Creek Two

Day one.  Hmmm.  Wind switch, north, and howling 20-30.  No bueno.  Managed to catch a few "casting" between gusts to leeward banks.  Not pretty, or even particularly fun.  But got some.  Cool eats an inch or two from the bank, when I could get it there, and drift it.  Storm coming.

This was the place to be this morning.  Buzz made it before 10!

Top of the PHD pool

There were fishing rising here, on yesterday's creek.

I think this was yesterday.

I could punch this into the wind on 6x

Of course, the namesake hanger, which I could also plop down on the bank

Some fish holding/eating tight out of the wind

Here it comes . . . 

Creek One

Good start to Livingston week!  Got an eat on the first cast.  Rising fish to midges early, then the PMD's right on schedule and pretty much all day, and evening midge eaters  from 6 to 8.  A couple of heavy T-storms sent me packing from 1:30-ish until about 6, even though they had passed before that.  It took a while to get on my game for the PMD's, but I finally sorted it out and slayed 'em pretty good.  Emerger stuff, and not with the adult popping out very far.  Stayed in the main run both sessions.  This creek may be one of the only constants in the rocky mountain fly fishing universe.

Day two was severe clear and no wind.  Same hatch, but lighter, and it seemed to taper off between 1 and 2.  I needed to stop anyway.  I got some bugs to work today that I couldn't get going yesterday.  Started with Ants, and those were pretty fun until the PMD's started popping.  See a rise, feed 'em an ant, what's so hard about that?  The Mole came though today, in a pretty good way.  The soft hackles of course.  Some Harrop emerger interest.  And, a weird one that has had mixed results, but they really liked today.  I fished one area, sandwiched by guys and guides on both sides, so fly changes were in order.  It worked.  Good thing I've got a few flies.

I went back at 6:30 to an absolute boiling river.  Midges, PMD's, all kinds of bugs.  It was just silly through 8:30.  Throw 'em anything reasonable.  15 eats easy.  They loved the soft hackle.  No rain, no wind, and a bug infested evening.  Forecast says back to evening thunder so we'll see how the rest go just downstream starting tomorrow.

Sunny and fish rising.

The evening after the rain.

For the early risers

Day one's early hatch fly.

Both days' fly of choice.

PMD spider

Morning two's clear winner, before any PMD's.

Finally got some love on day two, but minimal

I tied a couple of these a couple of years ago.  Results were mixed.  Day two they loved it!  Really loved it.

This early one is for ant Bob!  

Last season, I didn't remember the burnt area behind my favorite cast.  Lightning?

Most of my fishing places have an iconic view or background that define the pools.  Millionaires. Last Chance.  Lone Tree.  PHD Island.  Mouth of Loving Creek. Grove/Stalker Junction.  Here, the Absarokas are always watching you cast and fish the best 100 yards of spring creek in Montana.  Maybe just anywhere.  A fine place to be as the sun sets on the west side of Paradise Valley.

And not to end on a critical note, but why is it all the guys wearing these big half-sombrero hats are assholes?  He waded in and right over the fish I was working less than 50 feet from where I stood.  "I'm gonna get in right below ya."  Didn't ask, but just said it and waddled in.  We were the only ones in the whole run!  

Drakes?

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, June on the Henry's Fork is over.  Another 11 1/2 months of waiting begins.  Waiting for what, I'm not quite sure of, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't already anticipating June 15, 2024.  Now on to the news.

The farmers haven't called for water yet, so the flow remains low, really low at 600-650.  Its fantastic for wade fishing, I can walk just about anywhere.   Coupled with peak season crowds however, and the fish are spooky and not very willing to rise, even when there's bugs.  I fished the bottom of the box, Last Chance, the upper Ranch, Millionaires, and below Osborne.  I'm pretty sure the masses had the rest of it covered.  Just a fish here and there for the most part, and not much of that.  The river is still not healthy.  Even in the low clear water I'm not seeing or spooking as many fish.  Fewer fish, fewer bugs.  And that's the way it is.

Brown drakes?  No sign of them.  The water is warm, and a couple of nights really seemed right.  Green ones?  For an hour or two late morning, a brief appearance in the right spots.  The gulls get most of 'em.

Ultra Low.  Posted July 1 from Livingston.  See what they did today!

New log?

Peak Season at Last Chance

Plenty of people, plenty of gulls

I've been fishing this rock since 1983.  Sometimes its hard to even wade to.  Its always fishy, even today.

Rusty's post.  I missed one, twice, on both drake patterns, just above it.  That was the morning.

The fine pool at the end of the Box.  Not a fish in sight this morning.

Green Drake water.  The gulls know it.

Speak of the devil.

Still the best match for me.  It got ate more often than not when I could find a target

A good follow-up to the spider.

Meh, well, I got a couple eats on it.

The best fly I own.  Evening fly on this trip.

Waiting on drakes.

I will never get tired of this iconic view, especially in the fading light.

That's Les way the hell out there, in his spot, with a "visitor."  

More waiting on drakes

Found this one at noon one day at the parking lot.  Blind squirrel . . . 

The last morning and I had this green drake run to myself somehow.  Saw three, hooked three.

The very next cast after the fish above.  And the last here on a drake, until next year.