TIME: 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM WEATHER: Clear, late breezes, mid-70s
WATER CONDITIONS: Clear, cool
LOCATIONS FISHED: Hebgen Lake, Montana, near West Yellowstone
ROD USED: 8’ 6” 5 wt Winston Joan Wulff Favorite
FLIES USED: #18 Blue Winged Olive
HATCHES: Baetis
OTHER: Fished solo. The gulpers at Hebgen Lake awaited. Arriving at the access point about 9:30 AM, two vehicles were already parked. I parked along side the turnout road, donned waders, grabbed rod, fins, and float tube, and walked down to the lake. There were already 7 people in the area I fished yesterday, all wading. I kicked out a couple of hundred yards, and watched and waited. It was reminiscent of duck hunting, where hunters would wait for a flight of mallards sailing through the air, responding to the wail of the duck calls, finally helicoptering down into the decoy spread. The fly fishers eagerly awaited the baetis hatch and the resulting gulping fish, all with rods pointed straight up, ready to cast a a second’s notice.
Often times, the gulpers will establish a pattern, and the idea is to anticipate their next “gulp”, cast a fly there, and hope for a strike. Today, there was a great hatch, and you can see some insects in the bottom of the photo, but few gulpers. I didn’t get a fish, nor even a look, and didn’t see anyone else catch fish. It was a short morning, and by 12 noon, most of us were off the water.
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