November 6, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Well it's the last day of the 2005 fishing season in Yellowstone Park. It's been a good season, but as usual, it went by far too quickly. Winter has started to really set in around here and our thoughts are starting to turn to shoveling and skiing intead of rowing and casting. You see, we get to play with all of that water for a good eight months or so when it's frozen before we play in it during the summer.  Thanks for another great year. We're alrady looking forward to next spring. So, stay tuned.

October 28, 2005
Steve Hoovler
Cool, clooudy weather continues to hang around making it pretty tough to decide whether you might want to fish for spawners, catch a baetis emergence, hunt ducks, or chase elk around. I know. I know. It's pretty damn tough having such problems to deal with on a day to day basis, but somehow I'm sure I'll figure out a way to work through it. Today, I decided to split out of work around noontime and head down to the Madison. I hit $3 Bridge about 1:00pm, and started out downstream on the river-right. The first of my regular spots had one small rainbow rising sporadically, and I missed him on the second drift with a #22 ICU. The next slick had a couple of fish sticking their entire heads out of the water as they rolled on sporadic baetis duns, and I managed to catch two spunky rainbows who each came out of the water about a dozen times as I brough them back to the bank. I worked my way back upstream towards the bridge, and found some fish rising here and there, but not as many as I was hoping for. I must have hit one of those down spots in the up and down cycle of the baetis emergence. We'll just have to come back down again and try for an up spot. Stay tuned.

October 27, 2005
Steve Hoovler
I've spent the last few mornings looking for elk, but with the weather finally getting a bit scuzzy, I dedided to head into the park for a little spawner fishing this evening. The junction meadow had two other folks in the very top when I arrived. I readied my gear and slipped into the main meadow hole and began swining a big Prince nymph (#8) with a Shakey Beeley behind on a sinking leader. Half way through the first pass I had a strong bump, then on the next swing hooked and landed a nice rainbow. Several passes later, I caught a good brown, and with the last of the daylight barely haning on, I hooked a big whitefish.

October 23,2005
Steve Hoovler
The annual openner of big game season was today. I spent the morning sneaking around a nearby mountainside not too much unlike Elmer Fudd trying to "kill da wabbitt". The beautiful weather continues across the area making for less than ideal hunting conditions. We saw a few elk early in the morning, but no shooters. We have about five weeks to go. I'll keep you posted.

October 22,
Steve Hoovler
The throws of indian summer are wrapped firmly around the area, and today was one of the most gorgeous days I've ever seen in Yellowstone Country. The air was still and crisp, but the sun was warm. The skies were clear, and I had the day off. I spent the morning trying to find an antelope. As is usualluy the case in the Madison Valley, finding them wasn't the problem, getting within 1000 yards of them was. By 1:30pm I had crawled on my hands and knees for what seemed like an eternity, and decided to head up the valley. When I hit Babbling Brook, I stopped to sneak a peak at my favorite pocket, and low and behold there were a couple of heads poking up. A small number of midges and baetis had several fish feeding on the surface, despite the beautifully clear weather. I grabbed a rod and spent about two hours casting to rising fish. A small zelon midge seemed to do the best, as I managed to land several nice fish including one 14" inch brown trout whose intense spawning colors and impressive kipe made up for his lack in size.

October 21, 2005

Sara Randle

I had a few hours to kill today and was dying to get outside.  I headed for a quick trip to the Firehole.  It was later in the day, about 3pm, and I did not expect to see many rising trout.  With confidence I tied on a soft hackle and headed to the riffles below Midway Geyser Basin.  I made a few casts and started noticing rises right along the bank in the water below me.  Franticly I tied on a #22 Beatis Sparkle Dun and a #22 Stillborn Midge.  I swung wide from the bank and entered below the still rising trout.  After a couple of fruitless casts, I momentarily lost focus letting my flies drag in the water and observed a big bison rolling in a dust on the opposite bank.  Wouldn't you know it, that is how I missed my one and only fish of the day.  Shortly after, the sun dropped behind the mountains and I got cold.  Reeling in I decided I did not get skunked, I was just subject to a weather delay!

October 18, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Well I'm back from the High Line. I spent several days travelling across Northen Montana with a couple of my derelict friends. The bird hunting was decent, not as many as we've seen some years, but enough to keep us occupied for a few days. I'm hoping to chase antelope and, by the end of the week, elk around in the next week or so, but I'm sure I'll spend some more time down on the Madison and up in the park. So, stay tuned.      

October 13, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I spent this afternoon on the Madison below Three Dollar Bridge.  The snow and cold of this past week have been replaced by warm, windy weather.  Despite the bright conditions, fish fed on the surface fairly well this afternoon. From 2:30 to about 4:30, I found rising fish in just about every good slick. Some slicks only had one nose breaking the surface, but a couple had quite a few active fish.  A #22 improved zelon midge seemed to be the best fly for me. I've done really well on this bug all fall. Wether they're eating it as a midge or a baetis is beyond me, but they sure seem to like it. I'm heading off to Northern and Eastern Montana for a few days to start filling our supply of bird skins for the winter. Stay tuned for a report when I get back. 

October 14, 2005

Sara Randle

After a week of perfectly overcast fall weather I was finally able to sneak away to the Firehole for the afternoon.  By late morning the clouds had lifted and the sun came out.  It was a day that was great for morale but not so good for fishing.  There were a few small beatis and some caddis around but not too many trout looking for them.  When in doubt on the Firehole I turned to the soft hackle.  Partridge and Green and Peacock and Starling saved the day.  I picked up a few rainbows and one brown and a touch of a sunburn.  This is the last weekend for Tom and Patrick in the shop for 2005.  They both did a great job and we hope to see them back next season. 

October 9, 2005

Steve Hoovler

After a few days of sunshine last week, we've seen some scuzzy weather and the chance of snow again. I spent the afternoon at $3 bridge today trying to force feed trout. A good emergence of baetis began about 2pm, and fish rose to the tiny bugs for a couple of solid hours. Most of the bugs were the typical microscopic variety, but to my surprise, there were also a few larger bugs (#20). Unfortunately, most of the fish were keyed into the small guys. I did manage to fool a few fish with a larger sparkle dun, though my good drift-to-hook-up ratio was nothing to brag about. This is forecasted to be the end of the gray weather for a little while. Most years, the fall season reaches a point where the baetis hatch has to occur despite the weather conditions. Cloudy days continue to yield the strongest hatches, but after a certain point, you can see some good bugs and rising fish on bright days too. We should get a chance tomorrow to se if we have in fact reached that point as sunny weather is forecasted for the beginning of the week.  Stay tuned.

October 5, 2005
Steve Hoovler
Yesterday was the type of day that every fly fisherman dreams about, and as is normally the case, today was something less than that. The storm passed by leaving a drop dead coating of snow over the landscape, and a brilliant fall sun bathed the scene in warm, crisp light. A few scattered clouds remained when I hit the Madison around 3:00pm, and I thought maybe I'd see a few bugs around. Unfortunately, it seemed like the bugs had worn themselves out yesterday. I saw a few fish rise sporadically, and manged to catch a couple of smaller fish on a dry, but it was nothing close to the action we saw before. I'll just have to wait for the next scuzzy weather to come through. Stay tuned.

October 4, 2005
Steve Hoovler
Today was one of those perfect fall days that we all hope for; snow falling straight down, heavy clouds, and cold temps. Bucky and I headed up to the Firehole just after noontime to check out the prospects. Our plan was to park at the end of Fountain Flat Dr. and walk up to Goose Lake Flats. As we drove into the park the light snow became heavy snow, and our expectations rose higher and higher the closer we got to the river. From the road we could see fish working in the aquarium hole, and we knew we were in for some good action. We readied our gear and began the walk down the old road towards ojo caliente. When we reached the bridge, we just had to stop and look to see if any fish were rising. Sure enough there were. So many, in fact, that we had to stop for "just a minute" and make a few casts. "A few casts" turned into two hours of casts. We found one group of almost two dozen fish feeding carelessly on any baetis or midge that drifted by. The only problem was that all of the baetis and midges floating by were microscopic. Our #22 sparkle duns towered over the naturals. Luckily, the fish continued to rise despite the prescence of our gigantic flies, and once in a while one of the sympathetic ones would even eat an artificial. By 4:00pm, we were both sufficiently frozen, and decided to head back to the warmth of the truck. We loaded up, fired the engine, and sat for a while warming our hands over the heater vents, marveling at how determined we could be to catch these challenging fish in freezing conditions after a long fish-filled summer. Hadn't we had enough?
On the drive out, we took a pit stop as a big bull elk caught our attention below Madison Junction. Through the heavy snow, we watched the trophy male chase his herum around the meadow screaming his sureal bugles. Continuing down towards West Yellowstone, we stopped at the usual "last stop" to see if any fish were rising. As we expected, there were fish rising all over the place to baetis. The wind was sheltered somewhat, and the conditions were much more pleasant. We spent another hour or so casting to pods of risers, and catching a few nice trout. Apparently we hadn't had enough.

October 2, 2005

Steve Hoovler

No fishing for me today, just a little work, and a lot of recovering after a trip to Big Sky last night to see the Gourds play at the Half Moon Saloon. In my down time I had a chance to finish a travelogue on this year's horse trips. Click here to check it out.

October 1, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I floated the Madison today with a fun group from Salt Lake. We floated from Lyons to Ruby in what might be the biggest wind I've ever seen on the Madison. Neal and Bill toughed it out despite the gale, and we had a great day. Not only was the wind extreme, but it was warm as it blew in a strong cold front. Snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

September 26, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I hit the elbow pool on the Madison in the park for a couple of hours first thing this morning before coming into the shop.  It was cold and dark when I hit the water at 7:00am, and I had the hole to myself. I rigged up a copper zonker with a shakey beeley dropper, and started swinging my way down through the pool.  As I reached the very end of the good water, I had a solid pull but no hook-up. On the next swing I hooked a nice rainbow, and on the next swing I hooked a good brown. After that I fished for an hour and a half without any action at all.  Typical feast or famine spawner fishing. Stay Tuned.

September 23, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I ran up to the Firehole for a few hours this afternoon to see if any caddis and midges had some fish rising. The sun was out and so was the breeze. Not ideal fall conditions, but some fish were rising below Midway nonetheless.  The wind stacked Tons of oecetis caddis against the river-right bank, and fish were coming clear out of the water to grab the egg-layers. I spent about half an hour fishing a variety of caddis patterns without any luck. I could see quite a few fish rising, but couldn't fool a one of them.  Giving up on the obvious, I started looking closer to see what the heck else was in the drift. In addition to the oecetis, I found a bunch of tiny (#22 or smaller) black caddis, a few random baetis, and some midges. After the bug break, I tied on a #22 zelon midge, and finally cracked the code. There's no telling whether they ate the fly for a midge or a caddis, but they ate it well for the rest of the afternoon.

September 22, 2005
Steve Hoovler
I had the good fortune to take Larry and Cecil, of Blue Ribbon Flies Weekly Fishing Report fame, on a trip down the river today. We did an afternoon float from Lyons to Pallisades. The boys are certainly no strangers to the river. So my services were reserved mainly to rowing the boat, and watching one good drift after another; a guide’s dream come true. We fished nymphs for most of the day and had pretty good luck with a guide serendipity and small midge imitations like a zebra midge. Cecil threw a streamer for a little while, and although he only boated a couple of small guys with it, he rolled quite a few other nice fish. As I’ve been seeing down here lately, the fishing was on the tough side of good. The authors caught a good number of fish, but they worked for each one. Every good drift that yielded a fish was preceded by fifty that didn’t. Fall is in all its splendor now in the Madison Valley. The aspen stands and willow groves are all colored up, and the tops of the Taylor Hilgards are covered in white. Hard fishing or not, it’s a spectacular time be floating the river.

September 21, 2005
Steve Hoovler
I slipped out of the shop around 11:00 am today. After a short time spent with the bird dog, I headed down to $3 Bridge. The conditions were perfect. Cloudy and cool with little wind, and imminent rain or snow. I hit the water around 2:00pm, and was surprised to find no other fishermen on the river-left upstream of the bridge. Working slowly upstream, I stopped at the first of my favorite holes and watched for a couple of minutes hoping to see some bugs and a head or two. Nothing was showing. So, I continued upstream stopping at each of my usual haunts, and in spot after spot I saw exactly jack doodly. By this point it was about 3:00pm and I hadn’t made a cast. So, I decided to blind fish a #22 baetis cripple in some likely water. A handful of small fish came to the dry in several different spots, but no one over 12" seemed interested. With hope of a baetis hatch fading quickly, I switched to a #20 micro-madison beadhead and a #14 guide serendipity. That turned out to be what I needed for a larger fish as the second good drift produced a nice, fat 16" brown. I continued upstream with moderate success on the nymphs until about 4:00pm, and I still hadn’t seen more than two or three baetis. Having worked through all of the good water that I was looking for, and not seeing any rising fish, I decided to tie on a copper zonker and work it back down stream as I headed for the truck. Three nice browns grabbed the streamer, and a small handful flashed at it, but I didn’t see the response that you might expect to see in a couple of weeks when the browns really start to get revved up. So, it turned out to be a nice little afternoon despite the fact that the baetis blanked out on what should have been a perfect day. It was yet another example of the river throwing us a curve ball just when we think we have that slider pegged.

September 19, 2005
Steve Hoovler
I tried my hand at a little spawner fishing this morning. The barn’s pools had a few cars parked at them when I pulled up at 6:55am, but no one was in the water yet. I readied my gear, and slipped into the head of number two a little after 7:00am. On my first pass I had nothing more than a bump, and the rest of the morning wasn’t too much better. By 9:00 the sun was on the water with most of its intensity, and I needed to be back to the shop by 10:00. So, I called it quits. I’ll be looking for spawners whenever I can. So, stay tuned.

September 18, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Since my last journal entry, it's turned from mid-Summer to Fall. I finished what was roughly a month of horse pack trips in Yellowstone last week (look for a travelogue soon, I promise). In the last ten days, I've been trying to get caught up on work, fishing, hunting, and now journal entries. We've had some classic Fall weather here lately, and the urge to chase baetis hatches, pre-spawn brown trout, and birds around the area has been irresistable.

I spent the last two days guiding Joe McCoskey and his daughters Kelsey and Morgan. We floated the Madison during some tough weather and tough fishing, but everybody hung in there and we cobbled together a couple of good days. It was the girl's first time with a fly rod in their hands, and I wish I had picked this stuff up as quickly as they have. Thanks for a great couple of days, guys. I'll look forward to doing it again, soon.

The stormy weather of the last two days has broken up, and it looks like it will be a cold, clear night. It should be a good morning for spawner fishing tomorrow. Stay Tuned.

September 7, 2005

Sara Randle & Bucky McCormick

Bucky and I had the morning shift this morning.  Somewhere around 4, he suggested we try the Yellowstone this evening but warned I had to bring my A-game.  Well I don't know about you, but after work and mid-week doesn't always support my fishing concentration.  We took the drive anyway and I was rewarded with the beauty of Hayden Valley in the fall.  The hillsides were golden, buffalo and elk were plentiful, and there was little wind.  We decided to try the waters above Buffalo Ford and spotted a few rises, a few spinners, and a few midges while we put on our waders about 6.  All three increased over the next two hours, but the fishing did not get any easier.  This water was tougher than any day I ever had on the Henry's Fork.  Cutthroat would rise in a pool fairly regularly but never in the same spot twice.  The fly choices were a #18 Rusty Spinner or a #20 Improved Zelon Midge (neither were easy to see in the evening glare).  After a few thousand casts, and many gentle sips just NEXT to my fly, I reeled in and enjoyed the last few minutes of daylight.  I may not have brought my A-game but I certainly left with a clearer head. 

 

September 2, 2005

Sara Randle & Steve Hoovler

Today just screamed "Go to the Lake!"  The sky was clear and there was not a breathe of wind.  We had the boat and decided to try the Grayling Arm.  We got there around 9:30 and saw a few tricos on the water, but could not find any consistent rises.  We motored around for about an hour and saw a moose with calf taking a mid-morning drink.  About 11:30 we started to see a fair amount of Callibaetis spinners on the water and the trout responded. The fishing was great for the next two hours.  We both had some great takes.  I lost two to the weeds and Steve landed a very nice brown.  About 1:30 the wind came up and our stomachs were growling.  You may wonder why we have been enjoying the lake so much this year, but if you have ever tried gulper fishing you know how addictive it can get.  You might say we are "hooked" on it. 

August 25, 2005

Sara Randle

Well this is not a fishing report but a road report.  Somehow I talked both Bucky and Mel into helping me shuttle Steve and a guest on the Lamar Pack trip's vehicle from Pelican Creek to the Lamar Trailhead.  We made good time over there after work.  From Pelican we seperated into the trucks and headed to the Lamar Valley via Dunraven Pass.  The pass was open with no delays ( at 6:30pm) and freshly paved.  I forgot how much I enjoyed that drive...as a passenger!  All the scary turns are still there, and all the rewarding vistas are still beautiful.  I will advise travelers that the road from Tower to Chittenden Road is still in rough shape.  The Lamar and Soda Butte were clear and we could see a few fish rising from the road, but time constraints kept the rods away.  Steve owes us big time ;)

August 25, 2005

Jaime Greene

 

August 23, 2005

Patrick Daigle

You wouldn't be able to tell that it was August around here, unless of course you had a calendar in front of you.  It's been quite cool and rainy this past month making for some good days and some bad ones.  Lately, the evenings on the Madison River have begun to wind down for me.  The Hydropsyche caddis are almost gone at this point and the Epeorus are just starting to fade.  ANts have been productive on the float trips and hoppers as well.  It's always nice to float when the hillsides are golden tan.  Fall is almost here and soon after I will be skiing hard on Lone Mountain.  I love this place.

August 22, 2005

Bucky McCormick

Tom Cornell and I fished the Yellowstone in the park for the evening spinner fall.  Spinners fell, trout rose, and after repeated drifts we managed to hook, land, and miss a few.  Although there are not all that many trout in the river, if one is willing to hunt and the rewards are fantastic.  Big, beautiful Yellowstone Cutthroats that can be so selective you might want to pull your hair out.  (Is that what happened to you Bucky?)

August 13, 2005

Sara Randle

Cam and I headed out to Hebgen Lake this morning to take another shot at the gulpers.  He had been out there the last few days with clients and got into some beautiful fish.  We hit the water around 9am to an almost blanket trico dun hatch.  Now these are small insects, so think about how many are needed for a "blanket".  They were everywhere and the fish were on them.  We got into a few pods of fish that were truly gulping, but as hard as I tried my fly just could not compete.  We had fun watching and casting to rising fish for about an hour.  The tricos started to fade and callibaetis duns and spinners began to appear.  It was during this transition that we stopped running into pods but found a few hungry single fish.  I pulled the famous Super Set to the first rainbow that took my spinner.  Cam calmly reminded me to wait a second before setting the hook, as Hebgen Lake gulpers will take dries as slowly as cutthroat.  The next time it worked and I brought in a good looking rainbow.  I had one more miss before the wind came up around 1pm.  Unfortunately for Cam I did not give up the casting seat too often but what comes around goes around and I know it will be my turn to drive next.  It was a great morning to be on the water.

August 5, 2005

Sara Randle

My girlfriend Colleen and I had the afternoon off today.  We were looking for a low-key place to fish and also a spot we could take our dogs=the Taylor's Fork.  Armed with #14 Grand Hoppers and Foam Flying Ants we hole jumped each other for a few hours.  One would fish while the other tried to keep the dogs out of the fresh water and occupied.  The water had recently cleared from last week's rain and some of the deeper holes were still green in color. It was a perfect afternoon topped off by a bottle of white wine and buffalo burgers at Melanie's house.  If these are the "dog days" of summer, then I'll take it!

 

August 4, 2005

Sara Randle

Cam Coffin and Doug Pope unexpectedly had the day off today.  By 10am they realized their clients were not going to show up and made plans to head to Hebgen Lake for a few hours of gulper fishing before chores occupied the rest of the day.  I cashed in my last "Get Out of the Shop Free" Card before Steve leaves for the horsepack trips and joined them. We got to the lake by 10:30 missing the tricos but had high hopes for Callibaetis.  Pretty soon, we starting seeing a fish rise once, maybe twice, and then dissapear.  By 11:30 there were a ton of spinners in the air and a few on the water.  We got in the middle of a good group and Cam got a hit.  At the strike of noon, we turned into responsible adults and headed home, leaving what could have been a blanket hatch and a little chop on the water. 

August 3, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Well, I can't belive it's snuck up on me so quickly, but it's time for our annual horse trips to begin. I head out tomorrow on our fifth annual Slough Creek Pack Trip. When I return on the 7th, it's one day back in the shop to re-group, and we're back out for a week on the Bechler Pack Trip. Then, at the end of the month, we have two Lamar River Pack Trips almost back to back.  I may walk funny for the rest of the fall, but it's going to be one hell of a good time.

I think I'm pretty much packed and ready to roll, and it's only 6:00pm. So, I guess I'll have to run down and see how the Madison is doing just one last time. By the time I get done with this first group of trips, there won't be too much time left for evening action. So, stay tuned for some reports when I return.

August 2, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I spent the day fishing with my good friends, and long time horse-trip aficionados, Gene and Peter Pawlick.  We started out cruising around on Hebgen in search of wiley gulpers. As we've been seeing for a week now, the fish were rising fairly well to tricos as soon as we arrived at 8:30. By 11:00 the wind remained dead calm, and callibaetis spinners began to gather. The spinner fall never amounted to what we dream about seeing later in August, but it kept some fish feeding regularly until 1:15 when the wind came up for good. It was Gene and Peter's first gulper experience, and by fooling three fish, I thought they did great.

We took an afternoon break to let some wicked thunderstorms pass by, and allow the sunburn from the lake to set in. We met Craig and Jackie that evening for one of Jackie's gormet Mystery Meat dinners. Was it Elk? Was it Antelope? Was it Buffallo? No one was sure,but it was definitely delicious. Afterwards, we all headed down to the Madison for a little evening action. The conditions remained cool and damp after the afternoon storms, but we hedged our bets and went looking for a few rising fish regardless. A cool breeze slid downstream, and a thick cloud bank stuck to the western horizon when we hit the water at 8:30. A few epeorus spinners landed on us as we suited up, and it was a pleasant surprise to see noses poking up below Shelton Bridge. We fished for about an hour before the conditions were just too dark to see anything. The residual light from the western horizon was completely blocked by the clouds, and by 9:30 it was pitch black on the river. Nevertheless, we all managed to catch a few fish . Both Gene and Peter both found some nice browns and rainbows.

Thanks again for another great day, Gene and Peter. Here's to many more.

August 1, 2005

Tom Sauer

Set the alarm for 7am and made the long haul out to Soda Butte with Sam Cohen and Jim Lamar.  The drive went smooth-few buffalo jams-and we were on the water by 9:00.  We put in just above the confluence with Lamar and fished well into the afternoon.  The fish were on PMDs for a few hours before it got too warm and we were getting some nice ones on size 16 sparkle duns and cripples.  After lunch we switched over to small beetles and hoppers and got some more for good measure.  As a bonus to the day, we found occasional wolf tracks along the banks.

 

July 31, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Gulpers this morning. The wind behaved itself and stayed down until at least noontime when I had to run back to the shop. We're still not in the full swing of things by any stretch of the imagination, but a decent number of early tricos were followed by respectable c-baetis spinners, and the fish tracked a litlle better than they have been so far. It's getting there.

July 29, 2005

Sara Randle

As most days off go, I had big plans for the day.  I had intended to hike up Fan Creek and fish the meadows.  However, like most best laid plans this did not exactly happen.  One thing after another kept popping up and at 3pm I finally found myself on the Gallatin.  Right about the same time the wind started howling downstream.  I tried to make a few casts between gusts and managed to land a wiley rainbow.  Just as I was ready to leave a very large nose stuck out from behind a boulder.  I could not tell what it took and did my best to put a few enticing flies over him.  I left unrewarded but vowed to be back. 

July 29, 2005

Steve Hoovler

With a day off from the shop, and time running out before my summer pack trips, I took the chance to do a little scouting mission for my upcoming Bechler Pack Trip. I wanted to check things out for one last time before the trip, but I was also hoping to fish a little creek that run's into the Bechler at the top of the meadow; Ouzel Creek. The creek starts way up by the continental divide and winds its way down over Ouzel Falls before it runs a little way and then into the Bechler. The creek is a small tributary, but it's surprisingly full of fish. Most of the fish were rainbows and cutthroat in the 8"-10" range, but there were a couple of larger surprises beneath undercut banks.  All in all it was a great day for a long hike, and a terrific little stream to fish.

July 26, 2004

Steve Hoovler

After work this afternoon, I ran up to fish the Gardner with our buddy Fran. It was a good change of pace from the nighly sessions on the Madison. We fished attractors and small hoppers until the evening when some caddis came off, and good numbers of fish came to the surface. The drive home at 10:45 was a little trying, but the fishing was worth it.

July 24, 2005

Steve Hoovler & Sara Randle

Last night was our annual Customer Appreciation Party. A great crowd showed up to partake in some beer, wine, and friendly conversation. At such a busy point in the summer, it's great to have a chance to visit with everyone, and catch up on all of the happennings around Yellowstone Country. Thanks again to John Harder from RIO and his lovely wife, as well as Bill Kline and Mark Harbaugh from Patagonia, and Chris Hart and Jerry Kustich from Winston, and Todd Koel from Yellowstone National Park for bringing their goodies all the way to West in the middle of a busy summer. Thanks too to everyone else for making it a great evening.

 

July 22, 2005

Steve Hoovler

There are certain combinations of weather variables that we, as fly-fishers, covet.  And, there are certain days that we dream about for every fishing siuation. Hot, windy days for hopper fishing. Cool, cloudy days for baetis fishing. These relationships have been observed for generations with solid regularity. There are, however, those instances when mother nature reminds us that the more we think we know about something, the less we actually know. Today was one of those instances. It was muggy, cloudy, and calm for most of the day. When I got to the shop at 6:30 this morning, the temperature was already 62 degrees due to a night with heavy cloud cover. With a short shift planned at the shop, I had my sights set on gulper fishing. As the morning progressed, the conditions remained perfect for a monster callibaetis emergence. By 9:00 I had ditched the shop, and made my way to blue tree, where I found the lake to be dead calm. I readied my gear with that gitty anticipation of good fishing, and ran the boat out towards the middle of the arm. We cruised slowly throughout the regularly good spots looking for emerging or spent callibaetis. Minutes turned into hours, and as hours turned into the entire morning, our anticipation was replaced by frustration and disbelief.  How could such a perfect morning produce such a perfect goose egg. A handful of emergers popped off, a few spinners fell, and a couple of fish rose once or twice. That's it.

After lunch, the wind picked up and we decided to run up to the Gallatin for the afternoon, where the fishing around the northern park boundary was just fine with a #16 tan X-Caddis and a #16 PMD Cripple. On the drive home we joked about how badly we were blanked out this morning, but I couldn't help but notice that learning more and more about something, like gulper fishing, really only demonstrates how little we actually know about the combination of variables that come together to make an animal with a pea-brain do something as basic and fundamental as eat.

 

July 20, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I met Bucky and a couple of his Buffalo buddies at Raynold's tonight. We headed downstream at about 8:00pm. Not many fish rising consistently where we were until about 8:45 when a good number of epeorus began fluttering around. The bugs seemed to come in waves, and far outnumber the caddis. It was one of those nights when the fish were on the picky side. One fly would work for a fish or two and then quit. You'd switch flies and it would work for a fish or two, and on and on. We had good luck with everything from an Iris caddis to an EP Improved Sparkle Dun to a Rusty Spinner.

July 18, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Evening Caddis on the Madison again. I hit $3 bridge about 7:00pm, and after some perusing, decided to head upstream from the bridge on the river-left bank. I walked up through the swamp and stopped at a couple of good spots watching for a head or two to poke out of the water. There was a good number of caddis swarming over the water, but not too many actually making their way to the surface, and consequently no fish. I continued upstream blind fishing several spots with a spent caddis and picked up two small rainbows. By 8:00, I had reached a favorite spot and stopped to watch the water when I noticed quite a few more fluttering caddis and several nice fish rising. From that point on through the evening, I found good numbers of rising fish in each juicy spot. By 9:00, I began seeing a bunch of epeorus spinners above the water, and switched flies. I fished that spinner for about fourty five more minutesd and called it quits. This was hands down the best evening action that I've seen so far this season. Hopefully, it keeps up. Stay Tuned.

July 16, 2005

Steve Hoovler

No fishing for me today. The wind is blowing harder than many around here have ever seen. Gusts have been reported over 50 mph. Not a bad day to be stuck in the shop.

July 15, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Sara and I had the day off today. We spent the morning gliding around Hebgen Lake in the skiff in search of a few gulpers, and, despite the best attempts of an ignorant ski boat roaring around in the Madison Arm, we found some. The Callibaetis were'n't especially thick, and there weren't a ton of fish rising, but we found several groups of consistently rising fish. With so few bugs on the water, a well presented Callibaetis cripple or spinner actually had a shot at being seen by the cruising fish, and most were eaten.

In the afternoon, I headed down to fish the Madison in the actual slide below Quake lake. I got to the water around 3:00pm and started walking from the road up through the old cat tracks and the debris fields. I wanted to hit this spot as a last ditch effort at some Salmonfly fishing before it got too late. Apparently it had gottn too late. As I worked upstream, I found very few fish that were still interested in a #6 Sunken Stone. The few that I did manage to rise were nice fish in heavy water that gave me a thrill ride, but it wasn't the fast and furious action that you can see here when it's really cranked up.

We spent the evening closer to Raynold's pass, and had some good caddis fishing right at dark, and not too much before hand.

July 13, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Another night on the Madison. Tonight, I walked upstream from the Eagle's Nest towards the Big Bend. When I arrived around 7:30, a fair number of eporus were emerging, and fish were taking the struggling adults in the first spot that I stopped. I fished Craig's improved ep sparkle dun with a ton of Frog Fanny, and caught two nice fish right off the bat. Continuing upstream, I found a few fish rising in most of the likely spots. By dark, fish rose well to an iris caddis, and at dead dark, I had a few fish eat a big (#8) Royal Wulff. Stay Tuned.

July 12, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Geoff, Bucky and I fished the Madison this evening above Raynolds Pass. We hit the river around 7:45, and walked about two thirds of the way to Murray's hole. Taking turns with a big Salmonfly and an Iris caddis, a few good fish came to the surface before it got too late. By 9:00, the sun had gotten low, and we had reached a nice slick. We sat on the bank waiting for fish to rise, and continued taking turns as fish rose to sporadically emerging caddis. By 9:30 we had slid upstream to the next slick, and a good number of fish were rising. We spent an hour in this slick fishing Iris caddis and a large Royal Wulff Cripple with good success. By 10:30 it was dark enough to send us back to the truck.

July 10, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I checked out Hebgen this morning for a few hours before heading into the shop. I walked the south shoreline of the Madison Arm for a while between the Mudhole and the resort. Good numbers of callibaetis and decent numbers of trico spinners were on the water. A handful of fish rose in a couple of spots, but it definitely wasn't full blown gulping. Hot weather is forecasted for the week. So, the gulpering should get fired up soon.

July 9, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Another Saturday morning on the Madison. This time I headed to the West Fork, and fished upstream towards the Eagle's Nest. I had it in my stubborn head that I wanted to throw Salmonflies, and nothing else. So, I tied on a #6 Foam Sunken Stone, and started working upstream alternating between a slightly undercut bank, and a nice mid-stream run. A pretty good number of natural, adult Salmonflies were still crawling around, and the fish didn't seem to be full of them just yet. I managed to bring a good number of fish up to the dry fly, and I was even able to hook about a third of them. I also noticed a stray fish here and there rising to sporadic caddis and pmd's. So, I just might have to run down tomorrow and check it out again. Stay Tuned.

July 8, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Sara and I had the day off today. So, we took the chance to go for a little hike and check out one of the small back-country streams in the Park; Mountain Ash Creek. After a long drive from West Yellowstone, a rough dirt road, and a quick three mile hike, we were at the stream. Our main concern this early in the season, especially in a wet year, were mosquitos. Fortunately, a little bit of Ultra-Thon, and a nice breeze were enough to keep us comfortable. A few PMD's and Caddis were on the creek, and we took turns working up through deep runs and pools with a PMD Cripple and an X-Caddis. The norm for this little creek is small rainbows and brook trout in the 6-10" range with the occassional 10-12" trophy, and today was no different. All in all it waas a great hike for some beautiful fish.

July 7, 2005

Sara Randle

Steve, our good friend Fran, and I decided that it was time for evening caddis.  As it turns out, we were not alone in that decision.  Unfortunately no one told the fish.  We got to $3 Bridge late and finally found a stretch where we would not crowd anyone and waited.  After a half hour or so we spotted a rise here and another rise there, but not necessarily gangbuster.  Fran worked his way upstream and Steve and I managed to fool a couple on an Iris Caddis.  We never saw any consistent rises or a lot of fish.  Back at the truck, we ran into a few nice folks who mentioned a thunderstorm rolled through the area at 5:30 and the temperature dropped dramatically.  With new hope that not all was lost and we can blame the weather, I expect we will be back out there again soon. 

July 6, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Fran and I ran up to the Gallatin in the Park this afternoon. Warm weather has brought the water temps up a bit here, and some bugs were starting to fly around. Reports of PMD's, caddis and a few Green Drakes have floated through the shop today. So, we thought we'd run up to check it out. We stopped at a favorite spot around mile marker 29 and started working upstream. Fran fished a golden stone and I tried an X-Caddis. A few caddis were around, and I spotted two or three PMD's in the drift. With so few bugs on the water, there weren't any rising fish to speak of. We both prospected around for a couple of hours, and drummed up some nice fish, but it wasn't hot and heavy; Yet.

 

July 3, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I just got back from a quick trip to the Madison at Raynolds this morning. I went to look for some early rising fish. There's been a few reports of PMD's and Caddis first thing in the morning. Having to be back in the shop by noon, I didn't have much time, but I managed to walk about half way to Slide Inn. A handful of likely spots had one or two fish rising very sporadically to the stray PMD and Caddis. A PMD Sparkle Dun rose several nice fish before it was time to go. I'm looking forward to some evening trips down to $3 Bridge this week. So, stay tuned.

 

July 1, 2005

Sara Randle

Steve and I had the day off and salmonfly fever so we decided to do an afternoon float on the Madison with hopes of hitting the hatch.  On the way, we ran into Tom Cornell and talked him into breakfast at Campfire Lodge and a turn on the oars.  We put in at Palisades a little before 1pm.  Right away I landed a very pretty 19 inch (measured) rainbow on a #6 sunken stone.  I was excited and also cautious since I am prone to the first cast/first fish syndrome (which means I struggle the rest of the day.)  As we floated towards MacAtee the wind really began to pick up but so did the salmonfly adults knocked onto the water.  It is safe to say the hatch is officially to Palisades.  We took turns landing and missing a few more great fish on sunken stones, pmx's, and large brown caddis.  I was free from the curse today, managed to stay off the oars, and did not get rained on...what a great day!

June 30, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Tom Sauer and I ran down to the river for a quick evening float tonight. We slipped the boat in at Lyons Bridge around 6:00 and floated down to Pallisades. Tom started out rising two nice fish on a Sunken Stone under Lyons Bridge. We hadn't seen any stones, or heard of any this far upstream, but we thought to give it a shot anyway.  In between monstrous thunderstorms an quick retreats to streamside willows for shelter, we had good fishing with a #14 Royal Wulff Cripple, a #17 tan Iris, and a #10 brown Elk Hair.  The river's in greta shape and the Salmonflies are running upstream. Stay tuned.

June 29,2005

Steve Hoovler

I ran down to $3 Bridge this afternoon to check on water conditions and levels. Everything has really come into shape nicely in the last few days. The flow and clarity are just about perfect. However, daily thunderstroms have kept any of our evening caddis action from getting fired up. I blind fished around a few likely spots with a #12 PMX and caught two fish before another squawl, complete with hail and lightning, ran me off.

 

June 26, 2005

Steve Hoovler

On my way out of the park yesterday I stopped to look at the Madison, and found the river full of rising fish. So, this morning I headed straight to one of my favorite spots below seven mile bridge. I hit the water around 8:30, and immediately noticed that it was about 15 degrees cooler than it had been yesterday. There was also a nice high overcast sky. Perfect conditions for a PMD emergence. Unfortunately, with conditions like these, the hatch usually occurs after noon sometime, and, as luck would have it, I have to be in the shop by noon. I sat in the truck sipping a coffee with way too much espresso in it and listened to a little Robert Earl Keen while I watched for risers. A stray fish rose for about an hour or so. Around 10:00, I noticed one fish that rose a bit more consistently. So, I rigged up and went after him. The fish was holding in a weed channel on the far side of the river. I waded slowly across, noticing a leak in my waders that I hadn't known about, and got into position just above and across from the fish. The rises were few and far between, but in the same position each time. On the second drift with a #16 PMD Cripple the big head broke the surface for the fly, and I yanked it right away from him. Perfect.

It's just noon now, and I'm heading into the shop. I'm sure I'll hear about a good emergence and rising fish from shop goers this afternoon. Stay Tuned.

 

June 25, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Back to the firehole this morning. The month of June is about to close and that usually means the end of any consistent fishing as water temps start to rise. So, I'm trying to squeeze as much out of this lime as I can. I got to a spot between Mallard Creek and Biscuit Basin around 8:00am. Not much was happening at first. The stray rise kept me occupied for the first fourty five minutes until PMD spinners began to concentrate. PMD's also began emerging sporadically, and fish fed somewhat regularly on both spinners and duns. The action defintitely wasn't as good as we've seen, but I thought it wasn't bad for the last week of June.

The Madison is finally starting to drop, and Salmonflies are starting to make their way up the river. Caddis should start shortly. So, it looks like I'll have a new rutt to fall into soon.

June 24, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Sara and I had the day off today. So, we decided to hike back to a small mountain lake near the Centennial Valley. The walk is only a few miles on a relatively easy trail. When we reached the lake, the dailiy winds had picked up. Though, there were stll a few clouds of callibaetis  spinners hovering over the water in wind protected bays. A few fish were cruising close to shore gulping the stray spinner. Sara was able to get into position, and cast to a handful of fish. One nice rainbow cruised by about two feet off the shore, and hammered her spinner. Not much longer after that, the wind picked up for real and sent us down the trail to check out another little lake that we had heard a hot tip on. The word was of big rainbows in shallow water eating big dry flies. Who could resist. We found the lake, and before too long found some fish. Unfortunately, getting them to eat was a different story all together. We spent about two hours throwing the full arsenal at them, and managed to get one to eat a beadhead hare's ear. It turned out to be a nice plump 16" rainbow, but it was our only volunteer. Needless to say, I've got a score to settle with these fish. So, look for another report from this little lake in the future.

 

June 21, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I hit the firehole this morning for a few hours before work. I got to Biscuit around 8:15 and fish were already rising to PMD spinners and a few duns. A bunch of good fish rose throughout the morning at the bottom of the meadow. It was another big fish session on the Firehole. I don't think I caught anything under 12". It's just been awesome. Reports from the rest of the river were similar. Evening caddis action has been good too. I'm in the shop tonight, but I'll be out the next few nights. I'll get you a report.

 

June 19, 2005
Patrick Daigle
I also went along for the hike into Grebe and Wolf Lake and boy did I have a good time up there. Not only was this my first hike of the year, but it was also the first time that I have caught any grayling. I’ve heard that grayling weren’t the most intelligent fish and that fact didn’t let me down one bit. The fishing was limited to streamer fishing only due to the strong winds coming in at less than desirable angles. Fly’s of choice were Evening Star’s and Sparrow’s in a size 10. This was my first trip into this area of the park and I was very happy to have gone. I must say that I haven’t been writing as much as I had planned, however; I will make better efforts here in the future. Since my last journal entry I have been fishing all over South West Montana. Primarily, I have been fishing below Quake Lake on the Madison with some of the best fishing of my life. One day about three weeks ago, I fished from noon until nine in the evening with a brown rubber leg nymph and a krystal serendipity with unrivaled success. I will never forget that day as long as I live.

June 19, 2005
Steve Hoovler
We made a jaunt into Grebe and Wolf yesterday. The conditions weren’t exactly perfect, but we made the best of it. Strong winds made it pretty tough to reach out into the lake with a leech or sparrow. Fortunately, there were plenty of fish within 40 feet of the bank, and they were all eager to eat. The group caught a ton of grayling, and Amber and her crew gathered a ton of data. When we her some of the results from this research we’ll pass it along. Check out the travelogue section for a report on our day on Grebe as well as some great pictures.

June 18, 2005

Sara Randle

Yesterday, we fished with the group from Patagonia and the Volunteer Angling Program in hopes of catching grayling below Gibbon Falls.  The weather was great for morale but not so good for mayflies.  We saw a few PMDs, golden stones, and a handful of craneflies in the air.  There were also bibio (the famous semi-aquatic wasp commonly found on the Firehole and Henry's Fork) along the banks.  However, with all these options and quite a bit of sunshine, the best fishing was sub-surface.  We took a couple of small browns and rainbows on pheasant tails, shop vacs, and small streamers.  One grayling was caught by the group.  After lunch, we were turned loose and Steve and I ended up on the Firehole below Biscuit Basin.  Careful stalking to rising fish and stealthy casts with an Iris Caddis produced a half dozen (between the two of us) beautiful browns and rainbows.  A short walk upstream, landed us another "beautiful" specimen.  None other than Dave "Dutch" Schultz and friends enjoying the day on the Firehole.  By 3pm the wind picked up and the best catch was Dave's stories.  We headed back to Patagonia headquarters for some of Uncle Laurie's delicious food and a slide show by Todd Koel, Yellowstone Park's Fisheries Biologist.  Another great day in paradise.

 

June 17, 2005
Steve Hoovler
Patagonia is hosting it’s annual dealer camp here in West Yellowstone this weekend. While they’re here, the dealers will be fishing with Tim Bywater and the volunteer Fisheries program. Tim is helping a grad student from MSU conduct research on the grayling population in the Gibbon River. Today, we’ll be fishing the Gibbon in hopes of catching a few grayling. The fish that are caught will be measured, weighed, and robbed of a few scales for genetic sampling. Tomorrow, we’ll be headed up to Grebe and Wolf Lakes to catch some more grayling. Genetic comparisons will be made to try to compare fish from both areas. Stay tuned for a report.

June 15, 2005
Steve Hoovler
The weather is finally starting to clear. Clouds and rain are slowly being replaced by blue skies and sun, and I for one am glad. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been great getting all of this moisture. I just wish we had it in January and February like we’re supposed to. With warmer temps today, I ran into the Madison in the Park this afternoon to check on the salmonflies. Actually, I was checking on the trout that might eat a salmonfly. The rough water above Mt. Haynes was my first stop. I worked upstream tight to the rocky bank with a #6 Foam Sunken Stone. The action wasn’t fast and furious, but a handful of fish rose to the dry. Most were browns in the 12-14" range, and one nice rainbow about 17". Warm weather is forecasted through the week. So, we’ll be back on the Firehole looking for caddis.

 

June 14, 2005

Geoff Unger

During a guide trip today in the walk/wade stretch above $3 Bridge, Kyle Rohane caught and landed a two-footer.  This beautiful, healthy brown was taped by guide extrordinaire, Geoff Unger and was taken on a Steve's Special black rubber legs.  Geoff was quoted upon return to the fly shop: "That was the biggest trout I have ever seen on a guide trip!" 

June 13, 2005

Steve Hoovler

It's officially been the best June on the Firehole in recent memory, and we're only half way through the month. Anyone who has been lucky enough to fish the river in the last two and a half weeks has seen the best it has to offer. Consistently cold, wet weather has produced some monster hatches of Pmd's and fish have fed without abandon. 

There's a bit of a break in the weather today. Blue skies and sun are prevailing for the first time in weeks.  I left the shop around 4:00 this afternoon and headed into the park. My first stop was above the eagle's nest on the Madison to look for some rising fish. For the first time this spring, I resisted the urge to speed straight to the Firehole, as reports of a super emergence yesterday and less than ideal conditions today made me think there might be some better options around. Well, I looked for bugs and rising fish in several places without any luck. So, I fell back into my rut, and headed towards Old Faithful. Every spot I stopped at had a fish or two rising to caddis. Mid Way ended up looking the best. So, I walked downstream beyond the islands while a mix of hydropsyche, oecetis and brachycentrus caddis brought fish to the surface along the way. I fished a favorite spot of mine where the river widens and straightens into a perfect piece of dry fly water before falling off into another riffle. Fish rose sporadically for a couple of hours. Some crashed sub-surface emergers. Others ate adults from the surface. The best flies seemed to be a tan iris caddis amd a regular old elk hair in a size 16.

It looks like nicer weather for the next few days. I'll be watching for salmonflies on the Madison and Firehole. So, stay tuned.

June 11, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Another wet, gray day in Yellowstone today. It's been an awesome spring for moisture and mayflies. I fished the Firehole, yet again, for a little while this afternoon. I checked out the section between Mallard Creek and Biscuit Basin. A few PMD's were on the water, but nothing like we've been seeing. After a couple of hours, I cruised over to the lower Gibbon for a little change of pace. I stopped about half way up to the falls, and worked upstream with a big size 6 PMX. The first long, deep undercut bank that I floated the attractor by produced a nice 15" brown. From there I found about six more fish in likely spots. None were any bigger than the first fish, but they were all especially full of piss and vinegar. I think I had a small grayling come up and slam the fly too, but I missed him badly. I was watching a Japanese family taking pictures of a buffalo from way too close, and not paying attention to my fly when the fish rose. I caught just a glimpse of it as I looked back, and it sure seemed to look like a grayling. Stay Tuned.

 

June 9, 2005

Steve Hoovler

I spent the day in the park today. A guide meeting at the Lake Lodge for back country horse guides brought me into the park, but I had to sneak in a little fishing along the way. I stopped at the Firehole at Fountain Flat around 7:00 am, more out of curiosity than anything else, and was amazed to find a good midge emergence and fish up. I fished the Aquarium for a bout 45 minutes, and was able to land a few fish on a Stillborne midge before a nasty snow squall and my schedule ran me off the river.

June 7, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Firehole again today. It's been so good that it's tough to stay away. PMD's again and good numbers of rising fish. I only had a couple of quick hours in the afternoon, but that was plenty of time to get some good action in. I got to the river just below Nez Perce around 2:00 in the afternoon and fish were rising to a ton of PMD's. There were almost too many bugs on the water to have a chance with an imitation. I was able to find a handful of traditional Firehole fish and two nicer fish (14'' and 16" browns).  Stay tuned.

June 6, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Bucky and I ran up to the Firehole last night after work for a little evening caddis fishing. At least that was the plan. We reached Riverside Dr about the same time as the first deluge. Heavy rain and hail pelted the windshield of the truck, and we felt good about being inside listening to Uncle Tupelo instead of weathering out the squall. Continuing past Madison junction, the skies cleared and our hopes of seeing some caddis began to rise again. We reached Midway around 5:00pm. The air was dead calm, warm, and sticky. Fish were rising to a number of bugs from Oecetis and Hydropsyche caddis to PMD's and Flavs. I managed to catch a couple of fish on a tan Iris, which has been my go to fly since the river opened last week. One brown trout happened to be a plump 15 incher.  After about 45 minutes, our party was over. The southwest horizon became black, the wind picked up, and lightning danced over Grand Prismatic Spring. We made a break for the truck, making back to shelter just in time to avoid the bulk of the heavy hail and rain. We waited out the storm in the dry truck, watching the river from a pull out between Midway and Muleshoe Bend. Eventually, the storm passed and we made one last feeble attempt at some caddis fishing. The bugs never came back. By 8:00 pm we officially deemed it PBR time and headed back to West. The skies are gray and wet this morning. It looks like a PMD day. I'll try to sneak out of this joint at some point afternoon. So, stay tuned.

June 4, 2005

Steve Hoovler

Headed down to the Madison for a quick float yesterday with Cam and our newest guide Drew. We put the boat in at Lyons around 2:00pm and floated down to Pallisades. Despite the pouring rain, we managed to find some nice fish, and a fair number of them at that. Most of the fish came to a nymph rig with a #6 rubberlegs and assorted droppers like a #14 Crystal Serendipity and a #16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail. A few fish ate a big March Brown on the surface, and a couple chased and ate streamers. The water clarity looked good, especially the further down we got from the West Fork. There's a "perfect green" color to the water. A handful of March Browns emerged throughout the afternoon and fish rose to them in a couple of usual spots. All in all it was a great, although soggy, afternoon. I'm heading up to the firehole right now to catch some late day caddis action. Reports from the river have been good this afternoon. It sounds like PMD's emerged in good numbers all day.  Stay tuned.

June 3, 2005

Sara Randle

I decided to sneak out this afternoon and finally see what all the commotion on the Firehole was about. As usual I meant to leave at 10 am, but didn't actually see the river until 2pm. There seemed to be groups of anglers occupying very few spaces and large stretches without any anglers.  I headed between Mallard Creek and Biscuit Basin.  It was a little windy and threatening to rain, so I wanted to duck out of the weather.  I saw a few rises but nothing consistent.  A closer look of the surface showed a ton of very small Baetis duns and a handle of #16 PMD duns.  Silly me.  I immediately tried a #22 Baetis Sparkle Dun then switched to a #20 Poly Goofus then a #16 PMD Cripple.  Finally I opened the caddis box.  Even though I did not see a single caddis on the water, I had been hearing reports of this very same situation in the last week.  Wouldn't you know, the Iris Caddis was the trick.  I hung out for two hours and caught a handful of fish, including a perfect 12 inch brown trout.  I reeled up and headed to Chico Hot Springs to meet some girlfriends for a bachelorette party.    Not a bad day to be in Yellowstone Country.

June 1, 2005
Steve Hoovler
Hey, remember me! I’ve finally found my way back to the old lap top. This winter and spring have been busy with saltwater trips and mayfly tours. I’ve even managed to find some time for quite a bit of personal fishing along the way. I hope to share some stories with you both here and in the travelogues soon.
Yellowstone’s season opened this weekend, and I’ve been a permanent fixture on the Firehole. Fishing has been good. We’ve seen just about everything in the last four days. From sun and wind to snow and sleet. Currently it’s pouring rain, and has been since late last night.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, bright sun kept most of the mayfly activity at bay. Though, what the river lacked in PMD’s and Baetis, it more than made up for in caddis. Oecetis, brachycentrus, and hydropsyche were all present in decent numbers. The air temperatures never warmed enough to produce blizzard emergences, but there were always just enough around to keep the fish looking up. On Monday, we saw a few more organized clouds, and by yesterday the cloud cover was thick. Consequently, so were the PMD’s. The Firehole picnic area was blanketed in PMD’s for most of the day yesterday.
The big fish phenomenon seems to be continuing into this season. I’ve heard reports of quite a few 14-16” fish from throughout the river already. I’ve personally had the pleasure of loosing at least two fish that looked to be in the 14-16” range, and landing one nice 15” brown trout at Fountain Flat Dr.
I’ll be here in the shop all day today, but if the deluge lets up a bit, I might have to run into the Madison around the junction to see if there are still a few lake fish lurking around waiting for a conehead Zuddler.
I’m electronically back in the saddle again. So, stay tuned for another report soon.

May 31, 2005

Bucky

Overcast and cool but not cold. Seemed like a perfect day for the Firehole. After looking at several access points and finding Muleshoe Bend open I decided to take a walk down. With plenty of Baetis on the water and fish rising I tied on an ICU Baetis and began fishing. One cast and one beautiful rainbow. This was going to be an incredible afternoon. After releasing my first trout and applying a bit of Frogs Fanny to my fly, the wind started to blow at about 30 miles an hour, then the rain, then the hail, the lightning, and the thunder. Turning my back Ii hoped it would blow over quickly. After about fifteen minutes of abuse Ii packed it in and headed down river. There's always tomorrow.

May 30, 2005

Tom Sauer

I stopped by the Madison around the Slide Inn after work to shake a stick at some fish for a few hours before it got dark.  Fished from about 7:30 to 9:30 pm.  The water was still off color and churning, but I welcomed it; it seemed to keep the crowds at bay.

I was nymphing with a beadhead serendipity up top and a 3 dollar dip on the dropper, a Dinsmore BB shot pinched a foot or so above the beadhead and a strike indicator above that.  I always fish with the strongest tippet I can get away with down here, 3X this time of year.  And I still break off plenty of good fish in that fast water.  I fished tight to the banks, working upstream, and never got my feet wet.  I caught my fair share.

In year's past I have seen goats and sheep on the ridges around here but nothing today.

May 28, 2005

Patrick Daigle

I've died and gone to heaven!  That thought has been running through my mind now for the past two weeks.  This is how long I've been working at BRF in West Yellowstone.  I must say I'm quite happy to be here and look forward to writing more journal entries.  I fished Hebgen Lake the other night off of Rainbow Point and I faired pretty well.  Splashy rises and pelicans were the first observations.  My next observation was how far out the fish were.  Since I was shore bound, I could only stand along the beach and wait for them to swim a little closer.  Large midges littered the water all around.  I imagined these were the same critters that bugged up my windshield the night before.  After watching the show go on out in the middle of the lake for an hour or so, several nice fish broke off from the masses and came in along the shore.  I had many nice shots at some fish but I was able to only score one hot.  The fly of the day was a #16 Hatching Midge.  I am heading back out tonight, hoping the wind is down and the fish are close!

May 7, 2005

We know it has been awhile since we have updated and apologize.  Here is the short version. 

Steve and Sara would like to thank all of the wonderful folks who joined us on out trips to Belize.  We had a great time enjoying the sun, surf, culinary delights, and tailing permit and bones. 

Craig and Jackie traveled to Belize and southern Mexico pursuing the gray ghosts of the salt.  They had a wonderful time and found some new water.  Craig has been traveling across the country doing slide shows and finding time for a little spring turkey hunting.

Bucky, unfortunately, was low man on the totem pole and was here guarding the fort all winter.  He has shed his winter coat and has been chasing spring hatches lately.

Cam, Steve, and the rest of our faithful guide crew have been busy guiding across southwest Montana.  These trips have been a tremendous success.  We saw typically cool spring weather, a little wind ;), productive hatches, great nymph, wonderful clients, and a bit of adventure.

There are some announcements for the upcoming season:

MAY 21 - Montana's General Fishing Season Opens.

MAY 28 - Yellowstone National Park opens for fishing and Idaho General Fishing Season opens.

The Volunteer Fishing Program is looking for anglers to conduct stream surveys this summer.  Some of the areas of interest this season are grayling in the Gibbon River and Yellowstone cutthroat in the Northern Range.  If you are interested in participating during your stay, please contact Chessie Thacher at the Yellowstone Park Foundation 406-586-6303 or cthacher@ypf.org. 

Yellowstone National Park is proposing changes to the fishing regulations for the 2006 season.  We encourage you to comment before August 31, 2005.  A public comment meeting is tentatively scheduled for the beginning of June.  We will visit this subject again after that meeting.  In the meantime, please review the proposal online.

 

May 3, 2005

Sara Randle

Well the spring Mayfly tours are starting to wind down.  It sounds like the guides have had some very productive days; good hatches, great people, and typical spring weather.  Who could ask for more?  Well, me. I wanted to go!  I was ready to hit the water and today talked Steve into floating the Henry's Fork.  It was a fantastic day. We put in at Warm River and took out at Ashton.  We had a great march brown hatch, saw a bunch of caddis, and a few baetis.  It wasn't overly warm, but it wasn't gale force winds.  I took that as a small victory and started season 2 of rowing.  Steve and I took turns making short casts to rising fish.  We caught mostly rainbows and a few larger ones.  The fly d' jour was a crippled dun buried in the depths of Steve's box.  The dry fly fishing really picked up when there was cloud cover.  During the sunny breaks we had decent nymph fishing.  The hard rain held off until the drive home.  For me it was a great start to the 05 fishing season.  A later start than normal but worth the wait.

 

March 24th, 2005

Craig Mathews

A lot of fishing and ground has been covered since the last entry. Steve and Sara spent 3 weeks in Belize, Jackie and I fished Mexico and Belize. Before we all left there are entries I should of made on fishing the Madison. Please excuse our tardiness, we were excited to fish the salt again! Below are my last 2 entries of February along with a report on our saltwater adventure.

Our snowpack is now 72% of "normal" and rising daily. A series of late winter storms are pounding us now and the 10 day forecast calls for even more snow.

On February 26th and 27th I fished the Madison below Big Bend and near Wolf Creek. Conditions then were warm and sunny with afternoon temps reaching into the mid 40's. Midges were active on many places on the river but due to bright sun and low water the fish were very reluctant to come to the surface. I did fool a couple with Baetis Sparkle Duns and Improved Zelon Midges when I came upon rising trout.

On Sunday the 27th of Feb our good friends Scott and Carolyn Heppel joined us on the river. The day before they'd had a nice day on the river near Pine Butte. Scott had taken more trout on Shop Vac Nymphs than he'd ever taken in such a short amount of time. He reported landing over 20 fish in the last 2 hours of day light. On the 27th Carolyn took several lovely browns and rainbows on Princes and PT's. We all got a sunburn and enjoyed bison chops for diner!

I scored a new pair of Patagonia waders and their latest "sticky rubber" bottomed wading shoes in early February and wore them several times in snow and icy conditions. The sticky rubber being much better than felts in snow as snow and ice don't adhere the the bottoms of the boots. I'm amazed that the sticky rubber bottoms work as well as felts on the Madison, they may become my only wading shoe all season long. And, the latest Patagonia waders are incredibly comfortable and their gravel guard a huge improvement. If you are looking for waders and/or wading shoes I can recommend these!

On March 4th we headed to Mexico and Belize for some bonefishing. The trip was wonderful exploring areas we'd never fished. And, as a matter-of-fact, I don't believe many others have fished the waters we did in northern Belize and southern Mexico. The fish were aggressive and came readily to our flies. We took bones up to 5 lbs and saw a few larger. We also saw plenty of permit and tarpon although our time was spent checking out the bonefishing.The bird life was incredible and the fishing awesome. Look for more information on this later. Again, Patagonia equipment was the best we tested. Their new Marl Walkers are comfortable and durable and the GI 2 pants and Island Hopper shirts the talk of Mexico and Belize! All very breathable and cool even in tropical heat.

Its snowing and blowing outside and Jackie tells me its time to head home before we can't get there so I'll sign off for now. Look for fishing reports to soon follow, both on the Madison and on our Mayfly Tours that begin next week.

February 20, 2005

Jackie Mathews

Bucky Craig and I along with Ashes went to the big bend on the Madison today. It was warm and a little overcast and should have been a great midge day. We got to the river and started to watch for feeding fish. Finally they started to rise. The guys took turns fishing the pockets, catching some nice fish. Ashes (Bucky's dog) and I were the guides and fish spotters, Ashes had the most fun when there were "fish on". The midges didn't come off in big numbers but there were enough around to get some fish working. It was a good afternoon and there is snow in the forecast for tonight.

February 12 and 13, 2005

Craig Mathews

Fished Madison both days, from noon to 3pm. On Saturday the river fished well on top with midge emergers from 2 to 3pm. Took 4 very good risers, 2 rainbows and 2 browns 15-17". The browns jumped but were both on the thin side. The rainbows were too heavy to air it out; both females that were heavy with eggs. We haven't seen any evidence of spawning yet, but should any day now.

On Sunday the wind was from the north and the fish didn't want  to come up for a sparse hatch of midges. This time of year we see the midges go from the tiny 22-24's to size 18-20. Roger from Papoose Creek Lodge and I fished near the West Fork and each took a couple browns. Best fish was a thin 14" and came up with a classic head and tail rise to my #22 Zelon Midge.

Today is 2/15. At 7am is was -12 degrees so fishing is not in our plans. Stayed tuned though, it is to get into the 30's later this week, and we will be on the river. The Madison is CLOSED to fishing from Earthquake Lake to McAtee Bridge beginning March 1st so we'll want to get in a few days midging before the closure.

February 2,

Steve Hoovler

Warmer weather continues across the area. Sara, Cam, and I just returned from a trip to the frigid garden state for the Somerset, New Jersey Fly Fishing Show. We had a great trip, spending some time in NYC, and visiting with all of our friends from back east.

Now that we're back to the tropic rockies, I thought I'd run down to the Madison this afternoon to find some midges. I got to Raynold's Pass Bridge around noon, and found some rising fish right away. There weren't more than two or three fish rising in the first pocket that I fished, but I managed to rise four decent rainbows to a #18 Griffith's Gnat Emerger in about 45 minutes. I worked upstream, hitting several other holes, and found a fish or two in each spot. Temps were in the mid 30's today, but the forecast is for colder windier conditions by this week's end.  It looks like we might even get a little bit more of the white stuff. We'll keep our fingers, and our toes for that matter, crossed. Stay Tuned.

January 30, 2005

Craig Mathews

At noon Jackie and I walked downstream from $3.00 Bridge to the big bend. Fish were already rising to midges and we tied on Zelon Midges and Midge Cripples and did well taking several nice browns to 15". Usually we take rainbows here too but the rainbows seemed to be moving upstream near Raynold's Bridge and their spawning grounds a few wee