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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.
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What's New
What's Happening in Yellowstone Country
We hope you had a tremendous 4th of July! It's clear from the fireworks last night and from the tremendous hatches on area rivers right now that summer is in full swing. Hope yours is shaping up well. Thanks to Chad Chorney for this and other great pics in today's newsletter.
Last night was a fly shop owners dream.Craig went out fishing while everyone else in Montana was barbecuing and watching parades and rodeos. He wrote the following note this morning. "I found myself fishing several fly patterns: Green Drake Sparkle Duns, Epeorus spinners, amber and tan Iris Caddis along with X and X2 Caddis. My Trouthunter 5.5x tippet held up fine early on but I went to 4.5x at 9pm just in case I hooked a big toothy male brown late in the evening."
"My setup was perfect. I fished my Winston 9 foot B3x rod casting a Rio Gold weight forward line. To the line I'd tied on a Cutthroat leader, one of their world famous furled ones fashioned with thread, not mono. This same leader I have used now for nearly a full year and it performs flawlessly. I hated the original furled leaders made with mono as they curled/twisted with the pressure and tension of landing each fish. The thread furled leaders are so soft, turn over like a dream and present the fly perfectly whether using a 10 foot presentation or a 30 footer. And, maybe best of all, they do so with a drag free float every time."
"My fly was initially dressed with Dry Magic allowing it to float well without much babysitting. After 2-3 fish I'd apply Frog's Fanny between each fish so it continued to float well and I could see it better in the failing light. Frog's Fanny does light up your fly allowing it to glow, it seems, for eyes that don't quite see as well as they once did late in the evening."
So there you have it. Straight from Craig. A happy Independence Day spent doing what we all love best - fishing independently in one of the prettiest places in our spectacular country. We hope to see you here soon, doing much of the same.
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...
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Fishing Report
Weekly Conditions and Tips
5 Juiy 2012 Blue Ribbon Flies Weekly Fishing Report Craig Mathews Photo by Chad Chorney
Last night while it seemed everyone was enjoying barbeques and fireworks I made my way to the Madison River above the West Fork. An evening on the river was my plan. I arrived on the river at 7pm to fish caddis activity and enjoy some peace and quiet, and hopefully find a rising trout or two. There were no anglers on the river as I drove by Lyon Bridge and on the road upstream of the West Fork I passed one car parked with one angler gearing up. I noted more caddis in the air and along the river than I had seen in many years. Calm conditions, no one fishing my spot, lots of insects - set up to be the "perfect" evening!
I was not disappointed. Trout rose in every pocket and run. Several species of caddis, 2 mayfly spinners and huge green drake duns came off around 8pm. I caught mostly rainbows, nothing big with 16" the largest, but so many fish rising it reminded me of the late '70's and '80's when I'd often be the only angler on the river and trout rising everywhere. Last night the fish rose steadily for 2 hours, 8-10pm, and when I busted a hook off releasing a nice brown I said to myself, "It's time to head home." My 5am wake-up comes soon enough! I reeled it in and headed home smiling all the way.
Just typing this gets me excited to get back on the river tonight! Let's look at our slate of fishing hot spots for the upcoming week.
The Madison below Quake Lake is fishing so well now, both during the day and evenings, that it heads up our list. Early morning midge emergences and caddis egg-laying have been strong and no one will be on the river from 7-9am. During the day and early afternoon hours caddis and little yellow stoneflies will bring up lots of fine trout. Golden and Giant Stones are coming off above the West Fork. Must have flies include Iris and X2 Caddis as well as our famous CDC Egg Laying Caddis. Have a green drake sparkle dun and be ready with Epeorus sparkle duns too as they are now showing. Do NOT forget spinners too. Little yellow stones like Ol' Yellow Sallies and small stimies are a must to.
The Gallatin is just now turning on. Salmonflies and golden stones above Big Sky as well as green drakes and PMDs can be counted on.
Slough Creek is on now. PMDs and Gray Drakes as well as caddis are coming off and the fish are rising to them. The Lamar and Soda Butte are a week away. All streams are still a bit high and cold but Slough is a "must fish" now.
The Henry's Fork is seeing some Flavs now and the caddis activity is still strong.
The Gardner River is hot now. Lots of golden stones along with little yellow stones and PMDs during the day with evening caddis fly activity.
Sleeper river stretch bet of the week is the Madison between the lakes during salmon fly emergences in mid-morning and green drake hatches in the late afternoon and evening.
Lakes like Trout, Cascade and Grebe are great now during Callibaetis and damsel times. Remember the take small Sparrow Nymphs! Hebgen's Callibaetis are emerging and will continue to strengthen in the weeks ahead. These mayflies are just now showing so be there! Too, Earthquake and Hidden Lakes should be fished.
Small streams like Straight, Blacktail Deer and Lava Creeks will all fish well using your Tenkara rod. You will see me fishing mine on these and other small waters now and throughout the rest of the summer months.
One other river you may want to hike into for lots of fine Yellowstone Cutthroats is the Yellowstone near Tower. Lots of stones and caddis coming off and you WILL catch some fine Cutts to reward the hike in!
Remember to stop in on July 9th to meet the Madison River Foundation and learn more about the work they are doing to protect and preserve our great river and the Madison Valley. While here you can sample some free goodies, drink lemonade and coffee, buy a raffle ticket for a free Clack-a-Craft drift boat, and have a great time.
Read past fishing reports and archived newsletters...
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Fly Tying Material of the Week
Deer Hair and Dry Magic
Keep Your Flies Floating All Day!
Wait a minute. What? Who's in charge of this newsletter anyway? What the heck is going on?
Well, you already know how great our deer hair is, and how you need a great piece of sparkle dun hair or two to tie great Callibaetis Sparkle Duns.
What you may NOT know is that without a little hair care, your sparkle duns won't keep floating. To keep that deer hair high and dry on top of the water, you need a high quality floatant to tease up your fly and tease up those fish!
Dry Magic Silicone Floatant is a superb, smooth, viscous, silicone based floatant. It doesn't paste up feather fibers or gum up deer hair, and is the best we've seen for all sorts of dry flies.
Dry Magic is not sticky, it does not mat the fly and is non-toxic. This fly floatant works well on all kinds of flies. This can be applied not only to flies but also to leaders and lines.
Tie up some Callibaetis Sparkle Duns with our deer hair, and treat them WELL with Dry Magic. The trout will rise to the occasion!
For this and other fine materials check here!
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Madison River Foundation Day at Blue Ribbon Flies
Stop by Monday, July 9th!
The third annual Madison River Foundation Day at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone is set for this coming Monday, July 9th. We always enjoy spending the day in the shop with the Madison River Foundation director Richard Lessner and other members and volunteers, chatting with friends and shop customers, swapping fishing yarns and telling folks about the Foundation and their current projects.
They will be parked out front first thing Monday morning. Stop by the shop and say hello, maybe have a cup of coffee and a snack, and check out some of the awesome MRF gear we'll have with us -- Foundation hats, this year's gorgeous Fly Fishing Festival poster featuring a Madison River brown trout photographed by Ken Hall, and more.
And of course they'll have their fully equipped Clack-a-Craft drift boat and trailer along that once again will be given away to the lucky raffle ticket holder at the Ennis on the Madison Fly Fishing Festival August 31 and Sept. 1st. Stop by and purchase your raffle tickets. You could be the lucky winner! We will have raffle tickets until the weekend of the festival, so if you want to call and order, or pick up a few when you're here later this summer, please do.
We look forward to seeing you and the Madison River Foundation Monday!
Check out the Ennis Fly Fishing Festival Schedule...
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Friend of the Madison Award 2012
Presented by the Madison River Foundation
Last week at the Madison River Foundation's Annual Benefit Gala, the 2012 annual Friend of the Madison Award was presented. Each year this honor goes to a person or organization who has made a significant contribution to the Foundation or to conservation work on the Madison watershed.
This year's award was given to the Laszlo family and Granger Ranches for the O'Dell Creek Headwaters Restoration Project and their conservation efforts along the Madison River. Along with their project's partners, the Laszlos have undertaken the largest wetland restoration effort in the state of Montana, which includes the rehabilitation of O'Dell Creek, a major tributary of the Madison River. Located upriver of the town of Ennis, this spring-fed creek is an important spawning channel for rainbow and brown trout, as well as an important and substantial source of cool water entering the main stem of the Madison River. Stream monitoring has shown O'Dell Creek has been significantly cooled and its flows increased as a direct result of the O'Dell Creek Headwaters Restoration Project. Other important benefits include increased spawning and rearing habitat for juvenile fish, increased usage by avian species and a remarkable re-colonization by important native vegetation.
In the 1950s the O'Dell headwaters were drained with large excavated canals for the purpose of expanding agricultural operations. This was a common practice of that time and in fact was assisted by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Since 2004 the restoration project has removed 16,000 feet of drainage canals, restored or created 35,000 feet of stream channel and re-established the historic water table, restoring more than 500 acres of wetlands. This has resulted in dramatic habitat improvements for fish, birds, vegetation and large mammals. In addition, the Laszlo family has placed more than 8,000 acres into conservation easements to permanently protect the restoration area and its surrounding ranchlands.
The O'Dell Creek Project is part of the Laszlo family's broader vision for sustainable cattle ranching, preservation of open space and the protection of critical habitat for fish and wildlife. In this regard, the Granger Ranches also has entered into a 10-year project with the Madison River Foundation to install seasonal riparian fencing along more than seven miles of the Madison from Varney Bridge north. This project, now in its third season, is intended to restore and protect the river banks and riparian vegetation along the Madison, keep livestock from wandering across the river, improve pasturage through a rotational grazing plan and the development of off-river livestock watering systems.
As family member Jeff Laszlo is fond of noting, the Granger Ranches entered into this daunting undertaking with little more than faith in the basic premise that a stream is better than a ditch. The talents, knowledge and commitment of the project's many partners have continually taken the work to new and outstanding levels.
The Laszlo family is steadfast in its desire to continue this landscape scale effort and is currently in the midst of "Phase 7″ to restore another two miles of O'Dell and its associated wetlands. In addition to the direct benefits for the Madison River ecosystem, the Laszlo family has generously made the project area available for a variety of educational opportunities, including field trips for school children and meetings for conservation groups and resource professionals. The family has regularly hosted Project Healing Waters which brings injured veterans to Montana for recreation and therapy. Last year one of these veterans proclaimed his day on the Granger Ranches, "One of the best days of my life."
Past recipients of the Friend of the Madison award include Bruce Belles, President of ClackaCraft Drift Boats, Clackamas, OR; Craig and Jackie Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies, West Yellowstone; Robert and Annie Graham of Elk Meadows Ranch, Cameron; First Madison Valley Bank, Ennis; and retired FWP biologist Richard "Dick" Vincent, Toston, MT.
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Rio Gold Fly Lines
Tried and tried and tried and True
Here at Blue Ribbon, we have put the Rio Gold fly line through its paces. We've fished it for years, hard, and sold it to customers from across the country.
It just never lets us down.
With a revolutionary design that allows for incredible loop stability at distance, a unique taper that allows a rod to load at close range, and a positive front taper that delivers perfect presentation of flies between sizes #22 and #2, the RIO Gold is the ultimate all-around, floating line for freshwater fly fishing.
RIO Gold Fly Line has been the standard for many years and it continues to be! It is considered by folks throughout the industry to be the best all purpose fly line out there and it is. The RIO Gold Fly line is great for all of your trout fishing applications. Throw dry flies with ease, chuck heavy nymph rigs and throw woolly buggers against a bank.
If you are not sure what fly line to buy, then according to one review we found on the internet, "it is a no brainer." The RIO Gold is the choice for you. The RIO Gold Fly Line is great for beginners. intermediate anglers, and experts alike. If you've been putting off replacing your line, go ahead and order the Rio Gold. You'll be impressed.
See all our lines, leaders, and tippet...
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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!
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