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The Eddy Line: Transition time on our local waters
Published
9 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Patrick Straub EBS Fishing Columnist
The next two weeks are a love-hate dilemma in the world of southwest Montana fly fishing. As summer vacations across the country come to an end, we see the masses of traveling anglers and tourists – along with their wallets – dwindle to manageable numbers. But as the summer fades, fall begins to arrive – nighttime low temperatures drop to trout-friendly levels, angling restrictions start to lift, and talk of the hard-core fall angling traffic begins.
But don’t get too excited just yet. Despite a chill in the morning air, the transition from high-summer angling to early fall fishing can be difficult. Before the frosts begin and the leaves start to change, here’s some help during a potentially challenging time.
Manage your expectations. You don’t need to lower your expectations, but do have a realistic approach to current conditions. Just because the calendar says September doesn’t mean you’re going to be seeing hatches of Blue Winged Olives and October caddis, or that big brown trout will be on the prowl. Early September weather is more similar to August than October. Before fall mayflies and October caddis arrive, and brown trout become opportunistic, substantial weather changes must occur – nightly frosts and daytime highs in the 50s and low 60s. Stick to your current strategies and you won’t be disappointed. If we get an early frost or cold front, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Tweak your strategies. Your thinking doesn’t need to be entirely outside the box, but consider blurring the lines a bit. If you’re a floating angler, think about shorter stretches while thoroughly fishing the best water – or longer floats hot-spotting the best water. If you’re on foot and want to target larger fish, think like a predator: Fish early and late in the day and fish less utilized sections of a river. For example, on the Gallatin River avoid the “Mad Mile” below House Rock due to the plethora of rafters and kayakers.
Take a hike. Within an hour’s drive of Bozeman exist more than a dozen trailheads accessing high mountain lakes. Since most of the recreational tourists are gone, you’re likely to have many of these pristine waters to yourself. Expect hungry trout as they prepare for a fall that comes a little earlier than at our lower elevation waters. Solitude and hungry fish make for a fun adventure. If you go alone be sure to tell someone your plan and it’s never a bad idea to pack a bottle of bear spray along with your small dry flies and beadhead nymphs.
Be a report groupie. Conditions change daily, so use the resources of our numerous local fly shops and read their fishing reports regularly. They have guides and shop staff fishing every day who will know if trout are still eating ‘hoppers on the Yellowstone, or if you’re better suited sticking to dead-drifting streamers and zebra midges on the Upper Madison.
Keep your fishing simple. Until our fall hatches begin, my focus is more on finding the fish rather than exactly what they’ll eat. Since no single food source is prevalent or obvious, my problem-solving technique is targeting water where they will hold and hope a few are willing to eat what I’m offering. This time of year I focus on riffles, the shelves below riffles, and any drop-off or hole near moving water. Fish will congregate near, or in current, as that’s the likeliest soup line.
Fishing right now is like a preseason NFL game: The big guns come out to play for sure, but only for a limited time. The overall feel at the end of a fishing outing is satisfying, but the thought of better things to come lingers.
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 and he 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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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.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd