Salmonfly Action in YNP!! Flies & Flies!!

Before I go into Salmonfly fishing and flies, this is my recent "Salmon (space) Fly". Actually it may be cross-dressing of several aspects. It can be used for steelhead too. Also it's somewhere between practice, practicality, and artistic phase. Anyway, my guide season kicks off next week so I may not have any more time to play for "hobby-tie" a while. So I want to show it now!

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I'd like to settle the last post of PMD hatch a while but I'd better post this on-going topic ASAP. Just after I visited DePuy's (www.depuyspringcreek.com), I went scouting to Yellowstone Park waters for near-future reference. Although hatches and effective flies may be different by then, I needed to know and make sure trout holding spots and accessible sections. In order to search trout, I thought about and followed the current condition and information. I started from very end of Gibbon = just above Madison Junction. I searched likely spots with Salmonfly dry-fly......... Out of sudden, my huge dry-fly was attacked from underwater!! A typical brown in Madison drainage came up to my brandnew Salmonfly!!

Then I checked several spots of Madison. It was even better!! Trout were eager for big meals floating above!!

Gotcha!!

This nice rainbow inhaled my brandnew pattern!!

So here it is. Ladies & Gentlemen, let me introduce you Two Mix Salmonfly!! I designed this based on two of my favorite and most trusted patterns from Parks' Fly Shop (www.parksflyshop.com). Those are Richard's Parks Salmonfly and Walter's Prom Queen. Check them out under "Custom Flies". I mixed up features and effectiveness of two; hence the name!! It will float well but sit low on the surface. It can be fished both dry (on top) and wet (drowned). For tying and hooking perspectives, extended yarn abdomen enables me tie on short shank hooks, which improves hooking rates on from small to big mouths. I didn't expect it could be this GOOD!!

There are lots of good looking Salmonfly dry patterns out there. Some are indeed "fluttering" and "crawling on your skin" types. I admire creativeness and effort on tying benches but fact is those flies catch human eyes first. For practical fishing for Salmonfly hatches, trout key mostly on females when they return to rivers for dropping eggs. Those return-females are worn out and doing their last jobs at the very end of their lives. So think accordingly!
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Toward evening, I was at my most favorite spot on Madison in YNP; Cable Car Run to Barn's Pool #1. This is arguably the most fabled spot for swinging large soft-hackles. Once guiding kicks off, I can't be over here. Then in the fall, I'm not sure what I'm up to and this spot is over crowded by many. Regardless of season, I needed to swing large soft-hackles while I could. And my choice was THE Madison-born Sparrow by Jack Gartside (www.jackgartside.com).

It wasn't just for my ritual, but I actually had positive reason to fish here at this season. It wasn't the biggest but a nice browny by swinging to end the day!!

I'm happy!!

So, for those who pursue Salmonfly hatches in SW Montana, now is the time to try and we have high hope and expectation for the hatch right now. Contact fly-shops adjacent to your destined rivers. For Gardner and Yellowstone Rivers, definitely check with Parks' Fly Shop, period!!