I recently fulfilled a long-time dream. I fished Quake Lake near Yellowstone National Park. A 1959 earthquake split off a chunk of mountain, and the 80-million ton landslide into Montana’s Madison River created a natural dam. The lake behind it, which backs up almost to Hebgen Lake, stretches 6 miles long and reaches depths of 190 feet. Fishing Quake Lake is something I can now check off my bucket list.
For years, I’ve heard about some of the large trout that lurk in Quake Lake. Finally, on a recent mid-September morning, my podcast partner, Dave, and I got our opportunity to fish its upper reaches. Here are a few takeaways — reminders or lessons — from that memorable day.
1. The early bird gets the worm
That is, the early bird gets the worthwhile spot.
We hired a guide to take us to a productive area near Quake Lake’s inlet. Shortly after dawn, we boarded a drift boat equipped with small trolling motor. We arrived first, so we had our pick of spots. Later in the morning, we could see a half dozen other drift boats in the surrounding waters.
It reminded me how important it is to arrive early if you want your choice of places to fish.
2. There is a haunting beauty unique to each fishery.
Perhaps the final line in Norman Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It, suffers from overuse.
But it’s true: “I am haunted by waters.”
Each river or lake has its own mystique. It’s hard to describe the eerie beauty of Quake Lake at dawn, with patches of fog on the water, clouds of Midges and Tricos fluttering in the air, and the ghost-like remains of tall trees poking up through the water’s surface.
3. It’s pure joy when you catch a trout you’ve hunted
The first fish I caught in the morning was a 17-inch rainbow. I saw it feeding while we were hunting for larger fish in a couple of feeding lanes. I tossed a size #20 Midge pattern a few yards above it and let the current take it above the trout’s nose. I expected the strike and set the hook at the right time.
Yet it still startled me.
This sensation is why I love dry fly fishing.
4. Soft landings work best
Lest my previous point give the impression that I’m a master fly fisher, I will quickly confess that I missed my share of fish on Quake Lake that day. I missed some strikes, made a few errant casts, and spooked a couple of fish when my casts thumped the surface of the water.
I had to remind myself to pull up my rod tip slightly on my forward cast to stop the forward thrust of the line. This makes the line go limp and then fall gently to the surface.
5. Sometimes it’s not your fault if you’re not catching fish
We caught some beauties during our day on Quake Lake — both on dry flies and later on nymphs. But it was a fairly average day of fly fishing.
At times I wondered how many more fish I would have caught if I was a better fly fisher.
At one point, one of us asked our guide: “What are we doing wrong?”
Our guide, who freely speaks his mind and offers blunt criticism when appropriate, replied: “Nothing. Sometimes it’s not your fault if you’re not catching fish.”
He explained that he has fished Quake Lake enough to know the difference between a day when the trout are feeding sporadically and they are in a feeding frenzy.
Our day was the former type. That’s simply how fly fishing works—or doesn’t work. We had a satisfying day, and between sporadic success and the mystique of Quake Lake, it’s a day that I’ll remember for a long time.
The fly fishing universe is filled with mysteries. One deep, unsolvable mystery is how few calories a day of fishing burns relative to the large amount of calories consumed at the Supper Club or steak house later in the day. The mysteries are dense. Virtually impenetrable. But in this episode, we peer behind the curtain, identify a handful of new mysteries, and attempt to solve the unsolvable.
GREAT STUFF FROM OUR LISTENERS. At the end of each episode, we often include a feature called “Great Stuff from Our Listeners.” It’s the last segment of each episode, where Steve reads one of the comments from our listeners or readers. We enjoy hearing from you, and appreciate your advice, wisdom, and fly fishing experiences.
Surely you’ve come across some fly fishing or outdoors mysteries. Please post your new mysteries below!
We love Dr. Squatch soap products for guys who love the outdoors. Our favorite bar soap is Pine Tar. But there are many others, including:
Eucalyptus Yogurt
Cool Fresh Aloe
Deep Sea Goats Milk
Bay Rum
Spearmint Basil
Visit Dr. Squatch Outdoor Soap for Guys, fill your shopping cart with great outdoor products, and enter “2Guys” as the promo code. You’ll receive 20% off!
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To switch metaphors, perhaps it’s more like a handful of potato chips. It’s an entire book of lists. The goal is to help you find practical help quickly and in an easily digestible format!
You never know what you will see during a fall day in Yellowstone. Here are 9 sights from a memorable day of fishing in Yellowstone National Park:
1. A bull elk bugling at Mammoth
Even though this huge herd bull and his harem were occupying a manicured Park Service lawn, his raspy bugle reminded me of the days when my dad and I hunted elk during archery season about 35 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.
An elk’s bugle is one of the most stunning sounds in nature.
2. A tourist trying to coax a deer to eat an apple
No kidding. A tourist with a camera in one hand and an apple in the other outstretched hand had a mule deer doe within twenty yards. Apparently, the font size on the “Don’t feed the wildlife” sign at the park entrance wasn’t large enough for this tourist to see.
3. A grizzly track on the bank of the Yellowstone River
I felt a chill go down my spine when I spotted this track right along the river. At this point, my fishing partner and I were on a remote stretch of the Yellowstone about 3.5 miles from our trailhead. We both checked the position of our bear spray canisters on our belts.
4. Healthy cutthroat trout
We both caught some fat, colorful Yellowstone Cutthroat trout. They were all 14-17 inches with football-shaped bodies. I caught them on hoppers, terrestrials, and streamers. The fishing was solid. We each landed 8-10 cutts.
I’ve had days where I’ve caught more on this stretch of river. But it was still a satisfying day.
5. My fishing partner sliding off of a rock into the river
Since we had such a long hike (see below), we decided not to wear waders. We opted for hiking books and nylon pants. We knew from prior trips that wading the stretch of river we planned to fish was not essential.
At one point, though, my fishing partner was crouched on a rock fighting a fish when his feet slipped and he slide into the water. He got wet but was never in danger.
I may or may not have laughed.
Also, I will not confirm whether or not this fly fisher was my podcast partner, Dave.
6. A bull bison blocking our trail on the way out
On our return, we climbed to the top of a small plateau and instantly spotted a brown animal on the trail in front of us.
My first thought was “Grizzly!”
As I reached for my canister of bear spray, I realized a bull bison was lying down on the game grail in front of us. We made a wide circle and left the bull undisturbed. He stood up to face us and confirm we were leaving.
But he didn’t make any hostile advances (unlike the bull bison we encountered a few years before on the same trail).
7. My Fitbit watch showing 22,324 steps
At the end of the day, I felt like I had hiked 8 miles. But my Fitbit showed 22,324 steps and calculated the distance as 10.4 miles.
My response was “10-4, good buddy!”
8. An elderly couple struggling to stand on a retaining wall above Tower Fall
I saw this right after leaving the Tower Fall parking area. Their view was stunning. But so was the drop-off below them. I shuddered when I thought about how many people in Yellowstone have fallen to their deaths.
9. A wrecker pulling a jeep up a steep bank
The final “sight” which impressed me was a wrecker pulling a Jeep Wrangler up a bank. The driver had obviously driven off the road—whether by swerving or simply veering off the edge where there was no shoulder. Thankfully, the bank was not steep or the driver would not have survived.
So what should I make of what I saw?
I’m not sure I learned anything new. Still, what I saw on that fine fall day reinforced some long-held convictions:
The sights and sounds of a fall day Yellowstone are stunning. Aspen leaves burst with color, and the bugles of herd bulls and satellite bulls pierce the morning air. It’s hard to beat mid-September.
It is wise to carry bear spray.
It’s better to share the experience with a friend than to be alone — especially when your friend provides a bit of entertainment.
Fall tourists are no smarter than summer tourists.
There is a new vista and a new danger around every bend in the road or trail.
Mid-September is simply an awesome time for a fall day in Yellowstone.
Planning a memorable fly fishing trip is pretty easy if you do a few things right. There are factors that you can control, of course, and then there is the weather – and whether the fish are in the mood. In this episode, we lift the veil on our do-it-yourself fishing trips. Which is probably not saying much. However, we have a lot of trips under our proverbial wading belt. All trips are memorable, we suppose, but some trips stick in our minds because we figured out how to catch fish while enjoying every day on the trip and keeping costs to a minimum.
GREAT STUFF FROM OUR LISTENERS. At the end of each episode, we often include a feature called “Great Stuff from Our Listeners.” It’s the last segment of each episode, where Steve reads one of the comments from our listeners or readers. We enjoy hearing from you, and appreciate your advice, wisdom, and fly fishing experiences.
What are your best practices for designing a successful fly fishing trip? We want to know! What works? What doesn’t? Please post your comments below.
We are big fans of Dr. Squatch soap products for guys who love the outdoors. Our favorite bar soap is Pine Tar. But there are many others, including:
Eucalyptus Yogurt
Cool Fresh Aloe
Deep Sea Goats Milk
Bay Rum
Spearmint Basil
Visit Dr. Squatch Outdoor Soap for Guys, fill your shopping cart with great outdoor products, and enter “2Guys” as the promo code. You’ll receive 20% off!
WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?
We’d love for you to refer our podcast to a friend, your TU chapter, or fly fishing club. Be sure to pass along our podcast to others.
Be sure to forward our weekly email to your network!
That is the most simple way to help us grow!
Download a Podcast App on Your Smartphone
The most common app used by 2 Guys feed subscribers is “Podcasts.” Or you can simply subscribe to the RSS feed here:
To switch metaphors, perhaps it’s more like a handful of potato chips. It’s an entire book of lists. The goal is to help you find practical help quickly and in an easily digestible format!
Midges account for about half of a trout’s diet. Plus, they are about the only hatching insect available to trout during the winter. So here are five facts about midges that you need to know if you are going to fish midge patterns effectively.
1. Midges in rivers and streams are tiny.
According to fly fishing author Dave Hughes, the average size for midges in moving water is around size 20.
A size 16 is a big one, and some midges get as small as 24 or 26. This is why I typically stick with midge patterns in the size 18-20 range for nymphs and in the size 20 range for dry flies.
2. Midges have up to five generations per year.
This means you can fish midge patterns all year.
Fly fishing expert Jim Schollmeyer claims that trout often feed selectively on midge larvae in heavily fished streams even when other insects are hatching. However, trout feed most heavily on midges from late fall to early spring when there are few other insect hatches. This explains why you must fish midges if you’re on the western rivers in February.
3. Trout eat midge larvae constantly
Trout are more selective when feeding on midges in their pupal and adult stages. Yet they constantly feed on midge larvae in moving water. That’s why I always have a handful of beadhead Brassie or Zebra midge patterns (both nymphs) in my fly box.
4. Midges cluster on the surface
Mating midges will form clusters on the surface of the water as groups of males gather around single females.
In my experience on Montana rivers, this happens especially during late winter and early spring. What dry fly patterns work best?
A Griffiths Knat is a great pattern to imitate clusters of midges, although I’ve used a Parachute Adams with success on Montana’s Lower Madison during the winter.
5. Spent midges end up in slow water
Have you ever noticed trout sipping on tiny black dead bugs in a pool or eddy (slower water behind an obstruction) at the river’s edge? These trout are feeding on spent females that have laid their eggs and have been swept downstream.
Some anglers like a CDC Biot Midge, although a Renegade or Parachute Adams usually works for me.
It seems like Mayflies and Caddisflies get all the press. But don’t head for the river without some tiny midge patterns — especially if you fly fish during the winter.
Fly box chaos is real. You start out nice and organized, with pretty little rows, and then the Law of Entropy kicks in. Next thing you know, your fly box looks like a tossed salad. In this episode, we interview Peter Stitcher, with Ascent Fly Fishing. Peter has come up with a simple but biologically organized method for making sense of your fly box. Peter is a legit biologist, and his solution is briliant. By the way, Peter has given our listeners a discount on his “Creating Order in Your Fly Box” film to help you implement his approach. Scroll down to get your promo code.
By the way, we (Steve and Dave) receive no financial benefit from your purchase of Peter’s film in any way. This is simply Peter’s gift to you.
GREAT STUFF FROM OUR LISTENERS
At the end of each episode, we often include a feature called “Great Stuff from Our Listeners.” It’s the last segment of each episode, where Steve reads one of the comments from our listeners or readers. We enjoy hearing from you, and appreciate your advice, wisdom, and fly fishing experiences.
Does Peter’s method make sense? How do you simplify your fly box? How many flies do you carry out on the river? What is your biggest frustration with managing your flies?
We are big fans of Dr. Squatch soap products for guys who love the outdoors. Our favorite bar soap is Pine Tar. But there are many others, including:
Eucalyptus Yogurt
Cool Fresh Aloe
Deep Sea Goats Milk
Bay Rum
Spearmint Basil
Visit Dr. Squatch Outdoor Soap for Guys, fill your shopping cart with great outdoor products, and enter “2Guys” as the promo code. You’ll receive 20% off!
WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?
We’d love for you to refer our podcast to a friend, your TU chapter, or fly fishing club. Be sure to pass along our podcast to others.
Be sure to forward our weekly email to your network!
That is the most simple way to help us grow!
Download a Podcast App on Your Smartphone
The most common app used by 2 Guys feed subscribers is “Podcasts.” Or you can simply subscribe to the RSS feed here:
To switch metaphors, perhaps it’s more like a handful of potato chips. It’s an entire book of lists. The goal is to help you find practical help quickly and in an easily digestible format!
I am currently in preparation mode for a fly fishing trip. Dave, my podcast partner, and I are leaving in a few days for the West. Last week, I shared some tips for planning a fly fishing trip to a specific region—the area in and around Yellowstone National Park. In this post, I want to zero in on what I do to get ready for a trip two weeks in advance, what to do before your fly fishing trip.
This is about preparation, not planning. Here are three simple ways I prepare:
1. I ramp up my workouts
I usually make it to a local workout facility about three times a week.
But when I’m two weeks away from a trip, I ramp up both the frequency and the intensity of my workouts. I take some longer walks on days when I’m not doing my lifting and elliptical regimen.
Yesterday was too nice to work out inside, so I rode my mountain bike on the Des Plaines River trail and stopped to run up a long sledding hill a couple times. On my way back, I paused to look at the muddy Des Plaines River and reflect on how I’ll see clear water in a few days! I make sure, of course, not to overdo it. I intentionally do not work out on the two days before I leave for a trip.
We have a hard hike planned for day one of our trip, so I want to give my body time to rest and recover from my intense workouts.
2. I read some “pump up” material
When my son played college football, he had his air buds in several hours before a game to get pumped up and ready to hit the field.
Honestly, I haven’t found any tunes that seem to fit a fly fishing trip. Suggestions, anyone?
Maybe John Denver’s American Child would work if I was “going up to Alaska” to fly fish. But it seems like overkill to jam to Taio Cruz’s Dynamite or one of U2’s more raucous hits.
So I read a good fly fishing book. It may not make the adrenalin run, but it does stir my sense of anticipation. Since I’m headed to the West, I’ve been re-reading Yellowstone Runners by Chester Allen—a memoir about three weeks of fishing the wild trout that migrate from Hebgen Lake into the Madison River.
Of course, any good fly fishing book will do.
3. I take inventory of my gear
This seems obvious. But if I start doing this two weeks in advance rather than the night before, I end up being a lot more prepared.
My fly boxes need re-organizing, and I need to figure out if I have enough tippet material, dry fly dressing, and first aid kit ingredients. I make sure my rods are and reels are ready to go. I also set aside some of the little items that can easily be left behind — neck gaiter, thermometer, headlamp, and plastic bags (for wallets and keys on days I wet wade).
Then I remember to look for my favorite hat and favorite fly fishing shirt. How can I expect to enjoy the trip if I forget them?!
T-minus two weeks. What will you do to get ready for your next trip?
What fishing does for our day job is more than just relieve stress. That’s important, of course. But fly fishing is about something bigger, or maybe deeper. While both of us would love to fish more days each year, we certainly don’t wish we could fly fish full-time as professionals (and certainly not possible, given our chops!). We like our day jobs. In this episode, we explore the edges of what keeps us focused on our work and how fishing rounds out a full life.
Great Stuff from Our Listeners. At the end of each episode, we often include a feature called “Great Stuff from Our Listeners.” It’s the last segment of each episode, where Steve reads one of the comments from our listeners or readers. We enjoy hearing from you, and appreciate your advice, wisdom, and fly fishing experiences.
How you think about fly fishing and your day job? How does fly fishing fit with the whole of life? If you could fish more days a year, how many more would you fish?
We are big fans of Dr. Squatch soap products for guys who love the outdoors. Our favorite bar soap is Pine Tar. But there are many others, including:
Eucalyptus Yogurt
Cool Fresh Aloe
Deep Sea Goats Milk
Bay Rum
Spearmint Basil
Visit Dr. Squatch Outdoor Soap for Guys, fill your shopping cart with great outdoor products, and enter “2Guys” as the promo code. You’ll receive 20% off!
WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?
We’d love for you to refer our podcast to a friend, your TU chapter, or fly fishing club. Be sure to pass along our podcast to others.
Be sure to forward our weekly email to your network!
That is the most simple way to help us grow!
Download a Podcast App on Your Smartphone
The most common app used by 2 Guys feed subscribers is “Podcasts.” Or you can simply subscribe to the RSS feed here:
To switch metaphors, perhaps it’s more like a handful of potato chips. It’s an entire book of lists. The goal is to help you find practical help quickly and in an easily digestible format!
Fly fishing trips to the Greater Yellowstone area in Montana or Wyoming are not cheap. I’ve made not a few fly fishing trips to the Greater Yellowstone area. And I’ve assembled a few tips that come from a decade of making annual trips from the Midwest to the West, as well as from the two decades I lived and fly fished near Bozeman, Montana.
I suspect these tips will apply — at least to some extent – to other regions in United States. But they relate specifically to fly fishing in and around Yellowstone National Park.
1. Go in the Fall or Spring
If summer is your best or only option for a trip, you can have a great time. But there are a couple reasons for planning a fall or spring trip.
First, you will avoid the crush of tourists and crowded rivers which come with summer. Second, you can fish “runners”—the fish headed up-river either to spawn or to wait below spawning beds for eggs which drift down the current. If you’re new to fishing, rainbows spawn in the spring, while brown trout spawn in the fall.
You can even catch the tail end of grasshopper season if you go early in September.
I should also point out that fall flights, vehicle rentals, and hotel rooms or cabins are cheaper during the off-season.
2. Choose a Fly Shop
Fly fishing success depends on knowing where to fish and what fly patterns to use. The best information you will get comes from the staff at a fly shop. I recommend visiting a handful of local fly shops on your first trip. Then pick one and build a relationship with the fly shop owners. The advice is free, yet you may get even more helpful intel if you are a paying customer year after year. So buy your leaders or next pair of waders at the same shop once you find one you like.
3. Book a Guided Trip
I can’t over-emphasize how much you will learn and how much intel you will gather when you hire a guide for the day—or for a half-day. You might be able to go back again and fish the same stretch of river on your own. Some fly fishing guides have even encouraged me to do this. But it’s a courtesy to ask a guide if he or she will take clients on this stretch another day. If so, ask about some other places you might try.
Splitting the coast with a friend always makes sense. Drift boats are set up for two fly fishers anyway. Also, the custom is to tip 15-20%. If you can split the cost with a friend, a day in a drift boat or wading with a guide will be worth every penny.
4. Create a Sustainable Schedule
When Dave, my podcast partner, and I fly to Montana for a 4-day or 5-day trip, we fish every day. However, we’ve learned to pace ourselves. We act like we are in our mid-30s, at least for day one. Then, reality hits. We are both in our mid-50s. So if our Fitbits tell us we have hiked 8 miles during a day of fly fishing, then we might get a later start the next day. Or, we might follow a more strenuous wade trip with a float trip
Also, build in a bit of down-time. If you hit the river at the crack of dawn, take time for a nice mid-day lunch. Or stop early to get dinner at a popular steakhouse before it gets crowded.
Enjoy the drive along the river or through Yellowstone National Park.
5. Keep the Last Day or Two Free
It took us a few years to figure out this tip. We sometimes wished we had an extra day to return to the hotspot we stumbled into on day one. Now we build a “flex day” or two into our schedule to make this possible. Where we go on day four or day five depends on where we had the best success. This means you are better off scheduling your guided trips earlier in the week.
Fly fishing trips cost time and money. So do your best to make the most of them. These simple tips will help.
No where are there more pictures of fly fishers handling and photographing fish than on Instagram. Everyone has a unique angle on the fish – close up, far away, underwater, one-handed, two-handed – and a thousand other ways. How should a fly fisher who expects to release the fish handle the fish? How long should the fish be out of the water? In this episode, one of our listeners, Tyler Farling (who is becoming a fish biologist) helped us with six key points for the proper care and release of the fish we catch.
Great Stuff from Our Listeners. At the end of each episode, we often include a feature called “Great Stuff from Our Listeners.” It’s the last segment of each episode, where Steve reads one of the comments from our listeners or readers. We enjoy hearing from you, and appreciate your advice, wisdom, and fly fishing experiences.
What did we miss on this episode of handling and photographing fish? Please post your comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
We are big fans of Dr. Squatch soap products for guys who love the outdoors. Our favorite bar soap is Pine Tar. But there are many others, including:
Eucalyptus Yogurt
Cool Fresh Aloe
Deep Sea Goats Milk
Bay Rum
Spearmint Basil
Visit Dr. Squatch Outdoor Soap for Guys, fill your shopping cart with great outdoor products, and enter “2Guys” as the promo code. You’ll receive 20% off!
WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?
We’d love for you to refer our podcast to a friend, your TU chapter, or fly fishing club. Be sure to pass along our podcast to others.
Be sure to forward our weekly email to your network!
That is the most simple way to help us grow!
Download a Podcast App on Your Smartphone
The most common app used by 2 Guys feed subscribers is “Podcasts.” Or you can simply subscribe to the RSS feed here:
To switch metaphors, perhaps it’s more like a handful of potato chips. It’s an entire book of lists. The goal is to help you find practical help quickly and in an easily digestible format!
