News from Blue Ribbon Flies

Fishing Report
Weekly Conditions and Tips

By Craig Mathews
7 September 2011
Terry Middleton fished with Craig on his birthday this year, and sent us this pic of "the old man's birthday trout."

It is nearly 8pm on the 7th of September. I am sitting on our deck wishing I was on the river tonight instead of typing this. About 5 hours ago swarms of brown flying ants began flying south along the benches of land on our side of the river. Jackie and I immediately put down the containers we were filling with snow peas from our garden and headed to the river near Horse Creek. Trout rose everywhere and continued to do so until around 5pm when the swarms flew off and the trout went down, for a while. I've had this many times in the past and know that because they rose this afternoon and are still looking up, they'll rise to midges and any caddis, moth or mayfly imitation that drift along in their feeding lane, and the dry fly fishing should be awesome this evening. I'll be on the river again tomorrow afternoon with some freshly tied flying ants even if I have to stay up until midnight, you can be sure!

I have to tell a story now on Jackie. I can see her sneaking along on our deck in a futile attempt to catch a doe whitetail deer and her twin fawns stealing lettuce and kale from her pride and joy garden. If she catches the deer red-handed she will bang together pots and pans she carries thinking the deer will be frightened off and never return. I've seen this several times this summer and so far it works for a day, maybe 2, but the deer always return and wipe us out of fresh lettuce.

The snowberry leaves are turning red and gold, and grouse whortleberries accent their bright green-leafed plants with red dots as grasshoppers click along the high banks above rivers and streams in search of mates. It is very late summer here in Yellowstone and the fishing has been grand. I wish you could see some of the run-up brown trout in their bright pre-spawning colors. The now hook-jawed males, their undersides a golden butter yellow, rich olive marbled and mottled backs, heavy-thick slab sides colored up spawning bright with sprinkled red and black spots.

Yesterday I fished with new friends from Seattle, Washington - Doug, Pete and Tom. The morning was slow but around noon a slight grasshopper breeze blew in and with it some great fish came to crickets and hoppers. The afternoon was most interesting and we ended up with Tom taking a gorgeous 19" rainbow on a Micro-Madison Baetis Nymph. Doug decided to call it a day after he landed a taped 23" male brown which you will see in a later report. Pete lost his wading shoe while battling a nice 17" brown and had to chase both the shoe and trout downstream, which we captured on film. I was introducing my new friends to the Madison Valley, spending the day explaining the conservation successes we've had, and some we are still working on. They were part of a Trust for Public Land trip we helped out with, and I know my new fishing buddies are forever connected with the Madison Valley and its great river!

The next eight weeks will see incredible fishing for big browns and rainbows on rivers like the Madison, Henry's Fork, Yellowstone, Gibbon and lower Firehole. With all our water this spring and summer the fish are in awesome shape going into fall. One of our favorite sayings during big water years like this has always been, "big water-big trout". This year will go down as one to remember from a fly fishing side. Our fall hatches are just now beginnin: Fall Baetis and Green Drakes, White Miller as well as Hydropsyche and Brachycentrus caddis, Morning Midges and the unnamed big black midges that emerge on most area rivers and streams in late day always flitting about on the downstream side of boulders and logs in the heaviest currents. Great terrestrial fishing has been a pleasant surprise to many of us after such a long-cold-wet spring and early summer. I know I predicted poor hopper fishing and I am proved to be totally wrong much like our local weather forecasters. We hope you can take advantage of this rare fall fishing opportunity and join us for what promises to be the best fall fishing in many, many years! Let's look at our predictions.

The Madison River's fall run of brown and rainbow trout keeps getting stronger each day as more and more fish enter the river from Hebgen Lake. Few complain about this except some of the lake anglers as it becomes noticeable each day that fewer and fewer fish remain in the lake to take advantage of the remaining Callibaetis emergences which are beginning to fizzle, and do so in late September. The river is fishing well now for these large trout during early morning streamer and soft hackle times as well as afternoon hopper fishing in some spots. Evening caddis can bring the run-up fish to the surface too. We have had some awesome streamers tied up for us this fall and you should stop in and take some with you. Too, we have gone a bit retro having had some of Jack Gartside's world famous Sparrow Nymphs tied up and on hand for fall fishing. I fished with Jack for many years and was always impressed with how well the Sparrow works in larger sizes for fall fishing. The same for his Soft Hackle Streamers in white, yellow, and combination colors too like brown and yellow or black and olive. This great pattern is not weighted but due to the materials used in tying it the fly sinks to the proper depth and scores some impressive trout for us each year. Hopper action has been a surprise this month on the Park's section of the river as the big run-up fish seem intent on taking imitations despite the fact that there are few hoppers along the banks where the fish are lined up to take them. Small is the key word for soft hackles now, small in size and a bit deeper and slower on the swing will produce best in these bright sunny conditions. We have two beautiful, and new, soft hackles we have been fishing with great success for the run-ups and they are now in our bins.

The Firehole in its canyon is waking up to fall fishing and the same can be said for the Gibbon below the falls. A few more fall run rainbows are up the Firehole it seems and some very nice browns are coming to stone nymphs in the Gibbon around Tuft Cliffs and near Canyon Creek. Afternoon cricket and beetle fishing has been grand also. If it does cloud over you will have fish rise to sporadic Baetis emergences so always be ready to catch big trout on small, #20-22, flies when this happens.

The Firehole above Midway and all the way to Biscuit has fished well during the daytime and the river downstream of Midway to the Iron Bridge near Ojo Caliente and Sentinel Creek has fished well during evening caddis times. Check out Iron Spring Creek or the Little Firehole near Biscuit for a lesson in humility when it comes to trout rising to midges, ants and small beetles this time of the late summer.

The Gallatin has been good during hopper and beetle times. You should have along Royal Trude and Wulff cripples for late summer fishing not only in the park but all the way to the mouth of the canyon too. Nymphing anglers are having a field day everyday when fishing a rubber leg stone trailing a red or krystal $3 Dip behind.

The Madison below Hebgen Dam is picking up during afternoon hopper times and late evening spinner falls. At the entrance to Earthquake Lake during the very early morning and late evenings you can count on some very good dry fly and nymph fishing. Here you will want to have in your arsenal some #16-18 tan X2 caddis, #16-18 triple winged rusty spinners and #20-22 zelon midges for dries along with #18 Micro Madison Beadhead Nymphs and hopper patterns. When fishing downstream of Quake Lake small nymphs, beetles and bee patterns are deadly and you should not be without an ant flying or regular, brown or red/black. The river's Fall Baetis hatch continues to sputter along in the warm/sunny weather conditions but be ready on the next overcast day for a banner day of tiny blue-winged olive fishing!

The northeast corner of the park has fished very well this past week. Count on Slough Creek Baetis, hoppers and beetles, bees and ants and Fall Green Drakes to bring up good rises of trout on Slough, Lamar and Soda Butte. We fished the Lamar at its junction with the Yellowstone last weekend and it fished very well with large attractors like PMXs and small yellow Humpies! The Yellowstone should be explored now too. Try hiking down Blacktail Deer Creek to its junction with the river and you just might catch a nice cutt and brown trout there. Or check the big river near Gardiner, Mt. One of our favorite spots this time of year is the pool where the Gardner River and Yellowstone join. The Gardner has fished well over the past few weeks and continues to do so with attractor dries, small leaf hoppers and tiny foam grasshoppers. If brookies are in your plans you can expect great action now on smaller waters like Obsidian and Straight Creeks. The male brook trout are colored up for the spawn and it is a perfect time to catch a few for the camera and listen to bugling elk and a howling wolf along the way. Bear spray is required.

Smaller streams in the West Yellowstone area that are fishing well include Grayling, Fan, and the West Fork of the Madison all with small hoppers and beetles. On Fan you might want to have a large H&L along to imitate the orange-white and black butterfly you will see flying around the creek, some of which land on the water and are quickly taken by a trout.

Lakes are all fishing well in this late summer weather. Hebgen's gulper fishing is slowing a bit as many fish leave the lake and head upstream with other things on their minds than feeding on Callibaetis mayflies. Best bets though still include Hebgen and Ennis along with Henry's and Cliff. Hidden is a jewel in the upper Lost Mine Bench, and if you've not made the short drive over to fish it you are robbing yourself of some fine fishing and a gorgeous day. This late in the gulper game the Callibaetis have gotten tiny, #18's, and the dry fly fishing on Ennis is drying up but fishing small mayfly nymphs has been deadly.

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