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May 10, 2012 
 News from Blue Ribbon Flies
 Fish With The Best
In This Issue
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Greetings!

Welcome to another Blue Ribbon Flies weekly newsletter. Thanks for tuning in. Settle in and we'll tell you what's happening around West Yellowstone and our other favorite spots, show you the fly and the material of the week, and tempt you to plan your next trip with us.

We've got a lot to show you and tell you about this week, so settle down in a comfy chair and dig in. Take a break from work or play, grab a cup of coffee, and pretend you're leaning on the counter here at Blue Ribbon Flies.

We hope to see you soon, right here in West Yellowstone, but until then we wish you happy and healthy fishing and fly tying. All our best to each of you. We wish you were here, but until you are we'll keep you in the loop. Thanks for stopping by.

 What's New
 What's Happening in Yellowstone Country

patrick Daigle Photo Patrick Daigle took this nice shot of the moon last week, just a beautiful sight down in the Madison valley.

Jackie and I spent some time last week with family in Michigan. It was great checking out the rivers and streams we fished before moving here 34 years ago. And, while it is always great to see old friends and family its sure good to get home and back to fishing Yellowstone country!

On our drive into work this morning we came on 3 anglers suiting up to fish the Babbling Brook area of the Madison. We hated to put a damper on their day but we pulled over and informed them the river remains closed to fishing from Earthquake Lake downstream to McAtee Bridge until May 19th. This is the 4th time in 2 weeks we have seen anglers getting ready to, or actually fishing closed waters. Just a reminder! Yellowstone National Park's general fishing season opens 26 May this year and we are now getting the shop in order for both openers. Our crew is already jockeying for days off during the early season which this year will be fantastic. Rivers like the Firehole and Madison should both fish well but then that's 1 and 2 weeks away so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves in anticipation!

We kicked Bucky out of the shop for a week of well deserved time off. He and Sadie headed to some secret fishing spots and his report will follow next week. In the meantime Cam, Jackie and I have been working on remodeling projects with Scott's expert help. The shop is looking good with the slightly new look and we are hoping to show it off to you on your next visit to the shop. New Tee Shirts have arrived so we have the shirt folding crew in place folding their hearts away. I picked up a couple new models to wear this summer when things warm up. Today we are seeing some sleet and snow here but the forecast calls for a warm-up and we will be back on Hebgen, Wade and Cliff Lakes along with the Madison River.

As usual in the rest of this issue, 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 fall and 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.

Read more from Blue Ribbon Flies... 


 Fishing Report
 Weekly Conditions and Tips

patrick Daigle Photo By Craig Mathews

Let's look at some flies to knot on and water to fish with this week's fishing report: If fishing the Mother's Day Caddis Hatch on the Madison downstream of Ennis Lake is in your plans you'd better get to the river quick, or hope the hatch is strong above the lake this season. We've seen some very good caddis action on selected spots below the Bear Trap lately. Phil was down Monday afternoon filming a caddis segment for National Geo and had great action. The caddis should finish up here this weekend and hopefully move up river strong. I like the Varney stretch and have had fine fishing around Story in past years as long as the water stay relatively clear. We do have some snowmelt to come with warmer weather so it is best to check before making the drive. X and X2 Caddis along with our BRF soft hackle caddis emergers in olive will get you into some very fine trout. Look for Baetis to come off as well as midges and be ready with our Improved Skittering Midge and Baetis Sparkle Duns. Streamer fishing is picking up a bit too so have a few of our olive crayfish with orange egg-sacs in your box.

Both the Missouri and Beaverhead are fishing well too. And, I'd have the above crayfish as well as Baetis and midges for these rivers, same as listed for the Madison

John just returned from the Big Horn River which is fishing well with Baetis and midges. The Yellowstone and Boulder are off due to high-muddy water.

Lakes should be in your fishing plans. Cam and the guides have all fished Hebgen, Wade, Cliff and Earthquake Lakes with awesome success. Sight fishing is primo now, have Driskill Midge Larva along with our olive/orange crayfish, and red and Krystal $3 Dips and you will catch many-many fine trout both wading from shore or from a boat. I guarantee you will see us there!

 


 Fly of the Week.
 Rubber Leg Stone Fly

When you talk flies on the Madison River, stone flies are always a part of the conversation. The Madison is loaded with stone fly nymphs and the fish feed on these throughout the entire year. Many view this fly to be effective only just before, during, or just after a stone fly hatch. Our guides have proved this not to be true time and time again and for many of these guides they will only change the dropper when nymphing the Madison while the stone fly remains on the line the entire time.

Here's a couple of other flies you should check out. 


 Fly Tying Material of the Week
 Snowshoe Rabbit Feet.

I have been working with some exciting new patterns using all our new colors of snowshoe rabbit feet. Wings and trailing shucks and a wonderful spiky dubbing is all coming from these natural and dyed feet. I hope to have a few patterns in the shop's fly boxes this summer but most are presently ending up in my personal fly boxes, they sure look good!

For this and other fine materials check here! 


 Blue Ribbon T-Shirts
 A few new shirts for 2012

Our preseason orders are coming in at full force and shop is starting to come into shape. Within these boxes here's a couple of T-shirts that we are very excited about for this year and thought we'd share them with you our newsletter subscribers first!

Both of the T-shirts pictured above come in both long and short sleeve.

More Great Stuff! 


 Guide Trip of The Week
 Fish With The Best!

Here's a shot fromRoss Kimbarovsky whom with his brother Mikhail Kimbarovsky and Peter Oshin had a great time with Patrick and Brian on a Spring Road Trip April 27th to May 1st. The guys fished the Madison, Wade Lake and the Beaverhead during there stay and as you can see ran into a little bit of weather. But as we all know there's nothing like catching a few fish to warm you up!

As the general season draws closer and closer many of the guides are starting to get fill up dates, so if you have a favorite guide here at Blue Ribbon don't hesitate to give us a call and book today!

Blue Ribbon Guides, fish with the best! 


 Fly Sale!!
 ICU Cranefly.

In trying to keep up with our promise we made at the beginning of the winter, we have yet another fly sale for you.

ICU Cranefly

Craig dropped a fly tray this morning and while he and Cam were picking flies up off the floor they found a huge container of ICU Crane Flies under the fly bins. These important crane imitations are our favorite for fishing crane fly activity on rivers like the Beaverhead, Ruby and Madison as well as area lakes like Wade, Ennis and Hidden to name a few. Anyway, we had ordered several dozen of this pattern for this season and now find ourselves with several dozen more than we can use good news for any fly buyers as this ICU Crane is our "Sale Fly" this week. Expertly tied by Patrick you won't be disappointed when the need arises to knot one on you tippet.

Once again we will let this fly go for only $1.00 a piece or until we run out.

Check out our blog... 


 World Fishing Network
 American Fly Guide

Coming in June on the World Fishing Network Craig will host American Fly Guide. We are looking forward to this episode and you can view the trailer of this by clicking on the photo to the left or follow the link at the bottom of this page.

AFG teaches how to appreciate and participate from the minds of those who know the sports best. AFG s educational component means everyone will save programs for years to come. Casting, knots, fly tying, and fly selection are just a few of the topics from the best guides on the water.

Here are the upcoming air dates for American Fly Guide on World Fishing Network

June 1 at 9:30p, June 2 5:30a 1:30p, June 17 6:00p, June 18 2:00a, 10:00a. (All times are MST)

World Fishing Network Trailer. 


Hope you enjoy the latest issue. We'll keep 'em coming, keeping you up to date on the best fishing water, tips, and gear we can get our hands on.

Thanks for spending time with us. We'll see you soon!


Here's the Kimbarovsky crew taking a little break. Thanks again guys!Until Next Week!!
The Gang at Blue Ribbon

phone: 406.646.7642
fax: 406.646.9045