Fall Bites

It's been quite a water year on Yellowstone River. The River is running way above average through summer and even now in the fall. Also, this year, we are all seeing the infamous mud-plugs (due to Lamar River and/or Soda Butte Creek "spikes" caused by storms over there) come and run through quick then the River is back to the "Fishable Green" quickly. Oftentimes, in spite of spikes seen on Hydrographs of those tributaries, we may not see muddy waters in Montana sections. My simpleton guess is Yellowstone River in Park section would be absorbing or diluting the muddy water even before reaching Montana, due to the massive flow of this year.

So if you are a boater, still keep your good eyes on waves and rapids. They can be swift.

Fall weather has been settled in since the middle of September (sorry for the blank of update😓). We are having more cloudy and rainy days with cooler temperature. Our first choice of favorite method is the streamer to hunt the aggressive fall browns, hoping some of the best for the season!

This was on Madison River.

Then on the Yellowstone.

As always, nymphing works. My favorite is the tandem rig with stonefly nymph and a beadhead nymph.
Then there are still great opportunities for dry-fly fishing. Fall baetis and midges are hatching through mid-morning to mid-afternoon = warmer part of the day.  As we float, we spot the pods of rising fish. Oftentimes, small trout and whitefish seem to be the most active however, if you observe before you even make casting, there always are a few to several huge trout mixed in.
There are a few scenarios to fish this situation. These pods are spotted right along the bank, even just the edge of super deep pools with moving surface. In this case, there's no way to securely stop the boat. We have to fish as we float. We have to choose either to set up two rods, one for dry-flies and the other for heavy stuffs, or tie on dry-flies and wait patiently till opportunities arise if you have only one rod.
If we can stop the boat just at the right distance from pods, go ahead and cast! Most likely this scenario occurs when the bank is too steep and then it's hard to impossible to scoot around the pods.
Another scenario is to stop below the pods, right along the bank, and get out of the boat and cast from the bank. Super ideal situation is it's easy to walk and has enough room for back-cast........ Usually the latter is challenged by willows or hills....... If that's case, try to make the best angle of casting and presentation!
Over all have fun!
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It's about time for me to shift into the next cycle of the year: dressing Atlantic Salmon Flies and many other fly-tying projects. As for trout flies, I try to update videos and catalog as much as I can. I start to take framed salmon fly orders from now on, along with a few of my own projects.

The first one for the season is Charlies (Geo. M. Kelson) on a Harrison-Bartleet 4/0.

This is one of a few patterns that doesn't have a topping (Golden Pheasant crest) over the married wings. I'm satisfied with the entire silhouette, finished with the most ideal head I can wish for.

Enjoy the fall fishing before totally into tying mode😁! - like I am😉