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January 10, 2013 
 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

Mary pat and Mike Rowan photo Photo courtesy of Mike and Mary Pat Rowan

So far this morning we've laid in nearly 2" of fresh snow in the Madison Valley. It is 6 a.m. and dead calm with temps hovering around the freezing mark. The forecast calls for 3 to 5" today and I'll lay odds we double that. When big winter storms come out of the north, as this one is, we will see more snow and colder temperatures than West Yellowstone will experience.

Ever wonder what happened to your "honey hole" from the year before or why certain spots on the river look so different from year to year? Take a look at this video of an ice jam breaking loose on the Gallatin River.

Yesterday Phil and I hit the Madison at Raynold's Bridge. We met there at 11 a.m. to 36 degrees and a slight breeze. The forecast was for gale force winds and topping out with a 32 degree high in the afternoon so we were ahead of the game to begin. Phil and I had great fishing and shot lots of video you will see in future newsletters. Maybe the best though was Phil's beef teriyaki he prepared streamside on his tiny stove. We sat, feasted and watched rising trout during lunch. After lunch we shot some great fishing action taking rainbows rising to midges on the Tenkara rod as well as my Winston B3x.

In the meantime, be ready for our 2013 Blue Ribbon On-line Catalogue to be out to you real soon. This deal is exciting. Cam is working hard on it. You won't believe it when it launches and we are very proud of all the information, photos and videos and more it offers. If a guided fishing trip is in your plans for late June and July make sure you call soon as we are booked up some days already. And if winter midge fishing is in your plans we look forward to seeing you soon!

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 summer and fall 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

Mary pat and Mike Rowan photo Mary Pat and Mike Rowan Photo

By Craig Mathews It is really unfair to the trout fishing nymphs now on the Madison. By presenting a tandem nymph set-up of a Muskrat Midge and Micro Madison Midge you can expect to take many fine trout anywhere from Palisade Access to Raynolds Bridge. When the fish are coming to the surface a Skittering Zelon or #18 Griffth's Gnat Emerger are killer. We are approaching the time when big stone nymphs become active during the afternoon hours. Too, this time frame coincides with the first big rainbows running up from Ennis Lake to spawn. Within the next 2 weeks we will see this activity begin and it gets stronger each week until spring.

The Madison has been great. The Gallatin will fish well when we get through the ice flow stages it goes through this time of year, in another couple weeks. The Henry's Fork reports are slim at this time as are the Yellowstone's and Spring Creeks but they should fish when weather conditions are calm and above 25 degree temps. The Bighorn will be great now too, with midges. I do a show in Great Falls in a couple weeks and hope to fish midges on the Missouri while in the area. Reports to follow!

Read past fishing reports and archived newsletters... 


 Fly of the Week
 Muskrat Midge

We look forward to fishing winter midges on rivers like the Beaverhead, Yellowstone, Henry's Fork, Gallatin and Madison Rivers and tied this fly specifically for fishing emerging pupae on these waters. And, because fish feed on midges all year we have found this fly works anytime during the year. Because it is tied with durable materials like a bead, zelon, wire rib and muskrat it is nearly indestructible. Bucky took over 20 trout on one fly. He loves to fish it as a dropper or just 2 feet below a Telstrike Indicator. You won't believe how many trout this little jewel will take! Size 20

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


 Fly Tying Material of the Week
 Medallion Sheeting

Bucky and I have been working on a new midge pattern, one for selective trout on smooth water and spring creeks. Too often we come upon big trout sipping individual emerging midges rather than mating clusters. Our new fly has a wing of dark or light dun Medallion Sheeting and a body of Iron Gray 8/0 Uni-Thread wraps over a shuck of Dun UV2 Sparkle Yarn. The thorax is dubbed UV2 Black or Adams Gray Fine and Dry Dubbings. We pick the thorax out to add in floatation and imitate the distinct legs of midges. The fly is deadly.

It most likely imitates an Empididae sp of Diptera, (midge) that comes off rivers from mid-winter to early spring. The midge we often see big fish key on is a robust deep olive bodied, size #20, with a dark dun nearly tent-shaped wing like a caddis fly. This insect is commonly referred to as a "Dance Fly" and is quite common on our spring creeks, sections of the Madison, Missouri, Henry's Fork and Yellowstone Rivers. You will be the first to see our finished fly pattern, we are getting very close so stay tuned here.

For this and other fine materials check here! 


 Rio Gold Fly Lines
 The best all around fly line!

I just installed a new Rio Gold line on my trusty Hardy reel. There is nothing like fishing a new line and the Rio Gold is our pick. They require no babysitting as they float high right out of the box and they can be counted on to do so for more days of hardcore fishing than any other line we've fished.

The RIO Gold has a revolutionary taper design that gives incredible loop stability at distance, a unique profile that allows a rod to load at close range and a front taper that delivers perfect presentation of flies between sizes #22 and #2. The RIO Gold is the ultimate all round, floating line for the trout fly fisher. The RIO Gold Tournament version of this line is designed for long distance casting events, and features an extra-long head for maximum distance.

Front biased weight to load rods at close range Taper design to cast flies between #22 and #2 Long head for ultimate casting control.

This line has been our favorite for a few years now and we find it to be one of the best all around fly lines on the market.

 


 Guide Trip of The Week
 Fish With The Best!

Photo courtesy of Mike and Mary Pat Rowan

1st Guide trip of the Year!

Our guide Scott took Mike and Mary Pat from California's wine country 2 days ago and they had an incredible fishing experience. Scott guided the two into dozens of fish feeding on midges. Most of the action was underneath and Scott and the couple did well on the "short leash." You have already seen the photographic evidence of their fine time in this report.

Thanks again Mary Pat and Mike!!!

Blue Ribbon Guides - nobody does it better! 


 Fly Sale
 Frsot Bite Chironomid

Chironomid are a most important food source for Trout. Throughout the fly fishing season, daytime feeding samples show that 27% of the trout's daytime feeding consists of Chironomid.

We are letting these size #14 Frostbites go for only a buck a piece. The sale will run for only one week or until we run out, so jump online and stock up while you still can!

Here are a few more sale flies you may be interested in! 


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!


Unitl next week! Have a great weekend.
The Gang at Blue Ribbon

phone: 406.646.7642
fax: 406.646.9045