News from Blue Ribbon Flies

Fishing Report
Weekly Conditions and Tips

By Craig Mathews
31 August 2011
The tricos are about over, but the dry fly fishing isn't. Bucky handed over this picture just this morning, making us nostalgic already for our short, glorious summer.

Welcome FFF, Ennis Fly Fishing Festival attendees, Tenkara Rod Summit guests and all visitors to Yellowstone country! I must say, the Tenkara summit was a huge success and the same looks to be the case with the FFF National Conclave. I know the Ennis Fly Fishing Festival will be attended by record numbers this weekend. This Saturday at 3pm I will be presenting a program at the Ennis Fly Fishing Festival and I hope to see you all there. Next week I spend some time with The Trust for Public Land and the following with The Craighead Institute working with fly fishers and these great conservation groups. We have worked hard on our programs for all these wonderful events and are now looking forward to some time off to fish on our own, soon!

Late summer fishing has been good and fall run-up rainbows and browns are really moving into the Madison River in the park now. Some have been taken as far upstream as the Firehole in its canyon as well as the Gibbon near Tuft Cliffs. Hopper fishing has been good on some area waters while ants, bees, beetles, crickets and leaf hoppers are bringing up trout on all area waters. And when was the last time we saw PMDs emerging on the Henry's Fork this late in August? This week we fished a PMD emergence on the Fork at the RxR Ranch and Wood Road sections. What a year this one has been with some insect emergences a month late, some lasting all summer, and a few that should have occurred by this time still to come. How many of you remember those long ago summers when the Firehole and Madison Rivers in the park fished all summer long like this year? Too, when was the last summer hoppers took this long to mature and come to the streamside areas where the grasses remain green? In some spots the hoppers are still high along the upper benches waiting for the grasses to brown out and head down to greener pasture along the rivers' edges.

My good friend and owner of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, and I just spent the past 5 days fishing during his stay with us. We had some fine fishing while attending the Tenkara Summit and fishing with Zen masters of this awesome style of fly fishing. After the summit Yvon and I fished a couple off-the-beaten path waters with fine success.

While the spruce moths are officially done for the year grasshoppers seem to be picking up their slack. On rivers like the Firehole and Madison in the park we are seeing some fine hopper fishing although forecast weather conditions, if they come true, may put a damper on hopper action later this week.

The big fishing surprise seems to be the large number of brown trout up the Madison and lower Firehole and Gibbon Rivers too. Anglers are taking some browns to 22" in the evening hours when caddis are on the water. A couple of our guides fishing their off-days during early morning hours, 6-9am, have reported a fair number of fish coming to big streamers around Bakers Hole and all the way up to Cable Car Run in the park. While "spawner" fishing has not yet been gangbusters, and most likely won't be for another couple weeks, it is certainly worth one's time if you are looking for a few great trout.

Small streams like the Warm River in Idaho and Grayling, the upper Gardner, Lava and Hellroaring are all fishing very well with attractors, beetles and bee patterns. Ennis Lake is still fishing well as is Hebgen although this late in the season things can get "touchy", by the fish' as to their fly preferences. Many of the larger trout prefer nymphs now and the Callibaetis are down to size #18. A spinner imitation is very important and some anglers miss the boat by leaving the lakes about the time the wind initially comes up, around noon . Our advice is to stick it out for a while after the first breezes kick up as often times the breezes will lay back down, or better yet they might just create enough of a riffle-wave on the surface so that the fish become easier to fool than when conditions are dead calm. It is during these times that spinner imitations are required for success.

Our report should get your fly-fishing juices flowing! The Henry's Fork has fished very well lately. Evening spinner falls and caddis along with daytime Mahogany Duns and PMDs emerging. Terrestrials like beetles and ants are working now too. This river has really bounced back nicely. When you are fishing the Fork make sure you stop in and see Mike Lawson and wish him well. He has been a bit under the weather lately but is now feeling better, plus it is his and Sheralee's 40th anniversary this week!

The Missouri is fishing well with tiny, cream colored Baetis. While still high this river and its big trout are a place you will want to try. #22 Slough Creek Sparkle Duns are the ticket! The Beaverhead is working great too as large browns and rainbow rise to a variety of insects. Like the Missouri, the flows are high but the trout are looking up.

The Yellowstone River near its junction with the Lamar River has fished very well and should continue this for the next few weeks. The Lamar has been great too, with fall green drakes which are really brownish-tan in color, #22 Slough Creek Baetis and large cricket and bee patterns. While in the neighborhood you should walk up the Lamar from the Soda Creek junction and check out the river all the way to the Lamar/Cache Creek intersection. You may as well patrol up Cache Creek too, if you have time, as it is fishing very well above Wahb Springs with Heptagenia mayfly patterns as well as beetles and ants. As for Soda Butte try the stream above Round Prairie or even Ice Box Canyon for some great dry fly action. Here the stream's character changes from that of a meadow stream to more of a mountain-freestone creek. It can fish very well here with beetles and small hoppers and leaf hopper imitations.

The Gallatin has turned on now in its upper reaches. The river's cold water temps have stalled out much of its aquatic insect emergences causing them to come off in fits and spurts this summer but lately we have seen good hatches of Flavs and still PMDs and late summer Heptagenia mayflies. Hoppers might work here too, above Taylor Fork and too around Big Sky. Tributaries like Fan and Taylor should be fished on warm sunny days with large Royal Wulff Cripples and Trude Cripples along with yellow Goofus Bugs. Nymphing has been superb; fish a red $3 Dip trailing a Guide Dip or unweighted Kyrstal Dip on all these waters.

The Gardner River continues to fish well from the town of Gardiner, Montana upstream to the top of Gardner's Hole and its junction with Fawn Creek. Hopper action has been good but this won't continue much longer as our fall weather systems come through. Straight Creek's brookies are coloring up nicely as they head into the fall spawning time, same with Obsidian, Panther, and Indian Creek. The Gibbon is picking up, both in the upper meadows and below the falls. Some great pocket water action is taking place now above the falls where you must walk in to fish, away from the road.

The Firehole continues to surprise many with its grasshopper fishing around Fountain Flats and upstream to Midway. Look for the first Fall Baetis to emerge tomorrow and last until the park closes to angling in early November. Caddis are coming off in good number around Muleshoe Bend, Mallard Creek, and Biscuit Basin, and Firehole Canyon is ready to serve up some pre-spawning fish now too. "Must Have" flies include #20-22 Baetis sparkle duns and cripples as well as #16 tan X2 and Iris Caddis. The famous fall White Miller Caddis emergence is upon us now too so be prepared with White Miller Soft Hackle Emergers, cripples and tan beaded Soft Hackle Caddis Emergers. On sunny afternoons give hoppers and beetles a try and you will be rewarded!

The Madison in the park will see the same action as well as early morning fishing for pre-spawning browns and rainbows which average #17" and might go to 24". A big Sparrow Nymph as well as a large olive woolhead sculpin will produce as will the world famous soft hackle streamers which originated from Jack Gartside's vise long ago. I like brown and yellow for brown trout and white and olive/black for fishing the big run-up rainbows. The river downstream of the dam is beginning to pick up as the water cools. And, below Earthquake the past 2 days have been grand using small Baetis Nymphs and dries as well as dark brown ants and #16 Tiger Beetles. Evening action is spotty but you might find some great trout rising to midges, as well as in the early morning hours. I am on the river most evenings and will usually pick up a few great trout every night from 7-8:30pm. Darkness comes early now!

Lakes like Ennis, Hebgen, Cliff and Wade as well as Henry's are all fishing well. We have a red fly, not named yet, which is working well on Henry's so stay tuned here for more. Jackie and I are leaving now to head into FFF Awards dinner to watch Chouinard add another to his honor wall this evening! Gotta run. Until next week, hope to see you soon in Yellowstone country.

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