Tag: Firehole River fly fishing

Same old, same old Firehole.

May 26, 2014 / Kirk Werner / 4 Comments

As the departure date for the annual pilgrimage to Yellowstone nears, anticipation builds as it does every year. This is a trip of traditions, and not surprisingly I’ve written of it many times before:

2009
2010
2010, again
2011
2012
2013

This blog entry is a preview as much as it is a review because this trip is nearly always the same.

It never fails—the drive is always long. We’ve yet to figure out a way to change that. But the destination is always worth the 12-hour drive.

We always stay at the Ho Hum Motel in West Yellowstone.

The cats are always there to welcome us.

No two years see the same assembly of Rangers, although it’s largely the same core group. I was a Rookie Ranger in 2006. Couldn’t make the trip in 2007, but haven’t missed a trip since. One year it was just me and Marck (talk about a blow to one’s fishing ego). Marck is always there. Goose has been a constant since before my time. Nash is there more often than he’s not. Jimmy has been a reliable Ranger since 2010. Morris was a Rookie in 2012 and has enjoyed his non-Rookie status ever since. Erique was there a couple times but hasn’t been seen since 2010. Lancelot seems to have been a one-hit wonder. No matter the headcount, it’s always a great group of guys. Always.

Firehole Rangers circa 2010

Firehole Rangers circa 2011

Firehole Rangers circa 2012

Last year we were even joined by some girls…

Firehole Rangers circa 2013

…and a guy wearing a girl’s shirt.

No matter who shows up, we can always count on one thing: the weather. It is always unpredictable. Some years it snows a little.

Other years it snows a lot.

Sometimes the weather is decent.

Less often it’s downright pleasant. This much is certain: the weather is never the same, even within a 2 hour window.

Another thing that we cannot change is the flow of the river. Some years the Firehole runs a bit high with runoff while other years the flows are perfect. But either way, there are lots of fish in the Firehole and it fishes very well. After getting to know the river, one can be guaranteed to catch rainbows in certain areas, browns in others. And in some spots you will catch either, or both.

Most of the fish are typically in the 10-12 inch range.

Occasionally a larger fish is found.

The bigger fish are always browns.

No matter the size, the fish are always cooperative. And Marck always catches the most. Always.

It’s a risky proposition the mess with tradition, and being creatures of habit the Rangers generally avoid varying our habits. But this year there’s one significant change: we’re going back a week later than usual. The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, when fishing opens in the Park, has always been motivation. What can we expect to be different this year? Hopefully not much, other than smaller crowds and maybe—just maybe—a better chance at some nice weather. Reports from those who fished the Firehole on opening weekend this year indicated high water and slow fishing. Unusually and previously unseen slow fishing. Glad we’re going a week later–hopefully things will have improved by then.

In reality it will probably just be more of the same. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Change comes to the Firehole

May 29, 2013 / Kirk Werner / 4 Comments

The annual pilgrimage to Yellowstone is a trip of traditions where very little changes year to year and we generally wouldn’t have it any other way. In most cases, change is bad: nothing wrong with a little status quo. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Well, this year there were some notable changes to the program and change isn’t always bad.

2013 Firehole Rookie Ranger

For 2013 the Firehole Rangers were joined by a new Rookie Ranger and 3 guests. This year’s Rookie Ranger was Sir Lancelot—~~a gentleman~~ someone I’ve known for many years and have fished with and written about previously. In fact Lancelot was the first guest blogger to grace the pages of the UA. Lancelot was a welcome addition to the ranks; he’s the type of guy that makes you feel better about yourself.

Robert and 2/3 of the Trifecta

Our 3 guests included two of the Trifecta: Rachel and Aileen (Rebecca was unable to make it). They were joined by Aileen’s fiancee Robert, who had never before angled (he can’t say that any more). It was great to finally meet folks with whom I’d previously had only the occasion to meet via the internets. No unsavory surprises here, though I am not sure they can say the same.

No, really—it’s not that bad.

Trifecta of cats.

Speaking of unsavory…a big surprise was the office lobby at the Ho Hum which, while still heavy with the smell of cat, was actually tolerable this year. Aileen and Rachel may not have agreed, but they had nothing to compare it with. Take our word for it, ladies—it smelled nearly like potpurri this year (get it? purr-i?). Sorry, that was lame.

Jimmy’s Jordans.

Another change for 2013 was fashion. Not something that has ever before been a consideration, clothing and accessories actually played a significant role in this year’s trip. First up: Jimmy’s shoes. Not really sure what would possess a grown man to purchase shoes like this even if they were free. Rest assured Jimmy took a ration of crap over it, but perhaps not as much crap as was dished out for Lancelot…

Cantaloupe was in plentiful supply.

Lancelot’s shirt made Jimmy’s shoes seem not all that bad. What may have looked good on Rachel cannot the same thing be said of Lancelot and it was the conclusion of the Ranger Disciplinary Panel that there’s absolutely no reason for a man to wear a shirt that color. Or powder blue for that matter although I regret that I did not take a photo of The Gooseman and Morris sporting their powder blue shirts—you’ll just have to take my word they they made a cute couple.

Facial fashion.

The final Firehole fashion frenzy came by way of Aileen’s and Morris’s matching Buff things. Note that they each selected shirts in a shade of blue to compliment their Buffs: Aileen sporting a royal blue while Morris rocked the powder blue referenced above.

Unrelenting blue sky.

And while we’re on the subject of blue, the final and perhaps most significant deviation from previous years came by way of the weather. We’re accustomed to fishing in intermittent snow and driving rain. Last year and the year before have seen the worst of what Mother Nature can muster for this time of year. Sunscreen was required as we fished in our shirtsleeves under sunny skies on Saturday this year. Sunday featured a few more clouds but temperatures remained comfortably in the 60’s.

Change—sometimes good, sometimes bad, is what it is. There was plenty of it this year.

Thar she blows!

May 18, 2013 / Kirk Werner / 5 Comments

May 18, 1980

On the 33rd anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, I harken back to where I was and what I was doing. I was 17—a junior in high school. It was a Sunday, so I can tell you for certain I was not in church. I was living on the west side of the Cascades in a Seattle suburb. To be quite honest, the eruption was a non-event if you lived on the western side of the state. But if you lived on the other side, in central or eastern WA, it was a different story altogether.

Ash plume moves east.

Ask Mrs. Unaccomplished Angler and she’ll recall a vastly different day. She was in church, and the sky turned black as the ash plume drifted over her hometown of Yakima, WA. Ash fell from the sky, blanketing the ground. There was widespread panic and anxiety. Nobody knew if the ash was harmful to the touch or toxic to breath. There was no internet for disseminating information. Kids were out of school for nearly two weeks. Deliveries were halted to area businesses so grocery stores depleted their inventory. It was serious business.

St. Helens from the visitor’s center.

Mount St. Helens: the crater

But there was no destruction per se—it was nothing like the devastation that occurred in closer proximity to the mountain itself. In the years since May 18, 1980 I’ve seen videos, films and countless still photos but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I actually visited the scene of the crime first hand. To stand at the observation point looking directly at the mountain and the course of the mud flow that followed the eruption is to be blown away by the magnitude of the scale and the shear destructive power of mother nature.

Mt. Rainier: “Hey, Tacoma—You’re toast, dude!”

Still the power of the St. Helens eruption is child’s play compared to the devastation that ~~would~~ will likely occur if when Mt. Rainier blows its lid. I hope that doesn’t happen in my lifetime—it would change the course of life in western Washington, very likely making Spokane the second—if not THE largest economic center of the state. Tacoma stands a very real threat of being buried under several feet of mud, for sure. Seattle as a whole probably won’t crumble physically, but some reports suggest that even parts of Washington’s largest city could be devastated as the lahar (mud tsunami) hurtles rapidly down Rainier’s many river drainages toward Puget Sound. The damage to the local economy would have its effects. Like I said, I hope this happens long after I’m gone.

But it could be worse.

image courtesy http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/caldera.htm

One night several years ago while drinking beer in a bar in West Yellowstone, a local “character” (who appeared to be medicated) began to tell of the Yellowstone Supervolcano and the effects it would have on not only the greater Yellowstone area, but the entire region and in fact the world. I’ve no doubt he was medicated but his words were not far from the truth. It’s no surprise to visitors of the park that Yellowstone is all about volcanic activity. Check out the general information provided by our friends over at Wikipedia. Of particular note is the paragraph that includes Seismic Hazards and Hydromthermal Exlosion Hazards.

Bubbling pot of hot water.

Warming one’s, um—hands—by a steam vent…

A good place to be.

My intent with this blog post is not to scare you. No, that’s what THIS ARTICLE is for. Nor do I want to deter you from visiting Yellowstone and fishing the Firehole. In fact, put it on your bucket list because it’s a fascinating river to fish for reasons well beyond the fishing.

But if you’re like me, when the Yellowstone Supervolcano does blow—and eventually it will—you do not want to be sitting at home several hundreds of miles away, where you’ll have time to hear about the eruption on the news and panic before you’re wiped out.

No, I want to be standing knee deep in the Firehole—essentially right on top of the caldera—when she blows.

I hope it doesn’t erupt next week, but if it does I’ll be there.

Up the Firehole: Through the eyes of a Rookie Ranger

June 5, 2012 / Kirk Werner / 14 Comments

One thing nice about having a Rookie join the ranks of the Firehole Rangers this year was that we had us a submissive member along to do our bidding. Not only did he provide the plush mini van in which we traveled comfortably (and in shame) through Washington, Idaho and Montana, but once we reached our destination we had someone naive to check us in to the Ho Hum. Those of us who know from experience the risk associated with stepping foot inside the motel office always resist having to do so–a task administered only after drawing straws. But having a new guy along gave us veteran Rangers a much-deserved reprieve from the cat-fest. It seemed appropriately ironic that the Rookie, whose name may or may not be Morris, was ordered to stand in the face of the olfactoral assault, something he did bravely and without throwing up in his mouth. He also fetched us beers on demand, strung up our rods, bought our meals, and cleaned our gear at the end of each day. Well, 1 out of 4 ain’t bad.

Another benefit of having a Firehole first-timer along for the journey was the reminder of what it’s like to experience this amazing place for the first time. After several years of making the trip I find myself, while still in awe, more focused on the fishing than the bison, the thermal activity, the scenery. Those fixtures are always impressive, but after you’ve been there and done that a few times, it becomes somewhat commonplace. It shouldn’t be that way.

From behind the lens of his pink camera (to match his pink, v-neck Firehole Ranger Rookie t-shirt), Morris captured the magic of fishing this special place. Almost as if from a child’s innocent perspective, I give you the wonderment of the Yellowstone (thanks for the photos, Rookie).

Ho Hum Sweet Home, for a few days.

Day one brings a dusting of Montana powder.

The Goosemaster trudges past the crowds toward vacant water and gullible fish.

Late Spring in Yellowstone, Midway Geyser Basin.

Alas, the mighty Firehole. Let the lines become wet!

The weather would get worse before it got better.

The fishing could not have been any better: The Goosemaster and Marck doubled up.

Marck with the first of 273 fish for the day.

Blah, blah, blah. Whatever, Marck.

The weather broke just in time for lunch.

After which we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon of plentiful catching.

Everyone caught many fish, though some are by nature less accomplished.

Oh look, a hole in the ground filled with water. Wonder if it's hot?

Wait, Marck, this thing's going to erupt in just a second. Don't move.

Streamside attraction.

And then it would rain hard, and BWO's would hatch. Many fish eating real bugs, not ours.

That night, back at the Ho Hum...

Gooseman pontificates on one of many subjects before we head out for pizza and more beer.

Day two: There are many large animals in Yellowstone.

On this second day there was less snow, more cold. Biscuit Basin, YNP.

Catching was slower than the day before, depending on who you asked.

Jimmy didn't much complain.

The UA would complain, but still managed a fish.

Between naps, The Goosemaster got in on some action.

Marck only caught 167 fish on day two. Ha! Take THAT!

Lunch, under blue skies.

Thus concludes day two on the Firehole.

Thanks, Rookie Ranger, for the reminder of what it’s all about. See you next year, if I’m invited back.

For the veteran Rangers, black t-shirts.

Firehole Rangers 2012: dressed for success

May 31, 2012 / Kirk Werner / 4 Comments

There’s so much I want to tell you about this year’s Firehole Ranger road trip, but I’ve got a lot of photos to edit and thoughts to gather before I can post anything of significant eloquence and refinement, as you are all accustomed to here at the UA. So ~~while you wait eagerly~~ until I get something together, I wanted to share with you our 2012 team t-shirts provided, by Marck, for the recent trip to Yellowstone. By the way, fishing was good.

For the veteran Rangers, black t-shirts. Very outlaw, manly.

For the Rookie Ranger, a pink t-shirt (V-neck, no less).

Stay tuned for more, and thanks for stopping by.

In Anticipation of Yellowstone

May 15, 2012 / Kirk Werner / 22 Comments

As the annual pilgrimage of the “Firehole Rangers” (as I refer to us) nears and anticipation builds, I find myself easily distracted from daily tasks. This happens every year, without fail. Consistency–that’s what the trip represents. Every year on the Friday before Memorial Day, a rag-tag assembly of mostly the same group of guys departs the wet side of Washington for the 12+ hour drive to West Yellowstone, MT. We always stop at the same place for breakfast, for gas, for pit stops along the way. We always stay at the lavish accommodations of the Ho Hum Motel in West Yellowstone, purchase our National Park fishing permits at the same shop, and we always (always) purchase the same secret weapon soft hackle flies. There’s very little deviation. Creatures of habit the Rangers are.

On Saturday morning we’re always up early and one of the first cars through the gate. Fishing inside the park opens on this Saturday, and we drive as quickly as legally possible (and circumstantially feasible) to our destination: Midway Geyser Basin. Usually a herd of bison cows with their recently-birthed calves impedes our progress, but that’s just part of the ritual and one of the benefits of being in Yellowstone, where the wildlife rule. They’re never in a hurry, nor should we be. As hard as it is to control our enthusiasm to get on the water, the meandering Tatonka are a good reminder to slow down and take it all in. If you don’t you’ll miss all that Yellowstone has to offer.

In addition to more bison than you can shake a stick at, we also see herds of elk along the drive. One year a grizzly was seen loping along a ridge that runs parallel to the road. But it’s not a race to get to the river. Some years we’re the first anglers on the water; other years that’s not the case. It matters little because everything about this trip is an experience to be savored. I can imagine no other place on Earth quite like this, where two-and four-legged animals can peacefully coexist in such close proximity. However, the annual tragic encounter between a tourist and a native park inhabitant serves as a good reminder that these animals are very much wild and should be respected as such. Each year we see tourists ignoring the warning signs and getting way too close to the animals. I’m led to believe that the occasional culling of the human herd is a undoubtedly a good thing.

Yellowstone is big country. There’s room for everyone (animals and anglers). There are sizable crowds of tourists on Memorial Day weekend, although much less so than later in the tourist season. Relatively few people are in the park to fish while we’re there, so while I’ve heard that Firehole can become crowded with anglers, we’re fortunate that we see far more animals than fishermen when we visit. We always fish the same stretch of the Firehole river the first day and we always catch a lot of fish. Even on years when the river is higher than average, the Firehole produces enough cookie cutter-sized browns and rainbows in the 7-12 inch range to keep a bend in the 4 weight and a smile on the face all day long. There’s always that chance of a bigger fish that keeps an angler working a deep hole persistently. Stare at the river too long and you’re likely to find yourself flanked by bison when you finally look up.

If ever a river represented the essence that ‘there’s more to fishing than catching fish’, the Firehole would be it. As the river winds through the Midway Geyser Basin it changes personality with regularity: long, slow stretches filled with thick weed beds yield brown trout. These fish hit the fly hard and put their heads down. It’s not often they show themselves above the surface, though I did have a brown go airborn last year. Where the slow water turns to riffles, the trout become hard-fighting rainbows that will put on an aerobatic show once hooked. In many areas you can catch a brown on one cast and a rainbow on another. The Firehole is teeming with wild trout, but what you won’t catch are cutthroat trout native to the park.

Above Firehole Falls, where we fish each year, the river was originally devoid of trout. In 1889 the government began stocking fish as part of a park-wide effort to draw more anglers to Yellowstone. The stocking program was a simple economic-based decision that had a detrimental impact on the native fish in many of the park’s waters. Stocking programs ceased in 1955 and now there is great emphasis on controlling non-native species and protecting the populations of native fish. Although the browns and rainbows in the Firehole aren’t native, they are wild and I’m glad they’re there. Maybe that’s selfish of me.

The Firehole Rangers are creatures of habit, seldom (if ever) deviating from our long-established protocol. Truth be told, there’s little reason to change things up because we’re always rewarded with that which we seek. I must admit, though, I’ve always been curious about the fishing opportunities inside the Park beyond the Firehole. There are countless creeks, lakes and rivers that hold abundant fishing opportunities, so one may ask, “Hey, Firehole Rangers–why don’t you branch out and explore other areas?” That’s a valid question. After all, Yellowstone is a vast expanse with a long list of rivers that beckon the angler: the Bechler, Firehole, Gallatin, Gardner, Gibbon, Lamar, Lewis, Madison, and Snake Rivers. The answer is simple: seasonal timing. Late May falls smack dab in the middle of the Spring runoff, and the other rivers in the park are all running high and off-color when we’re there to visit. The Firehole is unique in many aspects, not the least of which is that even when it’s running high, it’s fishable. It may turn a darker shade of tea, but it doesn’t muddy-up. And it’s a reasonably small river which can be crossed on foot in most sections, even when the river is high.

Another reason for fishing the Firehole early in the season is that with all the thermal activity along its banks, the water temperature in river far exceeds that of other rivers in the park at this time of year. Through much of the area we fish, the temperature of the river is near 60 degrees and the trout activity is correspondingly elevated. As the season progresses and weather heats up, the Firehole can become too warm and unhealthy for the fish. Not while we’re there. Late Spring at 7200 ft does not necessarily equate to blue skies and fishing in shirtsleeves. Although it certainly can be nice, on most years we’ll find ourselves fishing in sporadically winter-like conditions. Last year it snowed hard all day on our second day, accumulating 5 inches of the white stuff. The weather is unpredictable, you can count on that.

Very little changes about this trip from year-to-year, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. However I would like to see the park during the summer, when other waters are fishable. I wouldn’t mind being able to fish without having to bundle up in fleece and goretex. I’d like to catch a native cutthroat from the Yellowstone River, hook my first-ever Grayling and pierce the air bladder on a non-native lake trout. I’m also curious about lodging alternatives to the Ho Hum. There’s one way to make sure this happens…

Two fly angling blogger types will be chosen to participate in his year’s Blogger Tour 2012. Those lucky two will spend three days in Yellowstone, learning about the impact of Yellowstone Lake’s invasive lake trout population and the Park’s native fish recovery plan. It’s a tremendous opportunity to learn about America’s first National Park (founded in 1872), and one of the most unique places on Earth. This is my submission for the Trout Unlimited, Simms, the Yellowstone Park Foundation and the Outdoor Blogger Network – Blogger Tour 2012 contest.

The streets of West Yellowstone: May 29, 2011

The Firehole Rangers: Day Two

June 22, 2011 / Kirk Werner / 16 Comments

As was hinted at in last week’s Drivel®, day two on the Firehole River brought with it some change. The locals had been looking nervously over their shoulders and whispering under their breath about a weather system due to arrive overnight and bring with it 6-10 inches of snow. Our biggest concern was that the Park would be closed and we wouldn’t be able to fish. Fortunately there wasn’t even a trace of snow on the ground Sunday morning and we entered the gates without so much as a verbal warning about winter driving conditions. Well, come to think of it I guess there was a small sandwich board sign that cautioned drivers of potentially slippery roads, but there was no grand warning of any kind. Yes, snow was forecasted, and the sky had a grim demeanor about it, but how bad could it really be? Afterall, it was late Spring. May 29th to be certain.

The streets of West Yellowstone: May 29, 2011

We’ve witnessed many a wintery squall while fishing the Firehole over the years but they’ve always blown in and blown out, never sticking around for more than an hour or so. The weather changes quickly in Yellowstone, and that’s something that never changes. But as we pulled into the parking lot at Fountain Flat, the snow began to fall. By the time we had geared up, my fingers were numb. They hadn’t been this cold since I’d gone steelhead fishing 8 months earlier during a snowstorm in Catatonia.

Goosemeister, Jimmy, Marck, Nash, UA

After a quick team photo in which The Goosemeister appears particularly uncomfortable, Jimmy appears particularly happy, Marck appears much shorter than he really is, Nash can be seen with his jacket tucked inside his waders, and I appear much taller than I really am thanks to my Lucky Fishing Hat, we hiked upstream in the blowing snow. There was nobody else fishing on this particular morning, and with the snow driving into our faces or piling up on our backside (depending upon which side of the river we were on), it was easy to understand why we were alone.

But once you got past the blowing snow and focused on the fishing, there was cause for celebration: the fishing was good. It always slows down a bit on the second day, but this year that didn’t seem to be the case. At one point while standing mid-river and catching my 7th trout in 9 casts, I literally laughed out loud. The fish seemed a little bigger on average, or maybe they just looked bigger through sunglass lenses obscured by droplets of melting snow.

We fished our way downstream, past the falls toward the bridge. The snow continued. It was more like winter than late Spring. The Bison seemed unimpressed with us for having braved the weather. What do they know? They’re just stupid animals.

After 4 hours of this, we did something we’d ever done before on previous years: we changed plans–called an audible. It was decided that we would take a mid-day break from the weather and go have lunch at the Old Faithful ~~Lodge~~ Inn (thanks to RJ Berens for catching my error). This radical suggestion was met with enthusiastic response from all members, so we hiked back to the rig, in the still-driving snow, stowed our wet gear in the back of the snow-covered suburban, and drove the short distance to the ~~Lodge~~ Inn. I’d never been there before and was impressed by the number of cars filling the parking lot and the shear size of the structure.

While we enjoyed the respite from the weather and feasted on a fine, warm lunch, it continued to snow outside. We were fairly comfortable with our bellies full of grub and our fingers finally thawed. Lesser men would have opted to skip the afternoon fishing session, but we are not lesser men. We were here to fish, and weather be damned, fishing was what we were going to to.

Parking at Biscuit Basin, we ~~enthusiastically~~ geared up once again. This time it seemed more painful than ever and before my boots were laced my fingers had once again lost all feeling. The good thing about the Firehole River is that if your fingers do get cold, it’s not hard to find a thermal with a nice temperature of, say 80 degrees, in which to warm up. Just be careful not to pick a thermal that’s considerably closer to the boiling point. I didn’t, but mind you that can be an easy miscalculation.

On average, fishing was slower this afternoon than it had been earlier that morning, but the Firehole continued to give up plenty of fish, including some nice risers during a brief hatch.

Anyone who spends any amount of time recreating outdoors knows the importance of being comfortable, and you’re all probably wondering about Nash, whose waders had taken on water the previous day. Did he get everything dried out properly? Was he suffering miserably on this second, cold and dreadfully wet day? Well, thanks to an extra pair of waders that Jimmy had brought along, Nash was dry and comfortable on day two. At least he was until late in the afternoon when he noticed that his legs felt damp. It was at this point he acknowledged that wearing one’s jacket on the outside of one’s waders is the preferred method of layering in precipitous weather. Lessons learned, we hiked back to the parking lot and bade farewell to the Firehole River for another year. It felt good to be inside the rig with the heater on. As we drove off, a miserable herd of Bison passed by in close proximity. How do ya like us now, huh? Stupid animals.

That evening from our lavish suite at the Ho Hum, a beacon of comfort and Southern goodness shined in the distance and beckoned us to feast in celebration.

As we did, we rejoiced in the splendor of the two days we’d spent on the Firehole River. We had caught many fish, as we always do. Sometimes the weather is as expected. Other times it is not. That was definitely the case this year.

To read about the next day of our trip, which was written about previously, go HERE.

A Grand Slam, almost. (Wrestling the Narcoleptic Goose, Part II)

April 8, 2010 / Kirk Werner / 6 Comments

(One may have gathered from the title that this is the second in a two-part series. In order to fully enjoy Part II, one must first read Part I. That being said, even then one may not enjoy Part II)

Over the course of two days the Firehole produced for us in typical fashion: solid numbers of willing browns and rainbows, most in the 10” – 12” range, but a couple slightly larger. At one point I saw Marck headed upstream from where we’d just come and asked where he was going. He’d apparently seen but not landed a big brown in a nice hole the previous year, and was going back to see about sealing the deal. Right, whatever. An hour or so later he returned, smiling. When he announced that he had caught the brown and it was BIG, I called Bison shit. He maintains that he caught the fish. I suggest the altitude was getting to him. Nearly all the fish were enticed by dead drifting a magical nymph pattern that I would tell you about, except for the fact that I would not be invited again on this trip if I did. I will tell you that this secret weapon can be found at either Bud Lilly’s Trout Shop or Blue Ribbon Flies or Arricks’s Fly Shop or Jacklin’s Fly Shop or West Yellowstone Fly Shop or Madison River Outfitters in West Yellowstone, but only at one of them. 99% of the fishing was subsurface without an indicator, which makes it a little easier to tolerate nymphing. We encountered one impressive BWO hatch during which only a couple fish were caught. Too much of a good thing proved to be the case, and with literally a gazillion real bugs hatching, our imitations were largely overlooked (mighta been due to less-than-perfect presentation, too). Still, it was amazing to see browns rising every few feet in a stretch of water that had hardly yielded a fish just a few hours earlier in the day. But considering the Firehole was running higher than average for this time of year, I had nothing to complain about, other than a couple of nearly sleepless nights as Stan’s roommate. Mother Nature threw everything at us, from driving snow to sunbreaks and everything in between. It’s always unpredictable fishing at 8000 feet in the Rockies during late Spring.

Ready for the next leg of our journey, which hopefully would involve some bigger fish, we departed the comforts of the Ho Hum motel in West Yellowstone at 5:30 AM in order to be at the Rock Creek Mercantile by 10 o’clock – the time designated for meeting up with our guides for the day. Two full days of wade fishing and perhaps 4 total hours of sound sleep had left me a bit loopy, but it was nothing that a cup of Joe and the promise of fishing the infamous Rock Creek wouldn’t cure. A stop at the golden arches in West Yellowstone for a quick hit of caffeine turned into a skunk, as the coffee machine was broken. This was not the way to begin a day that required a 4 hour drive, and the lack of java did little to lift the spirits and puffy eyelids on board the Soccer Mom Express. I volunteered to take the wheel for this first leg, knowing that at this early hour of the morning there would be few cars on the road and I could drive in a relative state of shame-free anonymity. Aside from a bull moose galloping alongside the road, I don’t recall seeing another living creature until we pulled into Big Sky for coffee. That’s not to say that there weren’t other vehicles on the road, but the lack of caffeine insured that the senses remained dull and I don’t recall seeing anything other than the moose, who glanced sideways at us in a manner that bespoke his thoughts: “Nice mini van.”

Properly revived by the ample supply of coffee acquired in Big Sky, we made excellent time heading westbound on I-90. We pulled into the Rock Creek Mercantile with 15 minutes to spare and were greeted by proprietor Doug Perisco, who was hard at work in his chair on the porch with a good cigar. The first order of business was to check into the cabins that we’d be staying in that night. In our excitement to arrive at Rock Creek, we had failed to draw the straws which would assign sleeping arrangements for that night. I watched as Stan carried his duffel bag toward the entrance to The Small Cabin. I quickly grabbed my stuff and sprinted toward The Big Cabin. After having bunked with Stan for the previous two nights I was looking forward to getting at least one night of decent sleep while on this trip. Survival of the fleetest of foot – my decisive action would have made Darwin proud. Marck was right on my heels, and as soon as we’d secured our lodging or the night, we shared a moment of silence in honor of our friend Nash, who would be bunking with The Goosemaster.

We geared up quickly and drove with our guides some 15+ miles up Rock Creek. The river was running high, as we knew it would be, and nobody to speak of had really been fishing the Creek recently. Everyone else was waiting for the salmonfly hatch to start, which could happen at any time (though it would not happen for another few days). Still, our guides assured us the fish were ready to eat, and we strung up our rods with white and yellow bead-headed variations of the woolly bugger. We boarded two rafts that would carry us downstream at a very quick pace and began pounding the banks with our flies.

The Goosemaster

I was sharing the raft with Stan (he doesn’t snore while fishing), and we got into fish shortly after the put-in. As soon as the heavily weighted flies hit the bank, we were instructed to give a quick tug and a good mend to allow them to settle into the water. We were drifting fast, which didn’t allow the fish more than a split second to see the flies and make a decision to strike. It took a few attempts and a couple of lost flies before I got the hang of this “Runnin & Gunnin” style of fishing. To describe the day as a combination of whitewater rafting and fishing would be inaccurate only because the water was less white and more the same color as the coffee with creme I’d enjoyed so much a few hours earlier. But it was a thrill to bounce through large waves while chucking flies. Soon we were hooking up at a regular rate with 12-15 inch browns , and an occasional rainbow. Stan hooked a small bull trout, and shortly thereafter I caught a bigger one – not very big by most standards, but being my first bull trout I was thrilled. And yes, I’m sure it was a bull trout.

It was halfway through our float when our guide proclaimed that a Rock Creek grand slam wasn’t out of the relm of possibilities. The grand slam of trout fishing is when an accomplished angler has a banner day on the water, and successfully catches, in a 24 hour period, each of the trout species known to reside in those particular waters. In this case that entails rainbow, cutthroat, brown, bull and brook trout (even though a bull and Brookie are, as we all know, technically chars). Rock Creek is one of the better rivers that afford the chance of hitting a grand slam, and while I never even pondered such a milestone, I was just happy to have caught a few fish. Even though we had yet to catch a cutthroat, we knew the river had a good supply of them. The likelihood of catching a Brookie seemed unlikely until Stan caught a Brookie. Now the reality of the Grand Slam seemed well within our reaches. I knew I wasn’t going to be honored with the achievement, but simply witnessing the act was good enough for me. Stan was standing at bat with the bases loaded, and all he needed was to connect with the right pitch. I became a Stan fan, and cheered him on with every cast. For a while I even kept my line off the water so as to give him room to work his magic. The problem was that by now we were in the lower stretches of the river, and the cutthroat tended to be higher up. Still, each cast carried with it tremendous hope, and you could feel the tension in the air. We were still having fun, mind you, but the mood aboard our raft had taken on an intense focus. Fish continued to hit Stan’s fly, but the fish were not the coveted cutthroats we sought. I managed to land a cuttbow, but that didn’t count (and besides, it was not I who was in the running for the grand slam). The catching slowed significantly during the last hour of the day, and unfortunately as we reached our take-out, the game winning cutthroat trout evaded us. There would be no Grand Slam for Stan the Man, but we raised a beer and toasted a great day on a great river that provided us with great angling excitement. Between the two of us we had probably landed 30 fish, and we’d each hooked up with a couple species which we had not previously caught. Our day on Rock Creek topped off another great Montana fishing adventure.

The report from Nash and Marck’s raft was that they had brought over 50 trout to the net: Browns, rainbows and a whole bunch of cutthroat which they’d caught in the first 2 hours of the day.

And in case you’re wondering, yes – I did enjoy my last night by sleeping peacefully. At dawn I awoke to the sound of a large bird, and immediately assumed it was just geese in the cabin next door. Poking my head out the door I realized that what I’d heard was not a gaggle, but rather a gobble. I’d already filled my turkey tag back in Washington that year, so I went back to bed for another hour.