COVID-19 Updates & The MUST PMD Pattern Trilogy

Howdy folks, it's been a while. I've been as busy as anybody else. I've been active on Facebook and Instagram and I have to admit this blog has been squeezed out somewhat.

COVID-19 Updated Regarding 2020 Guide Season
LEFTY ANGLER & FLIES' #1 Policy is STAY SAFE & HEALTHY!!
Yes, 2020 season is going to be a really tough one and may even affect following seasons.
Montana has been recording the lowest case of COVID-19 cases in US and fishing is open for residents and out-of-state visiting fishers.
On June 1st, 14-day self-quarantine mandate for visitors will be lifted.
So visiting fishers are ready to go fishing or take guide trips upon arrival.
Now is the time for plan trips to Montana and book guide trips, but I understand it's just difficult this year. As much as I want my clients to come back and new fishers to book trip with me, #1 Policy, I'd like you stay safe and healthy. As long as we stay healthy and keep battling this invisible enemy, Montana's rivers and trout will always be there for us.

As for fishing reports and predictions, it's middle of runoff now. Weather patterns through remainder of May and towards end of June will keep affecting flows on rivers and reservoirs. I guess it will be an average to low flow season on most rivers, compared to the past 3 seasons. But we can't guess summer weathers yet. Will it be hot, lots of 90+F days, or cool like last summer?

Then as for booking guide trips, it's certainly very welcome!
Through 2020 season, if COVID-19 issues persist, deposit will be FULLY REFUNDED, i.e., no cancellation fee, with reasonable advance notice.
Bottomline, contact me and stay in touch!

Regardless of what we are up to, trout and insects will do their annual cycles.
PMD hatch on Livingston's spring creeks is coming in less than a month!!
Here's how to tie my Hen Hackle Tip Spinner.
It's said to be THE BEST spinner pattern!! I didn't claim that I invented it. I was asked to tie. But somehow I may be tying differently from others would do.

As for YouTube videos, I started to spend time on editing. And I try to make them more instructional than before. With this pattern in mind, I made a trilogy video.











Even if we can't go fishing, we can still tie flies!!
Stay healthy and stay in touch!!

Here It Comes!!

Check out the newly created page above: Trout Foods & Flies For Livingston's Spring Creeks
Or might as well go straight to check out HERE and HERE.

Fall Fishing

At this point in early October, it seems the fall has had a very short life and the winter is showing itself............ Following is the reports from September. Yes I'm very behind. I was busy, involved in something else that I may announce later.

In September, there were a couple of over 90F days. Rest were mix of rain and clouds that made us feel some chills. Yes, it was indeed a fall.

In my note, it was a very rare "dry-fly double" on Yellowstone River.

I had one angler who wanted to pry Bighorn River.
This one was just longer than my hand, but with the totally odd shape. Definitely well-fed!!

Morning glory!!

 We fished for the remaining Trico!

From 90F days in Eastern MT, it was quite a change at Slough Creek in YNP!!
It was very slow in the morning. However, with our patience and perseverance, we had rising trout!!

The wrap up of his trip was on DePuy's Spring Creek. 

It was a midge day!!

 And the finale was this massive brown trout😲
Was this an early fall-runner or it happened to be there? Or hanging around through summer?

Let's see what October brings.
It's also time for me to work on Atlantic salmon flies.........💞

PMD on Spring Creeks

These pictures are from late June to early July though PMD hatch is still going strong on Livingston's spring creeks. As it has been, this is the period that we've been longing for and that never disappoints guides and anglers.

Just as with the previous salmonfly report, PMD hatch was also affected by the strange weather. We had the cold week in the middle of June, with the snow on Summer Solstice, and that is usually when we start to see PMD hatches and, day by day, we observe it's getting constant and stabilizing. We did have PMD hatches but they came late in the day = 1pm, 3pm, 3:30,....... Finally when weather became summer-like, they started to hatch earlier = 12:30, 12:00, 11:30, 11AM, 10:30AM................. For my side of difficulty, it was very hard to set and produce lunch for the first couple of trips😓

Rest is the photo recollection with minimal narratives.
Insect photos must be useful for those who come and fish this summer and those who plan to come in the near future!!

I had one day to fish on my own😏

Neighbor fishers🦌 🦌

 Also note these critters start crawling along creeks🐜

I had another day to fish on my own😏

Finally dada was able to show a proper trout to the next generation fly-fisher, caught with his namesake: Sage rod and Skue's method😎

 Sometimes it's more than PMD😎

Sulphur

 Even during PMD time, never forget these little dudes😎

 And a very rare Sulphur emerger😲

Come and fish spring creeks this summer or the fall😉
If you can't make this year, plan for next year or near future😉

2019 Guide Season Kicked Off!!

I've been fortunate to be busy through April with guide trips on DePuy's Spring Creek.
As it has been I have a pile of photos and videos. This time I decided to compile a very short video and make one post.

Enjoy & thank you for watching😉

YouTube Video Series

Here's the final upload of my YouTube Tying Series Winter 2018-19.

It started with constant uploads but somewhere in the middle, it slowed down and became choppy😟. So much going on in my personal life - that's a reason as well as excuse. I actually have a list of many flies to shoot, trust me!! But the real reasons are some conflicts and nagging thoughts in my mind.

1) It's about time to replace and invest on a new camera, however I don't see exactly what I want in the market right now.

2) I know and have learnt how to edit videos - up until now, as you've seen, it's been one-time shoot video. I like that way as that keeps me on my toes but maybe about time to edit more and make viewer-appealing videos. These reasons require lots of investments on time (and some money). Do I have that much time? Perhaps I could make but not every week........but in order to gain more viewership, I'd better more frequently.......

3) I've got some ideas of doing new stuffs other than trout flies.

A) Perhaps Atlantic salmon flies step-by-step = shoot and post one videos for a few steps, perhaps several videos to complete one fly.

B) Also the gallery of Atlantic salmon flies and frames.

C) Post some reading stuffs, i.e., articles I've written before. You know I've written many articles for my blog and Fly Anglers OnLine. And I know how to make those videos. Not just having you read on the screen, but also adding some drawings and pictures. Topics would vary: techniques, introduction of waterbodies, flies, gears, books, and so on. So, I don't want you to think - and this is the statement to myself - that I gave up on this video channel of mine. I started from total 0 = zero and now gained over 300 subscribers and some videos have been played over thousands times. These facts have been encouraging and I never mean to let down current subscribers and am ambitious to gain more subscribers. So, please take this season as the stepping-stone season or a period I'm hitting the "wall". I will come back strongly!!

Indeed for the thought 1), I seem to have found out what I want, along with how to rotate and assign gadgets on my life and needs.

If you have read this through, would you let me know what you'd like to see on comments?

Late September Guide Trips

While my mind was flying somewhere over the Bighorn and then while I was physically there, Livingston's area rivers fished really well for what I heard from my contacts and what I saw on social medias. I think this average-to-cooler summer contributed a lot all through the season. At the turn of the fall, I had a series of trips around here.

YES!! Yellowstone River is still fishing well with dry-flies. Of course, nymphing is effective earlier in the day or all through the float. Baetis and some terrestrials that still roam river banks offer good dry-fly fishing.

 Ants worked for me but not hopper as I heard. But I'm sure it just happened to me and my people. I spotted this one at around my lunch spot.

I believe she was carrying the egg sack😍. She didn't hop, barely walking on the sand😊

Lower Madison has its own mood as always. One method may work better than the other and then some nice fish show themselves from nonchalant structures😶

 DePuy's Spring Creek has been fishing well all summer as insect hatches continue. Indeed this has been an incredible season on the creek👏. We guide team welcomed the annual big group to the creek. This morning I was able to show a couple of spots with rising trout for my clients.

But catching them was not easy😏

 Then in the afternoon, PMD still hatch😲 and baetis follow😆❗❗

 

Then we floated Yellowstone River. We shared our methods and catches as we go on. My people and I figured out what worked for us and so did others. All 5 boats had great times on the Yellowstone🙌

Of course I was shining among the rest of outstanding guides❗❓See what I can get my clients hooked up with😅 I seldom hold fish for clients just to take good looking pictures (I want clients to hold and be in pictures, not me!) but for this I sacrificed my hands 😖 and we had good Sushi lunch🍣😂

We caught many good looking trout and this was particularly memorable😆Of course this good looking trout itself, but also as we were going through the cascading riffle, I couldn't let my hands off of my oars. So this client performed tugging in this strong Cutt and then a one-man YOGA netting all by himself👏😉

 Well-done😬🙌

Let's see what the fall offers us in Yellowstone Country😉
See you on the stream👏