What's New
 What's Happening in Yellowstone Country

If you wondered exactly when the West Yellowstone Winter Wonderland would kick in, consider it kicked. The high yesterday was 5. We won't even talk about the low, or the trucks lined up who couldn't leave town, or the feet and feet of snow piled up. Or the howling wind. In time for the Ski Festival and Thanksgiving, winter has arrived.

With the floats lining up in New York City for tomorrow's Thanksgiving Parade, with turkeys thawing in kitchens across the country, grocer's shelves picked clean of cranberries, and with folks warming up their remote control thumbs and fingers so they don't strain any muscles once the football games begin, we want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

It's a wonderful holiday, isn't it? No pressure to dress a certain way or host a smashing party, no fireworks or romantic expectations, just people you love, good food, and gratitude. It is a sweet pause in our busy, serious lives to feel thankful for all that we have, all that we are, all that we care about. We get to say thank you for those very people we love, that same good food, and the lives we lead the rest of the year.

We are thankful for you. We're thankful for your time, your questions, your humor, your business, your friendship, loyalty, curiosity, help, advice, and support. Thank you for reading these newsletters, for looking through our catalog, checking out the blog, watching the DVDs, and collecting our books. Thank you for your notes, your jokes, your gifts, your calls, and your emails. We just wouldn't, couldn't be here without you. Thank you. AND, thank you for checking out the new website!!!!

With that giant debt of gratitude acknowledged, we will now punch one more hole in our belts and prepare to feast and celebrate tomorrow. We hope this Thanksgiving is your happiest, warmest, and most thankful holiday yet.

As usual in the rest of this newsletter, you'll find fishing news from Yellowstone Country in the weekly Fishing Report. You can see what's hot off the vise in the Fly of the Week, get a sneak peek at some of the best materials on our tying bench in the Fly Tying Material of the Week, and stay up to date with the guide staff and their trips in the Guide Trip of the Week.

You'll be seeing a new email newsletter most every week throughout the winter to keep you tuned in to all things fly fishing and fly tying in the greater Yellowstone area and beyond. Throughout the seasons, we'll keep sending you news of hatches and fishing holes around West Yellowstone. So without further delay, go ahead and jump right into the newsletter. And as always, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email if you have any questions, or if you just want a little fish talk.

Follow the Blue Ribbon Flies blog... 

 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.

Patrick took this twilight photo of Craig following the tracks of a grizzly bear this week while elk hunting. If you've ever wondered if we just sell bear spray to make a buck, you can see we're big believers and you can see why.. ..

November 22, 2010
Blue Ribbon Flies Weekly Report

Craig Mathews

I have to admit we do not have much fishing news to bring you this week. Having received over 20 inches of snow over the past few days with afternoon temps struggling to reach the low teens, not too much has happened on the river! We have had great elk hunting however, so our freezers are full for the coming year. Much of our time has been spent sorting bird skins for tying, dying and processing and getting our new web site up and running along with putting together the BRF 2011 catalogue which goes out next month. So, you can see we have not been sitting still for long. I look forward to temps reaching the forecast low 30's by the weekend and hope to get on the river then.

In the meantime I have my 2011 fly order and I am cranking along on it. We have just processed our first sparkle dun deer hair hides and have a very limited quantity of "museum quality" deer for tying smaller sparkle dun patterns in stock - just a subtle hint here for those wanting to get in on the first of this coming year's awesome deer hair we hope to offer. This year was very tough to get the proper deer for tying and we are hoping for a much better supply in 2011. Time will tell but the first hides in are great!

For those anglers willing to brave the snow and cold and treacherous road conditions, the Madison looks good until you get to Varney Bridge where the river slushes up with anchor ice breaking free during the afternoon hours. Best conditions then are Raynolds Bridge downstream to Varney. Look for midging fish from noon to 4pm and present a Skittering Midge to them. Nymphing had been superb before the brutal cold. Once things warm up again fish red Copper Johns along with egg patterns and midge larval imitations like the $3.00 Dip, Twinkle and Slough Creek Larva and you will score nicely. I'd say the same holds for the Gallatin River too, once things warm up into the upper 20's and 30's late this week.

Drew is taking a few duck and geese guided trips this week while the rest of us stay close to the fire. We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving Day when most of us will be in the Madison Valley eating wild turkey and elk roast and enjoying an old fashion Blue Ribbon Flies Turkey Day! Thanks to all of you, our good friends, for reading this and we hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday this week.

Stay tuned here for our fishing and conservation news - we will have lots to report in the coming weeks! HAPPY THANKGSGIVING from all of us here at Blue Ribbon Flies!

Keep up to date with fishing on the Blue Ribbon Blog... 

 Fly of the Week
 Hot off the Vise

Sparkle Duns for Every Season

Mayflies All Year Round

Just because it's winter here doesn't mean you can't stock up on Sparkle Duns to last you through an entire year. You'll want PMDs and Baetis of course, but don't forget the Callibaetis, the Brown and Green Drakes, the Epeorus, March Browns, and Drake Mackerals.

Sparkle Duns in all sizes and colors for all sorts of effective dry fly fishing - that's our specialty. We've got the tying materials and instructions if you want to tie your own, and we've got the flies if you want us to send you a half dozen or a dozen to supplement the ones you bought when you were here.

Our Sparkle Dun patterns are a classic, and there's a reason for that. They're hand tied, good looking, and irresistible to fish. Especially hungry ones. Give them a try, and let us know how you did. We can't wait to hear.

See for yourself... Try a few Sparkle Duns today... 

 Fly Tying Material of the Week
 Unique Materials for Effective Patterns

Sparkle Dun Deer Hair

Something about the holidays brings out the traditional in us. Since we don't sell turkey or cranberries, we're drawn back to our traditional flies and materials. Back to the Sparkle Duns, and back to the Sparkle Dun Deer Hair.

As Craig mentioned in his report, we have received the first of this fall's deer hair, and these pieces are primo, just gorgeous, and perfect for tying small sparkle duns. Give us a call Monday - Saturday, 8 - 4, to grab a couple pieces while they're still available.

If you're going to be tying Sparkle Duns, you'll also need Mayfly Brown Zelon and Superfine Dubbing. Add a bag of each to round out your order and keep yourself busy over the coming weeks. Vary the hook size and the body color, and you'll be in business for many patterns. If you have questions, don't hesitate to call. We're here to help you with traditions, classics, and all things new, and we're certainly here to make your holidays a little better.

See what you can tie with some Sparkle Dun Deer Hair... 

 Blue Ribbon Flies Blog
 See What You're Missing

All the latest and greatest information is waiting for you on the BRF Blog. Think of it as a personal Blue Ribbon news report, travelogue, and editorial column, constantly updated just for you.

If you haven't checked out our web log lately, here's a little taste of what you're missing.

What is a Blog? It's a web-based journal of sorts, a web log, our new attempt to be modern, timely, and informative. It's a more frequently updated fishing journal, an almost daily fishing report, a website we add pictures, thoughts, and reports to on a continuing basis. It's our electronic diary, with multiple contributors and plenty of room for your comments.

John Juracek posts photos and articles frequently, Craig adds fishing reports and breaking news, Tylor has been great about posting fly recipes, photos, and fishing adventures, Patrick has had some great input, and Jen occasionally sneaks an article in under someone else's name. We'll see what winter means to our bloggers.

We get interesting, challenging, and entertaining comments from you in response to the articles we post, and you can even comment on comments! It's a great interactive way to keep up with what's happening on the water and off. We look forward to adding posts, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Just this week on the blog, John shows you in detail you can almost feel, just how hard and fast winter has hit West Yellowstone. We're thinking we should change the name to John Juracek Blogs for Blue Ribbon.

Check it all out at blog.BlueRibbonFlies.com, and keep checking! It changes all the time, and it's how we keep current these days.

If you have suggestions for us, don't hesitate to log on and blog on. Comment to your heart's delight. We love the feedback.

See what's new on the Blue Ribbon Flies Blog... 

 Guide Trip of the Week
 Nobody Does It Better

Saltwater 2011

Turneffe, Placencia, and Xcalak are Waiting for You

Now that there are three+ feet of snow in town, it's time to get serious about getting some sun and some permit, tarpon, and bonefish. We have three exciting saltwater trips planned for early 2011, and we still have spots left for you and yours. How about a Christmas gift you'll never, ever forget? Check out one of these fantastic destinations:

Turneffe Flats, Belize: February 26 - March 5
$3999.00 per person
This includes 7 nights stay, 6 days guided fishing - two anglers per boat and guide. All land and sea transfers on scheduled transfer days. Three substantial meals per day and pre-dinner hors d'oeuvres. Air conditioned, double occupancy lodging. Does not include tips, alcohol, fly shop and gift purchases and fishing equipment rentals.
Deposit and Cancellation Info
50% deposit required at the time of booking. Payments are nonrefundable unless the trip can be rebooked and there will be no refunds for late arrivals or early departures. For information on trip insurance please contact us.

Placencia, Belize: February 14th - February 20th
6 nights stay, 5 days fishing, 2 people per room, 2 people per guide. $2999.00 per person
6 nights stay, 5 days fishing, 1 person per room, 1 person per guide. $3999.00 per person
Deposit and Cancellation Info
50% deposit required at the time of booking. Payments are nonrefundable unless the trip can be rebooked and there will be no refunds for late arrivals or early departures. For information on trip insurance please contact us.

Xcalak, Mexico: March 6th - March 13th
This seven night stay and six days of guided fishing is in one of the worlds top saltwater Fly Fishing destinations. Enjoy with us the ocean front suites and exquisite local cuisine offered to us by the privately owned Tierra Maya Hotel. The warm Caribbean of the Costa Maya will entice you to never leave, not to mention the fishing where catching bonefish into the double digits, grand slams and even super grand slams are not uncommon. Trip includes ground transportation from Cancun airport to and from Xcalak, all meals, lodging and guides. Don't miss out! Treat yourself to one of the best saltwater experiences of your life.

$2999.00 per person
Deposit and Cancellation Info
50% deposit required at the time of booking. Payments are nonrefundable unless the trip can be rebooked and there will be no refunds for late arrivals or early departures. For information on trip insurance please contact us.

Fish with the Best!... Book your Saltwater Trip today... 

 New Gadgets to Make Fishing Fun
 Dress Up Your Vest with Hardy

Hardy Leather Accessories

Hardy is known for its quality, class, and style. Their leather vest accessories only add to this reputation. We carry their double fly patch, the fly dryer, the floatant holder, and the dry powder holder. Add a touch of class to your fishing outfit while adding Gink and Frog Fanny to your vest.

These leather accessories from Hardy are beautifully made from the highest quality Argentinian leather, and will beautifully put everything you need at your fingertips. Stock up and step out.

Dress up your vest... 

 Just a Thought
 As Seasons Change...

Books and DVDs for the Holidays

As you'll soon see, our new website makes holiday shopping a lot easier than it used to be. As you start or finish your gift list this season, think about all the one-of-a-kind offerings you can find at Blue Ribbon.

From how-to videos on fishing and tying to books of essays and photographs, shop the collection of resources at www.blueribbonflies.com. Whether you're buying for yourself or your favorite angler, we'll make your experience as pleasant as possible and your purchase as helpful and interesting as can be.

If you're not sure what you're after, a gift certificate is the perfect solution. Check out Christmas on the River for gift certificated in several denominations.

Let us put the Ho Ho Ho in your holidays.

Browse our books and DVDs today...