What's New
 What's Happening in Yellowstone Country

It is officially the time of year we all wait for in Yellowstone country. Yellowstone National Park and the Madison are open for fishing, the bison calves are running wild, the midges are swarming on Hebgen, and the Memorial Day blizzard is behind us. The greens of new grass and tree growth and the reddy orange of baby bison are brilliant. The trout are willing and the bugs are hatching. We have arrived.

Our summer gang has arrived as well. Still waiting for a guide or two to show their whiskery faces, but we are glad to welcome back our own familiar faces and yours whenever you arrive. Say hi to our new guy Sam next time you're in.

We have a new batch of Tenkara rods in, along with Simms waders, Simms boots, Patagonia waders and boots, packs, t-shirts, hats, CDC, leaders and tippet, and so on and so on. There is so much to see in our newly renovated and re-stocked shop you won't believe your eyes.

Remember Friday June 1st, volunteers will meet at 10 am at McAtee Bridge to plant 600 willows purchased by the BLM to restore native riparian vegetation along the Madison. This event is sponsored by the Madison River Foundation, and will include a free lunch!
The Madison River Foundation's 10th Annual "Guardians of the River" Gala Banquet will be held at the elegant Lodge at Sun Ranch on June 23rd. The Lodge is set amid the sprawling 26,000-acre Sun Ranch. The evening will feature gourmet dining by Executive Chef Daniel Wendell and live music by the always popular Steve Hulse Jazz Trio. Contact us or the Madison River Foundation for tickets.
Our annual BRF/Madison River Foundation Day is July 9th so stay tuned for more details here.

The June Fly Of the Month Club will be coming out soon if you're a member. If you're not, you can still join and we'll catch you up on the months you've missed.

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 spring and summer 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

Tim Lawson sent us this lovely, bone-chilling image from last Saturday, which if you happened to forget, was Opening Day in Yellowstone National Park. He titled it "Snow? What snow?" - thanks Tim and Jan!

Speaking of Opening Day, we uploaded a video clip onto our website and YouTube called, conveniently, "Opening Day on the Firehole." Check it out here.

AND, speaking of the Firehole, let's get on with the report.

Firehole River Opening day on the Firehole might have been as good as we have seen in the last few years and with the scuzzy weather that came along with the opener we saw some very good PMD and Baetis hatches. The weather has settled a bit lately and the PMD's have been coming off around 10:30am and depending on the cloud cover have continued to hatch until 1:00pm to 2:00pm. As usual with the firehole if your not seeing rising fish swinging soft hackles in the riffles is always an option. Soft hackles such starling and peacock, Epemherella, PT softhackles and Nick's soft hackles should do the trick. The Caddis haven't got going extremely well yet but this should change any day. One last note on the Firehole byou may want to keep a close eye on the Firehole Canyon as the Salmon Flies should be close upon us.

Madison in the Park like the Firehole we have seen some good emergences of PMD's and Baetis on the Madison in the park. The Nymph and streamer fishing have been productive for some larger sized fish in areas like 9 mile and the Barn's Pools. The Madison has certainly not seen the number of people that the Firehole did last weekend and is a very good option.

The overlooked Gibbon is yet another great alternative. The meadow stretches can hold some very nice fish and can be taken with streamers along the banks. Don't be shocked however to find some of these fish coming up to the surface. Below the Gibbon Falls we have had a few good reports from a couple of our guides that have thrown attractor patterns like Royal Wulffs and Parachute Adams.

The Madison below Quake has been excellent! The water has risen out of the Dam to about 1590cfs and will push the fish to the banks even more. The water clarity is perfect for nymphing and has a nice green tint to it. Rubber legs, San Jaun worms, Princes and Copper Johns have all taken fish in this stretch. If your a streamer junkie it's the perfect time for you to get down to the Madison. The guided float trips that have been going out of the shop have been nothing but fantastic. We have had nothing but good reports from the float section and the fish have been good size and very willing to eat. Take your pick of either streamer or nymph fishing.

Hebgen continues to have good midge fishing and on calm days the lake has been boiling with fish. They have not been exactly easy to catch but the ones that do are tubs and will give you a good rip!

On the Henry's Fork there are still some of the big bugs lurking around and some of the fish in the Warm River area are looking up for them. The Box Canyon has been nymphing well with rubber legs, zebras, princes and copper johns. The Last Chance area has seen Baetis, PMD's Caddis and a few March browns and is a great warm up to the opener of the Ranch which is soon to come.

Come in and see us. We've moved the coffee to a new spot but it's still hot. We look forward to pouring you a cup and visiting soon.

Read past fishing reports and archived newsletters... 

 Fly of the Week
 PMD Sparkle Dun

In All Three Glorious Varieties

Terry Middleton gets full credit for this gorgeous photo, by the way.

And the PMD Sparkle Dun, in a #16, #18, and Improved #16, gets all the credit for some amazing dry fly fishing this time of year in Yellowstone country.

This has been THE standard mayfly pattern for years, and we use them as much today as we did twenty years ago. This fantastic combination of zelon, dubbing, and deer hair imitates an emerging dun still trapped in its nymphal shuck.

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

 Fly Tying Material of the Week
 Sparkle Dun Deer Hair

You asked, we answered.

More sparkle dun deer hair please?

Okee-dokee. Great new batch of 2x3 pieces of natural sparkle dun deer hair are in stock for $3.50 each.

We have waded through over 200 early season deer hides to come up with the best hair ever seen for sparkle duns. This is quality, short tipped, hollow, easy to flare hair - a joy to work with. As always, if you need it, order immediately.

Call if you're shopping for bleached, dyed or other types of hair. We are preparing more hair all the time.

For this and other fine materials check here! 

 Schnee's
 Made In Montana

Blue Ribbon Flies is proud to announce the Grand (Re)Opening festivities of one of our good friends in Bozeman, Montana. We believe in homegrown and homemade when and where we can find it, and we're happy to tell you Schnee's fits the bill.

Schnee's has a new storefront, which you can see here. Schnee's flagship store in historic downtown Bozeman will be located in the Story Block Building, a grand old building celebrating its 100th birthday, originally built in 1902. We are also celebrating the 25th Anniversary of our famous Schnee's Pac Boots, still proudly Made in Montana in our Bozeman factory.

The opening is Friday, June 8, at 8am. We will have Grand Opening festivities running that entire week that include live music on Friday night, free goodies, lots of free shoe drawings with a grand prize drawing on Saturday June 16 of "Free Shoes for Life". Should be lots of fun.

Support the local economy... 

 Guide Trip of The Week
 Fish With The Best!

Want to walk a stretch of the Madison River you've never fished before? Get to a little piece of water you need a drift boat to reach? Or wade a piece of water you've pounded by yourself with expert eyes and the instruction you need to really see and explore it in a whole new way?

Hire a Blue Ribbon Flies guide and see what fishing in Montana is all about. See spectacular places and do some spectacular fishing. Book your float trip or your walk-wade trip today. Prices are still the same as they've been, so it's a bargain you won't want to pass up.

July is getting full already, and we're seeing several days in June and August book up as well, so call soon. We'll be here to take your reservations, and we'll be here when you get to town. We can't wait to have you here in the shop meeting your guide the morning of your trip, and watch you come in that evening with a smile and a camera full of memories.

Thanks Tylor Robinson for your photographic genius.

Blue Ribbon Guides - nobody does it better! 

 Yellowstone Fly FIshing Guide
 Start The Season Off Right!

Yes, we've told you about this book before. Yes, most of us carry one in our gear bag or glove box. Nothing new here, except a new fishing season in Yellowstone Country. On your way out, or maybe in a year you just can't get here, this is the resource you need to study.

We looked up a generic description of the Yellowstone Fly Fishing Guide, just so we could talk about it in a less biased way, and here's what Google had to say:

This fine little guidebook to the best fishing in Yellowstone Park discusses aquatic and terrestrial insect emergences and activity periods, fly patterns to imitate these insects, and effective fishing techniques. Included are specific locations, access points and trailheads, distances, and terrain descriptions. The handy icons located at the beginning of each of the more than two hundred waters discussed provide helpful, at-a-glance information about fish type, ease of access, and wildlife to watch for.This book is required reading for any fly fisher planning a trip to Yellowstone Park - an area that holds more wild trout water for its size than anywhere else in the world.

Couldn't have said it better ourselves.

As you gear up for another summer of fishing, don't hit the road without this little jewel. Order yours now and start reading, planning, and preparing for your next trip to Yellowstone. We'll see you in the Park soon!

For this and other great books... 

 Fly Fishing Outfits
 For Beginners, Guests, and Travelers

As the summer season kicks off here in Yellowstone country, Blue Ribbon Flies is gearing up for all sorts of visitors. Sometimes it's nice to travel without rod cases and reel bags, and sometimes the airlines don't quite do what they should with your luggage. If you own a place and want a spare, or you have company coming and don't want to rent extra equipment, we have just the outfit for you.

Check out the Ross Worldwide Essence Fly Fishing Outfit. For less than many reels cost, you can equip yourself or someone else with a great-casting rod, a quality reel, a fly line and leader, all packaged together and ready to go fishing!

The rod is a 4-piece design with a medium-fast action taper that is smooth, sensitive and precise; perfect for any casting style. Each outfit includes a Ross designed Flystart large arbor disc drag fly reel. The drag is a low maintenance, high performance system that is dependable, smooth and has a wide range of adjustment. The Flystart reel is pre-spooled with premium American made fly line, backing and a 9' tapered leader. Also included is a custom Cordura rod and reel case to protect your gear when traveling or in storage and an instructional DVD - An Introduction to Fly Fishing.

This outfit is a great way to get the season started. We have three in stock, and more will be arriving soon. Order today and fish tomorrow!

For more great products and season starters, click here...