River Angel Dan Delekta - Beartooth Fly Fishing

Although we were on our way to West Yellowstone to visit the fly shops, I was on the lookout for Dan Delekta's Beartooth Fly Shop. I was telling Rick that I'd like to stop there if it was on the way. In the next few minutes their roadside sign was in front of us.

We'd been driving along the Madison River and I was remembering when I first met Dan. I was fishing the Beaverhead River, surrounded by fishermen - a couple upstream and a couple further away downstream. Dan floated by with clients and when he found enough room he pulled his drift boat over to shore and anchored. His clients were catching fish and obviously having a good time. He walked towards me and I was wondering who he was, he handed me a small handful of flies and said "Here, try these. They'll catch fish." As he turned and walked back to his boat I was speechless, but mumbled "thank you", totally amazed that a stranger would do that. As he was pulling up anchor I managed to ask "What's your name?", thinking I'd tell his boss how kind he was. He said "Dan Del-something" and I didn't hear what he said. He was gone with the current before I had a chance to ask again. A river angel?

During the next week I asked a few of the guides if they knew a fellow guide named Dan Del-something who wore a big cowboy hat, but none of them did. We went into Tim Tollett's Frontier Anglers and when I asked Tim, he said he did know who I was asking about = Dan Delekta at Beartooth Fly Fishing on the Madison River. Tim said he was a nice guy and had been in the area forever. I looked it up on the Internet and found their website and learned all about Dan and his wife Nancy, their wedding and their fly fishing business. I sent him a comment through their website and subscribed to their newsletter. This, however, was going to be the first time seeing him since the river.

We were lucky to find Dan, Nancy, and his father in the shop that morning. They were all extremely friendly and helpful and their shop and lodge were amazing. So well stocked with fly fishing equipment and tying materials that Rick accomplished almost all the shopping he planned to do. Dan is very knowledgeable about fly tying (to say the least) and was able to help Rick find almost everything on his list. Dan grew up in the area and has been on the area rivers with his dad since he was a kid. From what I've heard, Dan is one of the "good guys". If you are in the area, you must stop in to visit them or stay at their lodge on the river. Check out their website, their story, their flies, and sign up for their newsletter.

http://beartoothflyfishing.com/

We travelled on to West Yellowstone, along the Madison River, past Quake Lake, Hebgen Dam, Hebgen Lake and more. Although we had our fly rods with us, we didn't plan to stop to fish. We made it to town in time for a late lunch at Kiwi's Takeaway and had delicious hamburgers. Very delicious. More on town later. Thanks for stopping by.

50 years ago Quake Lake happened

Fifty years ago Rick and his family were camping in Montana near the Madison River in the Gallatin National Forest. His family was camping with their red and white 1955 Aljoa travel trailer. Rick wasn't even a teenager yet, but he remembers the summer trip of 1959. Before Earthquake Lake was formed.

They had been at the campground for a couple days, had visited Yellowstone National Park, and planned to go on to Grand Teton National Park. They left the Rock Creek campground by the Madison River and continued with their vacation, moving on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While in Jackson on August 18th, they saw the newspaper headline saying the largest recorded earthquake in the Rocky Mountain states (7.5) had brought down the side of the mountain over the campground near where they had been camped, killing 28 people with many more injured. The rock and dirt buried the sleeping campers and the wind created by the slide also caused the river to carry away buildings, vehicles and other victims. The mountain collapse was tremendous and dammed up the Madison River causing the water to quickly backup, starting the creation of Earthquake Lake, commonly referred to as Quake Lake. The deadly jolt caused the land to shift and the water behind Hebgen Lake moved so much it sloshed over the top of the dam. The area roads were distroyed and people were air-lifted out. It was a huge tragedy and the eerily quiet, dead and half-submerged trees in the lake still are a reminder of what happened.

We had been there a few times before, years ago, but with the upcoming anniversary we had to stop again at the visitors center overlooking the scared slide area and lake. The visitors center was focused on the upcoming anniversary and had many events and speakers planned to commemorate the disaster. The local news agencies are also remembering the date with stories and photos and are easy to find on the Internet.



News article: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20090816/NEWS01/90816001/1002/Hebgen-Lake-earthquake-anniversary-unleashes-flood-of-memories

These are photos from our recent trip.

Spur of the moment trip to West Yellowstone

One night last week we decided to take a trip to West Yellowstone. The town of West Yellowstone, not the national park. Although the town is at the west entrance of the park, we knew it would only be a day trip with the main purpose of visiting the fly shops. What else? And I also knew it would be a great opportunity to stop along the way and take some scenic photos. As the driver, I get to stop where and when I want to.

We were on the road around 8 AM for the 3 hour drive and stopped in Dillon for fuel - for us and for the car. I'd been wanting to visit Beaverhead Rock on the way to Twin Bridges, so this was the first place I pulled over, cameras in hand. It is a historical location, an old stagecoach stop and one of the places visited by Lewis & Clark. The area is now a conservation area by the local rachers and farmers to preserve history and enhance the environment and economy. You can see that the Rock is quite a landmark, easily seen from a distance, even if you are driving a stagecoach.

Friday Fish - Better late than not at all

Patience

Yesterday I mentioned having patience while fly fishing. Well, actually I said I don't always have patience when fly fishing. You might, but I don't. Not always. So I thought I'd try a different approach.

When I'm fly fishing I'm relaxed and usually stress-free. And it is relaxing! I love to be on the river with only the sounds of the water gurgling and the birds chirping in the bushes. Usually all thoughts are on being there and how wonderful it is.

Some people rush to the river and jump right in. I like to look before I leap. Meaning I don't immediately trudge across the river to the far bank and start flailing the water. I will take a little time to survey the river, to see if any fish are rising, and to check where the other fisherpeople might be fishing so I don't intrude on their space. I might stop to chat with someone, but most of the time I'm down to business. The business of finding and catching fish.

Yesterday I was standing on the bank looking around and had a "treat". If I had not had patience and waited, I would have scared the family of ducks away. The mother duck and her 4 ducklings cautiously made their way along the far bank. I had taken the Nikon camera with the good zoom lens in our backpack and these photos prompted me to take a number of others. The camera was my priority, not jumping in to catch fish. I started looking around and saw lots of interesting things, and quite a number of rising fish here and there. I took my time with the camera and then went about fishing. I landed 4 or 5 fish right away, but it was because I'd taken my time. I'd had patience.

If I don't see a fish making a splash or a ripple, I know where they are probably hanging out. After 90 days of fishing here every day I know where they live. So I'll head out to an open spot just knowing that the fish should be there and I'll take a closer look. This is when I need to have more patience. If I don't see the fish I'll "false cast" to where I think they'll be. And sometimes they are. Sometimes it works out in my favor. Sometimes though I'm sure I put them down. If I don't get one I look for another open spot where they should be hanging out. And I move on. And I move on again, always searching for a sign of fish life. With fewer people clogging the river (ha!), I have the freedom to roam up and down. I can usually find fish and I think of it as good exercise. But I'm searching and searching. So I thought about having a little more patience and relaxing a bit more. Enjoy the moment. And with good results.

Stealth fish

There have been days when we've caught more fish. There have also been days when we've had to fight for a space to cast our fishing line. In August fewer fish means fewer people. We're having to work for the fish, but not having to work to find river space.

We are having to look long and hard to see them, but they are there, just under the surface sipping ever so softly. They are barely noticeable and if you didn't know what to look for you'd say "there are no fish rising." It's like they are sipping the bugs through a straw, barely making a dimple on the surface.


BUT = they are stealthily hanging near the top, sometimes showing themselves, most times not making an appearance. If you are patient, I mean really patient, you will be rewarded with a feisty trout on the other end of the line. (I'm not always patient when fishing - something to work on.)

You have to be ready to change flies from what you think the fish are eating to something else. And right now you have to have the full arsenal of flies. I usually start with a PMD adult, switch to an emerging PMD, then try a different silhouette of a PMD adult. If that doesn't work I'll try all the above in a smaller size and color. If that does work I try a midge pattern in all the sizes and colors. If that doesn't work I might try a caddis pattern to imitate caddis or a spruce moth. If my fly box of dry flies doesn't work I will tie on a couple nymphs for a while. And as soon as I see a fish, or see what I think is a fish, I change back to dries and start the process all over again. One combo I haven't had good luck with lately is the dry fly with a trailing nymph. It just hasn't worked and it seems when I do try it, the fish want the dry. I'd much rather prefer casting dry flies. Nothing like catching a trout on a dry fly!

Antelope in the morning

If you look closely you can see a herd of antelope on the nearby hillside early in the morning. They're not there every morning, but they were there a few times. Our local friends say there is a pair of wolves that also make that hillside their home. I wish we could see the wolves, but they probably don't show themselves like the herd of antelope. The antelope run up and down and all around the hills.

Last year a deer wandered from the hills into the campground. It wasn't long, only a minute maybe, before the 3 campground dogs saw the deer and chased it around the campground, over the wire fence, and back into it's hillside home.

First of August Fishing Report

It's a transitional time on the river. We walk to the river unsure of what fly we will use, but sure that it won't be the same one we ended the previous day with.


The PMDs are slowly fading away, the yellow Sallies aren't so prolific anymore, the caddis are sometimes flittering in the evening breeze, the tiny green midges have started, but are yet to show up in any quantity. We've seen one or two calibaetis from the lake upstream, but only a couple. There are very few spruce moths, but maybe it's still too early for them. There are a few BWOs, but nothing to change flies for.

Nothing is consistent or with any regularity. But it's challenging and it's what we expect. And we love it!

More Friday Fish

On the River, Off the River

We spent a few hours on the river today and saw lots of friends.

We had a little of this...

And a lot of that...

The rain and wind drove us off the river, but even so, it was a great day.

Miss Muffet & her friends

After writing this I had to come back up to the top and make a note. It seems like a lot of writing for such a silly topic, but this is so much a part of our lives in Montana. You just wouldn't understand if you haven't experienced it firsthand.
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I have to smile when I think about friends and family who might visit us here in Montana. Some friends and family that is. What makes me grin is wondering how they would react to the daily spider visitors in the motorhome, the daily sighting of slithering snakes in and around the river, the mice that make themselves at home under the tents & in the rental trailers, and the squadrons of mosquitoes that are so combative. The spiders and snakes don't bother me, but the mosquitoes are terrible. And thanks to the cat and dogs in the campground, we don't have mice.

Whenever we come into the motorhome we're quick and careful not to let mosquitoes follow us in. At least we try. Most times it seems that one or two get in and we usually attract them to us before we go to bed. Nothing worse than getting woke up at 2 AM by buzzing 'squitoes in my ear. When that happens, about twice a week, I have to get out of bed, turn on the lights and hunt it down. A couple nights ago I was bit 3 times and the itching woke me up, not the buzzing. I got up, turned on the lights and looked for the culprit. Rick woke up and just buried his head under the sheet. I couldn't find it and figured that since it had bit me, it was done for the night. The next morning Rick found it with the dust buster (aka bug vac) and said it was so big it was super-sized.

About a week ago, late one night, Rick had fallen asleep in his recliner chair. I noticed a dark spot on his cheek and took a closer look. I was surprised to see that it was a mosquito and I did what any loving wife would do. I ever so gently slapped it and killed it. Rick woke up, but literally didn't know what hit him. Or how hard.

Just a couple nights ago, after 11 PM, Rick had started to doze off in his chair and I woke him up to go to bed. He stirred and said OK. I checked the door and windows and looked back at him and saw a mosquito on his upper lip. Oh no! What to do?!? Thoughts went through my mind. He was asleep and didn't know it was there. He didn't remember the last time I saved him from a mosquito. Could I do it again without him knowing? If I didn't it would buzz my ear at 2 AM. So I gently, ever so gently, touched my hand to the 'lip biter'. Rick stirred and I pointed to the mosquito that was now on his shirt. It was still moving so I slapped it and it made a blood spot on his shirt, which I quickly wiped off. The only thing Rick remembers is that I smashed it on his shirt and made a spot. However, his lip started to puff up so I had to tell him that a 'squito had bit him. Liquid benedryl works wonders. It was barely noticeable the next day.

We actually like the spiders so we use the dust buster to gather them up and release them outside. We like them because they eat mosquitoes.

Oh, I forgot the worst of all -- the deer flies. They are the worst because they hurt so bad when they bite, they make a large red welt, and it takes a very long time for the itching to stop.

Time for some fish!

It's been a while since I've shared some fish photos. None of these fish made it to the dinner table. They were all safely released to live another day and re-populate the river.

We also think the fish become smarter and wiser after being hooked once, making them more difficult to catch. More of a challenge.

We decided to fish yesterday afternoon, sort of late, maybe 1:00 or so. There were 3 guys there fishing and a couple guide boats drifted by. The skies were cloudy with the promise of a Montana afternoon shower. We didn't plan to stay long.

We knew one of the guys was from a local town who fishes here once in a while. The other 2 were brothers from another nearby town, but we didn't know them. The river is running at least at 800 cfs and it's tough to wade, so Rick and I made our way out to the far bank together and after a few minutes the first guy took a break to rest from battling the current. I was fishing dry flies and Rick was set up to nymph, so Rick was looking for rising fish for me to cast to. It'd been about 5-10 minutes and I spotted a fish right in front of me, a short cast about 20-30 feet away. I hooked it as soon as I cast to it and I brought it back to the home bank to net and release it. The guy was now getting ready to go back out and said to me "I told these 2 guys that you'd catch a fish as soon as you started. And --- you just caught the fish I've been trying to catch for the last hour and a half." I didn't say anything, just smiled. If he wanted to think I'd caught 'his' fish... oh well. I hadn't even been casting where he'd been fishing. In fact, I'd caught the brown trout from where he'd been standing, not from where he'd been casting. That's OK. The 2 brothers asked me what fly I was using and I took a look at the size 12 stimi-like, caddis-like, very bushy flies they had on. I showed them my size 18 sparkle dun and they were amazed at the difference, especially the size and shape. Rick ended up giving them each a similar fly and even tied them on the tippit for them. I went downstream a bit and hooked 2 more fish, but they were both at the very end of my cast and they were off the hook in short order. I had them on long enough that Rick came over with the net. Long distance release or LDR. The 3 other fishermen were nice and we all realized how difficult and challenging this river can be. Not to sound erogant, but I think I was the only one who landed fish. Lady luck I guess.