Local Events
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?
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Rough sledding, no fishing, fun presenations and looking forward to spring
It has been too long since my last blog entry. I have not fished in some time due to weather condtions. But, I will end that, if the forecast is correct, next week! We are promised to receive some 40-50 degree afternoons...and we need it!
It has been a rough-tough go for wildlife in the Madison Valley and fly fishers who want to get on the stream. On the way into work this morning Jackie and I saw 5 moose along the Madison near the West Fork. At Eagle's Nest access site there were 4 elk walking down the river searching for forage along the shoreline.
Our good friend and talented fly tier, Tim Bozorth from Dillon came through the other day and dropped off some flies he'd tied for us. we talked about the wintering big horn sheep near the Earthquake Visitor Center and our shared concern for their safety as they often venture to the highway and walk the road, lick salt from the roadway, and are subject to being hit by vehicles. I was complaining to Tim about our on-going 4 year efforts to get signs warning motorists about the sheep on the road. I explained I'd written letters, made phone calls, etc to state officials but to date, to no avail. Tim said he'd write a letter and send some photos of the sheep on the road....what do you know......we FINALLY have 2 big "BIG HORN SHEEP CROSSING" signs! Just last week, before the sign went up, 4 sheep were struck and killed in one accident. I hope the signs will prevent future events like that. It pays to take the time and make the calls, write the letters, be persistent and follow-up until someone listens, someone who will help protect and preserve what we all love about this area.
Enough patting ourself on the back. We have work to do. This afternoon I will be in Bozeman to meet with Trust for Public Lands on some conservation easement issues in the Madison Valley. After that I put on a fly fishing presentation for the Madison-Gallatin Chapt of Trout Unlimited. On Friday I head to Kansas City, Mo for a weekend fly fishing-tying, conservation presentation to The Heart of America Fly Fishers. We'll talk about the Yellowstone's "overlooked" waters and give them an update on The Yellowstone Park Foundation's fisheries initative, 1% for the Planet, and more.
Last weekend I did a 1% for the Planet presentation for over 200 members of The Henry's Fork Foundation. We raised a record amount of money afterwards in the fundraiser-auction. The 1% program has raised over $70 million for conservation to date and its better than 1700 business members lead the way for other businesses to follow with the 1% brand. Why not spend your money and support 1% members who give back to what you and I love?...clean water, wild trout and access and so much more...we lead by example, and YES, we are blowing our horn for conservation and I hope you will join the 1% brand-and model through your shopping with 1% businesses like ours.
our Vol 2 of "Tying Yellowstone Hatches" is out and receiving great reviews for its 33 fly instructions and narration. Bucky and I tie the flies and Phil T. produces this great DVD.
While cleaning the basement last week Minori finds a batch of the Madison-Gallatin Wild Trout Foundations "Madison River Memories" by Richard Tumbleston. This great print of the $3 Bridge area was used by us to raise the monies neceessary to conserve, and keep open to the public, the wonderful 2 miles of Madison River at $3 Bridge so long ago. We are selling this print, (very limited quantity available), and the proceeds will go to The Madison River Foundation for their on-going conservation efforts in the Madison Valley. Jackie and I have one in our home and you should too! Call us for information on this great print which many thought (us too) were totally sold out! You can see more if you sign up for our weekly email newsletter by going to our web site..
Our guides are getting ready for upcoming spring mayfly trips and all of us here at the shop are anxiously tying flies and readying our equipment with new lines, leaders, tippet, floatant and more.
I have to hit the road to Bozeman. Stay tuned for some upcoming early spring fishing reports....I promise!
Dead Calm
I tried this once before today...and it evaporated into thin air...so here we go again.
Last night at 11pm Jackie and I both woke up suddenly, and without knowing why. Then it hit us...it was dead calm, the gale force winds we'd experienced for over two weeks had died down. It is hard to explain since we do not hear the wind along the river from our house about a quarter mile away. But when it howls and blows for days on end, and finally quits you can actually "feel" it calm down. There's a lessening of pressure so to speak that comes from the winds laying down.
This morning the outside temps hovered around 4 degrees with an inch of new snow. I got up at 6am and read a few chapters of Douglas Brinkley's, "The Wilderness Warrior---Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America". As the sun came up over Hilgard Peaks in the Madison Range I looked across the river and could make out a couple of bull elk along with 3 cows and a calf grazing, their exhaled breaths disappearing in the morning light. They were on the same windblown ridge we had watched a big 6 point bull elk making a go of it for 3 weeks late last month. Then the lone bull struggled along on a badly injured shoulder and could barely stand and feed.
One morning watching through our spotting scopes we watched 9 wolves circling the bull. He got up and faced the wolves as they moved not 3 feet away from where he stood. The wolves seemed to be sizing up the wounded animal and finally moved off only to return a few minutes later. Again, as before, they circled the bull and fthen walked off for good, that day. The next morning we saw several ravens and a golden eagle circle and dive in the ravine adjacent to the ridge. We knew the end had come for the big bull and I promised myself I'd soon hike up the mountain to retrieve the skull and antlers of the bull. If you are interested in wolves, wild places and the guy who tells the real story of both you must read "Wolfer" by Carter Niemeyer. An incredible read, one book you will not put down and the ending might .....I won't say more but you will find it on our on-line catalogue!
Two days ago, this past Friday, Phil and I headed to the river to film a segment of fishing with a Tenkara Rod. My good friend, Yvon Chouinard, had called and asked for the filming and footage which you can view soon on both Patagonia and Blue Ribbon Flies websites.I'd just received a new Tenkara rod, the Iwana, from Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA and wanted to fish it on the river during the winter season. Many anglers feel that a Tenkara cannot be fished on the rivers like the Madison due to it using a short-fixed lenght line and no reel. Yvon and I have fished Tenkara the past few seasons and it can be fished on rivers like the Madison, Gallatin, Warm, Lamar and Yellowstone as well as smaller waters like our Nez Perce, Grayling, Tower and Soda Butte just to name a few. The simple way of Tenkara fly fishing is awesome and we have had great fun and enjoyment fishing this method. I have many photos of Yvon and I hooking up doubles using a pair of soft hackles or an X Caddis-Soft Hackle tandem rig on the Firehole in June.
On Friday we found the temps near 30 degrees with blowing snow and ice bergs floating along most sections of the river. Undaunted we hit the river around 1pm and took 4 great trout before freezing out. One fish was an 18" rainbow which caused me to run 20 yards downstream in order to land it...I will let you know when the footage is edited and released soon.
At the shop we have been busy working with our new materials and tying up the new 2011 fly patterns. Our 2011 catalog is in the mail and we are constantly working on updating our new website, filming fly patterns which are now on the site as well as hints on products which make our fly fishing more enjoyable and efficient. I am tying the "Fly of the Month" February fly now for our "Fly of the Month" subscribers .
I look forward to presenting 1% for the Planet and fly fishing programs from Salt Lake to Kansas City and Bozeman to Belize and more this winter. I will keep you posted here so stay tuned for fishing reports, new conservation projects and more right here. I hope to hear from you soon and thanks for reading!
Madison Dam at Bear Trap damaged
| AUGUST 30, 2010 |
| Contact: | David Hoffman, 406-431-6783 mdhoffman@pplweb.com |
PPL Montana responding to damage at Madison Dam
Equipment at PPL Montana’s Madison Dam near Ennis was damaged early Monday (8/30) after a boulder broke loose and fell on the top of the dam. There are no injuries, the facility is in a stable condition and there is no need for public action.
“We’ve taken immediate action to start an emergency drawdown of Ennis Lake so we can identify where repairs need to be made and reduce pressure on the dam. There is leakage around the boulder in the spill gate section on the west side of the dam,” said David Hoffman, director of External Affairs for PPL Montana.
Because of the damage caused by the falling boulder, river flows downstream of the Madison Dam are about 2,000 cubic feet per second, which is about 500 cubic feet per second more than before the event.
Flow rates on the lower Madison River will be increased while the drawdown occurs, which should take several weeks.
“The lake will be lowered by about 9 feet, which will affect boat docks and public launch sites along the lake,” he said. “We apologize for this inconvenience to our neighbors at Madison Dam, but the drawdown is required to make repairs to the dam.”
PPL Montana engineers have inspected the dam and will develop plans to remove the boulder and make repairs, Hoffman said. Spill gates damaged by the falling boulder cannot be opened, but three undamaged spill gates are functioning. The hydroelectric plant continues to generate electricity.
Booms have been deployed in the Madison River to capture a small amount of oil – about 15 to 20 gallons – that spilled into the Madison River when the boulder severed a hydraulic line. No additional oil is leaking into the river. Flashboards were also damaged as a result of the falling boulder.
PPL Montana has notified local, state and federal officials, local law enforcement and its agency partners about the incident.
Madison Dam is a four-unit hydroelectric plant on the Madison River at the head of Bear Trap Canyon, about 10 miles north of Ennis. The units have a total generating capacity of 9 megawatts. Madison Dam is 257 feet long and 35 feet high.
PPL Montana provides safe, reliable energy from coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of nearly 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL Montana and its 500 employees are dedicated to Montana and its communities, supporting educational, environmental and economic development programs across the state. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power for PPL Montana in wholesale and retail energy markets throughout the western United States. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).
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