A Few Trout for Christmas Day, 2006 - Craig Mathews

The temperatures rose to near 30 degrees by 11A.M. so Jackie and I had an early lunch and drove to the Madison near Eagle’s Nest. I’d not fished in nearly 2 weeks due to cold temps. Arriving at the river we watched a small herd of elk feeding above the road as we readied our gear. I was excited as I thought the day might bring temperatures above the freezing mark and my guides wouldn’t freeze up. I was wrong, see the attached photos of my rod’s guides!
There was a stiff breeze from the south and I saw no midges or rising trout as I knotted on a $3.00 Bridge Serendipity behind a Micro-Madison Midge. At 11:45A.M., and on my second cast, I hooked and landed a 15” brown for the camera. I was cold, the wind chill was near 10 degrees, and my guides froze quickly but we stayed with it for awhile longer taking a couple more nice rainbows to 17”.
At 1P.M. I had to thaw out in the truck, and so did Jackie, so we decided to head downstream and find a spot out of the wind. I knew just the area, behind some willows protected from the stiff breeze and a short walk from our driveway. After taking several fine rainbows, one taped at 18”, and a couple browns we’d had enough and headed home. A nice long cross country ski in the late afternoon was fun and a wonderful workout. Diner with our ranch friends from downstream on the Madison, and our kids and grandkids….it can’t get any better than our Christmas! We hope yours was as fun too! Stay tuned for our next report, it might come in the next few days as reports call for wet and warm conditions. We’ve have over 80% of “normal” water in our snow pack and the mountains are becoming very white in and around Yellowstone!
For pictures from Craig's holiday excursion visit the Articles and Essays section of our website.

December 10, 2006 - Craig Mathews

Jackie and I walked the dogs, muddled through hundreds of slides, photos and images filing them away for later use and I tied a couple brown $3.00 Bridge Serendipities before noon. Then, we drove above the West Fork’s Eagle’s Nest parking and walked upstream a ways. It was overcast and 34 degrees at 1PM and not a fish rising anywhere. I thought today would be the day to bring on a rise to some midges. At 1:30PM a few trout rose and I took a couple small fish. Then we walked some and located several sporadic risers. I took a beautiful 18” male rainbow on a #20 Baetis Sparkle Dun, (I saw 1 Baetis today). Around 2PM the river came alive with rising trout and I scored several more nice trout to 14” all on top with our midge patterns. At 3PM the risers stopped so I knotted a brown $3.00 Bridge Dipity with a Micro-Madison Midge and took many more trout than I deserved. I had 2 huge rainbows and a great brown that jumped 4 times before coming unbuckled. I had over 30 fish for the day. We did see one other angler at Babbling Brook, 2 bald eagles, 35 elk, and had a wonderful day. I need to tie more Micro Midges and Dips before I fish this week. I hope the warm temps hold, but we get some snow soon too!

December 9, 2006 - Craig Mathews

At noon I met Steve and Justin at the Cliff-Wade Lake Rd. off Highway 287. Since the road is closed to wheeled vehicles we trudged in to $3.00 Bridge. I went upstream, to the “Honey Hole” and Steve and Justin headed down. I jumped an orphaned calf elk at the fence and it headed up to join Storh’s Bishop’s Norwegian Fiord Horses as the spring. At my spot I saw several rising trout. I put on a #22 Improved Zelon Midge and began taken trout. I busted off on my 5th fish and put on a Shop Vac with a $3.00 Bridge Serendipity trailer and took 6 more fish. The $3.00 Bridge Serendipity was responsible for the larger trout. Matter-of-fact the dry took only small trout. The hatch was sparse and sporadic, the larger fish concentrating on subsurface stuff like the midge larvae and pupae that the $3.00 Dip so aptly imitates. I worked upstream another 100 yards and took many more good trout mostly rainbows on the “Dip”. My best fish were a brown and rainbow, both around 16” and both on the “Dip”. As so often the case during early December, the emergence of midges is sparse and sporadic…by month’s end the hatch should be stronger and the fish rising to it larger. It is great though, to get out and fish. High temps around 38 and light winds.

December 8, 2006 - Craig Mathews

I had to finish 2 articles this morning. One for Papoose Creek Lodge’s Web site and newsletter, and the other for an upcoming piece we are doing about the scheduled hydro projects in Chile. I got up at 5AM knowing that the temperatures would go above freezing today and I wanted to fish the river for the first time since Thanksgiving Day and I had to finish these 2 projects. It has been very cold for 2 weeks now but today held promise of a high temp of 40 degrees with forecasted winds of less than 5 MPH, ya right!

I finished my writing by 11AM, and the winds were only coming out of the south at 15MPH, so much for the forecast!

I drove to the West Fork and checked the Madison upstream. It took one look and I spotted a rising trout. I rigged up with a #20 Improved Zelon Midge, since I saw several naturals on the snow along the river. A dozen trout later I stopped for lunch. The fish were all small, half browns and half rainbows from 9 to 12” but they were rising and came up for my offering.

At 1PM I headed to Babbling Brook and saw one riser. I slide along the shore in the snow on my butt and got close to the fish to determine it was a brown. It took on my second cast, jumped twice, a 16” male with golden sides a deep olive mottled back, and plenty of red and black spots. I rose a small rainbow about 11” and released it as a log hauling semi sped by and its driver hailed my trout with several air horn honks.

At 2PM I checked out the river near Lyon Bridge. I tried my zelon midge blind casting as no trout were rising in a pool I know has dozens of trout. No luck on top I knotted on a Micro-Madison Zelon Midge and proceeded to take over a dozen trout in less than an hour! I took 2 rainbows over 17” and a nice brown along with several smaller. My feet were freezing, I’d had a great day, so I headed home to tie some flies!

November 5, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

It's the final day of fishing in Yellowstone National Park, and I just had to head in this evening to get one last fish. I headed straight to a particular spot that I've fished every year on the last weekend. The weather has been good the last few days - a little windy and raw, but good. Fishing has been on average slower for me this fall on the Madison in the park. So, I wanted to pull out all of the stoips for this last attempt. I rigged up the two-hander with a size 6 black and purple concoction of bunny and flash. It took several swings to get that first hard tug. The next swing produced a fat whitefish, and I thought uh oh, there should have been a trout sitting there, not senior blanco. The remainder of that first pass was fruitless. Maybe the great white wonder will be the final pull of the season.

On the second pass I rigged with a sinking leader, and worked through with slower, deeper swings. Half way through the run I had a good strong pull, and the next swing produced a good rainbow. The rest of the run was good for two more tugs and a 17" brown. Perfect.

That's going to be about all the fishing for a little while (saltwater trips are looming). For now, I have a bird dog at home with the guilting capabilities of an old jewish grandmother, and a freezer that has far too few white paper packets in it. Ski season is just around the corner too. Stay tuned.

November 2, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I've spent more time in the last two weeks taking my riffle for a hike than fishing . Cold weather has kept my attention focused more on the prospects of finding an elk than catching a few more fish before the season ends. The morning low was four degrees below zero when we came into the fly shop this morning. But, the mercury did manged to rise to about 34 by this afternoon, and the bright sun made it more than comfotable outside. So, with only four fishing days left in the park season, I decided to take advantage of a nice late afternoon and run up to the Junction Meadow on the Madison in the Park. I hit the Meadow Hole around 5:00pm and started swinging with a size 6 rust colored soft hackle on a sinking leader. On the third swing a hooked a huge Whitefish. It had to be 20" long. Senior Blancho was the only action on the first pass through the Meadow Hole. So, I hiked back upstream to the Waterfall Hole (just below the junction of the Firehole and Gibbon). I spent the rest of the evening (it's dark now at 5:45pm) making two passes through the Waterfall. On each pass I found one good brown trout. Not bad for a quick evening. We're down to three more days and counting. Stay Tuned.

October 10, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

We've seen rain and heavy snow across the area over the last couple of days, and the scuzzy weather hung around through this afternoon. So, I ran down to the Madison to try my luck at catching a good baetis hatch. I hit the Eagles Nest around 12:30pm and I could see a head or two poking up in a slick next to the parking lot from my truck. Very good numbers of bugs came off and equal numbers of fish rose for the next two hours. The bugs were small, and the fish didn't seem to want anything bigger than a size 22, but a good drift with a Sparkle Dun did the trick in each spot that tried all the way up towards the Big Bend.

One of our illustrious guides, Geoff Unger was fishing with clients around Raynold's Pass at the same time today. Geoff was so struck by the amount of rising fish that he whipped out his digital camera and took a quick snap of digital movie. The clip lasted 29 seconds, and during that brief time you can count 11 fish rise in one slick!

October 9, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I spent several days this week in northern Montana following my bird dog around, and doing my best to help stock the shop with bird skins for next year. It's always tough balancing our time this time of year, but somehow we usually manage to figure it out. I returned to perfect cold, gray fall weather. So, we'll have to see what's happenning on the Madison in the next couple of days. Stay Tuned.

October 3, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I fished the Madison below Raynold's Pass this afternoon. It's been gray and wet around here lately, but the sun came out later this afternoon dashing our hopes for a monster October baetis emergence. Bugs came off relatively well despite the bright conditions, and we found one slick in particular that had quite a few nice fish working on the surface. We took turns catching a pair of the smaller fish rising in the rear of the pool, and then it was Sara's turn to snag one of the big boys at the head of the slick. As is her usual style, the first drift took the fish, and it turned out to be the biggest of the afternoon - an 18" brown with huge spots and a beautiful iridescence near it's eye. We stopped at a few favorite slicks on the way back to the truck and found at least one fish working in each spot. Not bad for a sunny afternoon. More clouds are forecasted for the rest of the week. Stay tuned.

September 29, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I met up today with my good friend and partner in crime Robert Eddins of RO Drift Boat fame. We fished a sneaky spot out of Bozeman for some agressive browns. The skies were a little too bright for the streamer fishing to be as epic as it can be, but we still managed to find some great fish. My legs will be sore for days after that "dumb and dumber" shuttle bike ride. Thanks, Bud!

September 23, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I spent today on a guide trip with our good friend, and culinary master, Monte Smith. We floated the Madison with a group of his long time friends from Pallisades to McAtee. Nymphing was the ticket all day, as we never saw much in the way of bugs, and no signs of rising fish. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to work consistently, but every nymph was good for a fish or two. Monte managed to find quite a few fish and a couple of nice ones. By the end of the day, the weather had officially cleared, and we were left with one of the most beautiful evevnings I've ever seen in the Madison Valley. The mountains had just been pasted with snow, the skies were deep blue, and golden fall sun light up the straw colored grasses and yellow aspens. Thanks for a great day Monte. I'll look forward to the next time.

September 22, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Scuzzy weather has set in across Yellowstone Country in a big way. Some areas have reported more than 20 inches of snow in the highest of the high country. We haven't seen more than a dusting here in West. But, this weather is supposed to stick around for at least another day. So, we'll wait and see. I snuck out of the fly-shop this afternoon and ran into the Madison in the park. I hit a favorite spot in the meadows near the junction around 2:00pm. Good numbers of baetis were on the water when I showed up, and luckliy, there was a lane between two elk heirums just wide enough to slip down to the river. The first good run I came to had tons of small fish crashing baetis duns as they fluttered downstream with the wind. I caught several 8-10" fish on a sparkle dun before noticing the first good head break the surface. Three nice fish podded up on a seam across the river. Every dun that passed even reasonbly close by was taken. The first fish in line sucked down my fly and imediately came straight out of the river. It turned out to be an 18" brown that had that solid look of a fish that had just spent the summer getting fat in Hebgen Lake. I could see one of the remaining two fish continuing to feed in the same slick. You could see the red in it's gill plate every time it rose, and I'll be damned if I could get a drift over to him. After 10 minutes of dragging a baetis past him that looked like it had a yamaho attached to it, the rainbow went down for good.

I finished up the afternoon down on the elbow pools with the two-hander. I rigged up a black strip leach and a shakey beeley dropper to start with, and ended up sticking with that combo for the rest of the evening. Several nice spawners, and a couple of good resident fish grabbed the soft hackle, and one nice brown took the streamer.

 

September 19, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

We've made it through our first shot of scuzzy weather, and there's a second on the way. This next system looks a bit nastier too. The sun broke today, and it wasn't perfect conditions for baetis on the lower Madison, but I've been wanting to get down here for a few days, and haven't had the chance. So, I hit Raynold's Pass this afternoon for a little while. Sparse baetis came off throughout the day, and we saw some fish rising here and there. It was just barely enough activity to keep a dry fly rigged up. I was able to rise several fish to a size 22 baetis sparkle dun, but only those that I saw rise once or twice. On the way back to the truck I switched to a nymph rig with a #16 $3dip, and a micro madison baetis. Each of the four spots that we stopped produced a couple of nice fish on either of the nymphs. The forecast is for snow tomorrow. Stay tuned.

September 17, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Well, the forecast was right on the money. It's been in the 30's and snowing on and off all day. I hit the Madison in the park again for a little bit last evening. I managed to hang in there for about two hours before the cold and wind got the best of me. Lots of bumps tonight, but only two good grabs - one 18" rainbow and one 15" brown.

September 14, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Our first shot of truely scuzzy weather is settling in to the area today. Rain, snow, and cold temps are forecasted for the next few days. I thought it would be a good evening to run into the Madison in the park and try my luck at spawners for the first time this season. I've heard several whispered reports of fish crashing soft-hackles and streamers early and late in the day. So, I dug out the two-hander and my fall soft hackle wallet, and headed up to the elbow pool. I made my first awkward cast about 6:45pm and started swinging through my first pass. The innagural run was good for nothing more than knocking the rust off my spey cast. On the second pass, though, I did get two strong pulls. The third time proved to be a charm as a nice 19" hen rainbow crushed my soft hackle, and I felt that gratifying weight in the long rod. I had time for one more pass before it was too dark to navigate back to the truck through a herd of buffaro, and it turned out to be another exercise in casting practice. I left feeling pretty good about the evening. Somehow, I managed to remember how to cast that long rod reasonbly well after almost another year off, and at least one spawner was kind enough to send me off feeling like I sort of knew what I was doing.

September 12, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I hiked into the headwater of Cougar Creek today. After an uneventful hike, we hit the creek around 11:30am. Today might be one of our last warm, windy afternoons. So we thought it would be a great day to cruise back to the upmost meadow and try some hoppers one last time before it gets too cold. The water level has held up pretty well, and some of my favorite holes still had a bunch of small cutts in stacked up in them. I stuck with my trusty royal pmx and rose tons of fish. The trophy of the day was probably a 12 incher. On the walk out we followed decent sized grizz tracks that were covering our own tracks from this morning. We never spotted the ursus, but we were sure as hell looking.

September 10, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I just return last night from this year's Lamar trip. We had a great week back in the headwaters of the Lamar. As a twist, we started the trip from the Pelican Valley trailhead close to the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake and rode up and over Mist Pass into Mist Creek, and down to the Lamar. We spent three nights at the junction of Mist and the Lamar before making our way down the Lamar to the trailhead at Soda Butte. We had a terrific week. Lots of wildlife was seen - Bears, wolves, moose, elk, bison. Lots of fish we're caught. Lots of jokes were told. Lots of pretty country was seen. Thanks everyone for a wonderful trip!

September 1, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

It's the annual openner of bird season here in Montana. Our prospects aren't all that hot close by, but I managed to run the bird dog around for a little while this evening. I spent the morning looking for gulpers. We're gettin ginot that time of year when the morning temps are cold enough to poush the good fishing out until 11:00am or so. Unfortunately, the wind only waited until about 1:00pm to come up. We did have some nice fishing in that 2 hours, though. Fish tracked well to callibaetis spinners, and we hooked several on a deer hair spinner and a sparkle dun. I'm off on this year's Lamar River Pack Trip the day after tomorrow. We're heading 20 miles upstream into the wild headwaters for a week. I'll get you a report.

August 29, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I just returned from this year's Slough Creek Pack Trip We enjoyed four great days back in the third meadow. With the exception of a wet arrival on the first day, the weather was perfect. In fact, it might have been a little too perfect. For two straight days, the afternoon winds were virtually dead. We're used to seeing some great terrestrial fishing in the afternoons when the wind whips up hoppers, beetles, crickets, and ants. Glass flat waters proved to be a little more challenging than we've seen in the past. So, we changed tactics a bit, and fished smaller ant, beetle, baetis, and midge patterns, and the fish responded just as they should. Hot flies were the red/black foam flying ant, Slough Creek Baetis Sparkle Dun, Soft Hackle Baetis Emerger, Zebra Midge, and Grand Hopper. For the first time in years, we didn't have any interesting bear or wolf sightings. But, we were treated to the long awaited return of Buford the signing cowboy. That's right, "Bufe" was back in all his glory, and so were his campfire songs and cowboy poetry. Thanks for a great trip everybody. We're looking forward to doing it again soon.

August 24, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Today was the infamous "birthday-float". Every year on the 24th of August anyone who has the day off, or can steal away for the afternoon, floats the Madison to help three girls from West Yellowstone celebrate their birthdays, which all happen to be on the same day. I think 12 boats was the final count when it was all said and done. Needless to say, an armada twelve boats strong has quite a presence on the river, and fishing wasn't exactly top notch. Most boats did managed to find a few fish with hoppers, though. And the water ballons and sudsy barely pops were more than enough to keep everyone occupied. Happy birthday, ladies. We're all looking forward to doing it again next year.

August 23, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Hebgen this morning. I thought I'd check out some of the less popular gulper spots along the south side of the Lake like Watkins Creek and Spring Creek. I should have stuck with the Madison Arm. Very few bugs brought very few fish to the surface for a very short time. The wind picked up in this part of the lake around 10:00am. Back to the well tomorrow. Stay Tuned.

August 22, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I took a couple of friends from PA into Fan Creek on horses today. We had a beautiful day in the upper meadows. Fishing was a little pokey, but Sara ran into a handful of good (10-12") cutts on an X-Cricket. On the way out, we saw two bull moose, one of which was the biggest bull I've ever seen, mucking around in the Gallatin just upstream of the confluence with Fan Creek.

August 20, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I slipped down to the Madison below Raynold's Pass tonight to see if there is anything left of our evening fishing. I hit the water around 6:00pm. Not much was happenning in the way of bug activity; a few epeorus spinners and a handful od midges. I sat in one slick for most of the evening and had a handful of fish rising sporadically. A #22 Mighty Midge and a #16 rusty Sparkle Spinner managed to fool several nice fish.

August 19, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Good Gulpers this morning. P.B. and I slipped the skiff in on the Madison Arm about 9:30am and some nice fish were working as soon as we hit the water. Most of the good groups of fish seemed to be in the middle of the arm. We moved between pods for most of the morning and found fish tracking better than they've been recently; maybe yet this year. Callibaetis Sparkle Duns and Deer Hair Spinners were the ticket. I'm here for one more week before the next horse trip, and the lake is at the top of my list. So, stay tuned.

August 17, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I guided a float trip down the Madison today from Palisades to McAtee. The weather cooperated until about 2:00pm. The morning was beautiful; calm, cool, bright sun. Fish ate a Royal Wulff Cripple and a Chaos Hopper well from the start until early afternoon. We also had some fish take a size 16 cinnamon parachute ant. Nymphing was consistent with small P.T.'s and Micro-Madisons when the cloud cover and thunder rolled in late in the afternoon. We managed to slide right by the bulk of the wet, and just had to deal with the wind.

August 15, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I headed to the upper Gibbon River with our good friends Fran and Maura Gough today. We had a blast catching small browns and brookies on tricosa in the morning and hoppers in the afternoon. A few big fish were seen, but none put a bend in the rod.

August 12, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Back to the lake this morning. This time with Bucky and Sara in tow. The wind behaved itself a bit better than it did yesterday. Though, there was still an annoying, light breeze that would wisk up and lay down throughout the morning. We saw good numbers of c-baetis in the Madison arm and had fair numbers of fish rising at times during the morning. I still haven't seen the classic wolfpacks that we all dream about, but we had some good shots. Keeping true to form, Sara had the fish of the morning, a 20" brown trout that tracked well right up to the boat. We watched the fish approach from about sixty feet until it was close enough to hear the gulps. Sara put a #16 C-B Cripple right in front of it twice before he swallowed it, and roared off towards the Happy Hour.

August 11, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

The wind was up before I was this morning. So, my plans to head out to the lake fell through. Instead, I decided to run down to Raynold's Pass and see if I could drum up any early morning fish on ants and beetles.

I started out heading up from the bridge on the river-right side and picked apart a few favorite pieces of pocket water tight to the bank with a size 16 red & black foam flying ant. Two heavy brown trout about 16" rose to the ant in the first little stretch, and I managed to find at least one or two volunteers in each small spot that I stopped. By 11:00am, the sun was getting pretty high and the action slowed. I figured that was my cue, and headed back to town and an afternoon and evening in the shop.

August 10, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I just finished up with this year's Bechler River Pack Trip. We had a terrific trip; Six days and five nights spent making our way up from Mountain Ash Creek and the Fall River to the Bechler River Headwaters and back down to the Bechler Meadows. Beautiful weather, cooperative fish, and interesting wildlife all pitched in to produce a great week.

I'll be back in town for two weeks before I head out on another pack trip (Slough Creek), and I'm itching to get back to the gulpers, and to see how well the fish are eating terrestrials and epeorus down on the Madison. So, Stay Tuned.

July 30, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I had a couple of quick hours to fish this evening. So, I ran up to Grayling Cr. in the park. Hot weather typically yields some good attractor fishing for small cutts and rainbows here, and today was no exception. I fished a #14 PMX through all of the likely water and rose a ton of fish. Most were on the small side of small (6-10"). Though I did luck into one nice 15" cutt.

July 29, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Back to the lake again this morning. Conditions were good again. So, I went back to the well with boat in tow this time. I slipped in around 8:45am and had a couple of fish to work to right off the bat. The first fish tracked very well. In fact it rose consistently until it was only a few feet from the boat and spooked before I could even get a cast out. The second fish didn't rise as consistently, but I managed to get a fly out in front of it, and he decided to eat - a nice fat brown about 18". That was about it for good risers until roughly 10:00am when spinners started to fall a bit better. I had to move around a bunch. I'd find a few risers in one spot, get a shot at one or two, and then have to cruise to another spot. I rose fish to a size 16 Callibaetis Cripple and a size 16 C-B Deer Hair Spinner. The fish aren't really grouped up in those "wolf packs" like they will be in a couple of weeks. August is knocking loudly at the door. Gulpering should get better and better over the coming weeks. Stay Tuned.

July 28, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Gulpers this morning on Hebgen. I've been on a wading kick lately. This morning I hit one of my favorite spots around 9:00am and found good numbers of c-baetis spinners on the water and fish feeding right away. There were plenty of fish working within casting range for the entire morning. But there still weren't that many that tracked very well. Though, every fifteen or twenty minutes, I'd see a fish rising with good regularity. Most of the fish I caught were on a size 16 c-b deer hair spinner. It killed me to leave at noon (had to get to work) as the cove I was fishing had stayed sheltered from the little bit of breeze that picked up and the water was still glass. From where I was at, it looked like more fish were tracking in the middle of the arm. I might have to slip the boat in tomorrow instead of wading. Stay Tuned.

July 27, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Bucky and I headed down to the Madison last night. We fished the small pockets and rough water directly below Quake Lake for a few hours before dark. Fish rose fairly well to a size 16 rusty spinner and a size 18 tan X-caddis.

July 25, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I fished the Madison this afternoon between Raynold's Pass and Three Dollar Bridge. My plan was to fish in the heat of the day, and see if any fish were looking for hoppers. I started around 1:30pm and fished my way up through a series of slicks and runs about mid-way between the bridges with a size 8 Grand Hopper. I had a handful of fish rise to the fly. I missed more than I hooked and I lost more than I landed in the heavy current, but after an hour or so I had several nice fish. By that time dark, black clouds were rolling in and my heat of the day fishing was quickly being replaced by a gore-tex test project. Within 10 minutes it was dumping, and I was huddled under a willow. The deluge let up a bit, and I watched a few slicks hoping to see an emerging pmd or epeorus. Nothing ever amounted to much where I was at. On the wet walk back to the truck I stopped at one pool that had a handful of fish rising sporadically. I managed to land one nice rainbow on an epeorus emerger before round two of thunder and lightning sent me back to the truck.

July 22, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I checked out the Gallatin in the park this morning before work. Warm weather has had this, the coldest river in the area, fishing pretty well. I started about a mile below Fan Creek and fished my up to the confluence. There were never a ton of any one bug on the water, but the handful of PMD's, Caddis, and Green Drakes that sporadically emerged kept a fish or two rising throughout the entire stretch. I fished a #16 PMD Cripple, #16 tan X-Caddis, and a #12 Royal Wulff Cripple at different times along the way, and found good results with each one. The weather remains brutally warm with highs approaching 90 in town and 100 in the valley. But, you won't hear this kid complain. For one thing, I know that's not too hot for a lot of you that are looking at temps well over 100 Degrees. And for another, it's going to be about 150 degrees colder here in a few short months. I'll take the heat while it lasts, and hopefully I'll be able to remember just the slightest bit of it when my eyelashes are freezing together next winter.

July 21, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Back to the lake this morning for a little gulper action before work. I decided to wade a favorite spot on the north side of the Madison Arm. Tricos were strong when I arrived around 8:30. I had shots at two fish in the first thirty minutes, both of which spooked violently, and by 9:30 the wind was howling. So much for that bright idea.

July 18, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I fished Hebgen this morning. Gulpers were gulping when we arrived at our favorite gulpering spot around 9:00am. Good clouds of Tricos were over the water as well as a fair number of c-baetis. By 10:30 the C-baetis were thick, and we began to see some fish tracking well. Sara stuck two nice rainbows right out of the gate on a foam spinner. The wind started to pick up around 11:30. So, it was off to Campfire for some lunch.

July 16, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Late night on the Madison tonight. I reached Raynold's Pass around 7:00pm and hiked down on the river left bank. It's been blazing hot lately. Even at 7:30pm there's still a warm breeze blowing over the pass from the south. When I hit the water I noticed a few egg-laying caddis bouncing on the water and a swarm of mating adults above the willows. I blind fished upstream alternating between a size 14 PMX and a spent deer hair caddis depending on the visibility. A stray fish rose here and there for the first hour and a half, and I managed to catch several on both flies. By 9:00pm the sun had gone over the hill, and fish started to rise with more regularity in a few slicks. I stopped to work a favorite spot and noticed a bunch of spinners over the water. Two nice rainbows came to an Iris Caddis right off the bat, but no one else seemed interested until I switched to an Epeorus Spinner (#16). I stuck with the spinner all night finally leaving around 10:45pm.

July 14, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I spent today impersonating a fishing guide. I floated from Lyons to Ruby with two great guys, Shawn and Eric, from Ohio. We had a good day with fishing alternating between hot and cold for most of the day. We had some hot stretches with both nymphs and dries at different points. Hot flies continued to be size 14 and 16 Royal Wulff Cripples and tan X-Caddis. An Epeorus Emerger fished deep as a nymph produced well too. Thanks for a great day guys.

It's gotten hot!!! Temps reached the mid to upper nineties today in the lower valley and the forecast is for more of the same. With these hot, dry days the evening caddis fishing on the Madison has been great. Stay Tuned.

July 11, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I had the day off today. So, we floated the Madison with none other than Captain Tom "oh baby I love those head nets" Cornell. After a stop for pancakes at the Campfire Lodge, we put the boat in at Lyons around noontime. Aside from a stiff downstream wind, the conditions were beautiful - warm, sunny, 80 degrees. We fished dry flies the whole way down to Windy (short float). Sara's deadly combo was a #14 Royal Wulff Cripple and a #16 Spotlight Caddis. Capt. Tom went with the Cripple and a # 16 tan X-Caddis. Both combinations seemed to work well with a good number of fish looking to the surface for all three flies. As usual, Sara managed to score fish of the day honors with a 18" rainbow. By 6:00pm the daily thunderstorm was imminent. So, for the evening, we opted for burgers and cold ones at the happy hour instead of lightning and hail at three dollar bridge.

July 8, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I fished the Madison in the morning again today. There's been so many afternoon and evening thunderstorms lately that the pm caddis fishing hasn't been very consistent. So, I headed back down to the river upstream of Raynold's Pass this morning. I hit the water about 8:00am and there were a few good fish rising in Ross's hole right away. I fished to risers when I saw them and blind fished likely spots when I didn't see any heads. Fish ate a # 16 tan Elk Hair and the Improved Sparkled Dun again. Several nice fish came out of skinny water right on the bank. Salmonflies seem to be right about at the bridge. I didn't see more than two or three flying in the morning, but reports in the shop this evening were of large numbers flying by early afternoon.

July 7, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

The $3 Bridge dedication was this afternoon. The ceremony began at 11:00am. So, I thought I should head down a little early and fish a few spots above slide inn before the festivities began. I hit the end of the guard rail about 9:00am and started walking upstream trying to spot a few fish right next to the bank. The light was good, and quite a few fish were visible. A fish or two rose to egg-laying caddis, and a stray pmd. I fished one of Craig's #16 Improved PMD Sparkle Duns for most of the morning, and just about each fish that I spotted ate on the first or second cast. That is if I didn't blow him up on the first or second cast, which happend a bunch. By 11:00am I had worked up to the really fast water, and it was time to head down to $3 bridge.

July 4, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I spent the fourth fishing a few little spots around the Lewis River and Lewis Lake. We hit the lake in the early morning from about 8:00am until lunchtime. A bunch of browns cruised along the shorelin, and we sight fished small nymphs like a #16 beadhead P.T. to them until a few leptophlebia (looks just like a pmd) started emerging around 10:00. fish rose well to a #16 PMD Cripple. We both manged to get a handful of nice fish before the wind picked up around 12:30.

July 2, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I snuck out of the shop this afternoon to take a short float with Aaron. We put in at Lyons around 3:00pm and started fishing a variety of dries like a #14 PMX and Royal Wulff Cripple. Fish rose greedily to dries for the entire stretch down to Pallisades. It was one of those great days when the fish just wanted to eat dry flies. In several spots fish rose consistently on their own, but in many cases we had nice fish move from likely spots to eat a dry.

June 30, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Caddis fishing on the Madison below Quake Lake is just getting heated up. as soon as I think it's really going to get cranked up, we get another thunderstorm, and things cool down. I got to $3 Bridge about 7:00pm and saw a fish or tow rising here and there. By the end of the evening a few fish rose consistently, but it wasn't exactly a feeding frenzy. I caught several fish on an Iris Caddis and a spent deer hair caddis. Things should continue heating up. Stay Tuned.

June 27, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

Sara and I headed up to fish the Gallatin today. Salmonflies and golden Stones have been strong here in the past few days. The weather was anything but perfect for fishing with these big dries. We dodged one thunderstorm after another in the meadow below Porcupine Creek. Fish responded well to a size 6 Sunken Stone, but the hero of the day was a size 10 Rogue Golden Stone. We had a number of 12-14 inch browns and rainbows on both dries. The hatch is moving slowly up towards the park water. Stay tuned.

June 18, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

I've spent a bunch of time fishing the park this past week. The last few days have been sunny and warm with some strong wind at times. This morning was a perfect time to check for spinners on the Madison. Warm, calm and sunny conditions sent me out of the shop and into the river at about 9:00am. I walked a long stretch of bank by Riverside drive spotting fish close to the bank, and trying to get them to eat a dry fly. There wasn't much on the water at first. So, most fish I cast to weren't very interested. By 10:00am a few baetis and a stray pmd or two began emerging and fish rose a bit more consistently. I ran into a bunch of brown trout between 8-12 inches and a couple from 14-16 inches. I still haven't seen any gray drakes. Though, I've heard a few good reports. So, I'll keep looking. Stay tuned.

June 12, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

It's been a big water year, and we've all speculated on the likelyhood of seeing good numbers of Gray Drakes on the Madison in the park (the general rule of thumb being more water = more bugs). A few bugs had been seen in the last couple of days. So, I ran into the Eagle's Nest last night right before dark to try my luck. When I got to the turn out I could already see a few fish rising from the truck. Tons of caddis were on the water, and plenty of fish were working. I fished a little size 18 black x-caddis and fooled plenty of fish in the last hour or so of light, but I only saw two gray drake spinners. I'll be back to check on them soon.

June 8,9 and 10th, 2006 - Craig Mathews

After 3 days of rain it looks like we might get few peaks at the sun. PMD, Baetis and caddis fishing on the Firehole has been superb. I fished with my friends Yvon Chouniard  and Terry Middleton on these cool-wet days and had some of the best dry fly fishing anyone could have!  From Spent Sparkle Caddis to Iris and X2 Caddis we had things covered as to fishing the 3 species of caddis we saw on the river that the fish were rising to. PMD Sparkle Duns and Improved Baetis Sparkle Duns worked well when the mayflies were on the water and that seemed anytime from noon to 6PM. We left rising fish on Thursday and Saturday having caught enough. Hope to see you soon on the river! And, the Madison in the park is showing a few gray drakes, pmds and caddis along with salmon flies. The river below Quake Lake is rapidly coming into dry fly fishing shape also; there are caddis emerging there and as the water drops it’ll get real good-real quickly!

June 4, 2006 – Steve Hoovler

Floated the Madison yesterday from Pallisades to Story Ditch. The river is still quite high (2080cfs out of Hebgen and probably over 3000cfs at Pallisades), the clarity is about a foot, and the skies were cloudy. Perfect conditions for a quick cruise with streamers – right? Well that’s sure what we thought. The river hasn’t been this big for this long in many years and the conditions are perfect for streamer fishing.  Unfortunately, no one told the fish how ideal the conditions were.  I’ve heard several great reports over the last few days. So, I guess we weren’t holding our mouths right, or something. We did manage to roll a handful of nice fish and get a couple of good browns to the boat, but it wasn’t exactly hand over fist. As a “pick-me-up” we stopped to drown our fishless sorrows in greasy cheeseburgers and buds at the Grizzly. So, the outing was far from a total bust.

Sara and I ran back into the Madison in the park this afternoon to get another salmonfly fix. It’s tough to sit here in town these days knowing that there are fish looking for size 6 dry flies two miles away. We had about an hour or so of good fishing before a thunderstorm drove us back to town - and work.  Warm weather has prompted some good caddis fishing on the Foxfire. I’ll have to check it out, and get a report. Stay Tuned.

June 3, 2006 - Steve Hoovler

It took me a few minutes to log into the journal. It's been so long since my last posting that I forgot a few of the steps. I've been fishing a lot lately. The park opened last weekend, and I've been out there every day. I've been in serious need of some personal time on the water. Last week we finished eight weeks of Spring Road Trips (Known formerly as the April Mayfly Tours - We were forced to change the name as the dates stretched from March to June and the fishing revolved around everything from Mayflies to Caddisflies and Stoneflies) Salmonflies have started to crawl around the Madison in the park. I fished a short stretch yesterday above Mt. Haynes with good success. The adults aren't exactly going nuts yet, but there have been plenty around for the fish to start looking for them. I blind fished the heavy current against the river right riprap bank with the usual #6 sunken stone. Several good fish came to the surface, and I managed to hook five of them. Two were nice rainbows with chunky bellies and bright stripes in the 12-14" range. The other three were nice browns between 14 & 16".

I'm sneaking out of the shop this afternoon to head down to the lower madison (below Quake Lake). The flows continue to be high and off color, but the fishing has been excellent with big nymphs and streamers. We're going to try a quick float and some streamer fishing. Stay tuned for a report.

May 27, 2006 - Patrick Daigle

I woke up with a smile knowing that it was opening day of fishing in the park for 2006.  I already had my gear and a plan in place to help maximize my day.  When I arrived at the Barns Pools at 8am, there was only one car in the parking lot and one angler working pool # 2.  With fly rod in hand, I walked past the angler giving him a friendly wave and headed down river.  As I nymphed # 3, I noticed fresh salmon fly shucks clinging lifelessly to new blades of grass growing upward after a good, long winter.  With this sight at my feet, I cut off the price nymph that had fooled nothing and tied on a nice, fat brown rubber legs and began to shoot line back into the feeding lanes.  The first few fish of the day came slowly.  The simple fact that I have been tying more recently than fishing made me believe that I was indeed rusty and that I would soon work all of the kinks.  As I worked the feeding lanes, I fished my way all the way down to pool # 5 when I noticed something.  I finally realized that I had been making the first tracks along the Madison since my fellow anglers and I left the banks last fall.  As I looked down at my tracks in the mud, sand, and gravel a sense of accomplishment fell over me.  I had made it through one complete year in West Yellowstone, Montana.  Fish or no fish, I caught myself smiling again.  But this smile was different than earlier.  I caught myself smiling like a kid I used to know many years ago.

27th May, 2006; Craig Mathews

Opening day of fishing in Yellowstone National Park! We've waited through a long, windy-cold winter. And, today after 3 weeks of warm-dry condtions it snows and rains all day. A wonderful opening in the park!

At 1pm we arrived at the Firehole River and walked to the meadows to string up. By 1:30PM the fish began rising to a sparse emergence of Baetis mayflies. Paul and I tied on #20 Improved Baetis Sparkle Duns and began catching rainbows. I took one on my first cast of the season, (usually is the kiss of death for the day but today was different), and we continued to catch many rainbows 8-12" for the next hour. Around 2:30 a few pale morning duns showed and the fish went wild for them for another hour before the wind came up, temps dropped dramatically, and we headed to the truck for coffee. A #16 pmd Sparkle Dun was the fly preferred by the rainbows during pmd time and we had a banner opening day. A wonderful opening day. Tomorrow is forecasted to have the same weather conditions so when I got home I tied a dozen #16 Improved PMD Sparkle Duns and a dozen #20 Baetis Improved Sparkle Duns in anticipation of tomorrow's hatches of early season mayflies on the Firehole. Stay tuned!

4 May 2006 - Craig Mathews

A cold wind continues today from the north. At noon it is only 44 degrees. Our yard has a few dozen elk and 3 mule deer wandering through it. Jackie and I hate to disturb the animals but I've not fished in a week and I have to get on the river! Yesterday we had a meeting with The Trust for Public Lands to finalize our Madison River Party on July 7th, (you are all invited and more details to follow), and discuss another land project on the Madison you will hear about shortly. On the way home we drove by the river between Norris and Bozo and saw fish rising to Mother's Day Caddis activity around 4pm. But, today I wanted to fish near Ennis and hoped for some Baetis mayflies and rising trout.

I saw not one Baetis but did have some midge activity. I saw one rising trout and caught him, a male brown of 12" that jumped twice. I did manage to take 5 browns and 1 rainbow all on Baetis Sparkle Duns and Zelon Midges fishing the water in all likely holds. The stiff north wind is always a curse and keeps insects off the water and very few rising fish.

The ice is nearly off Earthquake and Hebgen Lakes. In the next week midges will emerge and the trout will rise. I've tied my favorite midge pupae and adult patterns and both will be in the fly bins at the shop tomorrow. I'll get you many more fishing reports in the following days. I'm home until fall, and plan on fishing over 100 days in the following months. Stay tuned, and remember, our weekly fishing report via email begins next week.

April 16 and 17, 2006 - Craig Mathews

I fished the Madison both days. I'm writing this from my journal entries. I have been gone since the 19th of April. I help an aging rancher with his spring calving on his ranch on the Cheyenne River Soiux Indian Reservation in South Dakota and while there I chase spring turkeys.

On the 16th and 17th the winds came hard from the north with sleet, snow and rains. On both days I had fair midge emergences and rising trout. Zelon Midges were the ticket and I landed a few dozen trout both days.

On the 19th I headed to Billings to pick up a friend who would accompany me to do chores and help with calving in SD. I fished my way to Billings and had fair fishing on the Boulder, and good fishing on the Stillwater when March Browns came off in late morning and early afternoon on both the 19th and 20th. A March Brown Sparkle Dun was killing and I'm glad I took a few from the 90 dozen I'd tied for the shop this spring!

On 27 April I returned from SD and eastern Montana. My friend Jim and I had a wonderful time helping out on the South Dakota ranch and calling in spring gobbling turkeys in both SD and Mt. Heading home after dropping him off in Billings I decided to fish the Boulder upstream of Big Timber and am glad I did. The fishing was wonderful when the March Browns came off around noon and I took many rainbows and a couple browns, 12-15", all on March Brown Sparkle Duns. I need to tie more when I get home! Weather was great for the hatch, clouds and 50-60 degrees with light winds.

April 10-11, 2006 - Craig Mathews

Awoke to heavy clouds, rain and snow mix and no wind. Rob, (aka Bucky) dropped by at 9am and we were on our way to fish Poindexter Slough. Driving over the Virginia City Hill the snow became heavier, road slush covered and temps dropping into 30s.
We decided to check out the Ruby and lower Madison rather that make the drive all the way to Dillon.
We got to the river at 11am and had poor midge fishing for an hour. The Baetis that normally come off at 1pm were an hour late today due to the cold water and air temps. When they came off a few good fish rose and we each caught a few good trout. I waded on my knees to within 10 feet of feeding browns and watched a couple 16” fish refuse high floating duns and take only those that were tipped over. I forced the wing of a #20 Baetis Sparkle Dun all the way over to one side making the dun tip over on its side and fooled a couple good fish. Then I took a Knocked Down Baetis Dun and clipped one wing off and fooled a few more nice trout before the Baetis were done for the day and the fish went back to midges. A #22 Zelon Midge was the ticket for a few more nice trout before the surface activity was done for the day. Wading on my knees and altering a couple flies was the ticket! A fun day and a lesson learned.
On the way home we watched sandhill cranes doing their mating dance in a meadow near the river. Spring has arrived in Yellowstone country!

April 7, 2006 - Craig Mathews

The first fishable Baetis mayfly emergence of the season came off at 12:40pm near Varney Bridge. Most insects rode the currents unmolested by trout or whitefish and flew off into the bushes to become tomorrow’s spinners. I did locate a couple risers but they were taking midges. The fish, both rainbows, took my #20 Baetis Sparkle Duns though and I had a time with the 16-17” hen rainbows that jumped and ran downstream several yards becoming coming to hand.
After a late lunch, around 2pm, I walked upstream and found a pool with several rising trout all taking midges. The wind had come up and my #22 Improved Zelon Midge was impossible to see on the waves created by the wind but I landed another 3 rainbows up to 14” and a small brown before heading home. A bonus to the day was finding a matched set of whitetail deer antlers that Jackie made into a neat candle holder! Overcast and 52 degrees, calm in morning, very windy in pm.

April 5th, 2006 - Craig Mathews

It began raining last night at 11PM and continues this morning. I’m off to fish the Madison below the Beartrap and around Varney too.
I fished last on Sunday and it was great even in the wind. Midges came off in huge numbers, best emergence of the year. Driving into Ennis later that evening Main St. was crawling with the insects! When I opened my truck’s door I let in dozens of #18-22 dark olive bodied adult midges. I brought several home in my collection vials to look at them under magnification. Their wings show strong venation in black, brown and slate gray. And, even though I have several dozen Zelon Midges and my new midge creation I haven’t yet named and both which imitate the midges on the rivers now, I tied a few more dozen just to make sure.
It is 7AM and I’m working on a few revisions to Western Fly-Fishing Strategies. It is hard to believe this book was first printed in 1998, the years to go by somewhat even quicker when we fish. It has been out of print for over a year and Nick Lyons suggested I revise it. It will be reprinted and out in paperback in February 2007.
I’ll get you a report on today’s fishing later.

March 26th, 2006 - Craig Mathews

The weather forecasters were right, for the second time this year! We awoke to 3” of snow, 26 degrees and north wind. I had promised Bill and Jackie we’d go regardless of the weather. I spent until 10A.M. doing revisions to my Western Fly-Fishing Strategies book that has been out of print for a year. (It’ll be revised and reprinted in paperback Feb 07)
At noon we arrived on the river. The wind had switched to the west, and wind speed dropped to 10mph. we strung up and I headed upstream. By 1P.M. the wind had calmed and temps had risen from 34 to 44 degrees and midges were flying about all along the shoreline. I anticipated a good rise to their emerging and egg-laying activity. I was somewhat disappointed however. I did find one run I call Shedhorn where 4 trout were sporadically rising to emerging midges. I waded in on my knees and could see midges every 2-3 feet, emerging, mating clusters, etc riding the currents. I took 3 browns and one good rainbow of 18”….I took them all on #14 March Brown Sparkle Duns! I could not buy a fish on tiny #20-24 midge patterns today. And, since I’d left me midge cluster flies safely in my pack in the truck I had no larger flies to imitate clusters. I fished the March Brown back to the truck, prospecting all likely looking water and had a wonderful afternoon even though I saw no other rising trout. I took over a dozen good browns and one small rainbow. I saw no March Browns but the trout are on the lookout for them and they should begin emerging in the next few weeks. And, the reason I call the above run “Shedhorn” is that I find whitetail deer shed horns near this spot ever spring. Today was no different. I found both sheds of a deer within 2 feet of each other, a real bonus along with seeing the first sandhill cranes of the season returning to the Madison today too. I will be on the water during the coming week so stay tuned for more reports. And, our “Spring Mayfly Tours” begin day after tomorrow to watch for their reports also.

March 25, 2006 - Craig Mathews

I left the shop at noon to head down to the river and fish midges. There was no wind in West Yell, that usually means plenty of wind in the valley. I checked the river near Pine Butte and fish were rising to clumps of midges. Of course the river is closed to fishing here now until May 20th.
I stopped home for a quick lunch and grabbed my gear and headed downstream to Varney. There I was able to find a sheltered spot, out of the wind, with a few small rainbows rising to emerging midges. I took 4-5 fish to 14” on #20 Zelon Midges, one brown and the rest rainbows. By 3P.M. the temps dropped from low 40’s to low 30’s and the winds came strong out of the north so I headed home to tie flies and plan for tomorrow’s fishing.

March 23, 2006

Craig Mathews

I hadn’t fished in 10 days having been to Michigan to visit family and friends and do the Michigan Fly Fishing Show. I HAD to get on the river!
At noon Jackie and I left work and by 2PM I was on the river. The wind was strong from the south but fish were rising to midges when I arrived, and I had 3 rainbows and a brown in less than an hour. Then the wind really came up and I headed home to tie some flies.
Today was the first day it felt, and smelled like spring was truly in the air. On the way home at noon we saw over a dozen blue birds and many geese that had just arrived on the river. Thousands of elk are migrating up the Madison Valley, to spring calving areas and summer range.
At the river it was great to see rising trout, and even better to catch and couple on my new midge. Look for them in our fly bins this spring. I haven’t come up with a name for the pattern yet, but one will come soon! The pattern is unorthodox, but it is deadly and easy to see.
This morning at the shop we ordered a set of new fly bins to hold patterns we tie here at the shop and at home. I’m really excited to tie several patterns for the new bins and so are our local tiers. Look for them next time you come by the shop.
This weekend is forecasted to be stormy and I’ll bet we’ll see the first Baetis mayflies of the new year. I’ll be on the river, and will get you a report.
With over 110% of “normal snow pack” this year looks to be a great fly fishing year. Stay tuned here for our reports.

March 12, 2006

Craig Mathews
Jackie, Bill and I arrived at the river at 1P.M. A north wind and 28 degree temps weren’t too inviting but the sun was out for the first time in days and a robin flew by as we got out of the truck to look for rising trout.
We suited up and hit the river. A few midges flew by and landed on the bank. We saw a rise, then another and tied on Zelon Midges. The fish rose sporadically until 2P.M. and then shut off. I took 3 browns and a rainbow to 16” and called it a day when surface activity ceased. Jackie took over and tied on a Soft Hackle Beadhead Lightning Bug and took 3 great trout in 5 minutes in the same pool I’d been fishing. Her hands then got cold and we headed home. The SH Lightning Bug is her favorite, and that of most guides, and a “new” fly this year. It is deadly and she made me tie more tonight, before I typed this. The flies all went into her arsenal, not mine!
We leave this week for Michigan. We look forward to being a part of the Michigan Fly-Fishing Show in Warren, Mi. One of our purposes for going is to raise awareness of The Yellowstone Park Foundation’s Fisheries Initiative for 2006. Check their web site at www.ypf.org for more information. Get involved, stay informed, and keep the Yellowstone area’s fly fishing great!
Until the week of March 20th, I hope you are getting out to fish, and look forward to bringing you the next report soon.

January 30, 2006

Craig Mathews

When the dogs woke me at 5:30 A.M. this morning it was 15 degrees and breezy. I let them out, gave them their breakfast and started to tie March Brown Sparkle Duns thinking it would never warm up to 30 degrees, the wind drop and make me want to get on my waders and hit the river.
I was wrong. By 9A.M. it had warmed to 31 and the north wind dropped. By noon it was still 31 and the sun felt warm. I got on my waders and drove down to the river.
There were no midges-no rises but it was a beautiful day. I fished the water with zelon midges in a pool I know holds plenty of good trout without a sniff. Usually even if there are no midges I can bring a fish to my imitation this time of year since they are used to seeing and feeding on midges all winter long. I was thinking of a nice long cross country ski since I couldn’t raise a fish when I remembered a few new nymph and midge pupa patterns I’d tied and filed in my boxes just for this type of occasion.
I knotted on one of my experimental midge pupa and caught 3 rainbows in 4 cast. Thinking I was on to something I thought I’d try and old standby pattern, our Shop Vac, and compare it to the “new” midge pupa. In my next 10 cast I caught another 5 or 6 trout. It didn’t seem to matter, every pattern I tried caught trout…so long as it was a Shop Vac or midge pupa. I tried Prince and Zug Bugs, I tried stone nymphs and caddis larva. Every trout I caught, and there were many, wanted the Shop Vac or midge pupa. So tonight I tied more Shop Vacs and midge pupa. I hope I won’t have to use them, for the next time I know the trout will come to the surface again, like always, or so I think like the eternal dry-fly optomist. I will be prepared though! Stay tuned.

January 25th, 2006 at 6pm,

Craig Mathews
When Jackie and I crossed the Madison at 7A.M. this morning I didn’t think fishing was in the cards for today. It was very windy, 17 degrees and an otter was resting on an ice shelf next to my winter fishing spot. I’ll mention here that my friend did his master thesis on Madison River otters several years ago and found their preferred food to be stonefly nymphs, not trout!
When we drove home at 2:30 P.M. the winds had shut down to 20 mph so I grabbed my gear and got on the water at 3. Between 3 and 4 P.M. I landed 2 browns and 2 rainbows, the largest a 13” rainbow that jumped twice. I saw no rises or any midges due to high winds but it was a nice break for a January afternoon. And, the rainbows are beginning to show their spawning colors and are beautiful. If weather conditions allow I will fish again tomorrow, and get you another report. I caught day’s fish on dry midges.

11 January 2006

(from noon to 2pm)

Craig Mathews
When I left the house to check Madison for midges and trout rising to them it was 36 degrees, bright sun and no wind. As soon as I got to Babbling Brook it began to snow and the wind came strong out of the north. The white stuff came down so hard I could not see the other side of the river at Eagle’s Nest access.
No risers could be seen here so I drove to Lyon’s Bridge and decided to walk downstream of the bridge to look for risers. I bailed over a snow bank at the entrance to the rest area and promptly drove both legs through a cattle guard that was hidden by the huge snow drifts. I thought I’d broken both ankles. While attempting to extricate my battered legs from the metal slats of the guard I fell over face first into the snow. Just then my friend Roger Young of Papoose Creek Lodge drove by smiling, waving and blowing the horn of his pickup. Little did he know of my fate with me stuck in the cattle guard!
A while latter I freed myself and hobbled downstream where I sat on the bank and watched a flock of mallard ducks feeding 40 yards away. Of course duck season remains open, but my gun and shells were dry and safe inside my truck, here too I saw no trout rising, nor any midges.
I decided to check the river near Snowball. There I did see 3 midges and 2 rising trout and rose both. The best fish was a 12” brown. I headed home to soak in the hot tub and cross country ski afterwards.
The winter midges are just beginning to emerge, things will get better for the dry fly angler, me included. I will keep you posted. Lesson today: watch for cattle guards hidden by the snow, and keep you gun handy.

 

January 1, 2006

Steve Hoovler

After the effects of a few too many New Years Eve Kaliks wore off, I spent the day wading a series of bonefish flats around Delectable Bay. For the fourth day in a row, we've had great weather; 80 degees, clear skies, and light trade winds. Pat and I dropped the girls off at the beach this morning where they planed on laying in the sun and hopefully catching some snapper for dinner. We started off walking north along the edge of the flat. To our left was a huge expanse of flooded, juvenile mangroves spaced randomly several feet apart and standing only one or two feet tall. On our right was a long shallow mud flat peppered with crab holes. The tide was just beginning to go out and bonefish followed the water as it slowly retreated from flooded mangroves to the flat where it then continued through tidal creeks and out to the bay. Singles and doubles eased their way through the mangroves and an occasional school of 20-50 fish would criuse along the flat. We managed to catch a bunch of fish throughout the afternoon with an assortment of flies including a tan size 8 TDF Shrimp and a tan Micro Minnow. Not a bad way to kick off the new year. We're heading home soon, where deep snow and cold awaits. Fly tying and skiing will be more realistic than fishing for the next few weeks, but low and behold there's a trip to Belize coming up quick. So, stay tuned.