into which it debauches.
-- This bit of water may be accessed either at the picnic area, or from the pull-out at the Chief Joseph Story Board. Currently it is experiencing an early morning hatch of PMD's followed by Baetis, and the ubiquitous caddis. The woods on either side of the creek are damp, and the mosquitoes are fierce. On the south side of the creek, in the woods is a small pond that occasionally holds giant trout that get trapped from the spring floods - or grow large because they are not fished over. The fish population is primarily a nursery population until mid July when trout migrate up and out of the warming Firehole.
-- The Yellowstone fishing experience on the Firehole River is enhanced by the grand vistas, steaming thermal features, and other bits of the environment. These three bits of water do not scream Yellowstone, and perhaps that is why they are less used.