"Mike Makela" ten.tsacmoc@alekamm wrote

be nice. They don't seem to pay much attention to the hatches in
Yellowstone/Montana, and maybe that's why, but witnessed a good variety of
hatches last time out and would like to be prepared this time around.



Mike,

I don't know who "they" are, but "hatches" are the focus of everyone I know
that spends much time in the Greater Yellowstone area.

But, "Yellowstone/Montana" is a lot of area, both in surface area and
equally important, in altitude changes and it's nearly impossible to produce
a hatch chart for the entire zone that would have any meaning beyond " lots
of bugs over nearly the whole season."

As a single example, Salmonflies start hatching on the HFork around Ashton
in mid-may and the last Salmonflies you will likely encounter continue until
late July on the Yellowstone in the Park. In the middle they will appear on
the Madison, Gallatin and other rivers. But, on any given water their
emergence is short and far more people leave never having experienced good
Salmonfly activity than have ...

If you want the best 'feel' for what fishing the hatches of the Greater
Yellowstone Area can be like, there is no better resource then the DVD "Fly
Fishing Yellowstone Hatches" available from Blue Ribbon Flies
http://www.blueribbonflies.com/ The DVD is based on a book "Fishing
Yellowstone Hatches" by Jurachek and Matthews if you'd rather read than
watch, but I guarantee the DVD will make you a lot more eager to find the
bugs G ... and I suggest it.

If you want a list of all Park waters with access routes and fishing
information "The Yellowstone Fly Fishing Guide" covers every creek and lake
and it too is written by the people at Blue Ribbon

"Western Mayfly Hatches" by Hafele and Hughes is an excellent source but it
covers an area even larger ... it is probably too 'scientific' for a one
trip visitor Their older book "Western Hatches" is also very good, and
covers all types of bugs, but for the Mayflies the new one is great.

I've fished the Jellystone area since '71 off and on, and the last 5 years
for several months each summer. I can't remember the last time I fished an
"attractor" pattern ... hatches are the game, for me. But, I don't expect
to 'master' the Jellystone hatch knowledge available, ever. Unlike most
visiting anglers that rush from spot to spot to get more 'been there, done
that' points, I fish the same places over and over, hoping to gain a greater
sense on intimacy and deeper knowledge. Yet, I'm still surprised and caught
unprepared often.

If you DO rush from spot to spot ...look HARD before you tie on a fly, what
worked great at RiverA may be useless at RiverB an hour away by car. This
may account for your impression that hatches aren't taken seriously ...
"place collectors" probably tend to fish flies that attract more than
imitate.

The DVD will give you an idea of 'most likely' and 'most famous'
times/places and bugs but there is a LOT of fly fishing within a couple
hours of West Yellowstone and the exact same late July day that one water
will be starting to slow for the summer doldrums another water, not that far
away, will just be getting into shape for it's early fishing. Add the
fact that weather fluctuations can move hatches two weeks or more one way or
the other on the calendar and you'll begin to see how impossible it is to
name a few patterns for a short time in a huge region.