BRTU E-News
Because there's more to fishin' than just fishin'!
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#258: June 20, 2022
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Fish and Floods! Good or Bad? |
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A residence floats down the Yellowstone River during the recent floods. Source: Yellowstone National Park. |
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The Gardiner River has its way with the road in Yellowstone National Park between the North Entrance and Mammoth. Source: Montana Free Press. |
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Mallard's Rest Fishing Access Site at the peak of the flood. Source: OutsideOnline. |
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Signs like this were posted all along the Yellowstone. Source: Outsideonline. |
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It was officially declared by the USGS that the recent floods on the Gardiner and Yellowstone were 500 year events; that is, a flood of that magnitude can be expected on average once every 500 years. A lot of records were broken and a lot of stream gauges were actually uprooted and are probably floating along somewhere in the Dakotas.
Due to the efforts of the staff at Yellowstone and the National Park Service, you can read that a lot of the park has already been reopened although the northern entrance is problematic because the road to Mammoth paralleled the banks of the Gardiner River. All of this was covered in so much national and international media that there are too many links to cite.
The inundation of the Paradise Valley and communities as well as flooding at fishing access sites like Mallard's Rest presages a long, slow and expensive cleanup process. In addition, the fate of the famed Paradise Valley spring creeks remains uncertain. State and Federal resources will be heading in that direction, and Montana Governor Gianforte returned from a cryptic vacation in Italy to survey the damage and meet with local officials.
And, of course, some people wondered what was going to happen to the fish and if all this water was going to be bad for them. The native trout of Montana have been around for a really long time and this is not their first 500 year flood. As described in the Bozeman Chronicle which extensively quotes Montana TU Executive Director David Brooks, the fish have ways of adapting to high flows, and of greater concern is all the pollution (including whole houses!) that got dumped into the river.
This is going to be an ongoing issue for sometime to come. So, stay tuned.....
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Classic Sofa Pillow. Source: Fly Anglers online. |
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Nothing epitomizes Montana fly fishing more than the Salmonfly hatch on rivers like the Madison, Big Hole and Blackfoot. The Giant Salmonfly, a stonefly officially designated Pteronarcys californica, at 3 to 5 inches is the largest of any stonefly, caddisfly or mayfly on any western river. The adult and nymphal forms can account for up to 70% of a trout's diet on some rivers, and Charlie Brooks, who spent most of his adult fishing and studying the Madison, told me back in the 1980's that they constituted such a large fraction of the biomass on the Madison, that it didn't make sense to use any pattern other than a salmonfly nymph there.
When "the hatch is on," anglers and guides frantically range up and down the rivers trying to find that sweet spot where the adults are emerging from their shucks. If you hit it right, very large trout are feeding with reckless abandon and will grasp your fly firmly.
This enormous stonefly has always looked like some medieval armored war engine to me, and the fly patterns also tend to be outrageous. My personal favorite patterns have always been the elegant Bird's Stonefly developed by California tier Cal Bird many years ago, the ancient Sofa Pillow and more recently the Sofa Pillow Stimulator. I know that they don't float as well and probably don't work as well as the current arsenal of rubberized artillery.
However, this venerable icon of western flyfishing and indicator of high quality stream ecology may be having some trouble. Jackson Birrell and James Frakes, two investigators at the University of Montana are examining the disturbing decline of these species on western streams in Montana, Utah and Colorado, including the Madison River. The pair of scientists say that the salmonflies on Rock Creek appear to be doing fine, but that they have disappeared entirely from the Provo River in Utah. Based on their research, they suspect that the culprits may turn to include streamflow, water temperature and pollution, particularly copper. Birrell and Frakes have started The Salmonfly Project to draw attention and support research into the issues that might be hammering yet another Montana Native Species.
Just remember if there are no salmonflies, it won't matter what pattern you use.
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BRTU and Ravalli County Museum partner on Fishing in the Bitterroot. |
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All photos are from the Fishing in the Bitterroot exhibit being mounted at the Ravalli County Museum. Source for all: Dave Ward |
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I am going to leave this article up for a while to remind people about the exhibit and will post the date of the grand opening when it is announced.
The grand opening with wine and cheese will be sometime in July, but you can stop by now and see the Fishing in the Bitterroot exhibit at the Ravalli County Museum. A nice thing to do during high water or on a Saturday morning after the Farmer's Market.
BRTU President Dave Ward has been working closely with the museum staff to put together this show. The displays feature vintage and historic flyfishing gear, like Russell wading brogues, flyboxes and a collection of historic flies that were tied in Missoula. Chuck Stranahan donated some beautiful old bamboo rods in display cases and some antique reels.
According to Dave, the exhibit stresses the importance of maintaining and protecting trout habitat according to the 4 C's: clean, cold, connected and complex.
The Museum's hours are 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Thursday, and 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM on Saturday.
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A rainbow trout from the Kenai. Source: Steve Gunderson |
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This issue's striking Picture of the Week was provided by BRTU supporter Steve Gunderson.
Steve worked from 2015-2019 on a 20 person wildland fire crew based out of Palmer, Alaska. When not on fires, Steve had a chance to enjoy Alaska fishing in ways most "sports" who travel there will never experience.
Steve added "...this fish was caught on a tributary to the Kenai River in mid September. The Kenai in the fall came to be my favorite AK area to chase trout and Dolly Varden as they followed the waves of silver salmon up the various Kenai River tributaries to feast on eggs and salmon flesh.
"Most of the creeks are low water in September and October, and are 'freestone' streams, providing some thrilling vodka clear water sight fishing to trout and dollies holding in packs of silvers. Eggs, flesh flies, nymphs, and small streamers on 5 and 6 weights did solid work on these fish as they pack on the weight for the long winter.
"This particular fish was holding in behind a pack of 5 or 8 silver salmon, and was caught with a high stick, tight line technique with a Bead Head Pheasant Tail nymph drifted through the salmon. It sucked my fly up with no hesitation and put up the usual spectacular AK Rainbow battle that is unlike any other trout almost anywhere else in the world. Truly a special fish and a special place to fish for these fish."
Please send me any cool fishing or conservation pictures. Send in a files that is less than 5 MB. I don't use "grip and grin" photos of native fish out of water anymore, but ones of fish being released or in the water are mighty fine!
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This BRTU Puzzler was submitted by long-time BRTU member and supporter Whygin Argus.
The winner is Hamilton High School science teacher Vanessa Halflich, who readers may recall includes Trout in the Classroom in her science curriculum.
Vanessa's winning entry read "I never enter these things, but I think this is the Asian jumping worm (scientific name Amynthas agrestis). They are native to Japan and the Korean peninsula. They are a concern because they are an invasive species, can reproduce faster and grow faster than other earthworms, and can also devour organic material so fast they can strip forests of nutrients and seedlings making it difficult for anything to grow. This can eventually result in other animals, like birds, leaving the area."
You can read more about the jumping worms and the dangers they pose in this article from the Guardian website.
The BRTU Puzzler now has a new sponsor - Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton. Chapter One is offering a $10 gift card to each winner but it must be picked up in person. The book store is a long time BRTU supporter and has an unbelievable inventory of books and magazines. If Chapter One doesn't have the tome you want, they can get it in a jiffy. Shouldn't we be patronizing local small independents rather the big online services?
Vanessa can claim her prize by going into Chapter One. Good chance she will see me browsing, since I practically have direct deposit there!
If you have a cool fishing or conservation related photo, consider submitting it to BRTU Puzzlemaster Marshall Bloom for the BRTU Puzzler. BRTU E-News will no longer publish grip and grin photos of native fish out of water but will highlight photos of actual fish in the water.
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Monte Dolack BRTU prints
now available at Joe's Studio.
A small number of Publisher's Proofs of the limited edition "Bitterroot River-Lost Horse Bend" by Monte Dolack are now available at Joe's Studio. BRTU commissioned Monte Dolack in 2007 to create this iconic print of the Bitterroot River.
The remaining Publisher's Proofs are $375 and all proceeds support BRTU efforts to protect trout and streams.
Joe's Studio, a regular sponsor of our banquets, is located in Hamilton at 220 Marcus Street (961-4586, joesstudio@aol.com)
The "U" in BRTU
Unlike many groups, BTRU has no paid staff. We are an entirely volunteer organization. We are always looking for new members to get involved in projects or to join our board and assist with maintaining our focus on native fish, clean healthy streams and education. If you would like to help out, please contact BRTU Chapter President Dave Ward. We could sure use your help!
In other words, how about putting a little "U" in BRTU?
If "U" are not already a member, "U" can join TU today by going to the the BRTU website. chapter number is #080. If you have a question about your membership, please call the Montana TU office at 406-543-0054.
The BRTU Mission statement is "To conserve, protect, and restore the Bitterroot River and it's watershed," directly in line with the Montana TU mission statement.
For your information, here is a tabulation of our current hard-working BRTU officers and board members.
BOARD OFFICERS
Donna Haglund; Vice President; E-mail: haglunddonna@gmail.com
Vacant, Treasurer;
BOARD MEMBERS
Charlie Harris; E-mail: hmgharris@gmail.com
JuliAnne Thomas; E-mail: thomasjulianneh@gmail.com
Vacant; (student board member)
GENERAL FACTOTUM AND NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER
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