Will the Firehole drain into hell? Or as Jamie Farrell of the University of Utah says, just an interesting event to study earthquakes.  (hey, didn’t he play Corp Klinger?)

Opening day is 4 months away. Check back then for an eye-witness report.

GibbonRiver, originally uploaded by WhiskeyCreek.

Here is a shot of the Gibbon river in Yellowstone. This area will soon be much more difficult to reach, the road is being relocated higher up on the ridge (on the right in this photo).

Psst: idiots, ever hear of web-cams?

Design Notes:

Yellowstone fishing regulations prohibit lead of any sort, even as weight underneath flies. The lead free wire available at the fly shops isn’t very dense, and takes a bit to get the fly to sink. So, I supplemented the weight with a beadhead and Hareline’s Quick Descent dubbing.

Assembly Notes:

I liked the look of the tail from Blue Ribbon Flies GM Nymph pattern, so I used the same tuft of black Zelon, surrounded by dark goose biots. The body is dubbed, flash back, and ribbed with wire like many other fly patterns. The thorax and wing cases are similar to many other epoxy baked patterns like the Copper John.

Pattern:

Materials in order of tie in:

• Hook: Tiemco 5262, size 8 or 10
• Bead: 1/8 th inch, black brass bead
• Weight: .025 lead free wire, about 10 turns
• Thread: Black
• Tail/eggsac: Black Zelon
• Tail: black or brown goose biots (or turkey)
• Rib: small red ultra wire
• Flash back: 1 strand of saltwater flashabou, pearl color (or any pearl mylar tinsel)
• Body: Black Quick Descent dubbing
• Wingcase: Turkey tail, with flashback
• Legs: Hen feather
• Thorax: Peacock chenille (synthetic here, feel free to use real peacock)
• Wingcase: 5 minute epoxy or Loon Knot Sense (UV cure), covered with Sally Hanson’s Hard as Nails

Tying Notes:

Tie the Zelon in right after, and just behind, the lead-free wire. This helps keep a smooth underbody.

The Quick Descent dubbing is made of metal strands, I believe its aluminum. It winds pretty tight on your thread, and holds well.

After dubbing the body, bring the flashabou forward and tie down where the thorax/wing case begins.  Wind the ribbing wire on, binding down the flash.  Then fold the flash back towards the tail, so you can also use it to add flash over the wing case.

Instead of epoxy, I use Loon’s Knot Sense, which cures with a UV light.  This is much quicker, cleaner, and I get better results.  After curing the Knot Sense, I apply an overcoat of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails – to add some shine to the surface.