We introduced this article in our 2002 catalogue. It was so much fun to do, and so well received Craig thought he'd do it again! Here it is...

I'll fish over 130 days this year. After each time I enter my results in a detailed log I've kept since 1963. I count over 150 chewed up flies that worked taped into pages of my diary along with several dried and pressed flowers, photos, and a note from Tom Brokaw telling me how good the Yellowstone Thorofare trip was this summer.

Below are a few of my entries on the year. Generally, it was a great year of fishing. Low water years like 2001 was usually are. Most hatches occurred a week early, and were short-lived. Fall emergences of Baetis mayflies and caddis like Brachycentrus and Hydropsyche were inconsistent. The weather was sunny and warm well into the late season and I believe had a negative effect on our fall Baetis emergence. I had one of those years when ,"should have been here yesterday", and I was nearly always "in the right place at the wrong time..and the right place at the wrong time"! But when you spend as much time on stream you can count on a few great days, and here they are! And lets all pray for a heavy packed winter.

February 2nd, 2001

What a way to start the season! I drove to Raynold's Pass Bridge arriving at 10:30AM. No wind, snow, 30 degrees, no one at the bridge, one set of old tracks another fisherman left in the snow. I caught at least 27 rainbows and 12 browns. Most fish from bridge upstream to Merigold's Rock Pool. Trout first working emerging midges. I had great success with a #20-22 Peacock Griffith's Gnat Emerger: TMC 100 hook, 8/0 olive thread, BWO micro-zelon shuck, body of working thread over shuck, peacock thorax, couple turns undersized grizzly hackle. All fish in tremendous shape, lots of jumps and strong runs when hooked. Couple fish at 17", most 9-13". After 12:45PM trout would only take dark mating clump flies like Griffith's Gnats using dyed dun Hoffman-Whiting saddle hackles; (Note: these are the saddles I dyed for Rowan's mayfly cripple series---they seem to work great on midges too!)

June 18th, 2001

Arrived on Madison at Eagle's Nest 1PM with Paul. Fish already rising to Baetis and pmd's. I crossed to far bank to deal with a few large browns I'd not been able to fool on a couple trips to this spot already this season. They cruise the shoreline, backs often out of water, sipping emergers and crippled pmd and Baetis Duns. Weather mostly cloudy, 60'. I watched a 17"er take several pmd duns as they emerged in the quiet water along the shoreline. I gave him one of my Improved PMD Sparkle Duns and he took on the first cast! I thought this was too good to be true! The next fish I hit on the head with my second cast and sent him to deeper water, leaving a big V wake as he scurried out of the shallows. I waded carefully, not to send a wading wave upstream to spook rising trout. I see several nice trout rising along an overhanging bank. There must have been a dozen good trout rising upstream of me. Now there are Baetis Duns on the water, with the pmd's. I pick off 4 risers before the rest spook into deeper water. Every fish took my new Improved PMD Sparkle Dun. Even though some of the risers were clearly taking Baetis, they would take a properly presented PMD. I love coming up with a new fly, that is easy to tie, and works on tough trout!

June 26th, 2001

Got a chance to try my new Improved PMD Sparkle Dun again. This time on the Henry's Fork at Wood Road. Arrived at 1PM with Fred and Bruce. Sitting on sagebrush bank above fence line and having lunch when clouds came in, temps dropped, and pmds emerged. Huge rainbows began to rise everywhere. I sat on the bank and knotted onto my 6x tippet one of the new PMD's. I walk on my knees to the bank at the old car body, then creep to within 15 feet of the rising trout. There are 3 big fish. My first presentation falls a foot short, the trout rushes to my fly and takes it! I follow downstream several yards and land the fish. My tippet is abraded so I decide to take a moment and tie another section on. I grab a spool from my vest, tie it on and discover I'd made a rookie mistakeÉ.instead of 6 I tie on 7x! I don't have time to retie, there are so many big trout rising and I know this hatch won't last forever! I approach risers again, in mid-stream out from the car body. A couple casts later and I'm into a really huge trout that runs across the river jumps once, and breaks me. I land a couple more good rainbows, 16-17" before things shut off for the day. I like the new dun pattern!

July 1st, 2001

Arrived at $3.00 Bridge on Madison River at 3PM and had great fishing with Shop Vac Nymph. Took several good rainbows to 16", river right downstream to Big Bend. No risers seen but Hydropsyche caddis flying around everywhere. Hot, no wind. At 6PM I'm back at the truck for a sandwich. Next I try one of our Soft Hackle Serendipties in tan due to this representing Hydropsyche caddis pupa. Working upstream from the bridge I take over a dozen good rainbows before a large brown trout breaks my 4x tippet at the rock pool below fence. Its 8PM and small trout rising everywhere. I alternate between a #17 Hydropsyche Iris Caddis and a #16 Improved X Caddis and have an incredible evening taking several big rainbows and one cutthroat to 19", also a few nice browns 12-17".

July 19th, 2001

With son-in-law Dan, Paul, and Phil. Yellowstone Lake out from Potts Hot Spring Basin and up lake. Fish wanted Callibaetis spinners today. It's been that way on Hebgen, Hidden, and Trout Lakes this year too. We try Phil's Deer Hair Callibaetis Spinners and it works, like it has all month on all of the above stillwaters. I don't know if they prefer this fly over other spinner patterns but it sure is easy to see and floats like a cork, and the trout love it! We land over 40 big cutts before the wind comes up at 2PM. Phil got a lot of film footage for his DVD Fly Fishing Yellowstone Hatches to be out in early January.

August 10th, 2001

Jackie and I drive to Soda Butte Creek with plans to fish it, Lamar, and Slough. Hot, windy, sunny. Tried Soda first, from Lamar confluence upstream. From 10AM to noon we do ok using hoppers and crickets. We share a rod and she always outfishes me here! During lunch we note that every land borne insect; ants, crickets, hoppers, beetles and more are crawling all over the meadow, our waders, truck, etc. After lunch we try hoppers again and have fair luck. Lots of trout rise and look at the flies but very few takers. Jackie decides to try one of Rowan's wild new Tiger Beetles and it creates a crowd----not only of trout rushing to take it but passerby motorists. She puts on a show for them where the Lamar runs along the road just below Soda Butte junction. The fly is phenomenal, and easily tied. A radical new beetle pattern. (This fly worked on every river, lake, and stream we tested it on in 2001.)

October 14th, 2001

Paul and I had an awesome afternoon on Firehole River above Muleshoe from noon to 3PM. Fish were on Baetis and midges. I took many rainbows on Baetis Knocked Down Duns and Sparkle Duns, #20-22. Had a 16" brown below island! On way out of Park we tried Madison Junction area and I took 4 pre-spawning browns and 2 rainbows on their migratory run up from Hebgen Lake. Shakey Bealey's Soft Hackle was the fly, and has been all fall. Large streamers just did not seem to do the job on fall run trout in 2001. We think it might be the low-clear water and skittish trout not wanting to aggressively chase big flies from their secure holds in deep, to shallow water. Whatever the reason, Shakey would be proud to know his fly worked well on the Madison's fall migratory trout! It also worked well on the Lewis Channel's fall brown trout.

In only 188 days the Yellowstone Park fishing season opens for the 2002 season. During those long dark we'll have to wait for those days when the temps climb above freezing and he can fish the Henry's Fork, Madison, Gallatin, and Yellowstone for some nymph or midge dry-fly fishing. Until then I'll dream of fishing in the Park next season, when I can fill more pages in my new fly-fishing journal! I hope to see you then!