Memorial Day in West Yellowstone

Some fellow fishermen pay their dues this morning.

I joined some friends to camp on Hebgen Lake last evening and woke to snow dumping on my camper. Didn't think too much of it - this happens at 6,667 feet. Fished Hebgen for a bit this morning (still not much for midge activity, and only a few risers - I caught nothing), and as the snow piled up, I decided I better get going down the gravel road while I still could. By the time I got to Big Sky (about half way home), I had driven through snow and slush the entire time. Glad I left when I did, because I got home to read this:
"A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5500 FEET REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT MONDAY NIGHT.
* TIMING AND MAIN IMPACT: SNOW... HEAVY AT TIMES... WILL CONTINUE IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR WILL BE POSSIBLE AT TIMES TONIGHT AND INTO EARLY MONDAY MORNING.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: TIME OF DAY AND SNOWFALL RATE WILL PLAY A LARGE ROLE IN SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS IN THIS LATE SEASON STORM. HOWEVER THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR 10 TO 15 INCHES OF NEW SNOW BY MONDAY EVENING FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5500 FEET."

That said 10 to 15 inches! West Yellowstone had a good start, with about an inch by the time I left. Camping in snow is quickly becoming my Memorial Day traditional.
Runoff is really going to be an event this year. The Madison drainage is currently at 186 percent of average, and this storm might add a lot. And 186 percent is not nearly the highest snowpack for Montana right now. The Jefferson drainage is at 189, Missouri Headwaters is at 201 percent, the Gallatin drainage is at 215, the Sun, Teton and Marias basin is at 255, the Missouri Mainstem is at 290, and the Judith, Musselshell and Smith basin is at 321 percent of average for today. (see link here)
We're already seeing record flows - and not mere records, but flows many times the record over decades of gauging. And currently, we're adding more snowpack than we're melting. Few rivers will be the same after the deluge, and few fish will be skinny. 

Some additional photos of the weekend:

Runoff = ice-off

The stretch of the Madison below Hebgen was clear until Cabin Creek had something to say about it.

The mountain snow is melting. This weekend, we were kind of in that no-man's land where the river's are mostly too high and muddy to fish, but most of our favorite mountain lakes aren't quite de-iced. We went to Hebgen yesterday hoping to drop some Buggers off the ice edge, but there wasn't much open water. Where there was, there were fishermen so we kept driving and ended up at Quake Lake, where we found a little spot of open water with trout.

Both Hebgen and Quake should be fishable this week. They had both started peeling back, and both lost quite a bit as we sat there yesterday.
Today, I took a little drive along the East Gallatin - it's impressive.

Upstream from Hamilton Road.

It's flowing at 1,280 cfs - the previous highest for today was 679 (granted it's only from nine years of record). It's well over its banks in many places and will be interesting to see when it's over. Talked to a gentleman who apparently lives there, and he said he's only ever seen it like this a couple of times. I hope the fish don't get washed away.

Foxee Red

Clay took care of business with the Foxee Red Clouser again on Friday below the Ennis dam. The more I learn about that fly, the more intrigued I am. Bucky, the shop manager at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, loves it, I've seen it referred to as the No. 1 smallmouth fly of all time and one of the best streamers ever, it consistently puts the hurt on trout, and yet some people look at you like you're crazy when you mention it. It works in slow, meadow creeks, fast pocket water, stillwater, brown water, and probably in the salt. Highly recommended.

Camped at Hebgen last night. Didn't fish - just caught up with some old friends who were driving through. Did awaken to a beautiful Hebgen morning.

Understanding the fish gods' plan

I was all excited to fish Hebgen gulpers, but the fish gods had another plan for me. Got there early, they gulped sporadically on tricos til about 9:30, then the wind and rain came and the fish retreated. I checked in at Blue Ribbon Flies and was told today, there would be no gulping, for it was windy.

Instead, I was told to make the pilgrimage to Three Dollar Bridge on the upper Madison, where fish are plentiful enough to feed the multitude. It was good - actually fished a baetis hatch in August. There is a time for every hatch under heaven (baetis isn't usually August though). Caught a couple in the 17- to 18-inch range on a Sparkle Dun. Also got the Clouser to work, but not on big fish.

While I'm all about fishing new and/or small water, it was kind of nice to fish big, easy water. No hiking necessary and good fishing (almost) guaranteed.
Saturday we floated the lower Madison. Can't beat floating under the sun, drinking beer, catching lots of fi... - oh wait. We maybe boated three 8-inch trout, all on streamers, all by Jake. There were rises and chases, but few.
Why, fish gods, have you forsaken me?
Alas, we must have faith, for skunks are the devil's work.

Go in peace, catch some fish.

Hebgen Lake Ice-out Report

Friday we hiked in to the Madison Arm of Hebgen Lake from Highway 191. It wasn't an easy hike over snow and through mud, but if there's open water on Hebgen, it's usually worth it. To our surprise, it appeared as though the entire Madison Arm was open (can't be positive, though). There were lots of Hebgen midges, but it was blowing a gale and no fish were rising. The lake even appeared to have slightly turned over as it wasn't very clear. So it was one of the few times when fishing Hebgen seemed futile. There were lots (I counted about 50) baetis along the river, and we found one pod of consistently rising fish (alas this section of the river is closed until May).
The estuary is interesting water and hosts some big rainbows.
But, the point is that there are definitely sections of Hebgen that are ice-free and on less windy days, I have no doubt that the fishing is lights out (rumor has it that the South Fork Arm and Whiskey Bay also have open water - the north shore has a ways to go). It takes a little work to get there, but anyone who has fished Hebgen knows of the reward.
On Saturday I towed the camper out to the lower Madison and floated Black's Ford to Greycliff with Clay, Brady, Caroline, Josh Duchateau and his fiance' Sandy. The fishing was good for the first half of the float (for everyone but me, but I digress...). The closer we got to the takeout, the bonier and less fishy the water became. We capped the day with beers around a campfire, enduring that infamous lower Madison wind. We hit the hay thinking the wind would soon stop; alas it gusted and gusted all night. It was kind of insane. I got up at about 6, broke down and came home.
The rest of them floated again today and apparently the fishing was quite good, but windier yet. I wish I could've joined them, but I popped home to get my aggressive dog before last night's campfire, so I was on my own.
Also, last Wednesday I found some new public water on Bozeman's locally "secret" stream. It's a place that doesn't have much for public land so it's always good to find more. The fishing was good - they wanted the baetis nymph.