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Greetings!
As promised, we have collected some of our best shots of late summer and autumn, and put them together for you. Sorry to quote a cheesy song here, in our most beautiful issue ever, but "you have to be cruel to be kind." Nick Lowe, 1989. We know it's a little bit mean to show you Yellowstone country in all its glory, especially if you couldn't make it this year, but it's really an effort to give you the colors and sights you couldn't see for yourself.
So in honor of late summer and all the
fishing we've been doing, and in homage to
the prettiest fall ever, and the fishing we are STILL
doing, this week's newsletter contains a
fishing report and a few photos from you!
We've also included a short story for your reading pleasure. So sit back, check the fishing report, and enjoy the taste of autumn from our back yard. Thanks for all your contributions, support, and friendship.
Thanks for coming
by, and thanks for keeping in touch
throughout the season. Enjoy this week's view
of Yellowstone Country, and we'll hope to see
you out here soon.
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Fishing Report
Just a Quick Update on Fishing in Yellowstone Country
Craig shows off our 30th Anniversary cake back in July. Feels like it was yesterday.
October 22, 2010
Craig Mathews
We have had more of the sunny, warm days and cold nights in Yellowstone country this week. This has been the fairest weather we've seen in years in September and October, but the forecast calls for it to end tomorrow. Despite the sunshine, the fall spawner fishing has been good, stream conditions perfect, and the rivers and streams in our area are fishing well to fewer anglers.
We are entering the last two weeks of fishing in Yellowstone National Park, with a late closing date of November 7th. We recommend loading up and heading here for a last fling of fall fishing in Yellowstone. Our coffee pot is always on, advice free, and since every one of us is fishing daily we know what flies to use! See you this week or next!
The Madison below Hebgen Lake surprises anglers daily with fish rising to midges and coming on strong to nymphs. We're waiting for Baetis weather to begin in earnest, but in the meantime the streamer fishing has been great too. The nymphing has been especially strong below the dam and from $3.00 downstream. The smallest Zebras, Twinkles and RS2's are working their magic on big rainbows and brown trout. Best midge dries continue to be Skittering Zelon Midges, Improved Zelon Midges and Micro Wulff Cripples.
The Madison above Hebgen and to Madison Jct is fishing with Soft Hackle Streamers, brown and black woolly buggers, and Zonkers for run up fish. Lucky Buckys and Shakey Bealeys are working for those swinging soft hackles in all likely spots. The fish are everywhere on the river from the mouth to the junction, and are very aggressive. We expect to see fairly heavy Baetis hatches over the next few days, so be prepared with Baetis cripples, sparkle duns, and soft hackle emergers.
Don't miss the Firehole now too. The river's Baetis should pop off daily along with strong midge action in the Muleshoe area. We've seen sparse hatches, but that should improve as the weather deteriorates. The river below the falls has fished well too, with scuds, stonefly nymphs, as well as Nick's Soft Hackles and Partridge and Just About Any colors.. . . We are down to the final countdown on the fishing season here so don't waste a minute!
The Henry's Fork has been home to short hatches of Baetis and midges, but the fish, huge fish, should rise to your #22 Baetis Cripples and Baetis Soft Hackle Emergers from 2-4pm, especially after today.
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Due North by Larry Holden
And here is how it ended on the Madison.
The afternoon light was waning as I fished the channels with a few friends. I had been using the same tandem rig for three days now, and, remarkably, the lead nymph caught mainly rainbows and the trailing nymph caught mainly browns. I had extricated the rig from many a snag to extend its magic, but now I had caught a snag on the Madison that was in water too deep & too swift to retrieve.
Sadly, I snapped the line free losing my trailing nymph. I quickly tied on a replacement, and something was not right as the knot did not slide as easily as it should have; however, I decided not to retie it as time was not on my side. Tony had just caught a fish in this run, and I had time for a few more casts before I had to row to the takeout.
On the first cast the strike indicator suddenly disappeared; I set the hook; there was a little movement but not much; so, I guessed I probably had something other than that same old snag. Still not much movement. I thought to myself: "Damn, must be another whitefish that Frank left behind." I raised the rod tip several times to get the fish's attention.
Suddenly, it took off violently, heading due north toward Ennis Lake; the reel started singing; and panic set in: "I know I am going down to the backing on this one; that's no whitefish" I thought to myself. Instinctively I reached for the drag dial not knowing what else to do; I was knee-deep in swift water. Suddenly, the line went limp. I was crestfallen; that fish went thru 5 lb. test as if it were angel hair pasta. Then, I realized: "Oh my God, that knot, that knot!" If it was the trailer knot, Big Brown took advantage of a toxic combination of haste and imperfection. Upon inspection it was the trailer knot; I saw that the trailer knot itself was intact but that the line had snapped immediately below it. I was tied up in knots over my culpability
until my first beer.
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Hope you enjoy this special edition. If you sent pictures you didn't see here, don't lose heart. We LOVE seeing them, and we'll keep posting them. We'll
keep the
newsletters
coming, keeping you up to date on the best
fishing water, tips, and gear we can get our
hands on. Let us know how you're fishing, and
what you're up to. Keep those pictures and fish
stories coming!
Thanks for spending time with us. We'll see you soon!
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Come back to Yellowstone Country soon.
