I go home on vacation every weekend
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Not one, but many trips this summer and fall so far with many more to come as things won’t shut down for another 6-8 weeks. Went nuts earlier in the year and have bought 13 used fly rods, mostly glass and older graphite in the 2 to 6 wgt range. Am having a ball fishing them all to see which ones are the gems and which rivers they excel on. Have been testing them out on the upper Lamar, lower Slough Creek, the Firehole, Gardner and Gibbon in the park, while the old Yellowstone, especially the upper sections outside the park and in the Black Canyon have seen lots of action.
So far my favorites are an SA System 4 (4 wgt), a Winston Retro 7’6” 4 wgt, and a Diamondglass 7’ 3 wgt. By comparison, a Sage Graphite II 9’6” 4 wgt turned out to be atrocious on the same waters.
Hoppers are everywhere this fall and the weather has been generally nice. As always the wind can be an issue out here and of the glass above, the SA System 4 is the best light wind rod. That said, an eight incher in fast water on the Diamondglass is a tussle.
So here’s a few random photos that have accumulated this year so far. Other than a couple of commercial float trips and a few hikes in the park with the wife, I an pretty much a solo angler so my perspectives are limited. Have had a few interesting, close-up encounters with wildlife in the park.
Winston Retro 4 wgt on the Firehole, Sept 25
Gardner River brown on Diamondglass 3 wgt
Photo I made for my local flyshop photo contest—Caption reads: Brown Trout prefer Troutfitters foam in their hoppers.
Diamondglass 7’ 3wgt. With a DT3 Sharkskin and the Hardy flyweight, this little rod is a joy to cast (very slow) and a thrill to land fish with.
Somewhere on the upper Lamar fishing hoppers on the Orvis Troutbum Superfine 4 wgt (tip flex). This is the perfect lightweight wind rod.
The SA System 4 rod, somewhere in hopper land.
Cache creek on the upper Lamar
The lower Slough Creek canyon, just before it dumps into the Lamar is fun hopper water.
Hooked up with some nice Cutts in the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone
Not me in the photo, that’s Willy Self of Troutfitters who took my wife and I on a Yellowstone float recently. Nice brown I landed on a 4wgt and hopper.
A few wildlife photos are in order. Although I’ve seen six Grizzlies this year so far, I’d rather buy a photo than get close enough to take one.
The Mormon Cricket, a staple on the upper Lamar
Bison were a big problem this summer on the upper Lamar forcing lots of detours
The otters at Trout Lake were very accommodating and apparently very good fishers.
A ruffed grouse hen (she had two chicks with her) in the sagebrush near the Lamar
This last photo is rather remarkable because it’s so unlikely ever to happen again. I was hoofing it out of the upper Lamar across the sagebrush back to the Soda Butte trailhead at midday. I’d been watching a small family of pronghorns which had bedded down in a draw. Something caught my eye and I turned around and saw this wolf trotting directly toward me. I mean he was headed directly toward me and was apparently oblivious to my presence (I was upwind). He got within about 10 feet before my waving arms caught his attention and he changed course. My hand was on the bear spray. I managed to get several nice photos before he went on to pester the pronghorns. The buck would have nothing to do with him and proceeded to charge him several times before I lost sight of them. Such is life on the American Serangetti.
As I say in the title, I go home on vacation every weekend to this place called Bozeman, Montana.
WOW. I envy you greatly. That is all amazing. My fiance and I just returned from a week in MT, Bozeman and Missoula mostly. We are discussing permanent relocation. Thats all im saying.
You sure that is a ruffed grouse? I’ve a hundred + ruffed grouse in the east, never saw one like that. Local flavor? Or is it a Blue Grouse? I know you have at least three grouse varieties out there.
Certainly could be a Blue.
I just looked through a bunch of pics of grouse and I think that one might be a Spruce Grouse. The males and females both have that bright patch over the eye, which Ruffs don’t, and even hen Ruffs also look like they have a crest on their head. Either way it is a great shot; how did you get it? Was the bird cooperative?
Zach
Its most likely a Blue because the Spruce grouse isn’t found in the park.
I was cutting x-country off the Cache Creek trail on game trails trying to reach the upper Lamar about an hour after sunrise. I was nervous because I’d seen a Grizzly eariler out in the big meadows where the Lamar goes up into the canyon. Something scurried in front of me and it was one of two chicks I saw first on the trail. The mom and other chick were about 5 feet away and weren’t spooked at all. Mom just carefully gathered the two chicks and moved them slowly down the hill. I was carrying my Nikon with the 70-300 zoom, so close-ups were easy.
1st chick on game trail
Momma trying to get both chicks together
The 2nd chickI just recieved a box of 5 sage hen skins in the mail for fly tying. My brother sent them down from Idaho. Looks like it will make some good fly material. Just have to process them to kill any bugs first.
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