I headed out to a pond on my day off. I went very early in the morning to try to beat the heat. I think the heat came from some of those folks in Kansas and Texas that wanted to share it. I wanted to be out before it got unbearable. I headed for a pond that I have not been to this year. I had everything loaded the night before so all I had to do was turn the key and head for the water, so I arrived at the pond at 5:45 am.

On June 24th, 2011 we arrived on DePuy Spring Creek, the storm of the previous afternoon had passed and the day was partly cloudy and warm. The snowpack runoff had finally started and today the Yellowstone River would rise to 33,000 CFS, so the first thing that we did was to drive the creek to make sure that the river had not broken through as it had in the spring of 1996.

It's the end of March and across the country the signs of the pending summer are multiplying. This is the time of the year that would-be fly fishers begin to think that this might be the year to take up fly fishing. However, where does a person start out? I offer the following advice and hope that it helps ease someone into the wonderful world of fly fishing.

Everyone likes to invent things and that includes me. Here's my latest contribution to the fly fishing community  I've always thought it would be really neat to treat a large quantity of flies all at the same time with a fly floatant rather then the one-at-a-time method most of us use.

Kneeling in the grass just short of a small section of exposed gravel I remained motionless watching the head of the pool for a rise. The grade dropped about 12 inches where the stream boiled over a small boulder then was abruptly confronted by the root base of a huge maple tree. The maple looked as if it had been guiding this little stream in somewhat the same fashion for eons, since it was now surrounded by white birch and hemlock, all much younger in years than the tree now holding desperately on to its bright crimson and gold leaves. Where I knelt was along a riffle just below the maple pool and just above a hemlock pool that switched back in the other direction forming an "S" curve.

The angler waded cautiously along the edge of the stream looking for the subtle rings of a rising trout. His demeanor was such that it was obvious that he had seen more than his share of day's on the water. His face was tanned and the hair that peaked from beneath his hat was a light shade of gray. His fly vest was faded and stained from years of exposure to sun and rain. His manner was casual but focused; his senses keenly attuned to everything that was happening in the stream and the surrounding space. A tiny dimple, nearly hidden by the overhanging vegetation, caught his attention so he paused and waited.

English is confusing. Not literature, not grammar, but the vocabulary that makes up our language. There are things like homophones, which have the same spelling or pronunciation, but different meanings. For instance, the word "bow" is a weapon, and a tie, or is used to play a violin. Then there's a heteronym which has the same spelling but a different pronunciation and meaning, at which point "bow" is bending at the waist, or the front of a boat. It is always confusing.

What's that got to do with fishing? Well...consider the term "panfish." Of course, fishermen are never not sure what that is. Yeah, right.

As for myself, I have caught crappies, sunfish, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and even trout on the Carrot Nymph, but the only difference is I have simplified the material and the amount of time dressing the hook. No Partridge, no flat gold tinsel, no orange dubbing for the body using a dubbing loop.

Gary Borger noted "Parachute Adams would be the worlds most versatile and universal fly and most of anglers think of it as a dun imitation but in reality it is an emerger". So I modified my own Pheasant Tail Mayfly Cripple into a parachute pattern. It turned out to be another good looking fly for both human and trout eyes. It works from big rivers like Madison and Yellowstone to spring creeks in Paradise Valley. Also it can be tied in many different species of mayflies by simply changing hook sizes and dubbing color (see the chart below).