monger

Tako, I am talking about catching some SERIOUS fish (not tiddlers under 20"). The fish at BH tend to grow like this for the first few years: 10-13", 14-17", 18-21". I highly doubt there will be any difference in growth rates between diploids and triploids for the first couple of years. The difference should show up when the triploids keep growing in their first year of sexual maturation (age 3 to 4). Hopefully there is some fish that can get to age 4+ without getting bonked on the head. If the females are not cruising the shoreline looking for a place to spawn it will greatly decrease their likelyhood of getting caught by the spring troops of meat fishers. I expect the males will still be easy to target as they will most likely still cruise the shoreline. Hopefully the decreased stocking rates and addition of triploids will lead to a fishery where there is actually a good number of fish over 20" around. At present, angling pressure is very effective at removing anything over 20". There is tons of 16-18" fish that are in good shape, but certainly not footballs. I am very interested in seeing big, fat fish over 22". I wish the size restriction was bumped up to 56cm before you could bonk a fish. Perhaps we will eventually get to a point of stocking AF3N's like BC. That would be sweet!

Nice video. Who knew pelicans loved squab

Ok Tim. It might be hard to move away from one of those pods of 18-21" fish though. Last year we got kind of stuck for about 3 hours in one area until our wrists were sore. You might have to throw rocks to make me move along and look for little fish. The water in front of the boat launch seems to hold lots of little fish. That would be a good place to collect data.

Excellent news! 2012 is going to be a blast. Can't wait to get some big, chrome females. The males will still get dark, but will be infertile. Hopefully the government will put triploids into Police as well. Maybe I can get Sundancefisher to be my executive assistant and write down lengths for me.

Top water action, awesome. Got to love fish that can break rods!

Something different, burbot hunting

Nice baby Clive! What weight of rod were you using?

I pity any sting ray that ends up under the great bulktitude that is Sundancefisher. Hopefully the substrate is soft enough for the shark to escape.

I'm getting tricky in my old age

Ya we had a helicopter lift the boat out at the end. No we were just wading.

That's my buddy's 13 year old Springer. He's seen a lot of birds in his day, so he didn't get too fired up. We had to help him do some serious ice climbing today though.

Trout can adjust the amount of melanin released in their skin very quickly to help blend in with the substrate. You will see quite a bit of difference between a rainbow that spends a lot of time in the shallows versus one that lives in a deep, dark pool.

Great day on the river. We saw four bald eagles and tons of ducks and geese. Even a jet boat went by.

I think between whirling disease and a lake trout introduction into Yellowstone lake, the number of Cutts in the river has decreased from what it once was. I was last there in the late 80's and you could feed Cutts caddis flies as they sat in the eddy behind your legs. You could catch fish pretty much every cast then--14-23" Cutts. It was awful. The upper river is packed with fishermen, but the lower river was wide open. You could also try some of the rivers and tributaries coming from the NE corner of the park. There is also some nice lakes with trout and grayling in the park.

Don't wait much past Apr 20, after that most of the rainbows will have left the river in search of sex

Great sign Don, thanks for posting. I have a problem with a lot of "organized religion" myself. Faith in God however is not a problem for me. People are sinful creatures so it always easy to find their faults. The truth does exist, its just that men keep trying to invent their own for personal gain.

He has a Dell, and they don't send you an operating system CD or driver CDs when you get your new computer. He said he can't even get to "safe" mode. Dell support told him he needs to get his hard drive copied before it gets restored. Any techs for hire? He tried the yellow pages, but everyone is busy.

I wonder if the casting platform could be used for sight fishing into a number of marl covered Bays in about two months?

Sundancefisher just called me to say his computer crashed. He wants to retrieve what he has on his hard drive before he does a restore. Any advice out there or techs available? I can send you his phone number by PM if anyone is around.

Very nice Tim. Can't wait to see your daughter hauling in fish in front of all the meat fishermen. What hook are you using for your bloodworm?

He's just got his "summerfallow camo" on. I don't like his chances come hunting season. Predators often select the "different" looking individual from the group. Great shots, thanks for sharing

Awesome toon. I like the fact that they have that casting platform. I should have bought the 9ft one at the Max Bell fly fish show couple of years ago. The guy was willing to sell it for $800. My buddy bought an Outcast (great sale) through Cabelas a couple of months ago, but he said they wouldn't ship it to Canada. He arranged a pickup in Montana. Were you able to get this Scadden shipped directly to you? What were the shipping costs?

Try Dee at Trout Chasers River Company. One of the best, and most experienced on the Bow.

You bet Russ. The larger diameter line definately is more bouyant. It's great that new technology has allowed us to use stronger line with much smaller diameters. Calm, slow moving water certainly calls for a bit more finesse as the fish have more time to inspect our offerings. It sounds like you have a great plan for those big, slow runs. Using less weight would also allow one to decrease corkie size if one was so inclined. Thanks for sharing your insights.

I've been using FOURTEEN lb mono for "worming" and streamer fishing for about 20 years. I place my weight between my two flies and it rests above a single hand knot I put in the mono (no slippage). When nymphing in fast flowing water you don't need fine line. My Dad used to drag soft hackles down and across on the Bow with TWENTY pound mono in the 70's (this was when the stuff was as big as a rope). He previously used 10lb but was just snapping off too many huge fish. I guess if you are using #18/20 nymphs you have to downsize accordingly. My suggestion would be to use the heaviest mono that can fit through the eye of the hook. Heavy leader decreases fighting time and therefore decreases lactic acid build up in the fish.