What about Bob!

Monday April 30th: Hyalite Reservoir with Bob Gagne and my dad. Yellowstone blew out on Friday the 27th and the Upper blew out today. Flows for each were 10,500 for the stone and 1800 for the Madison. Still caddis out on the Lower with a foot or more of clarity and fish feeding on the surface.

I had to get back to my fly orders as well as tie up some staples for the trip on the Mo later in the week so I told my dad and Bob that I could only sneak out for a few hours. Hyalite was prime a couple of days ago and we planned on hitting the lake in the mid day before the college kids could get out of school and hit the lake. We got to the lake at about noon and there were two guys and their three year old son in a canoe on the back side of the island. A chunk of rotten ice was stuck in the gap between the parking area and the island so wading out to the island and fishing was not an option. We hiked around to the point on the North side of the channel and rigged the rods with a Mo Special and a Hyalite special with an indicator about 6 feet up from the flies and no weight. The fish were up closer to the bank as they usually are and I had one on my first cast. It was a small cutthroat and I quickly released him. My second cast came taught to one of the nice cruisers that was putting on his tuxedo for the ladies up the creek.

"Yellowstone Native"

I released him back into the lake and caught a fish on my next 7 cast going 9 for 9 to start the day. The two old guys finally had their rigs tied up on my 9th fish and I gave Bob the honey hole, sent my dad up the channel and I moved further down into the lake. Bob was into them fast and I continued to hook a fish every 3 to 7 cast. After I had 25 to 30 of the cutthroats at hand I finally hooked up with a nice 16 inch Grayling. I admired him and showed him to Bob who was mightily impressed with the fish. I turned him loose and hailed my father who had caught a couple but was not into them like Bob or I were. My hands were also cold from having them in the water so much while releasing the fish. Dad took two cast and was onto a nice fish while Bob continued to catch one after another. Bob finally needed a break from the cold as well and I jumped into his spot at the bush. It was fish on the first cast and I continued to hook them at a record pace for another 45 minutes in the same spot. Bob had headed up to where my dad started and he was getting fish on a regular basis as well. My dad had to make a few more cast than Bob or I were making but he had a bent rod as well. The after school and work crowd started to arrive and we had another angler who had been there the day before walk right in between Bob and I and start fishing. I guess that he was used to fishing close to other anglers that he did not really know. I was a little amazed at his brazen move for a spot to fish but I was the one who had the last laugh when he hooked his first fish and Trico headed over to inspect his fish and tangle her feet in his line while stepping on his rod that he had laid on the ground. He ask me to call her away but I told him that if he wanted to fish where he was that he was going to have to deal with the dog as she was their first. I had a quick giggle inside and came tight to another very nice Grayling.

"Hyalite Grayling"

I was pretty much had my fix for the day and I called it quits on the Grayling. My dad stepped into the bush spot and hooked 7 or 8 more fish and we decided we had plenty of fish on our 4 hour tour. We headed back to the truck and passed a few more anglers who were there for the evening madness. Bob had a wonderful time and there plans of heading to the Lower for the evening caddis bight was put on the shelf because they had both satisfied and they needed a break from fishing after the episode at the lake.