Ok, This Report Is...

[Al Agnew]

We got 9 inches of snow out here earlier in the week, which was fine with me since I needed to do some serious work to complete a BPS cover design. I got it done today about noon. I have other stuff that really needs to be done, but sometimes a little voice tells me "You should really go fishing this afternoon."

It was a dark, cloudy day, air temps around 40 at best, wind about 10 mph out of the east. That same little voice was telling me I should fish streamers.

I keep two or three rods rigged, hanging up in the garage along with my waist pack of gear and the waders. There was a 4 wt. with a Griffith's Gnat, and a 5 wt. with one of my own streamer ties, olive cross cut rabbit body and dark olive brown red squirrel strip tail with dumbbell eyes for weight, easy to tie and looks good in the water, on a size 4 streamer hook, the whole thing about 3 inches long. I grabbed the 5 wt. and headed for the river.

I'd decided to wade downstream, past where I usually fish. The river below the lower riffle is still split around a big gravel island, with the near channel flowing about two thirds as much water as the far channel, easy enough to wade across at the riffles, but with a nice slow moving run along the island. I was thinking that run could harbor a few big browns looking for streamers, so my plan was to wade along the rocks on the near bank, fishing downstream ahead of my along the rocks, then cross at the lower end and go back up the gravel bank and eddy water on the other side.

But first, I would fish the backwater and small pool in "my" little channel down to the riffle. I'd caught a couple of nice fish on streamers there a couple weeks ago, so I knew there were some in there.

First fish took the streamer in the little pool, and it was a very nice brown, about 18 inches. Cool.

Second fish hammered the streamer alongside a beaver lodge in dead slack water in the backwater. Surely another brown...nope, rainbow, and it was also about 17-18 inches. I had strikes from three other fish in the backwater, but couldn't keep them on. Then I got down to the riffle. Made a cast into shallow water alongside the chute, and got a good strike and miss.

The main chute of this riffle piles heavy current straight into a rock outcrop, and there's a nice little eddy pocket just on the upstream side of where the heavy water crashes into the rocks. I laid the streamer into the foam in that eddy, stripped it once, and got a hard strike. Rainbow...no, brown...no, rainbow...no...cutthroat! An absolutely stunningly beautiful 18-19 inch cutthroat!

I got three more strikes in that little eddy and along the bank just above it, but couldn't keep them on. Then I waded along the rocky bank past where the heavy water hit it, and hooked two more just below it. Landed one, a 16 incher. Eased on down the bank, and got another strike. This one was a whitefish, so I'd accomplished the Yellowstone grand slam. Another strike...another whitefish? Nope, big brown, 19 inches. Got a couple more strikes and misses as I fished along a cobbly bank.

There's another little side channel that swings away from the river there. It wasn't flowing at all in this low water, but it was easier to walk down it than to fight brush and a sharp drop-off along the river bank there, so I started down it. I'd only been down this far once before, and I remembered that there was one rather deep little pool along a low rock bluff. I could see it ahead...with no flow going through the channel, it was about 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and maybe 5 or 6 feet deep along the rocky bluff. Hmm...there just might be a few fish in it, even if it was totally cut off from the river...

First cast into the upper end, while standing on dry rocks a cast length away, produced a strike and miss. Next cast resulted in a hook up. Nice brown! 17 inches or so. Two casts later, another brown, this one bigger, a good 20 inches and an absolutely gorgeous fish with bright coloration and big red-bordered spots. A couple casts later, an even bigger one, 21 inches! A strike and miss. And then two more, one of 18 inches, one of 20 inches! One more strike in the shallows at the lower end that missed. But wow...five big fish out of that isolated, dead pool!

Where the side channel re-entered the river there was a backwater that looked good from above, but turned out to be shallow and fishless. But on the seam between the backwater and the fast-moving run out in the main river, there were fish rising steadily. A hatch of midges was coming off. Okay, what to do...the streamer had been producing so well I hated to take it off, but as I watched those risers, I was seeing some big heads coming up. Can't pass that up. I switched out to a Griffith's Gnat and eased out, watching for the biggest heads. Saw one, a few feet out in the current. The upstream wind was riffling the water, but you couldn't miss that head. First cast was pretty good, the fly landing about five feet above where that fish was rising. It took perfectly, a big rainbow that fought a hard, dogged fight with no leaps. 18 inches, which is pretty darned good for a dry fly fish. I eased it over to the bank, photographed and unhooked it, and then waded back out, looking for more rises. Yep, there's a good sized head. First couple casts were blown around by the wind, and I picked them up before the fly got down to the fish. Third cast was perfect. Drifting into the vicinity...big head, slurp. I came up against the fish, and this big brown just exploded out of the water. That fish was one of the hottest brown trout I've ever hooked, five separate leaps all over the river. 21 inch fish. One of the biggest trout I've ever caught on a dry fly.

Only problem was, its wild antics put the other fish down. I looked upstream, and saw some more rises above where the backwater came in, along a current seam against a brushy bank. Not an easy approach, but big heads.

I didn't get any of those fish, although I got two to take. Finally lost my fly on the backcast in the brush, and the rises had stopped. Okay, put back on the streamer. Waded up along the bank to the riffle. Beautiful looking spot with a big rootwad at the head of an eddy at the base of the riffle. Had a strike first along the bank in the eddy, missed. Then made the cast to the head of the eddy, right alongside the rootwad. Strip...strip--stop. Hung up? No, when I lifted the rod I felt the thrum of a fish. Another very nice fish, a rainbow of about 18 inches. Made some more casts along the current seam, and got four strikes in a row that I missed.

Waded up the riffle. Hey, there's a nice little pocket along one side of the riffle. Could there be fish in it? Cast, and bang, another brown, this one "only" 16 inches.

Crossed the riffle to go up the gravel island. Mary called me to see where I was, since she'd expected me to just fish a couple hours. I looked at the time on the phone, and it was already 6 PM! I told her that I was catching fish like crazy, and not to expect me back for a while yet.

But the fishing had slowed. I got one good strike, which turned out to be my second whitefish of the day. Then I got up to the riffle at the head of the island, the riffle I am used to fishing, but not from this side. cast into shallow water at the edge of the heavy current, and got another great strike, but couldn't keep the fish hooked. Cast out into the deeper eddy water, and got another strike. This one felt like a very heavy fish, but it didn't stay on. Another cast, and another strike and miss.

And I decided it was time to call it quits. As I walked back to the house, I was thinking that I'd caught 15 trout, the smallest 16 inches! (I'd kept track of the numbers, and somewhere in there I'd caught another one that didn't get into this report because I can't remember where I caught it.) I believe that's the best afternoon of fishing I've ever had on the Yellowstone.

I have pictures of all of them except that one really beautifully colored brown out of the dead water pool...that one flopped off before I could get the camera ready. I'll post some of them tomorrow.

[ozark trout fisher]

We got 9 inches of snow out here earlier in the week, which was fine with me since I needed to do some serious work to complete a BPS cover design. I got it done today about noon. I have other stuff that really needs to be done, but sometimes a little voice tells me "You should really go fishing this afternoon."

It was a dark, cloudy day, air temps around 40 at best, wind about 10 mph out of the east. That same little voice was telling me I should fish streamers.

I keep two or three rods rigged, hanging up in the garage along with my waist pack of gear and the waders. There was a 4 wt. with a Griffith's Gnat, and a 5 wt. with one of my own streamer ties, olive cross cut rabbit body and dark olive brown red squirrel strip tail with dumbbell eyes for weight, easy to tie and looks good in the water, on a size 4 streamer hook, the whole thing about 3 inches long. I grabbed the 5 wt. and headed for the river.

I'd decided to wade downstream, past where I usually fish. The river below the lower riffle is still split around a big gravel island, with the near channel flowing about two thirds as much water as the far channel, easy enough to wade across at the riffles, but with a nice slow moving run along the island. I was thinking that run could harbor a few big browns looking for streamers, so my plan was to wade along the rocks on the near bank, fishing downstream ahead of my along the rocks, then cross at the lower end and go back up the gravel bank and eddy water on the other side.

But first, I would fish the backwater and small pool in "my" little channel down to the riffle. I'd caught a couple of nice fish on streamers there a couple weeks ago, so I knew there were some in there.

First fish took the streamer in the little pool, and it was a very nice brown, about 18 inches. Cool.

Second fish hammered the streamer alongside a beaver lodge in dead slack water in the backwater. Surely another brown...nope, rainbow, and it was also about 17-18 inches. I had strikes from three other fish in the backwater, but couldn't keep them on. Then I got down to the riffle. Made a cast into shallow water alongside the chute, and got a good strike and miss.

The main chute of this riffle piles heavy current straight into a rock outcrop, and there's a nice little eddy pocket just on the upstream side of where the heavy water crashes into the rocks. I laid the streamer into the foam in that eddy, stripped it once, and got a hard strike. Rainbow...no, brown...no, rainbow...no...cutthroat! An absolutely stunningly beautiful 18-19 inch cutthroat!

I got three more strikes in that little eddy and along the bank just above it, but couldn't keep them on. Then I waded along the rocky bank past where the heavy water hit it, and hooked two more just below it. Landed one, a 16 incher. Eased on down the bank, and got another strike. This one was a whitefish, so I'd accomplished the Yellowstone grand slam. Another strike...another whitefish? Nope, big brown, 19 inches. Got a couple more strikes and misses as I fished along a cobbly bank.

There's another little side channel that swings away from the river there. It wasn't flowing at all in this low water, but it was easier to walk down it than to fight brush and a sharp drop-off along the river bank there, so I started down it. I'd only been down this far once before, and I remembered that there was one rather deep little pool along a low rock bluff. I could see it ahead...with no flow going through the channel, it was about 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and maybe 5 or 6 feet deep along the rocky bluff. Hmm...there just might be a few fish in it, even if it was totally cut off from the river...

First cast into the upper end, while standing on dry rocks a cast length away, produced a strike and miss. Next cast resulted in a hook up. Nice brown! 17 inches or so. Two casts later, another brown, this one bigger, a good 20 inches and an absolutely gorgeous fish with bright coloration and big red-bordered spots. A couple casts later, an even bigger one, 21 inches! A strike and miss. And then two more, one of 18 inches, one of 20 inches! One more strike in the shallows at the lower end that missed. But wow...five big fish out of that isolated, dead pool!

Where the side channel re-entered the river there was a backwater that looked good from above, but turned out to be shallow and fishless. But on the seam between the backwater and the fast-moving run out in the main river, there were fish rising steadily. A hatch of midges was coming off. Okay, what to do...the streamer had been producing so well I hated to take it off, but as I watched those risers, I was seeing some big heads coming up. Can't pass that up. I switched out to a Griffith's Gnat and eased out, watching for the biggest heads. Saw one, a few feet out in the current. The upstream wind was riffling the water, but you couldn't miss that head. First cast was pretty good, the fly landing about five feet above where that fish was rising. It took perfectly, a big rainbow that fought a hard, dogged fight with no leaps. 18 inches, which is pretty darned good for a dry fly fish. I eased it over to the bank, photographed and unhooked it, and then waded back out, looking for more rises. Yep, there's a good sized head. First couple casts were blown around by the wind, and I picked them up before the fly got down to the fish. Third cast was perfect. Drifting into the vicinity...big head, slurp. I came up against the fish, and this big brown just exploded out of the water. That fish was one of the hottest brown trout I've ever hooked, five separate leaps all over the river. 21 inch fish. One of the biggest trout I've ever caught on a dry fly.

Only problem was, its wild antics put the other fish down. I looked upstream, and saw some more rises above where the backwater came in, along a current seam against a brushy bank. Not an easy approach, but big heads.

I didn't get any of those fish, although I got two to take. Finally lost my fly on the backcast in the brush, and the rises had stopped. Okay, put back on the streamer. Waded up along the bank to the riffle. Beautiful looking spot with a big rootwad at the head of an eddy at the base of the riffle. Had a strike first along the bank in the eddy, missed. Then made the cast to the head of the eddy, right alongside the rootwad. Strip...strip--stop. Hung up? No, when I lifted the rod I felt the thrum of a fish. Another very nice fish, a rainbow of about 18 inches. Made some more casts along the current seam, and got four strikes in a row that I missed.

Waded up the riffle. Hey, there's a nice little pocket along one side of the riffle. Could there be fish in it? Cast, and bang, another brown, this one "only" 16 inches.

Crossed the riffle to go up the gravel island. Mary called me to see where I was, since she'd expected me to just fish a couple hours. I looked at the time on the phone, and it was already 6 PM! I told her that I was catching fish like crazy, and not to expect me back for a while yet.

But the fishing had slowed. I got one good strike, which turned out to be my second whitefish of the day. Then I got up to the riffle at the head of the island, the riffle I am used to fishing, but not from this side. cast into shallow water at the edge of the heavy current, and got another great strike, but couldn't keep the fish hooked. Cast out into the deeper eddy water, and got another strike. This one felt like a very heavy fish, but it didn't stay on. Another cast, and another strike and miss.

And I decided it was time to call it quits. As I walked back to the house, I was thinking that I'd caught 15 trout, the smallest 16 inches! (I'd kept track of the numbers, and somewhere in there I'd caught another one that didn't get into this report because I can't remember where I caught it.) I believe that's the best afternoon of fishing I've ever had on the Yellowstone.

I have pictures of all of them except that one really beautifully colored brown out of the dead water pool...that one flopped off before I could get the camera ready. I'll post some of them tomorrow.

Keep on bragging. I enjoyed your report.

[laker67]

Keep on bragging and reporting Al, we earn that right at some point.

[Al Agnew]

Here are some of the pictures from yesterday...

This is what the main river looked like:

Here is the little isolated hole where I caught the big browns:

Here is the brown I caught on a dry fly:

This is that gorgeous 19 inch cutthroat:

Here is the last and biggest rainbow, caught on the streamer:

Here's the second biggest brown I caught in that isolated hole:

And here's the biggest brown of the day, caught in that isolated hole...in looking at the photo and measuring my rod handle, I believe this fish was close to 22 inches:

[Bman]

Thanks for the post. It's not bragging, just stating fact.

[jdmidwest]

Where are you finding trout like that around here?

Just to remind you of home, here is a pic of what Flat River area looked like today.

[Al Agnew]

Yeah jd, weather forecast for next five days for Livingston MT and Farmington MO look almost exactly alike. If I was back in MO I'd really be grumpy, because I hate it when it's supposed to be spring and the weather is still cold. Here, I expect the weather to be like it is. Hope everybody got in some good fishing during the warm spell back there!

[Mitch f]

I'm glad somebody has time to fish; thanks for the post and pics. I'm totally jealous!!!

[joeD]

Bill Murray: It's 'cause I'm white, isn't it?

Michael Jordan: No. Larry's white, so what?

Bill Murray: Larry's not white. Larry's clear.

Al- You're the Larry Bird of fishing. You are clear.

[Mitch f]

That isolated hole looks like you would need to be very stealthy when approaching. It's hard to imagine catching more than a couple of fish out of that hole before the word got out!

How deep is it?