Early Season Fishing at Nelson's

Great thing to live in Livingston, in return of brutal winds, is only 10 minutes driving to any spring creeks and I can keep a tab on weather forecast so in the worst case I can cancel my reservation on that morning and book again in a day or two!! I had booked for today at Nelson's on Sunday as at that moment Tuesday weather would be calm, cloudy, slightly wet, and no wind. It was true this morning except for winds around my house....well, it still seemed sky would stay that way all day and I'd better manage a day with winds any time here in Livingston so I made a go. Only 7.5 miles away from my house and crossing Carter Bridge to east side of the Stone, there was NO WIND at Nelson's Ranch!!!! I also heard good baetis hatch report directly from Jacquie, so my expectation went high and I started to get shakey with the excitement how the day would be........... Cloudy and constant rain at creeks here in Paradise Valley? The best go-to is...... My day-opener was a respectable 18-inch brown!! I could have head home and done for the day........ What's in your mouth, fella? I don't have to show the fly again, do I?

I had one little rainbow and a few more bites on sculpin in the morning and that was all. My imaginary theory to this is ironic to what I was expecting. If midge and baetis hatches would do happen in the afternoon (it did!!!!), most likely trout were keying on nymphs or larvas in the morning. But then I observed water was still low at this time of the year. Hence cruising trout were pretty much none and visible trout in every good looking spot were so spooky. It was no fun at all to do nymphing at least for me.

So I had lunch 11:30am and ate slowly (which is not my usual style!!) and set up my dry-rig for the afternoon. At this point, rain almost all stopped and even the sun started to come out every now and then. When I walked up to the flats at 12:30pm, midges were hatching but rises were not so excitingly strong. Then again with this low and glassy water, it was tough to get close to casting distance or position. I explored to the upper limit of the creek. From my previous experience in this short run, I recalled upper section can be good as in the middle flats. I was right. Now spring baetis was hatching and trout just started to rise.

My favorite was ICU Baetis,

and Improved Sparkle Dun. Size 20 or 22.

I caught two these little ones.

But before these two, I got hooked into two larger ones. Here's a proof. I didn't set the hook so hard by applying slip-strikes so I don't break 6X tippet. I set the hook right but they were gone by opening the gaps of my size 22 baetis flies....... They could have been 17-18" class.

Some of you could read my palm for my luck for fishing or anything about life?

Insect hatches and surface actions pretty much ended by 2:30pm as the sun started to show more often. I tried to cast some nymphs with indicator and midge dry-flies for very sporadic risers. It was just slow. The sun and clouds were taking the top of each other so I decided to stay late. Just waiting for the one more & last chance with sculpin. Meanwhile, I saw a cute fawn on the other side.

With my very last effort, I landed a nice fat rainbow......

My camera was wise enough to cut my head off for grip-&-grin!!

To summarize the day, it was not an easy day. Water level was low as aquatic weed has just barely started growing at this time of the year. This makes trout very spooky or just hide and stay very bottom. Yet I experienced a fair weather all day and managed several trout by any means available and thinkable. I can give myself 3.5 stars out of 5 during the baetis hatch as I am getting better and learning more for this hatch every season in both spring and fall.

Nelson's is just about 1/2 mile run and good looking spots are so obvious. And trout are always there and that makes them spooky!! But this short distance keeps me fishing with different tactics at each spot all day. If it works, it's good! If it doesn't work, go next spot or change your tactics. If you get tired, go back to your car, grab a Gatorade, sit on the bench, and refresh.

I might head out one more before the rate goes up......

Yellowstone Grand Slam

Here in Livingston, we finally got over with long, cold, snowy, & windy winter. Spring days are settling in. Yet we still know snow can fall on us in April........ Today, I went out fishing with Link who made friends with through my blog (I thank everyone who drops by my stupid blog all the time). Link has been suggesting me his favorite spots along Upper Yellowstone and I have been eager to get out. Our schedules and weather finally worked!! NO WIND in Livingston area!! Unbelievable!! Link knows a lot about Upper Yellowstone and that side of Yellowstone Park waters. We talked a lot about rivers, spots, seasons, flies, etc. I might as well keep them secret as I'm trying to be a fishing guide in the area. We were expecting early season baetis and midge hatches to fish with dry-flies. At one of Link's favorite spots, we saw baetis in the air and took several with our dry-flies. They were all native Yellowstone Cutthroat. As you all know the population of Yellowstone Cutty is endangered due to Lake Trout in Yellowstone Lake and hybrid with rainbow all along the river. But in this upper stretch of Yellowstone, there are still lots of pure cutties to keep our hope. Regardless of its size, I love every cutty on my dry-flies. Baetis patterns worked for me are; ICU baetis,

Baetis Foam Nymph,

and Baetis Soft-Hackle. Especially the one that broke my 6X tippet with this soft-hackle seemed a fair size cutty. I often use 6X tippet during baetis time and keep in mind to slip-strike. But the excitement oftentimes makes me set the hook harder, which causes tippet-breaks.

All of above are for sale in my sales catalogue so if you are interested, just give me a jingle.

I can't emphasize the diversity of Yellowstone River, either in the Park or Montana section, as it's the longest free running river without any dams. This section just below the town of Gardiner is a very good free-stone and pocket-water run, like Madison. Link was working on a spot ahead of me.

It was cloudy and quiet in the morning without any gusts but the day turned out to be very sunny and warm in the afternoon, up to 60F. It was a very good day to go outside but we had to see it was not quite expecting for baetis and midge hatches to fish with dry-flies. We switched into nymphs and streamers. I caught a so-so rainbow on a Rubber Leg.

I saw lots of midges on water but somehow rises were very sparse, which seemed done by little ones.

After all the fishing with scuds and midge larva at Bighorn, today I expected and pushed myself into some amounts of dry-fly fishing, regardless of catches or trout sizes.

Link caught a so-so brown (we didn't take a picture or two).

And we both caught whitefish whether we liked or not (obviously no pictures).

So between two, we managed "Yellowstone Grand Slam" = catch bow, cutty, brown, & whitie.

Right now we are simply enjoying the end of harsh winter. And then we still have about a month before the famous Yellowstone's run-off will start. Right now Yellowstone is offering all kinds of fishing; dry-fly for midges & baetis, nymphs, and streamers.

By the time run-off hits the river, I will be breeding cows all through Montana. Then again, we all expect well-known Mother's Day Caddis hatch and spring streamer bites in this mixed time of the season. And our feelings and expectations will be mixed as well........

Thank you, Link, for a great day!!

Flies Not for Sale

Here's another Bighorn reminisce. In the slow tail-water like Bighorn, there are plenty of both earth & aquatic worm and we know trout love them. During the camp, one of the attendants showed me this two-tone worm pattern. I might have seen it somewhere online or catalogues of fly-shops but then again I really didn't care to tie myself as we all know San Juan Worm. I examined the fly for 12 seconds and I reproduced it right there. And I heard that this pattern is named "Cheeseburger".............well, yuck............. It was somewhat advanced tie of SJ Worm but I just felt it's evil. I actually saw huge earth worms everywhere along Bighorn and I am a free and versatile fisherman/tyer so I don't debate about ethical/moral issues of worm patterns and fishing with them. But this huge worm is nothing different from actual bait. I caught one 15-incher that was snagged on its pectoral fin and that was enough for me. I'd rather tie and sell this fly to bait & lure guys who would even use scents on it, maybe? I thought about mix of colors (pink, red, regular brown, light brown, dark brown....) but I simply felt it will be ridiculous and waste of my time. Instead I always keep a tiny SJ Worm in my box. Tied in size 20, this is the one I like to use spring creeks and stillwaters. And it should represent a tiny aquatic worm (not the huge earth one mentioned above). I will carry some of these to spring creeks here in Livingston either when guiding or fishing myself. Please just don't misunderstand me. It's one of the options which could be a day saver. Then again, it's not worth to show and price in my sales catalogue as anyone can tie it. I just tied Royal PMX for the first time. I've been hearing about this pattern but I didn't have time to put myself into tying it. As advertised, it is a great attractor pattern that represents stonefly, ant, other terrestrials, mayfly, and whatever you see and imagine. But......... I tied only 4 of them in size 14 and it took me a long time. I have right materials and they turned out OK but not for the commercial tying level........... Sri-Lankan or Pakistan tyers will do a better job and offer you in much cheaper price!!

Talking about "Royal" pattern, I simply recommend this Royal Wullf Cripple, which is posted for sale in my catalogue.

Check up your fly inventory for this coming season first. If there are some needs to fill your boxes, check out my sales blog and give me jingles. I'm your huckleberry.

Bighorn - After Thoughts & Detour

I forgot to comment on how I did with Fish Pimp on my last post. I definitely love it!!!! During the course, other guys used Thingamabobber like I used to. Fish Pimp may not be as buoyant as Thingamabobber but it's still visible under the water and lets me know the take. Then again it does not make kinks as Thingamabobber does on my leader. Furthermore, I didn't lose any. I used only one during the week. If you have your own nymph rig with Thingamabobber and don't mind kinks on your leaders, it's OK. But if you are the one that cares kinks and wearing on your leaders and also the one that change rigging according to situation like me (dry-fly, nymph, soft-hackle, and streamer), Fish Pimp is greater than Thingamabobber.

There were nine attendants with different ages, characters, motivations, objectives, and fishing experience. Eric from Portland is a cool dude who lead the entertaining part of the team. I myself tend to be a quiet nature but Eric's machine-gun talk is a likable way. I even laughed while I was trying to sleep. My first impression on him was "is he BORAT?" Indeed he made all of us laugh as Borat does. On the very last evening of our stay, with some encouragement of Canadian whiskey, I finally said to him "I like you, do you like me?" in Borat's way. I'm sure Eric will be an entertaining and successful guide wherever he intends.

I was off duty from giving a ride for other students to Billings airport so I made a detour to Little Bighorn Battlefield. I don't have to explain what this place is about. I'm a great fan of American West history of 19th century. Last time I dropped by here was way back in 2002 on the way back from Colorado State University with an Animal Science meeting. It's really a spiritual place. This time I had more time and a better camera. Here's an outside wall of the visitor center.

There is a little museum inside. This is an Indian Warrior at this time.

And not to mention General George Armstrong Custer.

This was supposed to be Custer's Last Stand.......

Whatsoever, it's a vast country.

Very hard to capture its vastness by a camera.

A small river in the scene is called Little Bighorn River. Again it's a huge and empty country. I'd like to say if we close our eyes, we can imagine how the battle happened..........

There is a cemetery for horses also. Horses are noble creatures for me. In this case, I read about Comanche.

Park rangers told me that they built an Indian remembrance in 2o03. It was another cool memorial of the place.

Beautiful construction against the back of vast continent.

I seldom come this way from now on so it was quite an interesting detour.

This vast country and history soothed my feelings a bit. Now Japan is experiencing a tragedy and a disaster but there will be time when we all can stop and look back the history.
Someday soon Japan will be OK and lots of Japanese anglers will come to fish in Montana.
In that case I'm your huckleberry.

Bighorn Fishing Camp

I just got my home in Livingston from Bighorn River. Guide training school run by Sweetwater Travel was really worth for the money in many ways (being a licensed guide is my own issue but I know what to do!).

First of all, our lodge, Cottonwood Camp, is really a cozy place to stay over a week. I have once stayed in a place in Fort Smith and it was so rusty........you know entire region is so rusty already........ As a resident in Western Montana, I hate the sulfur-smelling & slick water and sticky dirt in eastern MT. But water at Cottonwood was actually pretty good in terms of cooking, brewing coffee, dish-washing, and taking a shower. If you come to fish Bighorn, I strongly suggest to stay at Cottonwood, period.
Second, programs provided us all the groceries and we cooked fine meals. It was a gorgeous version of my own fishing trips. I love to cook fresh meals!! I took a charge of breakfast; tossing some eggs and bacons and brewing coffee.
Third, training session was well-organized all through. There were 9 students and 3 instructors. We changed team members and sections.

There were good interactions between instructors and students and among all of us as days go by.

We were hit by fluffy and puffy hales. That scared us a bit and as we found them tiny snowballs, not an ice-cubes, we started to laugh.

The program included the jet boat training. Well, it was not simply my game as it meant for guiding in Alaska. I did enjoy handling a jet boat as an experience but I just felt like I was going down the hill with a bicycle when I was a 5- or 6-year-old boy. Instructors already knew my intention and objective for attending the school = being a guide in Southwest Montana = so the instructor of the day was easy on this subject and and he told me to get off the jet and fish some by myself while he trained other two students. It was quite a relief for me as I was afraid of accidents such as flipping over the boat or grounding it!! Anyway while I was alone fishing, I caught a little one and to express my joy and relief, I self-timered myself!!

Indeed I caught some more while by myself.

We played roles as a guide and a client under an instructor. We talked a lot about pointing spots, observing hatches, selecting flies, reading waters, rowing a drift boat and all other stuffs but after all catching some nice trout verified our discussions and I made it happen by catching Bighorn trophies. This is one of the finest rainbow among us.

And brown. Both were 18-inch-class and they gave some excitement and chaos to the oarsman of the day along with my description how big they were!! I really enjoyed to play a role of an accomplished fisherman!!

We packed sandwiches for lunch on the river. On the very last day, we grilled salmon at the bank of Bighorn. It was terrific but I did worry cow-poop on the ground!! (just kidding)

The last shot before the departure. I'm the skinny dude on the left side with an orange hat and bandanna.

My biggest objective was nothing but how to improve my rowing skills. I explained my situations to instructors and they gave me best times. I'm sure I can offer great drifts in Madison and Yellowstone Rivers for both American and Japanese anglers, whether it will be dry-fly, nymph, or streamer fishing. Also through the course, Bighorn will be my guiding river as well.

Over all, it was an all-packed experience as I shared camping and fishing with people in different ages and fly-fishing experiences.

I'd really like to see a couple of students and instructors along the river in Montana!!

To Bighorn

Very sad and unbelievable news from Japan......
Massisve earthquake hit one of major cities in northern Japan. 300 people got killed. Quake spread entire northern half of main island including my hometown. My family and hometown are usually disaster free but I get in touch with them before I hit the road tomorrow.
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Tomorrow, 12th, I will be off to Bighorn over a week. It's a guide training school hosted by Sweetwater Travel Company. I'm not worried about catching fish but am highly motivated to kick off a brandnew season as a guide (hopefully!)

Especially in Bighorn at this time of the year, we might see some dry-fly actions with midges but we most likely using scuds. I've already got my own killer pattern, Royal Ray Charles.

My personal little objective is the new indicator. In that sense, fishing with scud will be a good time to experiment. I've been using Thingamabobber for the last couple of years and it's been working really well. But only one problem I face is that my leader gets kinked due to how it's applied on. See the photo below. To make a contrast, I took a pic with white bobber and black thread. It may not a big deal if one owns a "nymph only rig" or one being a strict "nympher". Yet even that kind of angler has to check the level of kink and wear of the leader. And would end up changing a butt section and whole leader/tippet more than often.

For this coming season, I decided to experiment with Fish Pimp Indicator. It's made by foam but it feels much stronger than any predecessors. Combination of foam and rubber tube makes this indicator easy and fast to attach like Thingamabobber. Furthermore, with this Fish Pimp, one can choose a temporal/quick indicator rig or a permanent nymph rig to fish all day all in one quick decision and movement. I bought large ones and small ones. Large ones are obviously used for extreme nymph fishing, say, in Madison. Small ones will be useful when I have to nymph-fish with my little 4-wt and would serve as a micro indicator when casting tiny dry-flies in a distance and sight-nymphing.

As a soon-to-be professional guide, I will do my best so I can talk about any gears other than just catching fish.

I just heard there's wireless internet (tower, signal, whatever I don't know!!) available in a rusty town of Fort Smith!!?? I'll bring my laptop. But no Verizon coverage........that's funny......

Probably I'll be a bit too tired to do on-the-road posts every evening but I would try.

Coq de Leon - Hen Cape & Wings

I have just purchased another beautiful soft-hackle material. I visited a fly shop in Bozeman for some supplies. I found what I needed then this product caught my eyes. It's a WHITING Coq de Leon hen cape (& wings). The moment I examined it out of the bag, my fly-tying imagination and knowledge intertwined. Then I asked myself "where is the money?", "do you really need it?" as parents persuade their kids crying for wanting things at any stores. Well, my soft-hackle addiction won. I had to get it. I was right as there are too many uses to mention from this pelt. I'd like to say this is somewhere between Hungarian partridge and grouse skins and also considering the availability of small feathers, it can be substituted for starling feathers. Another reason I decided to buy was because once I took it out of the bag, I couldn't put it back as it had been....... just kidding.

Color is what's called "mottled" = mix of black, brown, gray, white. I was actually looking for a badger cape for Doug's Home Invader in natural color. But this CdL turned out to be more interesting to make a mottled effects of sculpin.

Then I researched more uses online. I was glad to see that there's always some tyers who see and think as I do. I copied this lovely cross-dresser. Tail is tied with large wing feathers in Matuka style and the rest is tied with longer hackles in a wet-fly style.

Here's its conehead version. Tied in smaller size, it reminds me of a small Slum Buster, which is one of my always go-to & secret flies at Paradise valley spring creeks. I'm sure I'll use it whenever I get there next time.

Now, here are soft-hackle or wet-fly ideas tied with CdL. First I used a wing feather for Mr. Nick's Soft Hackle - Caddis. It came out simply a darker version.

I felt I had to develop my own design. Mottled color and soft-hackle were needed to be together. I mixed up a combination of attractor nymph (beadhead), soft-hackle, and match-the-hatch. Tied in 14 or 16, I came out with a variation of PMD nymph.

But right after I made a drawing for this design, I saw an exactly the same (or maybe just close) pattern from Orvis catalogue. So I can't claim it as original.............. Anyway it's good enough.


So I then tied without a beadhead. And it came out more lovely than the beadhead version at least for me!! This must imitate PMD nymph, emerger, and anything somewhere between in any water level and will be fished as a dry-fly, soft-hackle to swing, and nymph in some depth. And I believe this can be better, at least as good as, than PMD Foam Nymph.

All of these flies will be soon in my fly sales catalogue. I'm thinking of their names for now.