Good Morning Folks,

Welcome all, to our summer blog. We hope to keep this regularly updated all summer with the comings and going, high’s and low’s, and general antics of the fishing in the greater Yellowstone region. Today is the first day that guests from the Firehole will be out on our area’s rivers. Now we are currently in the middle of some major run-off, but we are lucky at the Firehole in that we have such a broad spectrum of available fishing to us. From the countless rivers in Yellowstone National Park, to the mighty Henry’s Fork in Idaho, and last but not least, the famous blue ribbon trout stream of south western Montana. So where are we fishing right now?

The Firehole River in YNP has been fishing well with both baetis and Pale Morning Dun mayflies making strong appearances on cloudy days, and we have been having our fair share of those. This legendary and beautiful trout stream is a pure pleasure to cast a dry fly on every June. From Fountain Flat to Biscuit Basin, this river is one of our strongest assets early season.

The Madison has been touch and go in the wade stretch as high water and muddy flows have made the float stretches near impossible, but the slightly cleaner water above the West Fork in the wade stretch has been fishable. In the odd colored water it is a big and nasty game of large nymphs (i.e. woolly buggers, rubber leg stones, and SJW’s) cast tight to the banks and drifted into every piece of semi quiet water an angler can find. This is classic chuck and duck Montana style, but if you can look past the less than clear water, major success can be had with a well presented big nymph.

The strong option early season for us is the numerous stretches of the Henry’s Fork. Starting with the Box Canyon and going the length of the river (other than the Ranch stretch which opens soon), the Henry’s Fork is my favorite option right now. Although salmonflies have worked through most of the lower river, various other bugs are riding its coattails. Look for stronger and stronger hatches of PMD’s, Goldenstones, Green Drakes, various caddis, and yellow sallies to keep the fish eating all day. High water here can translate into great dry fly fishing along the banks , so keep an eye out for risers in the slack water. Nymphing is a consistent producer with a plethora of different imitations. I prefer Shop Vacs, BH Princes, small rubberlegs, BH Pheasant Tails, BBB PT Emergers, and Copper Johns, but mix and match a variety of nymph imitations if something is not working.

Well, it is very exciting to start another season of Firehole Ranch fishing. I, and the rest of the guides (Alice, George, Allan, Trey, Scotty, and Josh), are looking forward to fishing with as many of you as possible this year.

Tight lines and big smiles for all of us.

Rowan

Howdy,

Tomorrow is opening day for the fishing season in both Yellowstone National Park and Idaho. Unfortunately high water will probably severely limit fishing opportunities throughout the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The best bet for some fishing will be the Henry’s Fork. Although it is very high, and the lower river has reduced visibility, large nymphs close to the banks ought to bring some angler success. I would stick with SJW’s, black woolly buggers, and rubberleg stonefly nymphs. Keep an eye out for a few salmonflies in the lower river as well.

Let’s continue with some flies that we could be tying this holiday weekend.

Number 10- Green Drake cripple #12. Similar to the gray drake, green drakes are critically important when they are present, but the window of fishing opportunity can be short lived. However, green drakes are more widely distributed throughout the Greater Yellowstone region, with good and dependable hatches every season. My favorite rivers for finding these large bugs are: the Lower henry’s Fork in mid June, Yellowstone in the Park in mid-July, Lamar River in early to mid-July, the Gallatin River in the Park in July, and ranch section of the H-Fork in late june. When these large mayflies are on the water, every trout in the river can be found sipping in these morsels. Although I tie this pattern for every mayfly in the Yellowstone area, and it is the first one I reach for, I decided that the Green Drake version was the single most important one to imitate with regards to our Top 10 list.

Start with a short tail(shuck) of brown/amber zelon. Follow this up with a body of olive rabbit dubbing, reverse wrapped with evenly spaced ribbing of yellow sewing thread or floss. A wing of gray to dark gray poly yarn or EP fiber, extending 45 degrees forward over the eye of the hook, gives this the imitation its distinctive “cripple” look. The wing is supported by 3 turns of dyed olive grizzly hackle in back of the wing and 2 turns in front. I then trim the hackle flat, even with the point of the hook, and you are ready to fish.

Green Drakes are my favorite insect emergence to find in the greater Yellowstone region. It can bring up some of the largest fish, and you cannot beat the size.

Good luck and tying.

Rowan

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, we are a month out from having the first guests at the Firehole Ranch, and we are furiously getting the Ranch ready for opening week. Those of us on the fishing side of things are, well.., uh,… we are fishing, tying flies, cleaning boats, and well,…uh…, fishing some more. On the tying end of things, we should all have full boxes of nymphs now,  and should be ready to tackle the dry flies. So hear we go the top 10 dry flies I would have if I was fishing the greater Yellowstone region this summer. In typical fishing guide fashion, I am going to break the rules for the top 10 flies right off the bat, and give you the top 10 + 1. The reason for this is, the specific nature of dry fly fishing. Many of our dry flies are very hatch specific, meaning that a fly is tied to imitate a particular insect at a particular stage of its life cycle. If you encounter these hatches, dry fly enthusiasts typically have boxes and boxes of flies to match all the possible situations one might encounter. Throw in the fact that there is more fishable water in the greater Yellowstone area than one fisherman could fish in a lifetime, and you have a lot of possibilities to tie flies for. This is our best effort to wrap all of that up in 10 patterns you should not be without, but in compiling this list I had to go with 10 + 1. So here we go.

Number 10 + 1 (or number 11): Gray Drake Spinner #12-If you encounter Gray Drakes you better have this pattern. Funny thing is that there is a very narrow window for this bug, and they are only important on a few rivers in the Yellowstone region. But, and this a big but, if you see gray drakes, you can count on the fact that you better have some of these spinners in your box. Fish eat gray drake spinners without hesitation, period! So where are they important. Slough Creek in early July, Yellowstone river throughout July and August, Lamar and Soda Butte rivers in July and September, the lower Henrys Fork in June, and in high water years (like this year), the Madison in the Park. So if you see yourself out here at any of those times, your obligation to the vise starts at number 11.

What comprises this large mayfly spinner pattern. Start with a tail of stiff dun, or grizzly spade hackle fibers. A body of tan rabbit dubbing, ribbed with brown sewing thread. Next a wingcase of gray foam, pulled over a classic spinner style of grizzly or dun hackle trimmed flat on the bottom. Tie it all off and you are prepared for this spinner fall.

Just as a side note, one might be asking why we are tying a spinner instead of a dun. Good question. The duns actually usually emerge when the nymphs migrate to shallow margins of the river and crawl out on grass and logs, thereby not often making themselves available to the trout as duns. But later they molt into spinners and land on the rivers surface in mass. Yippee for us and the trout!

Good tying,

Rowan

Hello Firehole Fanatics,
Another banner winter has gone by and I didn’t even hit the slopes once. Every time I try to reevaluate my priorities, I inadvertently end up on water with a fly rod in hand. Why not, I virtually have the entire river to myself and this way I’ll be in tip top form for those twilight gulpers on Hebgen Lake this summer. They’ll have no chance this season.
Currently I am all but finished with my bug orders. Invoices need to be made and filed. Then, all that would remain for the flies is a short trip to their temporary home before they end up in a fly box, tree, rock, or a trout preferably.  Also this is the time of the year I start packing and preparing for the initial opening of the ranch. It’s only a matter of weeks now. Considering the snowpack is one hundred and twelve percent of average, our entry could be delayed.
Oh Yeah….the fish. This one has created quite the buzz on Sandy’s Facebook page and southwestern Montana for that matter. We were on Sandy’s annual birthday camping adventure soaking up some much needed vitamin D, we were also able to squeeze in a little fishing as well. Where the Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison rivers join in Three Forks Montana, the mighty Missouri begins its descent all the way to its confluence with the Mississippi. Since Sandy and I only had a couple of days, we chose to concentrate our efforts on a shorter section below Holter Dam, rather than trying to float the entire river.  This virtually flawless buck came mid morning on the first day, at that moment our trip was complete. All we had to do from there was enjoy ourselves. At the end of the second day, Sandy stated that her favorite part of the trip were the pelicans and their crazy hairdos, even though she had just caught the fish of a lifetime. This to me confirms that a little luck, persistence, and most of all a good attitude catches more big fish than anything else.

Tight Lines,
Josh & Sandy Duchateau

Good Morning,

A slight break in the weather today, as the sun is peeking out between snowstorms that have been lashing southwest Montana lately. With all this stormy weather this month, the annual snowpack continues to build slightly, and has created perfect baetis weather. Look for this activity to continue for the next week or so as weather forecasts have even more clouds rolling in by tomorrow. March Brown mayflies should be making an appearance soon, and you can bet this #14 mayfly attracts the trout’s attention. As we roll into May, and if we get a slight warming in the weather pattern we should also start to see some Mother’s Day caddis break out on the Yellowstone, Lower Madison, and Big Hole rivers. When this warming trend arrives, and how warm it gets will be the chess game that determines how good this year’s Mother’s Day caddis emergence is, and how long it lasts, before all this winters snow begins to melt and blow out the rivers. These two events are always on a crash course with each other, and every year it is a game of ebb and flow trying to determine where and when to be for the best caddis fishing.

Rowan