News from Blue Ribbon Flies

Fishing Report
Weekly Conditions and Tips

By Craig Mathews
27 September 2011

This morning my friend Clark and I left the pickup truck before daylight. The truck's thermometer read 27 degrees, and not a breeze stirred the fescue in the lower meadows as we made our way through frosted grasses. Clark suddenly turned to me and said, "Did you hear that elk?" We stood still to listen and catch our breath having gained over 500 feet in elevation without taking a blow. Shrill bugles followed at times by guttural groans filled the early morning stillness and we knew we were into elk. Cows called, calves chirped and bulls bellowed for the next hour. They were 300 yards ahead of us, heading towards heavy timber to lounge the day away in the shade. At times we could smell them, other times we'd catch glimpses of them slinking through high sage brush moving through early morning fog like ghosts. It always amazes me how an 800 pound bull elk can disappear in sage, but they can without trying. We knew the small herd was on a mission to reach timber before the sun crested the Madison Mountain Range. They never knew we were following, so intent on each others' movements and body posturing and language. Heavy into the rut, two big bulls raked the ground with huge racks swaying as they swaggered to and fro. The cows paid no heed to the bugling bulls, the lead dry cow barren this year - maybe it was her calf we later found the remains of at a nearby spring. The calves, one still spotted, ran and played, buzzing by the big bulls that paid them no attention. Two satellite bulls' shrill bugles echoed from another ridge wishing and hoping to lure a cow or two away from the herd and to them. Clark and I watched them bed down in heavy timber below then all became quiet as the herd began resting up for another moonlight filled night of bulls chasing cows, bulls fighting bulls, calves calling and cows leading the herd to the next ridge. For the next few weeks this breeding activity will take place here in Yellowstone country and we hope to get close to one of the big bulls. In the meantime stay tuned here for more on our frosty morning elk chases.

Around noon we headed in to fish the Madison. The past several days have been good when Baetis mayflies are emerging and even though they hatch best on overcast days we had to be on the river this sunny afternoon. After a quick lunch I drove to the stretch below Lyon Bridge, bright sun and 66 degrees. Around 1pm the tiny, #22, duns came off and a few nice fish rose. I took a couple fine browns then a rainbow broke my 5x tippet. I sat to retie more tippet on when a drift boat cruised by with a lady angler fast into a great trout which broke water twice before coming unbuckled. She screamed with delight while her husband and guide told her she should have kept the rod tip up. Her reply was classic: "We aren't going to eat any fish, I don't want to hurt one and, I got a great look at my fish." I tipped my hat as they drifted by. She yelled over to me, "Put on a hopper and trail an ant!" I did and rose nothing for an hour.

The Firehole River is fishing well, both during Baetis emergences and caddis times. The canyon stretch has a few run-up fish but with the bright sunny conditions I do not recommend it save for early morning times, 6:30-8am. The river around the upper Fairy Falls iron bridge has been awesome, especially near Fairy Creek and downstream to Sentinel Creek. Caddis emergences in the late afternoon can be counted on to bring up huge rises of trout all along the river. The Muleshoe Bend, Fountain Flats and Mallard Creek areas have been very productive with White Miller Soft Hackle Emergers and crippled adults. I would also have along #16 tan Iris and X2 Caddis for imitating the Hydropsyche sp. caddis you will find emerging all along this great river. Baetis Sparkle Duns, ICUs and Cripples all work very well during the tiny blue winged olive hatches, in size #22's. For super finicky fish try floating a #20-22 Baetis Knocked Down Dun on 6x and you will be taken. Hint: this little pattern works well on the toughest rainbows in the west, on the Henry's Fork now too. Remember that fall is the best time to swing small soft hackles on this river and anyone will catch plenty of wild trout while enjoying the scenery and listening to bugling elk at the same time.

The Madison in the Park is fishing well for run up rainbows and browns. Do not be surprised if you catch more rainbows than browns, and the bows are colored up so nice now! Swinging a brace of our fall soft hackles is effective for bringing the big rainbows to the fly, and the flies are some of the brightest-prettiest flies you can have in your fly boxes. Sometimes this matters to veteran anglers. Big stone nymphs and streamers will bring some vicious hits from the run up browns in the early morning hours, before the sun beats down on the water. Wait for overcast, wet conditions next week when things will get a bit easier as the trout become less cautious with few shadows on the water. Remember, these are lake fish used to security of depths the lake offers them so they shun chasing streamers during a bright day as a rule. Remember too that these fish are the same "gulpers" we fish for all summer on Hebgen Lake. They enjoy feasting on small mayflies like Tricos and Callibaetis as well as midges to they do come to the surfaced when enough insects are on the water to make it pay off for them to do so. On rainy, or better yet snowy, days when Baetis emerge nearly every trout in the river might rise to the duns so be ready!

The northeast corner of the park has fished very well. We've fished some incredible Fall Green Drake fishing last weekend during rainy weather. Just when most anglers thought the hatch was over a couple waves of Baetis came off bringing the big fish back up. Soda Butte and the Lamar River have been very good. Slough Creek's upper meadows have been grand too but the larger cutts are very hard to approach and are super-selective during bright weather times so you must by on top of your game. Make sure you have a huge foam Slough Creek Cricket in your fly boxes now as the Mormon Creek migration is upon us on all these fine waters as well as the Gardner and Yellowstone Rivers too.

The Madison River below Hebgen Lake has fished very well this past week. While this is mostly a nymphing proposition it has fished well on top with small bettles and ants also. The river below Quake Lake has been very good with small nymphs and streamers when no insects are bringing fish to the surface. Micro Madison Midges and Micro Madison Mayfly Nymphs will score big trout as will our sculpin patterns like our famous woolhead streamers. When trout are rising have #18-22 Baetis Sparkle Duns, Cripples and ICUs. You can bet every trout seems to want something different so it does not hurt to have a few different patterns in your arsenal. If all you have is a sparkle dun and a rising fish refuses it try clipping the wings down, or off, or sink the fly. Do whatever it takes to fool the rising fish. Make shorter casts to control drag, try praying to the fish gods, do not give up on any riser, keep with it and you will succeed! One of the best flies we've used lately is a Royal Wulff Cripple, size #20! Now I won't tie these but the talented Rowan Nyman does, and they are deadly plus you can see them. They work whether the hatch is sparse or heavy, and it is deadly on the Firehole too. Not so much on the Henry's Fork however.

The Gallatin River has slowed due to cold nighttime temps. If you are fishing it try between the 53-65 mile markers and leave your hoppers and put on a Royal Trude Cripple and you will catch some nice trout.

The Gibbon has yielded some surprises below the falls for those nymphing it. These are mostly run up browns now from the Madison and Hebgen Lake and the action has been best in the lower meadow above Madison Junction as well as just upstream of Tuft's Cliff Picnic spot. These fish will take your stone nymphs fished upstream dead-drift. A favorite of the local veteran anglers has been a large #4-6 Prince or Sparrow Nymph for bringing big trout to the fly.

The Lewis is still 2-3 weeks away so polish up your hiking boots and be ready for this hike and fish around the middle of October, not before.

The Henry's Fork has fished well with ants, bees and beetles in and around Last Chance. The Box Canyon stretch has been good with white soft hackle streamers for a few very large trout and the water below Ashton, Idaho should be fished the next time we get a day or two of cloudy-cool-wet weather as the Baetis are emerging and big rainbow and brown trout rising to them.

Float fishing has been very good on both the Madison and Yellowstone. This time of the year the fish are in prime shape having taken advantage of this awesome big water spring and summer we've seen. The aspens are turning gold, red and copper and the cottonwoods are soon to change too. Brown trout are colored up nicely for their spawning time and the male rainbows cheeks and gill plates are fire red. The long winter is just around the corner and each day on the river is taken in slowly and savored by folks living here, especially those that spent last winter in Yellowstone. We hope you will join us soon for some incredible fall fishing, wildlife viewing and celebrating our big water year with all the huge trout we are seeing here in Yellowstone country this fall season. It has been spectacular and we have yet several weeks to go before the park closes to fishing and weather seals fall fishing for another year!

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