ARRIVACA 10-15-2008

It was eight degrees cooler today, it had been much cooler over the weekend, 80 when I arrived. I tied up some Chaos hoppers since I had seen so many (natural, not foam) last week I decided to try for bluegills until I saw/heard bass working. Once again nothing doing when I trolled a marabou streamer, but the red-legged hopper started producing the the minute I laid it into shaded pockets. The first 5 were all feisty, healthy nine inch fish. I worked up the west bank to the dam and unlike last week, every likely spot produced a take. Lost the first fly, lost the next one (green) to a fish since I tied a quick knot, got nothing with natural Baby Doll and went back to a yellow hopper that produced all the way back to the launch area. The largest 'gill of the day (first picture) was over 10 inches long - a ton of fun on a fly rod. I took a break in cool grove under rustling leaves & saw a full moon come up over the Rincons on the drive home - one of those magical days you won't forget.

Gilbert Castillo

Arrivaca 10-8-2008

I knew it was a bit warm (high was about 90), but I wanted to see if the topwater bite was on. I had not fished Arrivaca in a couple of years - I fished it in it's heyday before the huge fishkill in the 90's - I'd have to consult my fishing journal to pin down the year. I've never duplicated the 28" bass I caught on a deer hair frog, but there is always enough to keep me coming back. The water levels were the highest I've see in years and I was impressed with the bankside growth. I didn't see a lot of topwater activity, I did hear some working deep in the, but managed to get a large (10") bluegill and one 11" bass - both on an Olive Baby-Doll I tied. I did get several takes from bluegills that would hit a bigger bug, but ignored a smaller topwater. I was surprised that that streamers & buggers trolled on a sink tip line failed to produce anything. I think I'll try it again next week as this weekend is going to be cooler. I'll try to post a picture of my bug next week.

Gilbert Castillo

Yellowstone 2008

Okay, so it took 3 years but I am so glad I got the opportunity to return. I made this year's trip with Bob (singer in our band, client & friend) who went with me in 2005 and his lifelong friend, Tom. On the top right is a shot of them on the banks of the Firehole. The shot on the right is Bob on Middle Creek, East of Yellowstone Lake - I had never made the drive in my past 11 visits - a very pretty steam, but the fish were too small for Tom's taste. We encountered the Buffalo while making the hike down from Fishing Bridge (1 mile before you can fish). In years past, I would find pods of fish in the holes I have fished since 1987, but I haven't seen any since 1999. Looking back on my journal entries it seems that the river in park above the falls has become a "walk and search for 1 fish" type of water. Very sad, used to encounter good rises to BWO in the fall, this river is just not what it once was whether it is the fishing pressure of populations have dropped due to the Lake Trout.

Soda Butte and the Lamar have been my go-t0 rivers since 1996 - the first shot is a 'Cut from the Bridge Pool and the next 2 are on the Lamar just downstream from the Confluence Pool. These rivers are very crowded during the time of year I favor and I am very worried about them being loved to death. They still fished very well in spite of the beautiful weather which precluded any cosmic hatches. Well, I should say sustained - we were driving back to the hotel one evening and saw clouds of insects forming vortexes in the sky - had several flying ants come into the car so we fished ant patterns the next day and sure-enough, they worked.

We had to take Tom to Jackson in the middle of the week so we did some quick fishing on the Gibbon and Firehole before spending our last day on the Lamar (Soda Butte was just too crowded and if you do a little walking you can find some good pools. My best fish of the trip came from the Lamar on #14 Royal Wulff in faster water than I would have imagined. In the slower water a #18 Wulff, along with #17 Ants and BWO Sparkle Duns brought the fish up regularly. We only saw a few Drakes come off but a #12 Drake pattern worked in faster water. Reading the posts after my trip showed that some weather finally moved in and kicked the hatches up a notch.

I usually spend half my nights in Mammoth since we fish the NE and to catch the Elk in rut. We always run in for a few beers at the Blue Goose and found a great place for steaks (Raven Grill). I have resolved to fish more in the future and will cut back gigs for the band (http://mlcaz.com/) to twice a month even though the band money more or less funds the trip. It was very good for the soul even with the realization that I have been making this trip since 1987 and quite a few things have changed. The terraces at Mammoth used to run and leave them bright white - most have stop flowing now - you know you're getting old when you witness geologic change. I better get in my fishing while I can.

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