Back in Kentucky we’d always have an evening shower in the summer but everything’s a little bigger in Big Sky Country.  Someone sent me these pictures of the storm that pounded Bozeman yesterday and broke car windows everywhere which huge hail stones.

I began my love affair with Arctic Grayling in 2004 on a 6 week fishing / road trip from Las Vegas, NV to Prudhoe Bay, AK. 

I was on some unknown little stream way above the arctic circle when I spent the whole day picking off little grayling with a Parachute Adams.  Even though the fish were small they probably had never seen a fly and were full of spunk.  It was one of those beautiful fishing moments that you over romanticize and always remember. 

I recently discovered a nearby spot with grayling who are willing to play… and these aren’t tiny like the ones I remember. 

I caught this 16 incher this afternoon.

Of course I’ll be heading back tomorrow.

Decided to take advantage of opening weekend in the park and headed to fish the Firehole, which for some reason I’ve never fished.  I usually shy away from crowded spaces.  But, I have a friend who told me that if there was a trout stream in heaven it would be the Firehole.   So I figured it was time to give it try.   Well… I don’t know about heaven but I had a really good time and it is a sweet little river.  The weather was hit and miss depending on the hour, it was brutal yesterday with really heavy wind, snow, sleet and rain but warmed up in the evening.  Even so, there was a pretty good PMD hatch with a few BWO’s here and there for spice.  I saw plenty of fish feeding on the surface and took a few but most were caught swinging soft hackles.   All in all it was a pretty good trip; I caught quite a few fish, saw a lot of cool wildlife and had a swallow try to pick my sparkle dun up off the water a few times. 

I am, however, sad to report that tragedy struck while playing my last fish of the day.  The fish headed up under a weed bed and I lifted the rod up to work him out and snap… broke my favorite stick, my Winston BIIx 5 wt… broke clean right in the middle.  I had to haul this little guy in stripping the line by hand while my prized possession dangled helplessly at my feet. 

I thought about crying but it had been such a good trip… why mess it up. 

Guess I’ll be heading over to Twin Bridges later this week. 

Even though I’ve been fishing pretty much every day for weeks now I really haven’t had much to report.  It’s been a  series of mediocre days,  a lot of time spent splashing around looking for the fish that everyone else is catching.  So, in that way… today’s report will be no different. 

I woke up this morning not really wanting to go out but with no furniture to sit on, being pretty much caught up on work and nothing else to do but tie flies… I forced myself to go fish.  (I know it’s a tough life.)

The Madison hasn’t been treating me to well lately so naturally that’s where I headed, only to find the midge hatch has increased exponentially in the last few days since my last trip over.  However, in spite the biblical midge hatch it was windy and sunny and I never found one fish feeding on top. 

Look close… that scum on the water is a midge cluster the size of a house boat.

So it was another beautiful day enjoying the great outdoors.  Six hours on the water and ony one fish… although I am happy to report that one fish was a 21 inch brown, who I might have lucked into by hitting him on the head with that size 20 zebra midge. 

I set off this morning with a the intention of going to Livingston to fish the Yellowstone but with a last minute change of plans I ended up on the Lower Madison.  After a bunch of nothing the midges started coming off really heavy and I found plenty of fish interested in dries. 

Turned out to be some of the best dry fly fishing I’ve had in a few months.  A beautiful cloudy, midge filled day. 

I came across the North American Black Bear Research Center in Minnesota who has a Bear Cam set up in the den of this mother and cub.  Pretty interesting.

Bear Cam Link:  http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/lily-den-cam.html

We’re seeing temperatures pushing up near 50 this week so you can bet I’ll be on the rivers. 

After my beating on the Madison Friday I figured I’d head over to the Gallatin to see if I could change my luck.  I did, and managed to catch a number of decent browns; all on #18 midges.  Unfortunately, I lost a couple that were really nice… one in particular which was easily 20+ who broke me off… stupid fish.

All in all, a good day on the river.

I know it’s been a while since I posted but I’ve been both a little preoccupied and a bit unmotivated.  I guess starting a blog during a major life change wasn’t the best idea but I think the move is finally complete and I’m settled enough to get back at it.  Well… at least as settled as I can get with only the things I could fit in a Expedition and a dilapidated wooden drift boat. 

As some of you know I recently made the permanent move from Las Vegas to Bozeman, MT to run the camp full time.  I’d like to say it was a smooth, well planned and organized move… but if I did, I’d be lying.

We packed our 3000 sq. ft. house up and stuffed it into a 20×20 storage unit, Emily and the fingerling moved into my mother in laws house temporarily and I took what I needed to live for the summer and headed north.    I’ve rented a little farm house and upon arrival realized I have perhaps allowed the trout bum thing to get out of hand.  Apparently all I thought I needed was a truck load of fishing gear.  So, after spending $200 on things I should have brought  like towels, a light, and a chair… I’m rattling around in one room with no furniture except a folding table for fly tying and one for a desk and sleeping on a mat on the floor.  A mat!

The good news is that I can now purchase a resident fishing license. 

I have managed a few fishing days since arriving.  I stopped on the way up to fish the Beaverhead; only had about an hour but made a couple of hook ups.  I fished the Gallatin a couple of times this past week with a little success and then today I fished the Lower Madison.  Folks around here claim it’s fishing great…  well, either I picked the stretch with no fish or something is rubbing off from some of the blogs I read.

For the most part it’s going well and I’m glad to be out of Vegas and in fly fishing Mecca.

Wild Bonneville Cutthroat caught in Leeds Creek in St. George, Utah.

www.winstonrods.com

As some of you know one of the only things which can rival my passion for fly fishing is my passion for homeschooling (actually “unschooling”) my daughter.  My approach relies heavily on sparking passion and experiencing life in a practical form.  If you’re interested you might see my other blog on homeschooling: www.scottthrasher.com.

Fly fishing has been a great class room and I’m lucky that the small fry shares in my passion for the outdoors. 

So, I’d like to share a few photos of my little fishing and fly tying buddy and a video taken the other day at the tying bench. 

Note: Thanks to www.365flyfish.com where I discovered this nifty little flipbook plugin.

I’ve followed these guys for a long time and have just about worn through my first Fishing Music CD.  I was glad to get the second this past summer so that now I have twice as much music to tie to.  If you haven’t heard them you should, they are must have CD’s.   Check them out at: www.fishingmusic.com

  Speaking of music… congratulations to my wife Emily who begins her run in the Las Vegas production of Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian Casino Resort today. 

Thrashin’ Trout’s first fly tying demonstration video.  The “Brassie” is a simple but classic fly which is a perfect start for the beginning tier. 

About this time last year we took a weekend trip over to Yosemite and stayed in the town of Mammoth Lakes.  The Mono Council for the Arts commissioned about 50 artists to paint these trout sculptures which were auctioned off for arts education in the schools.  The project was called Trail of the Trout and being an artist and a fisherman I was all for it; however, it was my wife Emily who took the time to photograph every piece while I spent my time fishing Hot Creek.  I’ve wanted to post these for a while and now that I have a place… here are just a few of the dozens that were all over town. 

View Full Album

So I tried my hand at making a batch of dubbing wax and after a little tinkering I finally came up with just the right tackiness.  Now I have enough wax for the next 20 years.  I found the recipe in a great article on the Global Fly Fisher. 

Recipe:

Beeswax

Bow Rosin

Olive Oil

Tuna or Cat Food Can

Coffee Maker (A hot plate or burner would work as well.)

Small Tins or Push Up Tubes

Olive Bead Head Midge Emerger

Hook: TMC 2487

Bead: Black Tungsten Bead

Body: 8/0 UNI – Olive

Rib: Silver Ultra Wire – Small

Under Wing: Crystal Flash

Wing Case: Foam

Collar: Ice Dub Peacock

Here are a couple of photos I recently came across which prove that fishing is in my blood thicker than originally thought.  The first picture shows my mother on the left with fish caught in the Ohio River.  The bottom photo shows my great, great, grandfather James H. Toler with an Ohio River catfish.  Look closely and you’ll see a small kitten sitting behind the fish making it look like an actual “Cat” Fish…

I met Bill Dance once many years ago at some sort of Sportsman convention in Cincinnati.  He was standing at a booth casting a rubber plug into a Styrofoam coffee cup.  I had been looking for a spinning rod for some reason… and he sold me on the one and only spinning rod I’ve ever owned.  I still have it and it’s hardly ever been used. 

I love these videos of Bill’s bloopers.  In a former life I made a living as a physical comedian and even in my prime couldn’t hold a candle to Bill Dance.  Not only a fishing legend but a comedy genius.