Happy Easter!

Holy Thursday

Goose looking for risers

Chief and the Goose usually spend Holy Thursday fishing Big Fishing Creek, but this year we settled for another very productive day on Spring Creek. After a hearty shore lunch of Country Fried Chicken Breast, Honey Mustard Potato Salad and Feta Stuffed Olives, we began to torture those dumb trout. Theory has it that the trouts' brain capacity was seriously and permanently affected by Mirex exposure. Hence the ungodly effectivess of the RBF Mirex Ant, not be confused with the BRF Chernobyl Ant, but quite similar in design.

Best fish of the afternoon

Several dozen dumb trout fell for the #20 RBF Olive Sparkle Dun, not to be confused with the BRF Olive Sparkle Dun. We continued to locate pods of rising trout and bring them to hand. We moved a bit upstream as the afternoon moved on and found many more rising trout. But these bastards were fussy. They refused the #20 RBF Olive Sparkle Dun, well not totally.

Past experiences with this wonderful cabin fever buster hatch reminded the Chief that it was time for his #20 RBF Half 'n Half Olive. Trout love those numerous crippled duns and helpless spinners. RBF's contraption resembles a cripple dun and a not so crippled spinner. We continued to catch those dumb trout with the #20 RBF Half 'n Half until we got tired of catching fish.



The Chief decided to just sit and watch Goose work his magic on those dumb trout. Trouble was, the Chief sat down right on his famous RBF Cedar Landing Net renderin it down to splinters. It will go back in the woodshop later for repairs.

It's that time of year when the Chief usually gets flogged by a gander and latter has a plump goose on the smoker. Don't know where he was this time. His mate just calmly sat on the nest as the Chief stumbled on by.

It's Spring Time in Penn's Woods

Chief and Katie

I enjoyed another day on the stream with my lovely daughter. We have been fishin buddies since she was old enough to stuff into a backpack. We tried to find some open water on Spring Creek but it was very difficult. Found two other local RBF Pro Staffers at the McCoy Dam. Those guys are like fly crap. While we were getting rigged up, Katie said that the fishing would be marginal today because the water was dropping after yesterday's rain. She's knows things.

There were a multitude of caddis on this bright sunny day. We decided to swing some wets in the new run created by the dam removal. Nothing, not a nibble.

We moved downstream hoping for some dry fly action. Katie tried to pound them up with a Caddis and a Beadhead just like her dad. She missed a couple. I bet you guys wish that you could throw a tight loop like Katie. She's a natural. Casting and line control came easy for her. Katie also ties flies and has been tying my RBF AP Emergers.

After a fishless few hours we enjoyed a good Catalan Shore Lunch. Catalan toast, roasted artichoke hearts, anchovies, olives, sheep cheese and some fine Muscato wine.

"Soc un gran pescador y gran cazador de la tortuga!"

Chorizo and Butifarra

The Chief loves to make tasty sausages, especially chorizo and butifarra. Spanish chorizo, not to be confused with the Beaner version frequently sold and served in this country, is simply ungodly tasty. Beaner chirozo will give you the shits. Prepared with copious quantities of garlic, smoked paprika and marjoram, then cold smoked over apple, the Chief's Spanish version is perfect for paellas. This version, not to be confused with the dry-cured type that we use for our Catalan Toast, requires cooking before consumption.

Butifarra, the beloved sausage of the Catalans, is quite similar to Polish Kielbasa. Prepared with garlic, cumin and nutmeg, this sausage is perfect when served with white or fava beans. It does well in paella, too. Venison makes good butifarra, too. You can also add lots of sweet red peppers to make a lovely butifarra. You can even add some hog blood to achieve the highly desirable Catalan Negro Butifarra.

Beautiful butifarra sausage ready for the smoker

The Chief prefers to make his sausages from pork loin and eliminating the pork fat which is almost essential for good chorizo and also essential for clogging up arteries. The Chief prefers lean sausages over another heart surgery.

Chief's Chorizo ready for smoking

Here's how the Chief makes his chorizo...Pork is cut up into 1/2 inches pieces and seasoned with lots of Spanish smoked paprika, granulated garlic, black pepper, marjoram, salt, sucrose and Spanish sweet sherry. Phosphate and Cure #2 must be used if you go to dry-curing. The mixture is then bagged and placed in the refrigerator to let the flavors develop overnight. The next day the Chief stuffs into hog casings and cold smokes his chorizo over applewood from his spring pruning.

Applewood cut on evenly on bandsaw allows for controlled smoking

The Chief loves his Brinkman Cooker, but it is too hot for smoking. Being the genius that he is, he replaces the original electric heating element that produces 250 degree temperatures with a charcoal starter that will generate only around 100 degrees.

Original element on top and low temp element on bottom

The Chief's second-hand Hobart grinder is a real workhorse

The chorizo is now in the smoker, after it is dunked into ice cold water and vacuum bagged, the Chief will head off to Big Fishing Creek on this beautiful overcast day! Two more weeks of Lent and it's back to beer drinking!

Chorizo is great in omeletes, rice and pasta dishes, or just sliced thin and eaten. Butifarra can be eaten with most anything. It is great grilled.

Let's go Fishin!

Yucca Shaker

Bowman taking his turn shaking the Official Cocktail of the RBF Pro Staff

Ah...that's beautiful!

Glen G shortly after consuming his portion of the 2008 Yucca

More Photos for Festus and Ms. Kitty

"There's a storm across the valley, clouds are rolling in"...Hayden Valley, YNP

The Fair Maiden watching the bison in the Lamar Valley near Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park

Our good friends at Blue Ribbon Flies, West Yellowstone, MT offer the finest elk hair and peacock herl in the world. Craig and John also publish an ungodly newsletter. The Summer 2008 Photo Issue features some great photos of "western trips" including the Fair Maiden fishing her beloved Soda Butte Creek. Check out their summer photos at...

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs029/1101259169490/archive/1102210044606.html

Renovations Continue for BWS

Preparations continue for the annual BWS. The inside is slowly taking shape. As you can see we are currently working on a new bar for the youngin's. Stream flows have been rather high this spring unlike the Central part of the state. At this rate the brookie fishing will be outstanding.
For those that did not make the baetis summit, the BWS will take place from May 26th – 31st. Stay tuned for more details

Here is a shot of the construction supervisor. Smokey has approved all work.

Here’s yours truly enjoying the first beer at the new bar.

Finally a parting shot from the front door. The chair is sitting where the old bar was located, and the uncarpeted area is where the old kitchen was located.

Montana's Gallatin River

From the small, spring fed tributaries where the Gallatin is born up in the sub alpine basins of Yellowstone Park , through the scenic canyon stretches, to it's confluence with the Madison and Jefferson Rivers on the sage covered flats where John Colter made his famous marathon run to escape the Blackfeet, the Gallatin is a model of a near perfect Western trout stream.

Combining Blue Ribbon quality with blue collar appeal and some of the best access of any river of it's size in Montana, the Gallatin offers a terrific variety of fishing from native cutthroat trout in it's upper reaches to rainbows and browns down in the canyon. Best of all, these are all wild fish and it's been that way for years now.

Some of the best fishing in the entire river is in the upper reaches where it flows through large meadows that are replete with fast runs, undercut banks, riffles and braids. Even a few slower moving pools. This is a great place to take a neophyte fly fishermen because the beautiful rainbows and rainbow/cutthroat hybrids are bountiful and stupid.

If you enjoy fishing dry flies, a Royal Wulff, elk hair caddis or Schroeder's Hopper pattern is all you need. But don't neglect the nymph fishing either. The spunky brown trout in the above photo was taken on a size #8 stonefly nymph provided to me one morning over breakfast by Matthew Long of Long Outfitting in Livingston, Montana. And please, do yourself a favor and use barbless hooks because if you happen accidentally sink the barb of a large stonefly nymph into your thumb (this actually happened to one unfortunate Pro Staffer) you'll be a long way from help here on the upper river.

This section of river holds a good population of wild rainbows and browns as well as native cutthroats. Fifteen inch fish are not all that uncommon and I've taken rainbows up to 18 inches here -especially when there is good hatch coming off, or later in the season when the fish are keyed into hoppers. This is easy water to wade and in most spots the banks are wide open with little brush to interfere with your backcast.

Public access is outstanding along the entire length and it's just a short walk to anywhere on the river. Elk, moose and bears frequently graze in the willows and bogs along the stream early in the morning or later in the evening. They pose little problem if you keep your distance.

One important point to remember is that the Gallatin, with it's high sub alpine source(s) and it's cool canyon sections, provides excellent fishing right through the heat of summer when the Firehole, Madison or the Yellowstone can be slow. River temperatures will drop fast in late September and from then on your best fishing will be found on the lower river.

Don't forget those tributaries like Taylor Fork, Bacon Rind, Specimen and Fan Creek. They can provide some terrific small stream fishing for cutthroats, rainbows and hybrids and they receive very little fishing pressure.

A short hike of one and a half to two miles will take you to some beautiful meadows and lots of willing fish...

Caveat: The above photo was taken back before I became extremely fat and I actually use to do stuff like this. These days I consider myself lucky if I walk more than 50 feet from a paved pullout in the Lamar.

...Like this beautiful cutthroat trout from one of the Gallatin's remote high mountain tributaries.

Whatever section you decide to fish, from Snowflake Spring to the Spanish Peaks to Squaw Creek, the Gallatin will be a memorable experience in the heart of some of the most scenic mountains in Big Sky Country.

Remember, only you can prevent tourist tires in Montana!

Goodbye (RBF) Girl

Did You See That?

Some of the Pro Staffers steal one final slack-jawed glance as Carrie, the RBF Girl, walks across the Stackhouse lawn in her hip boot waders for the last time. Best of luck RBF Girl! And always remember the good times we had up at the Rossiter Lodge, Cherry Springs and Ole Bull.

Hello Carrie?

Yeah, this is Bunyan....... I think I may have left some of my aftershaft feathers over at your place...

Baetis Summit 2009

The Chief made a late arrival at the Summit and had to leave early. Even missed the esteemed Midger. Forgot the camera and drank too much spring tonic. Those Elk County apples and Clinton County honey sure do pack a punch when you go to fermenting. Wade provides an ungodly review of this ungodly event over here...

http://pennsylvaniaflyfishing.blogspot.com/2009/03/baetis-summit-09.html

Bunyan, Chief, Wise Guy Elliot, Big Boy and Glen G.

Slough Creek Cutthroat

On Thin Ice

There isn't much open water in northern North Dakota during January and February. That's why you see structures like this on the lakes in that area. This is a fish house me and my best friend from the next farm over built one winter more than 30 years ago. Don't know where we got the paint but at least you could always spot the shack in a hurry! We would put it on Lake Metigoshe, which is on the North Dakota-Manitoba border. We caught tons of yellow perch, a few nice northerns, and drank a few beers in these shacks.

This photo is for Bowhunter, Wade, and JohnW. Any guesses as to who this future uber trout guide is? He was too young for earrings at that time.

Chief and Uncle Joe

I caught my first fish in the Juniata River in Bedford Co. while fishing with my great uncle. My great uncle was a great outdoorsman. One of his favorite pastimes was hunting snowshoe hares in Elk County. I was lucky to inherit most of his fly fishing tackle. Amongst this inheritance, were some peculiar dry flies. The wings were constructed of hair obtained from the feet of those hares bagged in Elk County. I suspect that these flies were fashioned long before those made popular by Fran Betters.

Many years after spending summer days at my great uncle’s riverside cabin, it was me who would take him fishing in his waning years. His favorite stream was Spring Creek. We would make the drive from Johnstown to Bellefonte in my ’68 Mustang. I recall one such trip. We arrived at the Paradise early in the morning. Uncle Joe could not get out of the car. He probably was 82, a bit overweight with many fused joints. I was patient, I tried lifting his legs out, tried pulling him out from his shoulders, nothing seemed to work. I didn’t know what to do next. Then I realized that he still had on his seatbelt.

Uncle Joe was rather pissed and he didn’t say much until he hooked a rather large brown under the foot bridge. “Go get my goddamn net in car you moron!” he shouted. He didn’t say much more the rest of the day as I recall.

Uncle Joe is sadly missed. I recall his stories every time I reach for a new leader. I carry his aluminum leader tin. His flies remain unused, especially the “Unusuals”.

Old Fish

Actually an old photo of a fish from long ago. This was a northern pike I somehow managed to catch in the Knife River near Beulah, North Dakota with my brother-in-law and his kids about 28 years ago. Those little kids now have kids of their own.

I finally got a photo scanner last week and have been slowly archiving old photos, slides, and negatives. Gotta have something to do during this interminable winter.