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Putting the "B" in Bighorn

This morning I grabbed my trusty 9' 5 weight Winston B3 X rod and headed out the door to fish with Phil. On the way to the river I hitched a new Ultra-dry Cutthroat leader to my fly line. The old Cutthroat leader I replaced served me well for over a season and I felt I owed a new leader to myself, to begin spring dry-fly fishing with a fresh furled leader. I can't believe how well these leaders fish, how supple yet durable they are, and how delicately they can present a tiny spring Baetis or midge dry-fly to trout rising in skinny water. I pocketed the old leader and this evening put it in my fishing log with the bits and pieces of stuff I collect during my fishing days on rivers, lakes and streams in Yellowstone country. I am like a pack rat. Jackie sometimes scolds me for all the feathers, flies, leaders and tippets, dried leaves and flowers and photos and more I squirrel away in my fishing log books each year. Yet on the long, snowy-cold nights I can look back with fond memories of the days I found and filed all my streamside treasures!

Speaking of "cold-snowy" how about the past 3 days here in Yellowstone country? It was 11 degrees this morning when I awoke at 5 a.m. to take the dogs out. Our local pack of coyotes woke the dogs at 4 and Bea, Jackie's rescue cat, became very nervous at the howling coyotes and jumped up on the bed and woke me. Today though it warmed into the mid-40's and the river's trout rose to both Baetis mayflies and midges.

I've now put on over 20 days on my new Patagonia Ultra-Light Wading Boots. Not only are they very lightweight, they are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. I have a foot issue and was initially concerned if they'd provide adequate support but I've slugged along 2 miles of trail in Bear Trap Canyon of the Madison and waded the slippery Gallatin as well and they are awesome. Plus, the price is right!

I have been tying March Browns, Baetis and midges in preparation for my annual trip to the lower Madison, Gallatin, Beaverhead, Yellowstone and Missouri. The forecast for the upcoming week's weather looks perfect for early season hatches as those mentioned above. Stay tuned here reports to follow.

Today though Phil and I looked first at the Bear Trap of the Madison that we found still muddied due to recent gale force winds on Ennis Lake. The lake will clear in the next few days and the river below should run clear then. When winds cause heavy wave action on the lake you can count on the river running off-color for a few days so it is best to check before making the trip to fish the Bear Trap.

We went to plan B and headed upriver to Varney and worked upstream towards Story Ditch. We found a couple areas fish rose to midges and took some nice DVD footage for our upcoming DVD. Too we found lots of rainbows spawning. Spawning rainbows are evident now between the lakes as well as near McAtee and Varney and last week we saw several rainbow nests with actively spawning fish in the Bear Trap so please be careful when fishing as not to wade through redds or fish to spawning fish.

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.