Day 5: West Yellowstone, Blue Ribbon Flies, Caddis, and the Firehole...


After a LONG day of fruitless pursuit of wadable water on the North Platte, I made a run for it.  I made it as far as Riverton, WY, where I bedded down at a Motel 8.  By nine the next morning I had made reservations at the Westwood Motel in West Yellowstone and was on my way west to Montana.  I must say this was a magnificent drive as I moved toward and through Grand Teton National Park and then on to Yellowstone.  In the higher elevations of the Tetons snow was on the ground in abundance--kind of a shock for a Mississippi boy like me.  Snow in June?  Out of the question.  After six hours of breathtaking scenery, I was finally in West Yellowstone, a place I was familar with.  My wife Laurie and I had been up there a few years back and did two days with Nick Nicolas, one of the elder statesmen at Blue Ribbon Flies.  We had a great time fishing the PMD hatch on the Gallatin and Madison.  As soon as I got into West Yellowstone, I went by the Yellowstone National Park Office and purchased a three-day fishing permit.  I then checked into the Westwood, a quaint, bare-bones log cabin motel and was soon on my way back to Blue Ribbon Flies on Canyon Drive.  The guys there were awesome as usual.  I picked up some flies, and a Montana Gazetteer ( a must!)  They even circled some places to go as I made my way north toward Bozeman.  I promptly pulled out my Yellowstone Park map and they pointed me in the right direction.  PMDs were coming off in the morning and caddis were coming off in the afternoon on the Firehole.  It was time to go fishing!  Coming out of the west entrance to Yellowstone, I drove to Midway, a geyser tourist stop with a large parking lot adjacent to the Firehole, just as the guys at Blue Ribbon instructed.  I pulled Darth into the parking lot, assembled my rod, put on the waders and headed down a walking path toward the Firehole.  When I got there, the caddis were everywhere!  White Millers, Grannons, small black caddis were thick and abundant.  I took several fish there and had non-stop action till almost dark.  After a long day of driving and fishing, it was time to head back to West Yellowstone.  I caught my second wind and headed to Bullwinkle's Bar and Grill and had a couple beers with some old friends I'd never met.  We swapped fly-fishing stories and had a great time.  I slept good that night, thinking about the PMDs that would certainly await me on the Firehole the next day...

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