55 on the fly

Michelle wanted to hike into Blacktail Deer Creek to see the Falls today.... We've never been there. It's about a 7 mile round trip and I was game because I know there are some nice brook trout waters near the falls. So off we went....  Fly - UK Ausable Bomber Rod - Shane Gray 6' 10" 3/4 wt. Blacktail Deer Creek Falls

Michelle and I fished the high country in Yellowstone National Park today (8/27/18).... The mountain stream held some beautiful brook trout for us among it's awesome beauty.... To top it off, on the hike in we saw a lone black wolf, a big boy. I topped a rolling hill and spotted him coming our way at a hundred yards. I yelled at him and he turned and trotted the other way, we watched him for a while, quite a sight. It was Michelle's first time seeing a wolf in the wild...  We only used one fly today, the UK Ausable Bomber, yeah they work out West too... The photos tell the rest of the story. fish of the day... Ausable Bomber fly of the day... 

Tying up some Fran Betters Bombers today, just for fun.... Looking forward to chasing the Brookies here in NY and out West in Montana in 2018... also, getting packed up for Deer Camp this afternoon with Opening Day of the Gun Season on Saturday. It's suppose to be cold and wet! Bombers pictured here with my Shane Gray Brook Trout Rod

Michelle and I fished the Gardiner River at Sheepeater Cliffs today. This is her favorite spot in YNP. It was a tough hike to get to the area we fish for brook trout but once there it's wonderful. We caught some fish, had some lunch by the cascades and even fished the Cascade pool... a beautiful place. Our lunch spot.... Chelle could sit here all day.

My wife, Michelle and I got out this morning and hit one of our favorite Brook trout streams in YNP..... First fish of the day..... used my Barclay 7'5" 3wt. and loving it for these Brookies... Michelle with a good fish for this stream..... Yep - those are bear tracks....  A little bit of hiking can get you into some awesome back country..... Last fish of the day......  All in all a fun morning, lunch and early afternoon fishing together and enjoying this beautiful river valley.

If you care about the future of fishing in Yellowstone National Park you don't want to miss this fine article by Neil M. Travis on the Fly Anglers On Line website and forum. see it here:  http://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/journal/2013/journal20130826.php I believe the NPS efforts to "remove" all non-native fish in the park is just the first step. Once well underway they will move to eventually "eliminate" the "harassing" of fish (wildlife) in the park by anglers. The top of the arch is inscribed with a quote from the  Organic Act of 1872 , the legislation which created Yellowstone, which reads "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."  The management of the park by the NPS will continue to be an ongoing struggle for anglers for the foreseeable future, IMHO....  Doug Korn

Michelle and I went to hike the high country today and to try for some skinny water brook trout.  With less snow on the mountains in and around the park water levels are down making the the high country waters low and skinny.   Michelle fishing the narrow water streams of the high country 7500 ft. above sea level the fish are smaller but usually willing... today with colder weather and a front moving in they were harder to catch... Michelle's meatloaf sandwiches on the trail... Oh yeah! log jam what a view

Michelle and I hit a small brook trout stream in YNP today.  Michelle hasn't fly fished since our trip out here in 2011 so this was a good first outing for her to "practice" on some willing brookies.  It's like riding a bike for her and she was back in form in no time. Great pocket water fishing with lots of wild brook trout. tough to beat the beauty of a brook trout... Michelle with one of many on the day. Michelle working up the middle of the creek in this photo.  "Picking-the-Pockets" with accurate casting and fly placement behind the boulders and in the runs. We only used two flies today, a Coachman Trude and a Wiese's Clacka Caddis. Today I used my Ben Turpin custom G-series fly rod. I thought it was an appropriate choice with the Turpin's hand painted brook trout on the rod.  

Today was a very nice fishing trip.  Our son Scott is here visiting us for his Birthday which happens to be today...  So with all the warmer weather we have been having this winter I encouraged him to bring his fishing gear with him.  This morning it was still 59 degrees out at 7 am. --- but the weather forecast was for some rain and dropping temps throughout the day so we decided to head out early rather than later.  It turned out to be a good move and I was quickly into a good fish right away.  Scott's a good fisherman and we managed to catch both some big and some small browns...  We caught some rain too but nothing that made us give-it-up...   I was the lucky guy today catching two nice brown trout, a 16 and a 17 incher, outstanding fish for this creek where 12 incher's are good fish... At noon we quit and headed for our local burger joint.  A wonderful day... Anytime spent with your son is great but none better than on s...

Gardner's Hole is a favorite fishing spot of Doug's.  We hiked in about 2 miles past the stand of pine trees that you see in the picture.  There is a small canyon just beyond that spot that Doug wanted to explore and fish.  This area is so awesome - as in big and beautiful!  When you stand up on the trail and look out it is just amazing.  And you don't hear any noise but the wind!  It was a great day and hard to say good-bye to this amazing place on earth.  But we will be back! This is where we started fishing.  We worked our way up into the canyon area along the winding river. Doug found these elk sheds right around the river. Can you even ask for a more wonderful place to spend the day? We fished for several hours and caught a ton of fish!  Many of them were small brook trout but they are still fun to catch.  The male brook trout are so colorful.  Here are some pictures of Doug and I catching one of the many...