55 on the fly

Here is part 2 of our trip on the Beartooth Highway. Buffalo in Lamar Valley - one of my favorite places. At the end of our eastward trip on Beartooth Highway is a town called Red Lodge.  It is an old town with lots of unique shops to visit (much better than my Livingston experience).  We found - of all things - an English pub where we had a nice lunch.  Doug had fish and chips and I had a cornish pasty which brought back memories of my trip to England with my mom.  We walked through some of the shops and then got back on the road to brave the heights one more time.  The views were spectacular the second time since we were seeing everything from a different angle.  We stopped at several pull-outs along the way to marvel at the scenery.  When we entered YNP again we drove until we got to Lamar Valley - one of my favorite places.  We saw hundreds of bison in the valley and some were blocking traffic for a while.  We ate our picnic dinner at...

The old foot is healing, I think... it's sore and brightly colored... big as a softball.  My whole foot is swollen!  I bought a brace and wore that with Keen sandals yesterday, but today it's swollen big time.  The only thing I can get on my foot is my Croc's...  No way I can get into my wading shoes with a brace and a sock or into my wading boots either.  I was suppose to guide tomorrow, that's out of the question.  Hopefully by the weekend I can get out on the streams...     This is the good side!                          This is the bad side....

Last night Michelle and I had dinner with fellow guides Wilson and Ben, his girl friend Stef and good friends Dave and Esperanza at the Lighthouse Restaurant just outside of Gardiner.  It was good to share a great meal and conversation with everyone.  Of course the guys talked fishing and the girls talked everything else, typical, but I think I did hear a little fishing talk amongst them as well. Anyway, Ben asked me if I was going fishing tomorrow, already knowing the answer. I said that I was and he asked: "Where?" I said:  "Somewhere new - where I haven't been before." "Is Chelle going with you?" "No, she doesn't like going somewhere I haven't been, she likes to know what she's getting into before committing...." So, this morning I headed for a West Slope Cutthroat stream I had never fished but know about inside YNP.  I parked my truck geared up with pack, rod and lunch, intending to spend the whole day in there bec...

Today we drove through the northern part of the park.  We went by Canyon Village and then on to Artist Point.  This is considered the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and is amazing.  The picture below doesn't really show how high we were or how majestic it really is.  In years past we have been there at just the right time to see a rainbow in the mist of the falls - a real privilege.  We also stopped at a little known hidden mud pot and you can see a few second video below.  They are cool things but smell of sulphur.  It is surprising how much elk sign you see around them but maybe they don't mind the odor. We also fished this morning at Cascade Creek and caught some fish there.  Many of them were fairly small but we both caught many nice cutthroats.     One of God's wonders - Artist Point.  We actually saw several artists trying to capture the beauty. The first catch of the day - a little cutthroat. Doug's first catch ...

My son Russ and I fished a small mountain stream in Shenandoah National Park. We hiked in about 2 miles and then worked our way down through the woods to the stream.  We fished classic pocket water, my favorite type of fly fishing with small tumbling waterfalls, cascades and pools. The fly of the day was Walter Wiese's Clacka-Caddis, a killer fly in the Yellowstone Park area that seems to work very well here in SNP too. We caught some beautiful native brook trout and enjoyed the day together..... Here are some photos: Pocket water on a mountain stream. Nature provided the snacks... Russ working upstream. Doug (55 on the fly)  Brookie... Russ and a SNP Brook Trout Russ at the last pool of the day --- It was a great day!

When I harvest a turkey I put most every part of it to good use.  The turkey's wings are most useful. I use the turkey wing feathers for tying flies and for fletching on my arrows. I make turkey calls with the wing bones.  Here are two scrimshawed wing bone calls I just finished up for friends.

It’s been awhile since I got out fishing with all the rain and high water.  But Clint and I had a great time. The water was still high and off color but we took a dozen fish on top with Walter Wiese’s Clacka-Caddis tan #16 being the fly of the day! Here are some photos:   Clint Me

"Happy Mothers Day" to Shauna, our daughter in-law! Here is Shauna, our son Russ and our grandson Jackson, at the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Tasting Festival in Waynesboro last month. http://www.vaflyfishingfestival.org/ Jackson is a future fly fisher, notice the hat! We had a beautiful day with family, wine and lots of fly fishing vendors, outfitters and seminars. I saw Lefty Kreh's casting demo, he's unbelievable. I also attended a seminar by Mossy Creek Fly Fishing's own Colby Trow. He did a slide show on the fishing of the local area streams and it was excellent. All-in-all we had a great time! And of course "Happy Mothers Day" as well to my wonderful wife Michelle. Here is Nana with Jackson, a couple of cuties...