I left Saturday July 14, returning today, and during my week away fished the
Clark Fork near St. Regis, the upper Madison (below Quake Lake), Yellowstone
Lake, and various portions of the Yellowstone River below Yellowstone Lake.
The weather was erratic along the trip. It rained nearly every day with
varying duration and intensity. Near Drummond, on my return trip, I was
treated to a serious lighning storm, and the rain came down so intensely for
a short time that my wipers, on high speed, couldn't keep up. There was
also some times of serious bluebird weather. The weather should be a
little more consistent for the month of August.
The Clark Fork fished well for an 'hour or power' between 9:30 pm and 10:30
pm. When the fish started to rise, a properly-presented #18 X-caddis would
usually fool them. I caught several 16" +/- rainbow trout, lost several
more that felt in that size range (as well as a couple heavier), a 9"
squawfish (yes, a squawfish on a dry), and a 13" and 16" whitefish. I
understand fishing during the day was/is difficult right now.
The Yellowstone Lake fished well for me during a moderate callibaetis hatch
from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. A #16 cripple or even full dress Adams
worked well, employing Tim Coleman's tried-and-true 'heave and leave it'
method when fished from shore. The Yellowstone cutts I caught were
cookie-cutter 14" to 17" fish, most full-bodied.
The Yellowstone River fished very inconsistently for me; sometimes feast,
sometimes famine. One evening (from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm) I hooked 9 cutts,
nearly all on #16 Lafontaine sparkle pupa. However, the next night I drew a
skunk. In the late afternoon and into the evening a fairly heavy caddis
hatch (comprised of several different species) would occur. The water was
very heavily populated with fisherpersons; I stopped at one spot where I
counted 24 (no typo here) fly fishers in about a 76 yard stretch of water.
Just above Canyon Village, on the Yellowstone River, a fairly intense hatch
of salmonflies (yup! the big orange and black one) started about 10 am and
continued throughout the afternoon. Early in the cycle the fish would be
all over any hapless adult floating along; however, later in the hatch the
fish actually quit rising to the bugs. I ended up hooking 9 fish, catching
5, again all native Yellowstone cutts in the 16" +/- range. I hooked a
larger one that eventually came unbuttoned. For a while I was the only
person fishing the hatch (pretty amazing for the Yellowstone!).
On my return home, I hit the rapid pocket water of the Madison just below
Quake Lake. I again hooked 9 fish (my magic number, it seems), including
one 17" rainbow I had to chase down the river, a 15" rainbow, some smaller
'bows, and I lost a pig brown that rocketed across the river after he was
hooked, leaving me standing there with a more dumbfounded look than normal.
Tough to keep some of those big 'uns hooked when using #16 and #18 caddis
pupa.
Summarizing: big fish hooked (20" and over) but none caught, cutts and bows
to 17" caught, with a smattering of whities thrown in. Productive flies:
elk hair caddis, X-caddis, sparkle pupa, serendipity, foam salmonfly,
Quigley cripple, Adams, and the stimulator.
I used a (new) St. Croix Ultra Legend 9' 5 weight and floating line for
nearly all of my fishing. I have Sage (SP, RPLXi, and RPL), Loomis (GLX),
Redington, Lamiglas, all good sticks, and I'll tell you this Legend is an
excellent fishing tool. Nice balance of power and touch. My new favorite
trout rod.
Richard Embry
