It looks like we have a few more warm-winter days to fish midge times on the river before a return to "normal" temperatures. For the last 3 weeks the daytime highs have been in the 30's and 40's and, while we've seen our share of wind in the valley, we have had some amazing fishing. Not only has the Madison been good, so too has the Beaverhead, Henry's Fork and Gallatin Rivers. Patrick fished the Beaverhead earlier this week and had wonderful fishing presenting an unweighted original brown $3 Dip to fish tailing and sipping midge emergers in soft water near the bank. These fish would not come to any dry fly, instead taking midge pupae as they emerged in the frog water and soft- shallow flows just off the bank.

For the last 2 days I've had the same experience with big trout on the Madison near the West Fork and upstream near $3 Bridge. At 11a.m I'll carefully begin patrolling the shoreline searching for brown trout sipping emerging midge pupae along the shore in skinny water. These big fish are tough to approach since they are in very shallow water. Once I locate a rising fish I scoot on my butt along the shoreline approaching within 10-15 feet of feeding fish. I often spot the trout as it moves a foot or two, side-to-side for the drifting pupae. As midge activity progresses and more and more adults emerge and fly off the fish begin taking impaired adult midges, those stuck in their pupal shucks. Then I knot a #20-22 Zelon Midge onto my 5.5x tippet and take rising fish for an hour or more until the midges cluster into mating clumps and drift along the seams and into soft water or behind boulders where waiting trout key on mating clumps of midges. Clumps range in size from #14 to #20's with a #16 Griffiths Gnat usually working best for me.

The past few days, when trout key on drifting pupa, I will fish a #16-18 $3 Dip behind a Royal Trude Cripple that is a great strike indicator. Today the fish rose to the Royal Trude Cripple most likely taking it as a mating midge cluster. Between the Dip and Trude Cripple I've taken more trout than I have a right to!

This weekend I head to Madison, Wisconsin to present programs on fishing and Yellowstone. My first presentation is on "Fishing Yellowstone Hatches" followed by "Fishing Tenkara in Yellowstone". The Badger Fly Fishers wanted the evening banquet program to be all about the Park and surrounding area, for a mixed audience of both anglers and those who don't fish but want to see images of wildlife and wild places so I will preview my "Yellowstone!" program for the club.

Next week I go to Bend, Oregon for a couple presentations to Central Oregon and Sun River Fly Fishers.

As usual in the rest of this issue, you'll find fishing news from Yellowstone Country in the weekly Fishing Report. You can see what's hot off the vise in the Fly of the Week, get a sneak peek at some of the best materials on our tying bench in the Fly Tying Material of the Week, and stay up to date with the guide staff and their trips in the Guide Trip of the Week.

You'll be seeing a new email newsletter every week throughout the Winter and Spring to keep you tuned in to all things fly fishing and fly tying in the greater Yellowstone area and beyond. Throughout the seasons, we'll keep sending you news of hatches and fishing holes around West Yellowstone. So without further delay, go ahead and jump right into the newsletter. And as always, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email if you have any questions, or if you just want a little fish talk.