Fishing Reports

A day in the Bear Trap Canyon

Last Saturday Bucky talked me into spending our shared day off, Sunday, in the Bear Trap Canyon stretch of the Madison River. The forecast promised sunshine and 40 degree temps with calm winds. We met here and left around 10 a.m.; Bucky, his dog Sadie and I. We arrived at the parking area and pulled in next to another rig. As we began gearing up the driver of the vehicle walked his dog, ( a dead ringer for "Bengie" if you recall the old motion picture named after the star of the movie a fluffy dust mop looking doggie) over to us and we began talking about fishing, the light winter Montana is experiencing, and more. BRF's Bucky introduced himself to this guy who commented, "My wife's name is Bucky" as she smiled and waved while slipping into her hiking boots. I introduced myself to the guy who laughed and replied, "that's my name too!" So we began our hike up river in the Bear Trap traipsing along with Bucky, Bucky, Craig and Craig and three dogs all the while knowing we were in for a great day with all the great Karma floating along with us!

Along our planned 2 mile hike to favorite midge water we kept our eyes off the river knowing if we stopped and watched water we'd see fish rising and would never make our destination. Slogging along in full wader regalia we worked up a sweat but arrived at our spot with fish already rising. We took several trout on Bucky's Purple Midge and Scotty's Skittering Midge before the sun sank behind the towering canyon walls at 3 p.m. and we headed back to our rig. Just short of the parking lot we came on several more rising fish and felt we had to honor the risers by presenting a Zelon Midge to them. It worked on 4-5 more rainbows before all rising stopped, the temperature began dropping and we headed in for the day. 

This week we might get a chance to fish but before we get do we have a  few important meetings to attend. The first is tomorrow in Bozeman with the Yellowstone Park Foundation to decided how to develop a program to raise money to keep the Yellowstone Fisheries Initiative program going in the Park. Next we head to Ennis Wednesday evening to attend the first Madison River Rec Planning session. Stay tuned here. And, last week I went to Salt Lake to help the Greater Yellowstone Coalition with a fly fishing program and fund raising event to raise money for their ongoing work in the Yellowstone Cutthroat vs. Lake Trout program in the park. We had a tremendous show and raised some great bucks. Stay with us in this blog for ongoing information and more on our aggressive programs and how you can help us protect, preserve and enhance Yellowstone's native and wild trout for all of us and future generations to enjoy. 

Midges, and “other travels in search of native trout of the world”

Things are getting busy here in Yellowstone country. Not only has the fishing been great but there are scheduled native trout and fly fishng programs coming up.This week Thursday, January 26th, our good friend James Prosek will be at Montana State University to present a lecture, "Fly-fishng the 41st Parallel and other Travels in Search of Native Trout of the World". The lecture begins at 7 p.m. and iks at the Museum of the Rockies Hager Auditorium. If the weather allows we'll be there and hope to see some of you there also! James has fished some incredible places around the world and has written several important pieces and books on native trout as well as his incredible art work dealing with native and wild trout so if you are anywhere near Bozeman on the 26th make sure you attend his lecture!

On the 9th of February I'll be traveling with The Greater Yellowstone Coalition to Salt Lake City for a great evening at The Alta Club. See the attached invitation in this blog. I hope to see you there if you can make it. 

Yesterday I fished the Madison River during midge times, 1-3 p.m. Jackie and I along with our 2 shorthairs took a nice cross country ski in the morning when temps went from 19 to 26 degrees. The wind remained calm so I headed to the river after lunch and when I arrived at a favorite piece of midge water there were trout rising. The first few fish rose to Zelon Midges. All were small browns, 11-13". Then all rising stopped for a short time so I knotted on a #20 Slough Creek Midge and scored my best fish of the month so far, a fat 19" brown still sporting a distinct kype and fall colors. I took several small rainbows around 10-12" on the SC Midge and walked up to the next spot where fish were rising again to adult midge emergers. A blood spot on the ice with double tracks leading away on the snow indicated our local pack of otters were feasting on river's trout...sure I like otters but I wish they weren't so brutally efficient at taking fish. At the otters' spot I took a couple more nice rianbows and one small brown as the wind picked up and my rods' guides began icing up every other cast so I reeled in and headed home.

This week the forecast calls for temps in the 30's with some snow. We will be on the rivers so stay tuned here. 

A Ripping Blue Norther Arrives in Yellowstone country

A north wind and cold temperatures has put an end to our string of midge fishing days here in the Madison Valley. The frigid temperatures and brisk winds arrived around noon yesterday. Today temps could not break the single digits and the north wind continues.
For 5 days last week experienced fine midge fishing conditions. Calm winds, highs in the 30’s and partly cloudy skies brought on incredible midge emergences along with mating clumps of midges. This coupled with perfect weather furnished some of the finest January midge fishing we had in years.
Phil fished 4 days from noon to 4pm and I was able to get out 2 days. 

I was able to fish our new Soft Hackle Midge Emerger on 2 different occasions when the sun shined brightly and the fish were skittish and keying on emerging midges just under the surface. Pleased with my results I will tie more on this pattern tonight. Dave McKee a talented fly tier and author from Bozeman ties ours’ at the shop and his are flawless and the fish loved them. I hope I can tie mine as well as Dave ties the shop’s!
Yesterday on a stretch of the Madison downstream of Lyon Bridge I arrived before noon, just as the norther was arriving with winds switching from south to north. I came on a couple nice browns cruising the shallows with tails and backs breaking the surface as they took emerging midge pupae in the slow-shallow drift. I’d knotted on one of McKee’s Soft Hackle Midge Emegers before I left home. I remembered a time last February on this same stretch of river when I could not raise a fish to my dry offering but did OK with a greased $3 Dip. A flock of golden eye ducks lifted off the side channel as I approached and I cussed them thinking the fish-egg eating ducks most likely spooked any and all trout nearby. When I got to the spot I saw heads and tails and the 2 big browns cruising. I presented my fly off to the side of the nearest brown and he came quickly to the tiny soft hackle emerger. As he turned my way to take my offering his mouth opened and with that wink of white I raised my rod and hooked the fish. The second brown came to the fly pretty much the same way but jumped 3 times and pulled loose before I could net him. As the air temperatures dropped and the wind picked up I headed home happy with the 2 good browns, both coming to our new fly pattern.
The weather forecast calls for a warm-up later this week, back into the 40’s from the low teens the next 2 days. I’ll be back on the river with some fresh Soft Hackle Midge Emergers. Stay tuned here for reports. In the meantime make sure you watch our videos of midge action near Raynolds Bridge which we will post on our free weekly email newsletter….if you don’t get our news go to our web site and sign in, you will enjoy our stories and videos and weekly fly tying series. Until then....
 

Midge Water

Sorry, I forgot to include an entry on results of my fishing last Sunday.

I hit the water around 1pm. You can see the water in the photo included in this report. Notice the heavy flow adjacent to the soft midge water on the right side of the image. The soft water is about 2 feet deep with slow currents, perfect for trout to move into from the near heavy flows in order to take advantage of midges emerging. It is in this spot I came upon a dozen rainbows head and tail rising to emerging midges. I tied on a Hi Viz Zelon Midge to my 6.5X TroutHunter tippet and took 4 good rainbows in half an hour before my hands got cold and I headed home. We will be tying our Hi Viz Zelon Midge soon so check out our weekly email newsletters for this great fly coming up.

More midge fishing coming later in the week, after it warms from minus 18 degree lows of today!  Stay tuned here.

A Gray Morning in Madison Valley

It is shaping up to be a perfect day for midge fishing here in the valley. Overcast and calm with forecasted temps to reach 34 degrees at the West Fork. I've been up since 6am tying a few of our new Soft Hackle Midge Emergers and Skittering Zelon Midges. Both have been deadly while fishing the river this week. Looking ahead at this week's weather forecast it looks like we are in for a great week of midge action. I hope to fish the Gallatin and Yellowstone later in the week so stay tuned here. 

Yesterday afternoon even though the high temp only reached 30 degrees fish rose for a solid hour. The key is calm conditions, if the wind howls it becomes strictly a nymphing proposition. When calm I've witnessed heads coming to midges in all likely spots along the river from as early 9am and still coming up as late as 3pm. The fish might rise to midges emerging in waves with the first wave coming early, as long as the wind doesn't blow. It is not unusual to have the first wave come at 9, the second a short time later then a lull until noon. Just when you think it is safe to sit on the bank and have a sandwich another wave of midges come off and trout rise.....

I especially like to fish my Tenkara rod in the winter months. With no guides to ice up and casting a fix length line I can get into position quickly and present a pin-point accurate cast from my kneeling approach. Once hooked most fish come in easily, without the long runs we are accustom to in summer months. Cool water temps take much of the fight out of winter fish, and it slows their rises to slow head and tails which bring us midge enthusiasts back time and again! There is nothing like fishing the slow motion-like head and tail riseforms of winter with no one on the river but you, the trout and an occasional bald eagle flying by! I'll get you a few midge reports this week.

Wounded Warriors and Opening Day on Firehole River

Two days ago, Friday the 27th, Coaches Jeff Fisher (retired Tenn Titans head coach) and his son Brandon (Detroit Lions secondary) and I spent the day with the Wounded Warrior Program on Spring Creek in the Madison Valley. It is such an awesome program, and an honor to work with our war heros. The photo attached at the end of this report show our friend Doug fighting a large brown trout that day. Doug remarked at the end of the day, "this has been one of the top 3 days in my life". Doug commanded a unit which has lost over 30 of its members during his tenure to the war. He suffers post traumatic stress syndrome and, according to him, his day on the creek was such a relief from his worries. Several times he remarked how great it was to be in the mountains, experience the Madison Valley and wild trout, and spend time learning to fish and be with new friends. At the end of the day tears came to his eyes, and those of all of us as we headed home. I look forward to working again with this program a couple more times this summer.

Yesterday, May 28th, was opening day of Yellowstone National Park's general fishing program. Cool-wet weather prevailed. Snow melt was stalled by the cool overnight temps and the river ran fairly clear. Pale Morning Dun and Baetis mayflies emerged from 1 to 4pm and the fish rose to them. Those anglers that braved the cold had a great opening day. As I type this on Sunday, May 29th, the snow is falling an inch an hour and I will bet the mayflies come off and the fish will rise again this afternoon during their emergence. Sparkle Duns, soft hackles and emerging patterns all worked well yesterday and should continue to provide good success as temps remain cool. We have plenty of snow to melt still in the mountains and once it warms the rivers will come into runoff again but as long as they stay clear the mayflies will hatch and the trout will rise and we will fish! Stay tuned here.

ps. the Madison below Quake Lake is fishing well now too with large rubber leg stone nymphs and streamers. Hebgen Lakes midges are ready to rolll should be get a couple warm afternoons and evenings later this week.

An early season evening on the Madison River

During dinner last evening Jackie and I noticed midges hovering over the trees off our dining room window. I wolfed my elk steak down, grabbed my fishing gear and headed to the river near Story access arriving around 6pm. Clear, calm conditions with 52 degrees and lots of midges in the air. I never saw a rise while I knotted on fresh tippet and a Skittering Zelon Midge but figured the fish had seen emerging pupae and impaired adult midges during the mid-day when midges typically emerge this time of the year.

I eased into position on a favorite midge pool, walking on my knees and sitting on a rock along the shoreline all the while keeping low and out of sight of the resident brown and rainbow trout. On my 3rd cast a fine 14" rainbow sipped my offering. A few more casts and a 12" brown came up, then a 8" rainbow followed by a 16" brown. All the while I had to smile to myself knowing I was the only one on the river enjoying some fun dry fly fishing. A few minutes later I busted a heavy rainbow that took the fly and bolted upstream. We parted ways when my 6x tippet snapped. It all happened so quickly I could only shake may head at the "rookie" mistake I'd just made, one i make from time-to-time by hanging on to the fly line on the trouts' initial run after it takes the fly. Afterwards I was treated to a couple fine jumps the fish made as it tried to free itself of the barbless hook it now sported in its jaw.

As I knotted on a new fly 4 mule deer came to water and spoiled my fun by sloshing through my spot. I moved upstream to another pocket and took another nice 14" brown before the sun sank behind the Gravelly Mountains, the temp dropped and I headed home. A nice hour of dry fly fishing on a warm May evening!

Jackie and I head to Michigan today to see family and do a Yellowstone fly fishing/Yellowstone Park Foundation show. We are back Sunday and I look forward to bringing more spring fishing stories here so stay tuned!

April on Montana Rivers.

I just returned from some fishing and fly tying-conservation presentations in and around Montana. I fished the Yellowstone, Boulder and Stillwater Rivers during March Brown and Baetis mayfly times as well as midge times on the Boulder. The fishing was good. I tested some of the new midge and Baetis fly designs we have been working on. Then I met my old fishing friend, Al Ward, and together we fished the Madison and Ruby River for 3 days.

We had a fine time fishing Tenkara rods, talking fly patterns, design and materials and did well on the Madison. The Ruby was not nearly so kind to us but because it was slow that day we had lots of time to "sit water", waiting for insects and trout rising, and discuss all of the above. Midges and Baetis came off the Madison this past Monday and Tuesday and we had a ball fishing Tenkara and learning new technique as we went along. Our new midge patterns are tyed with more and more flash and sparkle as you can see one in the following photos of a large brown trout I fooled with one of the new patterns using opal  Mirage tinsel. I fished over this fish, and more like it, and fooled 6-7 good browns with our new patterns. More on these flies in a later blog entry.

The above shot is one of Al taking his first Madison River trout using his new Tenkara rod. While many feel the fish are too large and the current too strong on rivers like the Madison you can see we did land some trout, many trout, without breaking one off.

Another picture is one of a March Brown mayfly I took on the Boulder River last week near Big Timber. The fish, mostly rainbows, got on these #14-16 duns and the fishing became "easy" for a couple hours as they rose to the first BIG mayflies of the new season. Note too the shot of a classic midge run, if you look closely you can see a couple rises and I took a few of these, mostly browns, on our latest midge flies. The one rainbow picture is a shot of a nice pre-spawning, run up trout at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, one I took on an Improved Baetis Sparkle Dun #20.

Our early spring fishing is now in full swing. The snow is still falling most afternoons and this brigns on great Baetis and March Brown emergences. More later on the fishing, new flies, etc! I am loaded up and heading spring turkey hunting in South Dakota and Montana so stay tuned, I'll fish both along the way and returning home!

 

The Long and Winding Road

It seems I've been out of the Madison Valley much of the past month, and my fishing log reflects that. Our conservation presentations have been great, if I don't say so myself! We raised some serious "Conservation Capital" in places like Kansas and Salt Lake City, Bozeman and New York. In 2 weeks I head to Billings then South Dakota and Michigan. In mid-May we are home, just in time for Montana and Yellowstone National Park fishing season. Somehow I have found time to tie over 350 dozen flies since January 1st. Mostly for the shop, but my personal fly boxes look well stocked and I am ready for some seroius spring fishing then next 2 weeks before heading off to more presentations. Our conservation shows are for NGO's working hard to protect and preserve wild and native trout habitat, conservation easement projects, as well as wildlife migration corridor protection, etc. Groups like Trout Unlimited and FFF, the Henry's Fork Foundation, Madison River Foundation and Yellowstone Park Foundation as well as 1% for the Planet. we are already booked for most of winter-spring 2012, no rest on this end for wild trout! I am proud of Blue Ribbon Flies and the pro-active roll it takes to protect what we as fly fishers enjoy and love. I'm proud to see 1% for the Planet grow in gifts of over $70 million for conservation programs to date with 1500 members. It is wonderful to watch the Yellowstone Park Foundation and Madison River Foundation grow in membership and funding as folks like you stand up and protect the places we all love for our kids and grandkids.

This past Thursday Bucky and I fished the Madison. It seems I drew the lucky straw that afternoon. I headed upstream, Bucky down. I took 6 nice rainbows on dry midge patterns (Zelon and Skittering) and Bucky couldn't find a rising trout. I sat on a midge pool I'd had luck on over the past several years and had a couple fish come up while I tied on tippet and a fly. I took most of my fish from this one pocket before the wind came up and we headed home.

Today, Sunday April 3rd, is cold and blustery with a winter storm warning up. I'll polish up my conservation power point presentation and finish a chapter in a book I'm working on with some other angling authors. If the weather does warm into the mid to upper 30's I'll suit up and head to the river for an hour or 2. One thing you can be assured of, BRF will continue to fight for wild trout, clean air and water and all things we love. I wonder what others are doing for our sport?

'

February Midges

You have to check out this short video of midge fishing on the Madison this past Monday.

Phil and I with my friend, Steve from Jackson in tow, fished the river last Monday. We waded through snows along the $3 Bridge stretch and had very good midge fishing as you will see. Steve is pictured here with a nice rainbow taken below $3 Bridge.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I returned to fish again, this time by myself. I brought snow shoes along which proved a good move as the snow is 2-4 feet deep in places. I fished both up and downstream of the bridge with good success.

Fishing both days from noon to 3 pm was incredible. Midges emerged, clustered and egg-layed and the trout rose to them in all likely spots. Best flies were G Gnat Emergers, Zelon and Scotty's Midges for surface flies and Steve did well with the small red blood midge although there were so many fish rising that subsurface fishing was not as productive as the dry fly action.

One fish of note is pictured below. It was a large trout and I saw it rising below the rock as shown in the photo. As I worked up to the rock I hooked and landed a few good rainbows and one nice brown. All the while concentrating on several rising trout well below the rock. My attention became directed to a large rock at the head of the pool as I would detect a wink of white flash just below it. I sat on a boulder 10-15 feet downstream of this rock and watched for the white flash. It became readliy apparent that the white I was seeing was a trout's mouth open to take midges. I'd watch as the trout would rise and brush against the rock knocking midges off it following up by rising to these midges as they road the current just below. I fooled the trout with a Scotty's Midge, got a good run and a jump and it threw the hook....a fine brown trout!

With only a few days left of the fishing season, it closes Feb 28th on the Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge stretch, you an bet we will fish it in the next 10 days, weather permitting. Stay tuned for more!

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