News from Blue Ribbon Flies

Fishing Report
Weekly Conditions and Tips

As the seasons change, we will continue to do our best to provide a journal entry from some of our latest tying and fishing. We invite you to call and ask us what we've been up to if you get to wondering. We always have plenty of stories to tell.

Minori sent in this gorgeous Callibaetis shot she took at Hebgen Lake earlier this week. The photograph above of the now famous BRF cap with the Green Drake is from Tylor. We ALL know what John Juracek can do with a camera. Aaron has some great shots of the Henry's Fork he has yet to download, Bucky's got some good ones of Sadie, and Jen only takes pictures of her paintings. What a talented lot we are...

July 8, 2010 Fishing Report Craig Mathews

We want to welcome The Trust for Public Land's annual Yellowstone country event here this week. Last night we presented a 1% for the Planet program to them at the Henry's Fork Lodge. Today we are taking several of the crew to the Odell Creek Ranch to tour the restoration work which has recently been completed on the upper creek and spend time fishing there too. The Odell Creek Ranch is located just upstream of the Longhorn Ranch where BRF has our spring creek fishing program you have read about from time to time in this report.

We head to the 320 Ranch on the Gallatin River Friday evening to present to the Big Sky Community Corporation a 1% For The Planet keynote address. Then we can come up for air just before our July 15th Blue Ribbon Flies 30th anniversary party to which you are all invited. More on this party is in this report. Summer is certainly a busy time for us and we still somehow weasel in an hour our two daily on nearby waters! So, let's get to those waters and our report. I'd like to mention here that you should check out our blog for up-to-the-minute reports on water conditions, hatches, and more since we enter these reports every day.

Slough and Soda Butte Creeks are both beginning to fish. Their flows are less than half what they were a few days ago and while they are both still a bit high there is plenty of visibility to fish dries. This week we will see PMDs and some gray drakes along with caddis and little yellow stones come off and the fish will come up for them. When the waters even begin to clear after so many days of turbid conditions the trout rise to most any insect activity on the water. Trout love to come to the surface, especially after dealing with high, dirty water and weeks of feeding subsurface. (This just in at 10am July 8th: the gray drakes came off Sough yesterday in the first and 2nd meadows and the cutts came up for them!!)The Lamar is still high but coming down nicely and might fish any day now too so stay tuned here and on our daily blogs. The Gardner River is fishing during golden stone and little yellow stone times. The upper river is beginning to fish well with attractors too, flies like Royal Trude Cripples and Wulffs. This area is a great place to take youngsters and beginners as they will catch fish.

The Gibbon River continues to fish well, both in the upper stretches as well as the lower canyon areas. The big drakes are about done now but PMDs and caddis can furnish good fishing when on the water and this little river always fishes with big attractor dries and streamers. With our cool nights sometimes below the freezing mark, the Firehole River in its upper reaches above Midway Geyser Basin has fished. The river is too warm to fish below Midway but upstream you will still find caddis activity and fish chasing damsel dries.

The Madison in the park can be counted for a fair PMD spinner fall nearly every morning form 8 to 10am. This river has been superb all season to date but is slowing down now as it too warms up like the Firehole. Still, if you like to search out fish sipping spinners in the early morning and are looking for a few hours of nice dry fly fishing close to town this is it.

The Gallatin River in the park has fished. While water temps struggle to reach 50 degrees the water is clear and the fish are ready to rise to PMDs, green drakes, caddis and little yellow stones. On this stretch you can expect great attractor dry fly action too so be ready with Stimulators, Wulffs and big Adams Cripples.

The Gallatin below the park line downstream to the mouth of the canyon has cleared and while still high is fishing well now too. The nymph action is great using huge #4-6 Prince Nymphs, red Serendipities and rubber legs. Many locals feel the salmon fly hatch here has been a bust due to high water conditions a few years back which washed the big stone nymphs out. Remember that the salmon fly nymphs take 3 years to mature. Who knows the reason(s) why, but 2010 has not been the best salmon fly activity on the lower river.

The Madison's salmon flies are at Wolf Creek today. Yesterday our guided floats did very well as trout rose all day long from Lyon to Ruby Creek when stones, caddis, PMDs and green drakes were on the water. Jackie and I fished at $3.00 Bridge and had wonderful PMD and caddis dry fly fishing from 8am to noon. We even took 2 nice rainbows blind fishing a Sunken Stone in heavy water after the PMD and caddis morning activity was finished. I have had a couple strong evenings of caddis, midge and pink lady action this week too. If I had to recommend a few dry fly patterns for the coming week I would have Sunken Stones, PMD and Epeorus Sparkle Duns, PMD Floating Nymphs, Iris and X or X2 Caddis and Missing Links along with Micro Wulff Cripples. Nymphs would include rubber legs, $3.00 Dips in krystal and brown and Pink Lady Nymphs. You should not, will not want to, miss the evening action now on this river!

Smaller streams now fishing well in Yellowstone country include the park's Grayling, Nez Perce and Straight Creeks along with the West Fork of the Madison in Montana. There will be caddis and PMDs along with little yellow stones on all of the above. On Straight Creek, just down from Grizzly Lake, you might be lucky and hit a green drake hatch with lots of nice-plump brook trout rising to them.

Area lakes are offering up some fine action too. Grebe Lake in the park is a dream for those anglers wanting to catch a few grayling along with some beautiful rainbow trout. Look too to Cascade, Trout and Wolf Lake in the park also. Hebgen and Wade are seeing some good Callibaetis mayfly action and Wade's damsels are on now too. Lake fishing can be some of the most challenging fly fishing known to man so it is best to check in with us for current hot flies and advise before hitting the still waters!

Take a look at stream flows, weather, and past fishing reports...