Gavin

There has been some discussion about reinstating the draft in recent years. I spent six years in the Marine Corp, and its not like it used to be under the draft. What we have now is a professional military thats pretty isolated from the rest of the populace. It's not a citizens army like we had in WWII and Vietnam and I'm not so sure thats the best for our military and our country. I doubt that the draft will come back, but I wouldnt oppose it if it did.

Synthetics are the way to go for big flies. Lots of materials like bozo hair, ultra hair, etc. can add length and they dont absorb a ton of water like rabbit. A fly similar to a wool head string leach might fill the bill nicely. I usually use 30lb braid to attach the Gamakasu Octopus stinger hook on string leaches. Cheers.

It should be just fine on Taney. Guess most sculpins run in the 2-3" range, but I've seen some up to 5-6" long. Cheers.

Boot sizes vary by manufacturer so I'd drive to a tackle shop and try some on with your fishing socks before you buy anything. Cheers.

I'f your after smallies, I'd head up toward Moon Valley or down below Prosperine. A float from Bennet to Barclay or Prosperine usually offers a good mix of trout and the occasional bass. Buggers and streamers seem to work best for browns and smallies. Eggs for the bows. Cheers.

I stayed in Bozeman and fished the E. Gallatin last August (it was right behind a cabin some friends and I rented) we caught some fish but I'd rather float the L. Madison, Y. Stone, or chase gulpers on Ennis Lake. The Boulder and main stem of the Gallatin are both wadeable too, as are most of the streams in YNP. If your headed to YNP, Slough, Soda Butte, the Lamar, and the Y. Stone in the canyon are your best bets to catch Y. Stone Cutts. Cheers.

If its rainbows your after, its hard to beat an egg pattern. Buggers, thread midges, cracklebacks, and small parachute dries work well too. Little 22-28 cream colored midges seem to work really well at Bennett this time of year. Cheers.

Hank I just had an idea......Get really long piece of stout rope, arrive at Suicide Hill, tie one end of the rope to the canoe and the other to your truck or an ATV and drag that boat up the hill gear and all! Let us know how it works ;>)!

I guess you could...but It would be easier to drag it up Suicide Hill, but I wouldnt advise that either. Its much easier to paddle to Scott's. The shuttle is only 30 minutes round trip, and paddling from Suicide to Scotts adds about 2 hours. Cheers.

If your the fellow who wandered out of the park to find two anglers in a head of him...That was my wife and I. Guess we caught around 20 bows and a few browns, but nothing bigger than 16" though. Small (approx 3-4mm) egg patterns were the best producer. Highlight of the trip was finding two small brown bats roosting under a bunch of Oyster mushrooms and fishing within 20 yards of a whitetail do. Better luck next time.

Yeah, that trout slayer ale is pretty good stuff. I'd agree with you JD, there is a lot more horse traffic on the Upper Current these days. I didnt see any trail riders on Saturday but there were a ton of horses down at Parker when we paddled in on Sunday...the entire access was covered with bits of horse feces and the trails and crossings look worse every time you go down there. What's the name of that new horse camp?

Its definitely improved. I had a chance to help with the survey this year and I got a look at the numbers. The results werent final yet but the average fish count was up 11% from the 2001 to 2004 average. Approximately 24% of the brown trout population is 15 and larger, up 5% from the 2001 to 2004 average, and browns over 18 make up about 6% of the population. There are lots of great fish in that river, but fly fishing usually isnt the most effective way to catch a big brown trout. As for C&R only on the Current..I think a 1 trout over 18" and a bait restriction is darn near catch & release, plusit would be a really hard sell. There are still lot of folks out there who miss the "minnow days". I also doubt that C&R only would improve the fishing much anyway. FWIW, I had a fantastic float on Saturday morning, landed 9 between 6:30 and 10am when the bite shut off. 3-4 of them were quality browns in the 14-16" range, and my fish of the trip was a 17" bow. Two friends of mine had similar fishing. It wasnt numbers or sizes like I'd expect on a tailrace fishery, but I'd stack the Current up against any small stream in the country. Cheers

Which lakes are you fishing? I havent fished Busch Wildlife or Jefferson lake during winter mud puddle trout season, but I fish Tilles and Suson occasionally. Roostertails, buggers, leaches, and little marabou jigs, and nymphs work pretty well until the start allowing folks to use bait after that the fishing really declines. FWIW, MDC did a study on the winter lakes a few years ago, they found that there primary food was nypmhs & baitfish until the bait season opened. After that, their main diet was prepared baits, corn, etc.. Cheers.

Catman, there is a big flat valley across and downstream from Tan Vat, you can see it really well from the road to Baptist Camp. FWIW, I often see Turkey's on the road down to Baptist Camp. If you see a loaded green Wenonah with an anchor rig on the back say hello. Gavin

It should work, but considering the main food base at Taney (Midge, scud, and sculpin) I'd go with the sculpin instead. Cheers.

It really depends on what type of fishing you do. Sit on Top yaks are great, very fast, very stable..I've stood and fished from my friends Tarpon 120, but I'd recommend sitting down, LOL. Plus you just toss them in the water and your fishing. Pontoons are great for fast moving water, and they work well on still water with a trolling motor, but the downside is that you usually end up messing around with the toon for 15-20 minutes before you get in the water. Cheers.

Brett is a very talented tier and he deserves credit for the flies he originated but he published pictures of his flies on the web so I'd say that that makes alright for others to copy. Plagiarizing one of his designs and selling it to Umpqua or Montana Fly would be an entirely different matter. Cheers.

August is a bit early to spot spawning beds, but park fish go through the motions even though the results are rarely successful. Look for spawning fish in fast gravel bottom runs mid-September through February. Some of the shallow runs in Zone III would be a good place to look. Cheers.

Riding horses in the river is already banned accept at designated crossings, but the problem is the volume of horses. There was a really good article on it in a recent River Hills Traveler. Some of the trail rides down near Eminence attract up to 3000 horses, and each horse produces as much waste as 15 humans...The problem is not associated with local horses, cows, or humans, because the water only contains excess fecal coliform when the trail rides are going on. Cheers.

I cant really tell a bit of difference among a lot of the mono brands I've tried..Plain old Berkelely Trilene XL works just fine, as does Mean Green. Power Pro braid works really well too. I like the 4/15, but I had problems with the 2/10. If the water is clear I use a floro leader on the braid. Cheers.

I'f your insisting on the Current and Smallmouth, I'd probably go from Pulltite down to Round Spring on a weekday. Its ten miles, so it can be done as a loooooong one day or easy two day with ample camping opportunities. Plus there are no jet boats in the summer time. Its not as productive as the waters Al mentioned (downstream) but we usually catch enough to keep it interesting. Cheers.

I've talked with a lot of the MDC biologists about regulations before, and the one thing they continually mention is that tackle and limit reduction regulations usually run off most of the folks who harvest fish. Bait fisherman usually keep their fish, and if you cant fish bait a good percentage of those people leave and fish elsewhere. Reduce the limit so you cant harvest enough for dinner.... some people leave and fish elsewhere. I think its pretty good right know, but maybe the slot needs some tuning..maybe an increased 5-6 fish limit on under 12 bows? What do you folks think.

Guess the spawning browns ran all the hatchery slick back into the park ;>)! There are usually plenty of bows between the park and Tan Vat but there numbers drop significantly below there. From my conversations with the biologists its usually around 30-40% rainbows down to Tan Vat, then about 10% below there. Rainbows will make up most of your catch though...there a lot easier to catch. Cheers.

Nice fish and good for you! P.S. Dont let the CR zealots get you down. There is nothing wrong with keeping a legal fish know and then. Cheers.

I've done a fair amount fishing in freezing conditions and I've never really found a great set of gloves. Neoprenes are cold & stiff. Fingerless wool and fleece gloves are a lot better, but not great. I'd recommend carrying at least two pair, and some handwarmer packs. Cheers.