Terrestrial Time!!

I seem to be repeating but it's been an odd summer. One spell of hot summer, followed by a few freezing days, now smokes of wildfire from surrounding states/areas dominate the air!! Regardless of what we have to deal with, fishing has been good!! It's been hit and miss but now it's finally & officially The Terrestrial Time in Yellowstone Country!

As I introduced in the previous post, Jack Gartside's Pheasant Hopper has become my ultimate hopper pattern.

The best companion floatant, that I have just found out, is this one. In my area, Dan Bailey's supplies. Indeed this one works for any types of dry-flies. To me, it's perfect for deer-hair patterns (wings, heads, etc.) as I don't have to rub it among hairs, rather just dip it!! By the way, shown is the olive & small Pheasant Hopper - a perfect leaf-hopper imitation!!

With these items, I hit Gallatin River. It was one of "a few cold days" between hot spells......... Overall fishing was slow (I could have nymphed all day and I did for a short while in the morning and caught two massive Whitefish!!). Toward the end of the day, along the grassy cutbank, I finally got a quiet rise on my hopper. I thought it would be a so-so size brown, considering the way it took. Then it ran and fought like a rainbow in a nice size. I really couldn't tell till I net it.........

 It was some of the nicest Westslope Cutt I ever caught. You see it's Westslope once I drive over one hill to the west from Livingston. It's interesting, isn't it? Yet, in Gallatin, the seemingly very pure one in this size would be very rare nowadays.

Then I have so many sweet memories from my days in Eastern Washington (Yakima Valley). I just love Westslope as much as I do Yellowstone!!

The olive Pheasant Hopper was inhaled by Yellowstone Cutthroat at DePuy's Spring Creek!! This will tell you that Pheasant Hopper will work at many different types of water!

Back to Lamar River in YNP, it was somewhat smokey but not as bad as before or Bozeman area (including the part of Gallatin where I fished). It was not much going on (or I was lazy?) till mid-day. Before I took a break for lunch, I dropped a Green Drake nymph under a dun pattern, I got a nice one! - actually this dinosaur-looking one seems somewhat familiar..........

Then the real objective of my visit began. Do you remember this tiny cicada pumped out of a big Cutt? I've been thinking to imitate somehow........... It was rusty orange and very hard shell. I have noted it must have been crunchy.........

After some trials & errors, on the bench and rivers, Micro Crunchy Cicada was born!!

 Actually it was already tested on the Gallatin. In spite of slow fishing, I did get several rises and look-ups. That let me know I was on the right path.

Since then I improved a few more (reinforcement!).
This day on the Lamar, Yellowstone Cutt went nuts!! They were definitely looking up at my new cicada pattern!! It started with this one, plus a couple of near-misses before.

From the same spot where I caught a nice one on a Pheasant Hopper the other day, another great Cutt came up and aimed the new cicada!!

 

 A proud catch!

Actions went on. My laughter was echoing in the meadow as I was fishing all by myself. This one took it, fought hard, then kindly sat still underwater for the ultimate proof pic!!

Happily broken! A couple more were ruined by Cutt and the other one was broken off!!
There will be a tying instruction video at my YouTube channel sometime during this coming winter.

Though my cicada was all I needed, it's always important to check trout's stomachs!

See!! There's another cicada!!

Weather depending, terrestrial actions will continue for the couple more weeks!! Hit it while you can!!