Christmas Gift Certificates is a post from: Clearwater Adventures Fly Fishing
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Christmas Gift Certificates
Are you looking for a unique Christmas gift for the fisher in your life? Why not consider a Clearwater Adventures gift certificate for a walk and wade outing or a drift on the Bow River? Give us a call for more details.
Christmas Gift Certificates is a post from: Clearwater Adventures Fly Fishing
The 101 Connection
CRUISIN' FOR CHROME
Vantage Points And Access
it's a social thing
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.. We were invited to an interesting social event along the Oregon coast. Of course 
we attended. The informal gatherings are pleasant, informative, and require an enormous amount of gasoline consumption... The venues change periodically as the season progresses. Currently the big party is at the ELK RIVER bridge. Since Highway 101
crosses these rivers near the coast, and since the bridges are high above the water, and since the sun moves across the sky, (or so it seems,) - it's possible to anticipate the correct viewing conditions for spotting steelhead in their holding water... In some instances the access from the bridge right-of-way coincides with good holding water.
.. Bridge pools along U.S. 101 are similar to bridge pools elsewhere. They are stable, predictable, and provide constrictions for aerated water and viewing for fisher folk.
.. Information is exchanged as the folks peer over the side at the fish. Where are the fish concentrated? What are they eating? Have you seen Hank's new girlfriend? Etc.
.. We enjoyed the experience. We also enjoyed the enormous prevarications, misinformation, and silly demeanor of the local guides as they did their best to protect their insight in the face of so much local "TRUTH."
.. We bypassed the Elk River and sallied down to the Chetco River. It proved to be worthwhile.
.. Time for some jelly donuts and green tea. It's the local equivalent of a healthy breakfast.
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Join The Party
FISHING FRENZY
ON THE MADISON
ON THE MADISON
Runners Galore
everybody dances
(Is that you hooked up on the right? Click and see.)
(Is that you hooked up on the right? Click and see.)-------
.. As if you didn't know! This is a very good year for catching lake-run fish on the Madison River. The neighbors concede that even they will venture into the throngs of elbows for a jostling good time.
.. They have adopted some reverse protective coloration so that strays and infrequent visitors won't know it's the locals at work... Most have borrowed their wife's cars. They poke around the little known wide spots in the road and then park the 3-year-old Subaru, (or Cadillac, or Buick, or Audi, or Grand Cherokee, etc.,) in a spot not too far from where they ply their trade.
.. The pull-outs and wide spots have become gathering places for itinerant fishers from around the world. Jovial fisher folks and dour spouses are gathered in abundance. It's a crackin' good time.
.. There is an interesting assortment of gear and flies in evidence. A few two-handers were observed yesterday, and even one 4-weight. The sky came and went with the winds and new words were invented for the melee that ensued.
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SECRETS REVEALED:
-> Best time: Dawn to Dusk.-> Best places: Local Hole #1, Bugger Bend, Junction Pool, Little Sandy Bend.
-> Best flies: Soft Hackle, Rubber Legs, Yellow Anything.
-> Best lunch: None.
-> Best rig: Cast-a-bubble with a yellow woolly bugger trailing a big soft hackle.
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Roads To Solitude
SOME FISH TOO
Or, Maybe Not
(brief report)
(brief report)
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.. There are some less traveled roads in Yellowstone National Park that 
lead to fish. Good roads, (or trails that were roads,) that remain substantially abandoned by fishers. There are many and spurious reasons for this. Perhaps the number one reason is that most fishers are gregarious folks... Despite the whining about crowds, they like to fish alone - together. Too, the aging fly fishing population seldom takes it's $30,000 SUV into the dust and dirt. And then, walking is hard on old legs.
.. The bigger roads in the park have many pull-outs. If you're lucky you can visit with celebrity fishers as they hold court in their folding canvass chairs. They will provide you with entertaining conversation, clever anecdotes and stories that you can take to the folks back home.
.. Little clusters of fishers dot these bigger roads. Waiting for the hatch - yup! Talking for hours - yup! Moaning about the current state of things and bemoaning the passing of time - yup!.. This is entertaining and enjoyable - yup! As if fish didn't eat until the hatch - yup! The god Skues is diminished in these conversations - yup! The god Halford is revered - yup! Their names are never spoken; perhaps not known - sad!
.. There is good fishing in the long and riffled waters of the Madison River along
Riverside Drive. The neighbors fish here. Nymphs, attractors, dry's, etc. Even in the bright October sun. Find the fish and you'll catch the fish... The Brook Trout are in an aggressive mood on the Firehole River along the Lone Star Geyser Trail. There were no cars in the parking area yesterday.
.. We have precious little time to fish. When it's available we do it. We wave at the celebrity feather merchants.
.. We toot the horn at the neighbors. But with the days getting shorter and the park about to close we forgo the pleasantries of genteel conversation. We forgo the exploration of truth, (there's plenty of that in the fly fishing world.)
.. The weather looks to be making a slow crawl toward winter. That's a good thing. Last year it happened all at once. There's just time for a quick run to the park before work. We'll go.
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.. The Firehole River was a cranky tart over the weekend. A few persistent fishers waited for Baetis that showed in sparse numbers. They blamed the sun for poor fishing. The waiting might have had something to do with it too... Double nymph rigs took fish in the sun and broken clouds. A Bead Head Prince, (size 12,) followed by a Speckled Soft Hackle, (size 16,) was the ticket for those that fished.
.. Several fish were taken in the big pool above Dipper Cliff on small Golden Stone Fly imitations. Some also fell to Gold Ribbed Hare's Ears, (size 16.)
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.. Catching on the Gibbon River has slowed down and there are only a few dedicated fishers willing to walk the distance to the good pools. There's plenty of parking and very little traffic with the road closure... The fishing and catching centers on soft hackles and very small nymphs, (to size 20.) That's a bit small for our eyes. We rig a double loop connection in the gentility of the home place and manage to make it work on the water. When it's warm it's fine. We'll see what happen in the next 10 days.
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.. Nez Perce Creek is seeing a surprising number of younger fisher folk. These are young legs that can make it to the pools around the first old bridge. Again, soft hackles and assorted nymphs are the flies that are in play... Midges and midge clusters are doing their part along the shadow lines and in the evening.
.. One trusted source reports that large, (size 8-10,) Royal Wulff and Yellow Humpy flies are working in the fast sections of the wide pools. We believe it.
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.. The Madison River continues to entertain. Persistence seems to be the watchword. 
One thing to remember is that there is a range of dark water and holding pools that are not near the turn-outs and traditional parking spots... Not that we have any special piscene insight, - BUT - if 15 felt-soled pairs of boots charged through our resting place every hour for hours on end, we'd move to a quieter, (if less gentle, spot.)
.. Woolly Buggers, Woolly Worms, and Yellow San Juan Worms are all the rage right now. They work so why not? The Crackleback Worm is making inroads this year too.
.. Most anglers over the weekend groaned and whined about the bright sun and brilliant blue sky. It was different for sure, but, warmth is always welcome to these old bones. Fish will tell you how to catch them - just listen - even in the sun.
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A Bit Of Weather
THE BUGS ARE HERE
The RUNNERS Are Here
The RUNNERS Are Here
the boats are here
the snow is here (kinda)
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.. Despite the ominous weather warnings fisher folk are crowding the Firehole River and the Madison River
- and - many of the neighbors have taken to their boats to intercept the runners in the major estuaries of Hebgen Reservoir... The Madison River and the Firehole River are jammed full of anticipatory fishers.
.. The total amount of fly gear entering the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park on any given day amounts to an estimated $4,769,123.00. This does not take into account the gasoline that powered each and every $40,000.00 SUV or $2,000.00 fish car.
.. Boat fishers on the reservoir are taking large fish on Kastmasters, Rapala Trout, and Rooster Tails. They are doing very well with aluminum boats and an "Old Pal" 
tackle box... Fly fishers whine about the gear fishers. They forget that the Madison River Fishery in Yellowstone Park is artificially inflated by a man-made structure: Hebgen Dam.
.. PPL Montana is pleased to inflate the fishery and egos of the Madison River. They are busy repairing the dam right now... Things on that front are progressing apace despite the lack of interest shown by fisher folk and the fly guys of the region. Despite the nation-wide realization of the harm that dams do: this is one dam adored by the fishers of the world.
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. It would bring barf to their mouths to let the elite know that most of the gear fishers also troll with a streamer fly. They would curl up and whimper to know that many of the gear guys tie their own streamers. They would lose enormous amounts of vitriolic conversation to discover that catching fish does not require wading belly-deep in the holes where the fish were... Can it be true that some of the neighbors can cast a fly rod accurately - and - place a worm precisely with a gear rig?
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.. The weather brings bugs and boats. It brings tales and tails. It brings a classic confrontation of Weltanschauungs. Do we torture fish for our own recreational pleasure and then release them to be tortured again - or - do we catch and kill them for food?.. Seldom do the gear guys and the fly guys discuss this. They visit different pubs. They have different sorts
of jobs. They each assume, (righteously so,) that their practice is proper and holy. Neither bothers to remember that they are partaking of an artificial situation.-------
.. Well, the weather has changed. The boats and bugs are here. The runners are running. The Baetis are emerging. The fishers are fishing, and the construction continues on Hebgen Dam. May artificiality be forgotten and may the torture and killing begin.-------
Just A Pleasant Day
TOO NICE TO FISH
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.. Last Saturday was a gift. A surprise gift. A wonderful gift. We're more than ankle deep in snow right now and it looks to be persistent. But Saturday, now that was a day that stories are made from.
.. We started out to go fishing. Flipped a coin: north or east? East won. Flipped again: big or little water? Big won. Off we went... Which one: the Madison River, the Firehole River, the Gibbon River ? 10 minutes to decide.
.. We stumbled out of the door and discovered a near dead calm! A balmy morning, with blue sky, white clouds, and the most gentle warm breeze did little to suggest that this was the first week in October. We accepted the gift.
.. There was a long line at the west gate: the neighbors had it figured out. This was a "park day.".. We often forget what a wonderful place this is to live. We go fishing. We work. We buy groceries. we visit the pub. But we, on occasion, take this place for granted. Reminders crop up constantly to remedy the mental lapse.
.. But on a day like Saturday it was obvious. Go to the park. Wave at the neighbors. Wait for the gawker blocks. Use all the pull-outs. Drink it all in. On a day like Saturday it can take three hours to traverse the 14 miles to Madison Junction. We made it in two.
.. There was exotic wildlife of all sizes and kinds. We laughed and pointed. We joined the throngs stalking the elk.
.. We paused to watch the fisher folk - they were out in abundance. We noticed the little bugs that dotted our car. They were friends too. We knew where they were coming from. We suspected that the right pattern was already tied on and ready to go... Eagles flew into our snapshots. Children and proud grandparents walked into our frame and chased the elk into the thickets. Bears spoiled our last thought of wetting a line. It was all good. What a place this is.
.. There was an empty pool or two. There were places we knew the fish on a first name basis. We drove on by... We took snapshots at the same places we'd stopped 100 times before. We took some where we'd never taken any. New themes and variations on old ones.
.. We made it past Biscuit Basin and arrived at Old Faithful City in just under four hours. We watched Castle Geyser in a hot steam phase. We had our first lunch and took no pictures. The warm sun invited us to stroll a bit. We did: got some ice cream at the Inn.
.. The lone bull bison basking in the sun at Black Sand Basin posed for a thousand pictures from a hundred cameras. We left ours in the car and watched the fish in the shallows.
.. There are cold currents in this hot little creek. There are flies, (true flies,) that live here year round. The trout pay them no mind unless they drown... It's a pleasant reminder of how relaxed a place this can be when you forget what car brought you. It's not as pleasant to watch the rush of visitors. Gotta get there. Too long here.
.. There's a hatch at 9-mile. Yeah, but it's full of sports and their guides. We're fortunate to know that you can't see it all in three lifetimes. We bask in the pleasures that we can see, and taste, and smell, and feel.
.. We got home just before the drizzle and the snow. We'd unwrapped our gift and left it's remains strewn across 32 miles of road in Yellowstone. Given the weather of the last 48 hours, it was a timely gift and one to remember.
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Drive-by Fishing
IGNORED FOR GLORY
Gallatin, Grayling, Duck
wave as you pass 'em by
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.. A pile of good catching gets ignored this time of year. Great rivers and great scenery are passed up in favor of dashing to the Madison River, Firehole River, and 
Gibbon River, in search of a big fish... If that's your gig - chase it! We caught a few over the weekend: good fun. Streamers, mice, soft hackles and leeches are just the ticket for head-hunting.
.. Night fishing is becoming a ritual with a few of the neighbors: their stories are barely believable - no offense guys.
.. Lost flies and tippets in trees make for good stories. Photos by headlight and cell phone are nearly convincing.
.. Trophies in trees attest to the presence of wayward casts.
But the number of leviathans reported seems a wee bit high. Oh well, to say the least - night is the time for big fish fun... On the other hand, a gentle drive up the road can carry the fisher to excellent Fall fishing and catching on the Gallatin River.
.. There are little bugs in the morning, (including some midges.) There are minuscule caddis all day. There are hoppers by 10:30 A.M., (soon to change.) AND, believe it or don't, fish spawn in the Gallatin River too!
They're hot, agressive, and hungry.-------
.. Grayling Creek at and about the park boundary is an excellent prospect for catching both resident trout and a few lake-run fish as well. There are a couple of places that the water is so clear that the fish look like sculptures. Stealth is a necessary element in your arsenal for any of the daylight hours... Large soft hackles, pink Feather Dusters, and Yellow Humpies will work just fine. A bead head Prince Nymph behind a Hopper is a neighborhood tradition for the thin water adjacent to deep pools and undercut banks.
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.. The flows of Duck Creek are slowing somewhat and the upcoming weather should provide the freshets necessary for the runners to smell and taste their way home. Right now the tangled willow bottoms are a hit and miss proposition.
.. The segment from the highway to the impoundment is hot. Large nymphs, soft hackles and small streamers are pulling in good fish in the late evening and during the dark of night... Above the impundment is working just fine and the last crop of mosquitoes seems to have starved to death. There are a few small bison bulls in the trees and thickets. Moose and bear are present at all times. Arm yourself and do battle with the trout.
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.. The moon is cooperating nicely. Fuller & fuller it gets. Now we'll have to see how the clouds work out. Broken clouds are a blessing for the night fisher. That's when the trout sees 
your offerings the best. It's not too hard to wait for the next opening - unless there are too few to bother with... We'll venture a guess that after midweek the catching will be insane. If Fall changes to Winter like it did last year it will seem all too sudden. There will be 10 to 15 days of Firehole hatches, runners in all streams, residents gorging for the lean times and enough water to go around: even for this place.
.. We're going to have some breakfast, visit the Horse's Mouth and Chi Wulff. Then some gentle fishing away from the elbows. Wave as you drive by.
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Fire & More
PICK YOUR SPOTS WISELY
Catch All Day
take a lunch or two
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.. Done right, it's possible to exhaust oneself and catch fish all day on the west side of Yellowstone National Park... The fire(s) near Yellowstone Lake caused an intermittent road closure and it's best to c
heck the road conditions before travel in that portion of the park, (CLICK FOR ROAD INFO.).. The plume of smoke is visible from the Gibbon River, The Madison River, and the Firehole River - that's more than 30 miles. Helicopters with water buckets from Hebgen Lake thumped overhead all day Saturday.
.. For our part a 14 - 18 hour marathon blitz is a mandatory exercise when the catching is as good as it has been the last few days. The beautiful weather has not hampered catching, and the upcoming cooling, (snow?) should only enhance the prospects.
.. The Madison River is a bit low and sluggish right now. Pick your spots carefully. There are many traditional holds that are just too slow to collect the submarines from Hebgen Lake... A wonderful mix of residents and runners is in the offing for fishers with a varied fly box and techniques to match it's contents.
.. The morning offers surface fishing to flies that imitate a spinner or a crippled emerger. There are still beetles and hoppers trying to swim by mid morning on these warm days - use that to your advantage.
.. The Firehole River is abandoned by most fishers during mid day. Pick a well aerated riffle in a long run with some shade and you should get to dance with some eager resident fish.
.. The same holds true for the Madison River, (although the shade is a bit fleeting, use the undercut banks and cover a lot of water.)
.. A thermometer is a useful tool right now. There are both cold and hot springs in these rivers and if you find the right ones you can dance for hours.
.. By 5:30 or 6:00 PM it's time for caddis. They are becoming a bit scarce. However, there are continual very small hatches of very small caddis and if you luck into the big ones the fish will pay attention. Elbows proliferate starting about 4:00 PM.
.. Dusk, (8:00 PM,) is a good time for your second lunch. Big flies, ripped through pools and streamers with soft hackle trailers drifted around snags is good and frustrating fun in the dark. Hang-ups outnumber hookups ten to one - that's O.K.
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.. Just before our second lunch we stopped to visit with some fisher folks. Bless their indulgent hearts! They agreed to allow us to try some stop action photography as they exercised the Firehole River and it's fish... The video below is a brief primer on the subtleties of the reach cast and the way to find dance partners in mid day. No fishers were hurt during this exercise. And, a big thank you to the kind and selfless fisher folks.
..
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.. Today and tomorrow promise to provide exercise and entertainment despite the unseasonably warm weather. It just goes to prove the old adage that "FISH GOTTA EAT."-------
.. Watchword for the current warm weather = aerated cool deep water! Watchword for the upcoming cold weather = aerated cool deep water. We anticipate that the conga lines will continue to grow.
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Preparedness
IT'S COMING SOON
A Week And A Half
perfect timing
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.. After a day on the water it's just plain common sense to relax at the neighborhood watering hole. The neighbors are there. The pros are there. The visitors are there. The women are there. A cold one is mandatory... Or, dullards take note, go to the vise in anticipation of the bright moon. Given the weather forecast, and the slowly cooling waters, and the increasing exuberance of the fish; a mouse or three might be in order.
.. The big fish from Hebgen Reservoir ought to hit the popular aquatic parking lots in numbers just about the time the bright moonlight revisits our skies. The timing for the Madison River this year is neigh unto perfect!.. There is some discussion among us crazies that use this monster fly - "is it the silhouette or is it the wake?" Our cousins across the pond have settled on the wake solution and have a most un-mousy mouse. Their fly is reminiscent of the Bomber so familiar to steelhead aficionados.
Can you say riffling hitch?.. The fisher folks in New Zealand are already calling this the year of the mouse because of the population explosion of invasive mice, and the mouse eating trout down there. And they have the necropsy's to prove it.
.. There is a good crop of mice here too this year. The coyote numbers are down. The perfect spring provided both warmth and wet that yielded good forage, (the wet was hard on the baby grouse though.) And, too, the lingering salubrious weather has allowed frisky behavior among the rodent population as they expand their feeding territories, (along the river banks where grass stays greener longer and seeds mature later.).
.. In New Zealand it's the Beech Tree Seeds: here it's the grass seeds. The rodents of our meadows are feeding voraciously - so will the trout!
.. We've always used a mousy silhouette. This year we're going with all three. An English Torpedo Mouse, a Black Bomber, and a Yellow Headed Mouse. Just one at a time, mind you.
.. Now then, can fly fishers in the neighborhood forgo a night or two at the pub? We'll see.
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Part Park – Part Not
PLAN AHEAD - NOW
Carry Two Tickets
catch big fish
(Click on image for full size detail.)
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.. The serpentine loops of the Madison River carve a sinuous path across the boundary between Yellowstone National Park and the Gallatin National Forest ... This is prime water for the Fall Fishing Frenzy in the neighborhood. The neighbors all have a Yellowstone National Park Fishing Permit and a Montana Fishing License.
.. If you're headed this way for the runner rampage be sure to have both tickets in your possession... You must apply for and receive a Park Permit in person. You can get a Montana License online. The local feather merchants can provide you with both, (see sidebar.)
.. The boundary is clearly marked in most places with a post that
is abundantly visible. This boundary is an arbitrary and surveyed boundary, (unlike the one on the Gallatin River which includes the whole of the river and most of the flood plain.).. The legalities of the fishing are delicate. Where are you standing? What water is being cast into? Lures and Worms are allowed in the National Forest. Worms and Lures are not allowed on the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park.
.. You can use a float tube in the forest, not in the park. Grouchy fisher folk complain to the NPS about tubers that invade the small sections of park water. The NPS responds with high dollar personnel diverted from other duties... Lesson: there is very little little park water in this stretch of river - whine if you must. If you make a big enough scene maybe they will put the cable back across the river.
.. When the fish weir is in operation, (THIS YEAR AGAIN,) there is a buffer zone where no fishing is permitted. This temporary closure is well signed. The Montana FWP Press Release is HERE.
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.. Right now catching is good to spectacular along 
the Madison River from the Barns Holes to the Highway 191 bridge, (and even to Hebgen Lake.) Fish can be taken all day with a double nymph rig: size 10 Prince followed by a size 14 Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear... Sporadic mayfly hatches in the morning can occur anywhere and, a generalized dry fly of size 16 or 18 will usually work well. The caddis during this time of year are small and seem to hatch all day long. They are not too populous but will catch fish that are looking up: size 16 or even smaller if you dare.
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.. The resident fish in this lazy stretch of water exhibit two distinct behavior patterns. Residents up to about 12" are typical run and riffle trout, and are found in the usual places. Residents over 12" tend to be cruisers, similar to trout in lakes, and can be found in surprising places including the shallow sand bars and the gentle gravel beds at river's edge.
(If you have a large monitor click on image for nearly life-size rendition.) .. We watched the same fish, (shown above with fin wake,) lazily cruising in less than 6" of water and closer than two feet from our observation dock. This fish spent over an hour nibbling on bits of flotsam and, (we assume,) nymphs. This cruiser and many others we've observed through the years have distinct territories and cruising patterns.
.. It's not exactly clockwork, but by being patient and waiting for the fish a single cast is all that's necessary to hook these submarines. If you're serious about patterns a quick dip with the net-seine will give you an indication of fodder for presentation.
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.. The big bend pools are not the only place to find the runners from Hebgen Lake. The deep holes in the long runs will hold these fish as well. Immediately downstream from Baker's Hole is Baker's Run. The river here is very broad and shallow - except for the main channel. The main channel has some spots that will fill your waders if you're not careful. This run transects the park line and is the location of the old cable across the Madison River.
.. Success in this section of river depends on familiarity with the main channel and the approaches to it. It is essentially a long narrow pool. It behaves like a pool in high water years like this year. It holds very few fish of size in low water years and is just a deep riffle... This year it will be possible to approach the forest section from mid-river on the shallow bar. The park section of the pool can best be fished from either the island in the river or at it's tail from the southeast bank. Approach gently and fish your way in. Some of the biggest cruisers in the area use the broad gentle bar as feeding grounds. Some are bigger than the fish that run up from Hebgen Lake.
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