MMM (Magical Midge Morning) & Count Down

ONLY 4 MORE DAYS left for Winter Rate at Livingston's Spring Creeks!! Better fish right now. I  hope following post will convince you!!
In my case, I'm working on how many days I can accumulate with Winter Pass at DePuy's (www.depuyspringcreek.com).
Yesterday, 78th Day, weather wasn't much different from the day before yesterday. Morning was just as cold with brutal Norther. No midge hatches........ In the afternoon, I did the same strategy at the same spot. Sawyer Pheasant Tail - Master Angler Version was again the key-player!!

Worth effort, don't you think!!??

Pilot fly, my own Pheasant Tail Mayfly Cripple worked too!!

Yes, taken on top!! in spite of winds!!

His content...........Orange Scud does exist!?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, 79th Day, weather was back to normal. Though it remained cold, at least no severe winds were blowing. Morning Midge hatch was back just as I arrived!!
My roster flies worked as usual. A sample from one of first few catches (pump size). Here's how to analyze. Those grayish matters are pretty much done digesting; those losing colors are in the middle of digestion; so what's NEW!? Midge Pupa, right folks!!

 There were lots of "mosquito" types.........but..........

My own PUPAERGER was the meal ticket!!! Kept losing potentially big ones!!

 Finally got a solid Browny!!

Hatch was strong this morning. I kept fishing but cold........... When hatch is going on and trout are feeding, I don't care when I feed myself a lunch. But today, after this OK 'Bow, I had to take a break and warm up!!

Her lunch...........

After a quick lunch, midge hatch was still going on!! Regained my concentration, my Pupaerger struck again!!!

Another solid and typical spring-creek-looking Browny!!

 One of samples from another "pump-size" trout. These were alive! Hope this will stimulate some tyers' imagination!!

Afternoon = BWO time!! This was really a solid one!!

His sample: just usual suspects but also, what's that big thing!?

 YES, caddis has started hatching!! Not many but a few trout were keying on them. I couldn't pick it up to observe its belly color but it looked like Mother's Day Caddis. For now, just Grannom would be safe to say......

See you along the creek! But also River looks great! And probably most importantly weather is toying on us!!

Sudden Spring Storm Yet Match-The-Hatch (Slightly Below)

MEDIA NEWS: A series of my articles is going on at Fly Anglers OnLine (www.flyanglersonline.com). The latest update of today features a chapter for spring time at DePuy's Spring Creek (www.depuyspringcreek.com). Also check out one great article done by my guide mentor Tom Travis! If you haven't done or thought about streamer fishing at spring creeks, this article will change your perspective!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, here it is. The last week with the Winter Pass at DePuy's. As of now, I'm not sure which way I'm feeling: too fast or finally it's the end....... I will think about that later on!
I'm pursuing how many more days I can accumulate. Will I hit Magnificent 80 DAYS!? Maybe...... Then I'm chasing Midges and BWO hatches!! With just about 3 weeks of dry-fly pursuit, I have already gone through Two Bottles of FROG'S FANNY! How about you?

I still see many a run-up rainbows. They are spawning anywhere suitable in the creek. This individual seemed done his duty of life. His body started molded and looked too sore to swim. He was barely sitting still at the edge of creek. He might recover. But if not, he will devote his flesh to the earth and the river.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday, 76th Day, it was a nice day. Morning midge hatch was decent enough. I hooked potentially BIG ONES like the one in the last post three times!! But.......those weren't so solid...... It's not that easy every time. I hope I have some more chances to challenge at them!
But it wasn't a totally nothing day.  My brandnew pattern showed its potential right off the bat!! I will go more details later on.

In the afternoon, BWO Time!!

 Its content. Of course it was taken by Winged Victory (no video for this post!)

I thought this would be a useful picture for some serious fly tyers.

Skinny but really strong brown!

Pheasant Tail Mayfly Cripple was ruined.........

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And today, 77th Day, was not as lucky as number suggests...... Besides weather info, Livingston residents had some hunch last night that something terrible might come today..... It was storm!! COLD!! like January!! It was 30MPH (give or take) Norther with snow. When we have 25-35MPH winds from South, we can at least complain. But when they come from North, there's not much we can do but try to stay warm. I still tried in the morning because weather pattern could be somewhat different at creek from town for some reasons. Well, today, it was just the same. This is how my favorite Flat for midge hatch looked like. Waves made me think creek was flowing backward and swans were barely hanging on the water. Apparently midges were blown away to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park! And I forgot my scarf... I decided to go home and come back in the afternoon, hoping weather might improve.......

Well, there wasn't any improvement........ Probably I should have stayed in my house. But I still hoped BWO hatch could happen, at least trout might be active to feed on nymphs in the water columns. I went to a spot where I have been fishing a lot recently. It wasn't a normal condition. However, I used the terrain so it would be "Wind-Break" and figured out the way to present my flies!! The spot is no secret at all but I let you reader figure out!! I tied on Pheasant Tail Mayfly Parachute as a pilot fly,

and trailed Sawyer Pheasant Tail - Master Angler Version with 6X Tippet!!

 Everything (my calculation, wind-break, angle of presentation) worked and I hit a Jack-Pot!! With the very first decent drift, I hooked a nice run-up rainbow on PT!!

I screamed "I can go home with pride"!! ----- something like that!!

 After that, it was historical three hours. With the very next cast, I caught a little yet feisty brown!!

Then the 3rd Trout of this brutal afternoon made me confirm that I was right and knew what I was doing!!

Trout were indeed looking for BWO! This brown took PTMF Para on the super-wavy surface!!

 Feisty Buck 'Bow also fell in for PT!!

When I was aware, PT was getting chewed off.........

 And now totally ruined......

Though only a few, I kept seeing rising trout so I tied on PTMF Cripple!

 Taken on wavy surface again!!

Another PT ruined........

Well, I survived this brutal afternoon with great success. There may be someone who might argue that I was doing "nymph-fishing", not "match-the-hatch". The spot I was fishing was deep with velocity, there's no way Sawyer PT would go deep without a couple of BBs. I didn't use any split-shot nor bobbers. And as my pictures prove, my dry-flies on top were also taken. Trout were indeed feeding on BWO nymphs, more specifically ascending ones in the water columns.

I gotta fish tomorrow too. Hopefully weather improves!

Match The Hatch - Slightly Below, The Birth of Killer Fly, & 75th!!

Fly Fishers could be those who are hard to please:

• Expect strong hatches - Too many naturals for their flies to compete against naturals.........
• Need "Hopper Wind"!! - Too windy......
• Need overcast cloudy weather for BWO hatch! - Cold, wet, and miserable.....
• List goes on....

Just kidding.......... I just want to say these lines and laugh at all fly-fishers including myself. Nice spring days continue in April and I'm simply enjoying being outside. But I have to say bright sunny days are not good for BWO hatches. Winds are not dangerous recently but they can cause waves on the surface every now and then. It may not be a typical "match the hatch with dry-flies" situation BUT!! I can still match-the-hatch UNDERNEATH. I mean, if I were to stick with Eggs, Worms, and Streamers, that wouldn't earn such a cool naming. What I want to say is: what one can do when it's not a perfect condition for dry-flies (insect imitations)  and when hatch and rise are going on but trout are not taking dry-flies. First of all, who decided "match-the-hatch" is supposed to be done with dry-flies? Well, history and argument are beyond the space limitation of this blog post.....maybe sometime later.

Once Winter Pass at DePuy's (www.depuyspringcreek.com) and pre-runoff fishing are over, I'd like to introduce more materials that I recently acquired and more patterns that I just came up with. Just one for now quickly. I got this Life Flex from Hareline. It's so fishy and versatile for any patterns imaginable!!

From last several days outings at DePuy's, I learned how important midge emerger and pupae were and quite amount of them were taken by trout. But is there a clear difference between two stages? If you research patterns, you will find some patterns that just look "cross-dressing" to both stages. So I came up with my own and god-fathered PUPAERGER!! This is meant to be fished under dry-fly, targeting from subsurface to several inches below.

Confidently taken by selective trout!

Matching the pump result!!

This was also a selective sipper but a bit larger!!

Again, matching the pump!!

Also regardless of hatches and rises, there are lots of trout coming into the creek right now and they are very active from early morning!! What I mean by active is: trout would be cruising for foods along banks or somewhere in the middle of creek. Sight-Fishing can be done only if you are serious!! What would they be feeding upon? I would guess and judge depending on trout's motions and spots (bottom structures, weed-beds, etc). One of those food sources is Midge Larva in Red. It's just a simple tie with Life Flex: Chewy Red Larva!!

As the sun rose and day got brighter and warmer, I scouted along the bank and spotted groups of trout cruising around or waiting for something tumbling toward their mouths. I set myself behind tall weeds and made a very short cast..........GOTCHA!! This gorgeous rainbow sipped my brandnew larva and I set the hook perfectly!! Everything was so visible and tangible!!

And today, 75th visit with Winter Pass, I was the first one at the creek. I was playing just little a bit to see if I could "dap" again (unsuccessful) then midge hatch started. Rise forms of trout told me "hey we are selective!!", really. They were repeating "dorsal-tail" rises, especially seemingly large individuals were doing so. I had strong confidence in my Pupaerger. I hooked one big trout, which leaped in the air!!..............lost him......... I sat on the bank a bit and organized my breath. Trout kept rising so I was back casting. This time I was ready. 40 feet cast, perfect drift, and tiny rise-ring at the end of my line.............GOTCHA!!!! It was big & heavy!! I was with my 5-wt rod but tippet was 6X  and Pupaerger was #20 hook for the occasion. It was really dog-fight. We both got exhausted............and I got him!!

I screamed for the Victory!!

THE BEST & BIGGEST Brown caught on the smallest insect fly!!!

Thank you!! Happy!!

This is the sample from the next trout (pump size). This sample clearly shows what they were taking: midge pupae and emerger, NOT adults on the surface!!

In the afternoon, midge hatch continued. Pupaerger nailed even this selective Whitie!!

How about BWO then? Same scenario as midges: not many duns on the surface or in the air but nymphs are taken by trout just below the surface. A classic Sawyer PT - Master Angler Version is my go-to patterns!!

To be honest, I've been hooking and losing some nice trout with this fly. This afternoon, I finally get one into my net and camera.

Run-up rainbow fell in!!

My best and friendliest advise is come to fish DePuy's (other two creeks, and Yellowstone River)!!

Enough said............., I guess!!