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The Eddy Line: Blue Winged Olives
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8 years agoon
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Outlaw PartnersDiscover the first mayfly of the spring
By Patrick Straub EBS Fishing Columnist
March is a month of transition on our local waters. With warmer temperatures, a longer duration of daily sunshine, and lower elevation snowpack beginning to melt, it’s time to shift out of the winter fishing mode. Don’t fret just yet night owls – there’s still no need to get to the river early and you can feel good about returning in time for happy hour, as fish do most of their early springtime feeding between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The most welcome sign of spring is the arrival of Blue Winged Olives. Midges are nice and they can ease the winter doldrums, but in the next few weeks both trout and anglers relish in the season’s first legitimate hatch. Here’s some advice to help you navigate this hatch.
BWOs are in most trout streams. Because of the insect’s small size, many streams will have multiple generations over the course of the year. Unlike salmonflies, golden stones, and most species of caddis, Blue Winged Olives often have three to four cycles of nymphs and adults. This means more bugs, which means happier trout and anglers.
Get your naming right. Or not. If you want to impress anglers during a high society cocktail party, then study your Latin classification tables. They are most commonly called Baetis. But over time, anglers have gravitated to simply calling them “Blue Winged Olives” or “little olive mayflies” due to their olive bodies and bluish wings. The most abundant species locally is Baetis tricaudatus. Several other species exist, but be ready for some obtuse looks if you walk into your local fly shop and say, “The fish ceased rising to genera B. tricaudatus and commenced their post meridiem caloric intake of B. brunneicolor.”
Timing is everything. BWO nymphs cling and crawl along rocks and underwater structures during most of their existence. When water temperatures are in the low 40s F, the nymphs become more active. During the next several weeks, you’ll find the warmest water temperatures between noon and 3 p.m. The rise in water temp creates internal gases in a nymph’s body, which force the nymph to drift or swim to the surface. As the nymph hits the surface, these tiny bugs often struggle to break through the water’s surface tension. The colder and wetter the weather is, the more these hatching insects struggle and the more crippled or stillborn bugs occur.
Fish the correct habitat. Most BWOs will be found in slower sections of freestone streams. On the Gallatin this will be the back end of longer pools and runs. On spring creeks and tailwaters, many insects can also be found on aquatic growth. Keep in mind the nymphs will be moving through the water column before you see insects on the surface, so position yourself accordingly.
Emergers are very important. For many anglers, this may be the biggest adjustment you make this spring. When trout are feeding on mayflies, the emerging stage – gas bubble formation to fully winged insect on the surface – is the stage when they are most susceptible to hungry trout. During this long transition, these little bugs must cast off the nymphal shuck, penetrate the surface film, and then become airborne. This may take only a few seconds on our clocks but to a mayfly it must feel like hours.
Adults are the prize. Mayfly adults floating on the water’s surface epitomize dry fly fishing for trout and allow us to endure three long winter months of fishing double-nymph rigs. Mayfly adults, also called “duns,” float along the surface with their wings upright like the mast of a miniature sailboat. Trout rise slowly and deliberately to adult BWOs, as if they’ve been preparing all winter.
As the seasons move from winter to spring, so goes the fishing. The beauty of March is the answer to the most often asked question in Big Sky, “To ski or to fish?” It’s easy, do both.
Pat Straub is the author of six books, including “The Frugal Fly Fisher,” “Montana On The Fly,” and “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Fly Fishing.” He and his wife own Gallatin River Guides in Big Sky, he is co-director of the Montana Fishing Guide School, and co-owns a guide service on the Missouri River.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
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14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m.
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Please join the Arts Council of Big Sky for free music from Jacob Rountree at the Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar from 5-7 p.m. on April 24.
Jacob Rountree is an alternative/indie songwriter living in the stunning alpine of Montana. Contemplative yet playful, his lyric forward style is reflective of his love for philosophy, poetry and quantum physics.
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(Wednesday) 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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The Wilson Hotel
145 Town Center Ave
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd