It's A Friendly Stream

JUST ANOTHER VIDEO

Let's Lose This Weekend

Classic Streams Producing Well
BUT!
SMALLER STREAMS -- BIGGER PLEASURE ??

The Other Yellowstone

.. This comes to you from an early morning clear link and a borrowed laptop. Our friends tell us we've just committed piracy. So be it.

.. The salmonflies on the Madison River, (below Quake Lake,) are just past their peak. The fishing is at its peak. The big bugs are approaching West Yellowstone from two directions: up the Gallatin River, and up the Madison River. We mention this because there are many fishers that dote on this hatch. It has already stuttered and stalled along the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park. But there are hints of a resurgence along the canyon sections of the Firehole River. (Try Dipper Cliff and environs if you're adventurous.)
.. The Gallatin River is currently plagued with the Taylor Fork runoff. But it is still very productive. Yellowstone Sally flies are producing well in the deeper riffles and along the banks. The fisher with a good feel for nymphing will do well all day in the park section of the river. The Confluence Meadows around Fan Creek are a bit cold for dry fly work, but a Prince Nymph followed by a Feather Duster, (original - or colored,) will produce fish. Keep your casts short and work a lot of water. The undercut banks are hard to see right now and the fish have lots of water to explore.
.. Don't abandon the Bacon Rind meadows yet either. Small streamers and floating a size 14 yellow woolly worm will bring quite a few fish to hand.
.. Something that floats in a size 14, 16, 18, 20, is a good place to start for the Firehole River dry fly action. The selectivity factor is still low, but increasing daily. Sparkle Dun, Adams, Yellowstone Cinch, Yellowstone Morning Glory, and your favorite caddis will still bring fish to the surface. Time is running out and there is going to be plenty of technical time in the next week or two.
..Although mid day temperatures are beginning to climb, the cool nights and afternoon overcast have keep the Firehole River an attractive destination.
.. The Iron Bridge, and the confluence with Nez Perce Creek have been excellent evening spots for caddis on the Firehole River.
.. Even the 7-mile Bridge picnic area along the Madison River has seen windshield-clouding caddis in the early evening.

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.. We've fished these waters and enjoyed them for years. There is, however, another Yellowstone that we've enjoyed much more for the past 10 years or so.
.. It's far & away less crowded. It's away from the clatter of roads, and parking lots, and bicyclists, and tour buses. It's a Yellowstone that few fishers come to see. It's the little water. And, yes, it too is being discovered, (see the recent entry at MRO blog.)
.. There are some popular small waters that are more frequently visited than others: Duck Creek, Grayling Creek, Obsidian Creek, Solfaterra Creek, Upper-upper Gibbon River, etc.
.. These places give fishers a chance to enjoy less elbows and more uncluttered scenery than most of the roadside classics in Yellowstone. Many of the smaller waters do, indeed, hold small fish. Trophies are 10" - 12" or so. But, some of the smaller waters also hold 16" - 18" fish that are unmolested and wild.
.. There are many reasons for fishing small waters. One of the most rewarding is the surprise factor. Suppose that you've decided to take an early summer stroll through a vacant meadow. You have your favorite 3-weight rod and a film canister of miscellaneous flies. Most of them are rejects from your attempts at invention and innovation. You are anticipating quite a few dances with eager Brook Trout.
.. And then, your rod is bent double with the energy of an enormous native cutthroat that has no where to go in the 8" deep water. Talk about having your hands full.

The video below will give you some idea about the size of fish that
live in small waters that you can step across.

..

.. This little creek is not more than 1/4 mile from the road. It is frequented by many visitors without fishing rods. It has a gentle trail beside the water. It holds enormous trout. They'll eat just about anything that you feed them.

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.. Below are some of the small waters where you will find us for most of the rest of the summer. The photos are indicative, (enough,) of where they are. We hope not to see you. But we'll be pleasantly surprised if we do.

How Deep ??

CLEAR, COOL, RAPID, DEEP !

Yellowstone Fishers Beware

.. Just how deep is the Yellowstone River? The last three 22" Cutthroat Trout that were hooked at Buffalo Ford were lost in just 1 foot of water.
.. They were broken off by the picnic tables at the end of the road!

We suggest that you wait a week or so. Maybe two.

One Night Left

THE GALLEON MOON

Noyes Is Rolling In His Grave

the perfect excuse

The Galleon Moon

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.. We've been mostly silent about late evening and night time fishing. The neighbors have demanded it. "too much local love:" they say. Yet, we must tell you that this evening is the last evening of the 'galleon moon."
.. It was just O.K. last year. It was raining on a few previous occasions. We were engaged and tired on others. This year it's perfect. Cool, partly cloudy, buggy, still, and inviting. This is the time to fish your deer hair mouse. This is the time to creep along the bank in search of those toads that bring tears to the eyes of grown men.
.. The moon, this evening, will rise low and at the peak of the caddis hatch. The neighbors will be ready. The guides will be in bed, or well lubricated. The visitors will be lounging in the pub telling stories of the 'day's fishing.' The inn keepers will be counting their money.
.. This evening between 8:30 and 10:00 the cars will be streaming out of Yellowstone National Park. The rivers and streams will be nearly deserted. There will be space aplenty for parking, and the moon will be low in the southeastern sky.
.. The neighbors, however, will have abandoned the streams by 5:00 PM. They will have fortified their weary bodies with sustenance and they, like salmon, will return to the park against the flood of traffic going the other way.
.. To the long quiet stretches of places poorly known and seldom fished, they will creep. Darkness brings hazards: roots, fallen branches, rodent holes, hidden clumps of grass. They will not use the footpaths or stream side trail. These conveniences are too close to the water - lateral lines and vibrations - dont'cha know! They will creep to the place that they have been watching all week. They are already well armed and rigged for battle. A deer hair mouse, an elk hair mouse, a great big gross caddis, an enormous black woolly bugger.
.. The leader has no tippet. It's only four feet long. It's a piece of green monofiliment. It's diameter and strength are obscene to the delicate mind and sensibilities of those who pound the water during daylight. This is a rig for real fish. This is a rig for fish to dream of. This is a rig for fish that only a few have seen, though many dream about.
.. The neighbors know! They discuss it amongst themselves. They don't hang out in the fly shops. They don't cavort in the pubs. They fish. They know that the "Galleon Moon" only comes but once a year.
.. Some of them joke about the 'Gallatin Moon' but deep inside, next to the mysterious organ known as their epitome, they are already creeping to that place where a back cast is only 10 feet, and the fore cast stops dead in the air just an inch above the still water. They have waited a year for this moment. They are certainly not going to screw it up with careless casting.
.. Last winter a local poet, (the term is used with the greatest of license,) made some light of the poem. "Ahhhh, The Fisherman, came casting, casting, Casting, the fisherman came casting up to the big slicks moor." Poor Alfred, he's been usurped by the plebeian mind of the obsessive 'local.' "One take my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonight." "Look for me by moonlight; Watch for me by moonlight; I'll fish to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!"
.. The corruption is poor, the offense is great; The thought and behavior, however are real. There are about 10 or 12 neighbors that know how and where to do this. The guides never heard of it. The feather merchants have no interest. The worm-dunkers ignore it. But there are a few who catch enormous, nocturnal trout on the Madison River, the Firehole River, Nez Perce Creek, Grayling Creek estuary, and "THE CULVERT."
.. We mention this only to let you know that it's happening now. Two giant fish were taken last night. Their sizes are related in pounds - not inches. Yellowstone Park biologists have seen fish this big, (but only on rare occasion.) The size is not the point. These are fish that have not been caught since they were just small fry, (16" or 18".) They are now wily, strong, treacherous, wild, and brutal.
.. We'd like to tell you where to fish. We won't. If you would like to try this, just cruise the roads along the Firehole River and the Madison River. Start about 8:00 tonight. Look for local license plates. Don't bother with the fancy SUV's. Ignore those cars and trucks with a waxy shine. Pause and scrutinize those folks with fishing gear. If you see a person sitting and smoking a pipe or cigar. You may be warm. If the glow of the moon is just visible in the eastern sky and there is crouched figure near an unlikely run, you may have something.
.. We'll suffer for this. But we thought you should know. With all due respect to LORD NOYES; below is the poem and you can insert such words as 'fisherman,' 'casting,' 'Firehole,' 'Madison,' 'rod,' 'reel,' etc. It happens just once a year, and now is the time.

And the fisherman came a trodding, a trodding . . .

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Alfred Noyes (1880-1958)

The Highwayman

PART ONE

I

THE wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

II

He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.

III

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

IV

And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say—

V

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

VI

He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet, black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.

Just Too Good

WEST SIDE RIVERS EXPLODING

Too Many Trout

even duck creek !!

stay home

.. The feather merchants are happy. The trout are eager. The elbows are everywhere. The stories are exuberant. The legends are being formed. And: all is well with the world.
.. It happens, (not as often as we'd like,) that on occasion, everything works. Right now the fishing and catching in Yellowstone National Park are both excellent. It's been better - but not much!
.. There are big bugs, little bugs, live bugs, dead bugs, floating bugs, swimming bugs, crawling bugs, flying bugs, drowned bugs, and even loving bugs. If you eat bugs; now is the time to be in Yellowstone.
.. The west side rivers and streams are at their best and a detailed report would not do justice to the conditions. Suffice it to say that now is the time to be fishing on the west side of the park. Pick your stream, pick your fly, pick by just about any criteria that you choose: you'll look like a genius. It all works and it all works well. We suggest that you stay home and think about it - you would not believe it if you were here.
.. There are some nice reports at the following sites if the drool is not yet dripping from your lips.
-- Blue Ribbon Flies,
-- Madison River Outfitters #1,
-- Madison River Outfitters #2,
-- Bud Lilly's Trout Shop,
-- West Yellowstone Fly Shop.

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.. Wending his way west is Jeff (Trout Bum) Kennedy. He's a featured artist over at MidCurrent, and like Tom at The Trout Underground just can't resist the call of legends in the Montana rivers and streams. Jeff has placed before himself the task of drawing one fly per day for a year. His fly #198 is striking rendition of Wally Eagle's "Feather Duster." The two toned variant looks good enough that we may ignore biscuits and gravy in favor of a dozen of these.
.. The good folks at Best Fly Fishing Yellowstone have resuscitated their site and blog. We're pleased to suggest that you click on over and check it out.
.. The Invasive Species Weblog has an interesting note about how mollusks, (sans legs,) can travel about the world with such rapidity and aplomb. Check out the story about the Quagga.
.. Protect Your Waters also carries a note about two articles about the Quagga and Zebra mussels crossing the continental divide, [[ Kalamazoo Gazette // Muskegon Chronicle ]]. There is also a note about the ways anglers , boaters, and others transport these hitchhikers, including a PDF document from the state of Minnesota Department of Naqtural Resources.
.. If you're coming this way, and would like to catch up on some of the happenings in the region we suggest that you click by The Yellowstone Newspaper. It contains brief notes and links to many of the happenings in Yellowstone country. From bears, to wolves, to political bison, (even an occasional trouty report,) - it's all HERE.

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If you can find this place you'll catch fish.

Tomorrow's The (opening) Day

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Happy Yellowstone Fourth

YELLOWSTONE RIVERS
IN GREAT SHAPE

Yellowstone Roads Crowded

yellowstone fish hungry

.. The weekend will be a bit warm. The crowds will be a bit dense. The rivers will be a bit crowded. The fish stories will be a bit exaggerated. And, a good time will be had by all.
.. Places where fishing will be good -- AND crowded:
-- Firehole River
-- Madison River
-- Gardiner River
-- Gibbon River, (below Norris Campground)
-- Trout Lake
.. Places where fishing will be good -- AND less crowded:
-- Firehole River, (along the Lone Star Geyser trail)
-- Firehole River, (between Firehole Falls & Madison River)
-- Little Firehole River
-- Iron Spring Creek
-- Nez Perce Creek
-- Gibbon River, (between Norris Campground and Virginia Cascade)
-- Obsidian Creek
-- Solfaterra Creek
.. Places where fishing will be good -- AND nearly empty:
-- Gibbon River, (along the Grebe Lake trail)
-- Fan Creek
-- Duck Creek
-- Grayling Creek
-- Bacon Rind Creek
-- Gallatin River, (above the Fan Creek Confluence)
-- Bechler River
-- Falls River
-- Boundary Creek
-- Heart Lake
-- Grebe Lake
-- Snake River, (in the Thorofare)
-- Hellroaring Creek
-- Trail Creek
-- Mountain Creek
-- Pebble Creek
-- Slough Creek, (along the sagebrush flats)

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.. The weather is going to cooperate for the long weekend. Clouds, thunder storms, wind, and mild temperatures are predicted for the weekend. Not necessarily good picnic weather - but great fishing weather.
.. By Monday the Summer weather will hit its stride. July promises to be a bit hotter than in recent years. This weekend looks like the last of the Spring fishing weather -- and it's going to be great.

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.. We note that Jeff Kennedy has featured the Feather Duster in his post for yesterday. This is most apropos. The Eagle family celebrated 100 years in business, in West Yellowstone, last week.
.. An open house, 300 former employees, and nearly 100 family and relatives graced West Yellowstone with their presence. The stories were rich and varied -- you should have been here.
.. Sam Eagle was the first licensed guide in Yellowstone, Wally Eagle developed the Feather Duster using ostrich plumes from the store's dusters. The fly shop has been in continuous operation for just over 90 years. It features both fly fishing gear and tackle for other disciplines as well.
.. Icons and legends such as Bob Jacklin, Bud Lilly, and Craig Mathews have all worked in the shop.
.. In honor of the Eagle's anniversary, and our nation's independence we're going to fish only Feather Duster's for the next week.
.. They are an amazingly versatile fly. Big and sunken they work wonders in the spring and through the salmonfly hatch. Little and sunken they are just as effective as a Prince Nymph or a Yellowstone Badger. They can be greased and floated through a whole cycle of either caddis or mayfly hatches. The color variants can imitate eggs, and other groceries that a trout is interested in.
.. Thanks to Jeff Kennedy for the wonderful rendition. And special thanks to the Eagle family for giving us an enduring fly fishing tradition and a wonderful fly.

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.. Jack Dennis Sports has revamped their web site and it is very comprehensive. Click HERE for the report.
.. Fishing is continuing apace in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park. For the latest information keep an eye on Parks Fly Shop Reports.
.. West side reports at Blue Ribbon Flies and Madison River Outfitters are current and very informative. Bud Lilly's has been keeping track of Hebgen Lake. The fishing is just shy of stupendous.

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.. Time to kiss a fish!