Four hours

[Al Agnew]

It's about three or four miles from our house on the Yellowstone down to the next access.  I had exactly four hours to fish.  Mary and I had floated it the day before in the kayaks, and I hadn't even taken a fishing rod, but of course I still looked at the water constantly, picking out places I'd like to fish.  So when I slid the little Water Master raft into the water, I had a plan.  

I've been beginning to doubt my trout fishing abilities this year.  The Yellowstone has been tough for me.  Others supposedly caught fish like crazy back in early July when the river was just getting into fishable shape; I found the fishing to be pretty marginal.  Others supposedly caught piles of nice fish during the hopper season; I didn't.  I took three friends on a float on the river and a wade trip on the Boulder back in late July, and pretty much failed them as a guide; we didn't catch nearly as many fish as they were used to catching in MIssouri.  I'd just taken a guy on the river a few days ago, and he'd ended up catching exactly one trout, and I'd caught two.  Oh, I'd caught a couple nice ones floating with Mary last week.  I'd been able to furnish a couple of trout dinners for a friend who has a dietary restriction but could eat fresh trout.  (The limit on the Yellowstone is 4 trout under 13 inches and one over 22...I'd caught two eaters two days in a row, along with several nicer fish in the slot fishing next to the house.)  But for the most part, the year has been rough.

I was hoping to change that.  There was a front moving in; the day had started out warm and sunny, but forecast was for the temps to start dropping around 2 PM with rain.  I was really thinking the cloudy weather coming in along with the front might cause some kind of hatch, or at least get some fish active.  My plan was to fish every "riffle corner" I came to.  Riffle corners are those eddies of slower water alongside fast riffles, with a strong seam between slow water and fast water.  If a hatch came off and I started seeing rises, I'd switch to dry flies, but until then I'd drift nymphs through those seams.

First riffle corner.  One whitefish.  Second riffle corner, nothing.  Third riffle corner, two whitefish and a tiny trout.  Fourth one, a pod of whitefish, five caught, no trout.  The problem with stopping to fish riffle corners was that it takes time to fish each one carefully.  I was well into my second hour when I reached a little island in the middle of fast water, with riffle corners on both sides.  I fished the narrower side first.  16 inch rainbow.  13 inch rainbow.  Four whitefish.  17 inch rainbow.  Alright, things are looking up.  Walk across the island to fish the better looking riffle corner.  One tiny trout.

Next spot, nothing. Nothing at the next one, either.  I began to drift dry flies along the banks.  Absolutely nothing.  Tried streamers.  Nothing.  Rain started.  Stopped.  Wind blowing downstream about 20 mph, from the west.  Then it shifted to the north.  A half hour and a half mile left.  Stopped at a very unconventional riffle corner, one that most people wouldn't fish.  18 inch rainbow, best of the day.  Nothing else.  Rowed on down to the take-out in a cold rain.

Well, it was a little better than average for the year, anyway.

[fishinwrench]

So what are they bitin' on?  Just any old nymph?  

How much weight do you have to use out there?

Another buddy (customer actually, I've never fished with him) just got back from Yellowstone and he had some pretty impressive pics on his phone, they caught all of theirs on a big drowned Adams (#10 or 12 fishing it like a nymph).  I had a guy spank me bad doing that at Bennett once, many years ago.  He was using a little one, but still...  

Pressured fish never see drys near the bottom, and apparently sometimes they like it.   I need to try it more often when the bite is dead.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

Don't you have work to do, Wrench?

[Old plug]

Your going to keep ragging on wrench and he is going to turn his dog loose on you. . He can about stomp you just by greeting you.

[snagged in outlet 3]

[Al Agnew]

I keep it very simple with nymphs.  Prince, Flashback Hare's Ear, Copper John, Pheasant Tail, and soft hackles are about all I use on the Yellowstone.  I was using a size 12 Hare's Ear and a 14 green bodied soft hackle.  Nearly everything was on the Hare's Ear.  I generally use two BB split shot on the Yellowstone.

[fishinwrench]

6 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Don't you have work to do, Wrench?

Me?  Not at midnight on a Sunday, unless you're talking about my part time job testing headboard fasteners.

Hey my posts are usually short and to the point.    

[snagged in outlet 3]

12 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Me?  Not at midnight on a Sunday, unless you're talking about my part time job testing headboard fasteners.

Hey my posts are usually short and to the point.    

Don't be giving people false hope about dropping a dry fly as a nymph, it doesn't work. 

 

[fishinwrench]

Does too!  😝

[snagged in outlet 3]

SIGH