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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop

The summer started out with one of the best caddis fly hatches I've ever seen. Heads everywhere! I'm not sure who were eating more caddis, Pookie or the trout. Pookie and I floated about 5 times in May from Carabella to Springdale. Some days were great and some were just OK. We used the standard elk hair caddis from size #16 to a size #10 in whatever color was appropriate. This was trailed by a Wright's Royal in a size #14. Both flies did well with the Rights doing just a bit better.

Of course after the caddis comes the salmon fly. We only got one day on the river during the hatch but it was a good one. I coned Tom Harms, one of the best guides on the river, to row for Pookie and I. (Can you believe I actually got to fish out of the front of my boat), now I really owe him. Just to play around I tied up a few different stile salmon flies, mostly out of foam and in a smaller size. I tried the abdomen in a peach foam with black on the sides. This seemed to work very well. The first half to the day the big guys came up with abandonment. Caddis, PMD's and big gray drakes were out all afternoon and did a good job of bring the trout up.

I have to give mention to an incident that happened to Pookie on that float. As I was bringing in a rather nice cut-bow, Pookie insisting on inspecting every trout brought to the boat slipped on the gunnel and fell overboard. We were in fast water and she drifted a good distance from the boat swimming hard. She is a good swimmer buy the way. Tom pushed ahead to catch up with her and I held out the net. Pookie swam straight for the net and she became the biggest thing I landed all day. I think it took a week for her to get over her swim as every time she looked at me it was like she was accusing me of pushing her over board.
I felt the fishing was very good all summer long. We had rain every mouth and that kept the Yellowstone cool and above what was the norm.

Pookies, hoppers and beetles fished well all summer long. I'm looking forward to streamer fishing this fall, as is Pookie although she will insist on spending most of the day inside my jacket to keep warm. Makes it hard to cast!

Volume#1 Number #1

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop

Steel Head fishing the no name river. The reason I'm calling it the no name river is my

fishing buddy Gary Blackburn said he would hold my head under water just till the bubbles stopped coming up if I named it. But I can tell you about where it is. The Washington side of the Columbia River down stream from the Dalles (get the picture) is a steelhead river of unparalleled beauty. Most of it runs through canyons two thousand feet high with the sides covered with pine, cotton wood and maple trees. The best part is it's not crowded hence the reason I call it the no name river. It can be floated in a drift boat but only for experienced rowers as it is class three and four water. Also it is rocky. I know as I hit most of them with the boat.

At the end of every rapped is a pool that knocks your socks off for being classic steelhead water. They are great for swimming a fly; witch is what I love to do. I won't say every pool is loaded with fish because they aren't. If you fish all day and land one steelhead you had a good day. As for me I had two on and landed one white fish for three days of great fishing. Just the catching was slow! This type of fishing is not for the numbers counters or an angler who has a short attention span. Each stretch we did and we floated three different stretches was better than the last for beauty, and ease of wading. Although Pookie and I did take a spill on the last day on some slick mud, we did dry out, believe me that water is cold! Thank the fishing gods the weather was warm.

The trip takes about 13 hours from Livingston. We left at midnight and was at the camp ground by 2 PM. Right in front of the camp ground was a pool and I fished it that first day for a few hours but I never raised a fish. I guess you can't have it all.

One thing I did do was to get Pookie a backpack. She always put up a fuss when I would walk too far from the boat. I didn't want her to walk the bank too much, as there wasn't too much of it and there is a good population of snakes that might try to make a meal out of her. At first she wasn't too sure of being in the pack but after a while she just settled down and enjoyed the ride. I didn't worry too much about her jumping out of the pack as I was standing up to my waist in water and I know she didn't want to get wet. The only time she wanted out was when she heard the sound of rushing water. Then she wanted Gary to hold her, I guess she didn't trust my rowing skills!

Volume #1 Number #2

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Fishing Big Springs, Lewistown, Montana

Big springs is just what the name describes. It comes out of the ground 4 miles out of Lewistown at the rate of 65,000 gpm and eventually enters the Judith River. In the fall, Brown Trout come out of the Missouri River up the Judith and ending up at Big Springs to spawn. This creek is well known but fished very little by anglers from Livingston and Bozeman. The two-hour drive and 280 miles round trip from Livingston may have something to do with that. But if you have a free weekend and don't mind spending the night, it's a nice getaway to fish for big rainbows and browns.

I fished with two friends of mine, Jack and Don. Don fishes Big Springs every fall almost every weekend. This past week I was tired of tying flies and needed some relief from the vise, so I decided to tag along with my friends. I intended to fish buggers for the browns, but I ended up dry fly fishing for big rainbows instead. The first day I solemnly tied on a size #8 black bugger and commenced to walk up the creek for almost a mile with only 3 small brown to my credit. Towards the end of the day, I met up with Jack to find out he had even worse luck.

Jack had bought a new Sage Rod and wanted to brake it in right with a big fish. Always wanting to try out a new rod, just to see how it feels I asked if I could make a few casts. I was commenting on how well the rod felt when a huge rainbow slammed the bugger. The bow was putting up such a wonderful fight. Pookie was trying to get a look at it and she almost came out of her ride. After getting the fish to the bank Pookie bailed to give her approval with a quick lick on his nose. Jack muttered a profanity then said, "it figures, never give Dean your rod to try". I felt pretty good about it for it was the biggest fish of the day and the day was over. After a few quick pictures we measured him at a clean 20".

On Sunday, after a dynamite breakfast at the 4 Aces Cafe we headed back to the creek. I decided to try the bugger again. After a good walk I still had no luck. Don was fishing the LBN and he didn't get a rise either. After saying "Oh well" to ourselves, we thought we would go find Jack and see if he was having any luck While passing a hole I spied a nice rainbow porpoise on the seam line and a few dimples in the inside flat water. Don tried his LBN while I re-rigged with a size #20Thorax BWO with a size #22 Midge pupa as the dropper. After Don gave up and went looking for Jack, I stepped into the hole to give it my best try. Pookie gave me a snort saying, "good luck sucker". I threw a second cast to what looked like a fair size bow, which took a swing at the pupa. Of course I missed the set and pulled back to make another cast. As the pupa came across the seam line, the big bow grabbed it, and the fight was on. After half a dozen jumps and numerous headshakes from the fish, I got her to my

Volume#1 Number #3

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop
Fishing Baha, Mexico, Cabo San Lucas

Talk about taking a trip by the seat of your pants, this was the one. The last time I went to Cabo was in 1965. I was 18 years old and even more full of adventure than I am now. I remember it was a dirt road from the border to Cabo and beyond. With a 53 Chevy and 6 mounted tires and 3 serf boards tied to the roof of the car, two buddies and I went on a surfing safari. I spent 2 glorious weeks sleeping on the beaches eating cans of pork & beans and learning Spanish. I took about as much care with this trip as I did with that one! For anyone interested in doing that, one word of advice-don't!! It can be very expensive.

We left Bozeman Monday morning with 3 connecting flights to Cabo ( it was a grind ). I was able to keep Pookie with me in the cabin till we boarded Air Mexico. They insisted Pookie was to ride in the baggage compartment. Needless to say she was no fan of that. By the time we got to Cabo she was fit to be tied. She tries to reek her revenge with the baggage handlers by trying to bite them through to bars of her caring case. They were very careful not to lose any fingers. Of course when I let her out she got even with me by peeing on me, such is the way things go.

It's about a 45-minute drive to the hotel and this is where we got our first surprise. Brian thought we should pay for a round trip from the airport to the hotel and back. I didn't think to much of this idea and sure enough when it was time to return to the airport the taxi driver was no where to be found and we had to pay for it all over again. It costs about $14 each way.

Now for my second surprise of the day. I had made arrangement ahead of time to make sure it was ok to have Pookie stay at the hotel (Marines Seasta). When it came time to check in the desk clerk told me in no uncertain terms that dogs were not allowed. So guess what, I not only lost what I paid for the room but I had to find another place to stay. They did let me spend the night as it was late by that time. So much for bending the rules!
The next morning I found a quaint little hotel in the middle of Cabo that allowed dogs with open arms (Seasta Suites). I highly recommend this place if you go to Cabo, as it's very clean and centrally located to everything. It coasts about $300.00 a week. For Cabo that is very reasonable. Brian stayed at the Marina and I stayed at the Seasta. It made it a little complicated but we managed.

Coffee is my life's blood, I can't manage the day with out it. We found a little place on the marina called Cheeseburger Del Cabo. It's the best place I found for breakfast and coffee. We would meet their every morning to plan our day.

I'm sorry to say the fishing was not up to my expectations. We booked two charters for marlin about $500.00 a day. The seas were very bad those two days. About 8' on average. I'm afraid it was too much for Brian as he spent most of the trips in the cabin or chumming the fish. Pookie and I enjoyed the boat ride. We did see marlin but the deck hands were to slow getting the teasers in for me to present the fly. So much for the marlin fishing!

Trying to rent a car in Cabo is like trying to buy one, it's very expensive. One way around this is to go to a time-shares seminar. They will give you about anything to present you with a pitch. That's how we got a car for two days. It was the worst 3 hours of my life and no I didn't spend the $40.000.00 they wanted for the privilege of staying in one of their time-shares. If you go to Cabo you will be approached everywhere you go to attend one of these seminars. They will promise you the moon and deliver very little for it. All they want is for you to sign on the dotted line, so be advised.

Now to this so-called car we got. It was a 10-year-old Toyota with a bent axle so we wobbled every where we went, but that wasn't the worst part. The key would lock up so we couldn't start the car unless we fiddled with it. Are we having fun so far? We were about 40 miles north of Cabo checking out the beaches to see if we could do a little shore fishing. Unfortunately the shore brake was so high we couldn't get a cast out. That was the way it was all along the Pacific side.

The next day we traveled south trying to get to La Paz thinking the Sea of Corteze would be better, but of course we got lost and just drove around all day stopping along any beach we came across. I must say they were all beautiful and devoid of people. Pookie had a ball running up and down all the beaches, chasing the waves and climbing on all the rocks. She got a little to close to the water and got washed by the waves. It was all in good fun to her, I never seen a dog dig such holes and have them fill in as fast as she could dig.

Before I Finnish this little adventure, I want to comment on the one tremendous pleasure we experienced on this trip. The food was out of this world. Shrimp, fish, shellfish and sushi were the best I have ever eaten. All the restaurants allowed Pookie

to sit at the table and the waters would bring her bones or some other little treats to please her. Everyone wanted to hold her. She was a real chic magnet!
I know I've painted a bleak picture of this trip but I did have a lot of fun. The night life, well what goes on in Cabo stays in Cabo!

Volume#2 Number #1

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MATCHING THE HATCH

AN AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW

I have been asked by my Japanese friend Koichi to give an American point of view to the age-old problem of matching the hatch. Personally I think there are as many opinions as there are anglers, it doesn’t matter what nationality the angler, the opinions are as varied.

In the past week I have asked a number of anglers who I think have a good understanding of the key to matching the hatch and what their ideas are on this subject. It has come down to size, presentation and color. We all agree that it is a combination of all these factors in their infinite variations that add up to the key of success. Ultimately it lies in the imagination and experience of the angler. The more one observes a rising trout the more information he or she retains to do battle with his next cast.

Speaking from personal experience I will relate what I have learned from my almost 40 years of fly-fishing. In the beginning the only thing I was concerned about was just getting the fly in the general area of any fish. As my casting skills progressed and I could see that I was getting the fly in the general area of rising fish it became apparent that the rising fish were bumping into each other just to avoid having my fly pass over them. The problem, presentation! I would move up stream or down stream, get closer or further away all in the effort to make a drag free drift. Once I felt I mastered this aspect of fly-fishing I moved on to my next problem, understanding just what the trout were eating. I would sit on the banks watching these little bugs moving around in the water. How they would rise up from the bottom, stopping in the surface film and emerging into a winged insect. It was a revelation; the trout were eating something other than worms and cheeseballs. After reading more books than I had for my schoolwork I was able to understand what was an adequate insect and how the trout

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fed on them. The next stop was my local fly shop (more bate and tackle than fly shop). Back then the two most common flies were royal wolfs and woolly worms.

It became apparent that if I was going to have flies to fish the different hatches I was going to have to learn how to tie them. That is a process that is still going on today. Like fly-fishing their are always new things to learn about tying flies.

So then I understood how to present the fly and to present the proper size of the fly to rising trout. Success, I was able to catch trout with some regularity.

As I learned more about fly-fishing for trout I was able to discern the difference between size, color and type of insect. It also became apparent to me of all the variables involved with the art of fly-fishing. The one thing for certain is that there are no hard and fast rules for matching the hatch. I have found that a fussy feeding trout that would not touch any variation of the hatching insect would go feet out of his feeding lane to gobble up a poorly tied ant. So much for matching the hatch!

Back to the basic question of the key to matching the hatch, my answer and that of all the other anglers is experience. The more an angler knows the better he is able to put together all the variables for a successful day on
the water.

 Volume#2 Number #2

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop
First Yellowstone River Float Trip

I don’t think Pookie and I were pushing the envelope when I decided to take a short float on the Yellowstone River this week. It seems we had no winter to speak of this year and I have spring fervor so bad I just had to get out.

Put in at Mayor's Landing at about noon on Monday and floated down to 89 bridge. The weather wasn’t all that great as it was over cast and spitting rain. The temp was about 40 Deg. with a light to moderate down river wind. I thought the nymphing would be good at least for white fish and hoped to find a few rising trout. After stopping at a few riffles with no luck and Pookie complaining about being to cold so I decided to just lazrily float down to see if I could find rising fish.

About half way down the wind layed down enough to make it quite pleasant. I came across a foam patch with heads pocking through. Looking closely at the bugs I determined they were taking Midges. Great as I had a box full. I started out with a size 20 CDC midge and after a few casts and as many refusals I switched to a Midge Pupa. That was the ticket. I struck gold with as many 12 to 14 inch bows you could want. Pookie climbed out from inside my jacket to inspect each trout brought to the boat. We bought forgot about the cold and enjoyed an hour of fine fishing.

Floating further down river just past the Donavan House in that great big pool I started to see blue wings. As the wind was still down I hung around a while to see if any trout would start to rise. As the hatch became heavier I started to see heads. I found a spot just down river close to the bank where I could drop anchor. As I wasn’t really expecting to see many blue wings Ididn't bring any so I had to dig around to find a beat-up comparadun. As it was the only blue wing I had in my box, I told Pookie this would have to do. After getting my line of drift down I started picking off the trout. We hung around for better than an hour before the wind came back up and put down the trout. Just as well as it was 5PM and time to go home. All in all I think it was a good day to be all-alone on the river.

If my crystal ball isn’t too cloudy my predictions for this spring and early summer is you had better hold on to your hats, the Caddis hatch will be early and heavy over Mother’s Day. With the sparse snow pact again this year, the run-off will be light and short. With any luck we should be able to fish caddis for two week at least. The river should have good fishing till mid to late July. If the river gets warm in late July, with low water conditions, look for the FWP to put harsh restrictions on our waters. It’s just my opinion and like parts of the body we all have one. Good luck and good fishing.
Volume#2 Number #3

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop
The 2005 Caddis Hatch
Pookie and I managed to get five floats on the Yellowstone River for the caddis hatch. The sections of river we floated was one time from Mayors Landing to 89 bridge. The hatch had just started, so I wasn’t looking for the trout to really be looking for them. I was surprised to find a fair amount of March Browns and BWO’s on the water and the trout were not on them in any numbers.

Our success wasn’t to good on the drift but when we found foam patches and back swirls the trout were stacked in those areas and they were eating. I started out with a size 16 Caddis on top and a size 20 BWO as the dropper. I fished this rig all evening

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with 20 trout brought to the net. Most of the trout were of a fair size averaging about 12 to 16 inches and fat. Both flies took about the same number of fish.
The second float, two days later was from Carter's bridge to 9th street. The wind was howling and there were few bugs on the water. (I wonder why.) No trout were landed, but we managed to coach a few white fish to the net.
The balance of the floats was from Mallards Rest to Pine Creek. I must admit that for an evening float that stretch is my favorite. Most of the boats are off the water at that time and I have the river mostly to myself. The Caddis hatches were the best at that time with blanket hatches starting around 4PM to 6 PM and good numbers of bugs till dark.
Pookie just loves these hatches. She will sit on the bow of the boat snapping the bugs out of the air and after a few snaps she will spit the wings out. I don’t know why she doesn’t like the wings. Pookie did manage to stay dry on these floats, I didn’t, I only took a dip once and that was enough, and the water was cold!
Now I must give credit where credit is due. My tent wing Caddis did very well when it wasn’t a blanket hatch but when the Caddis were covering the water my fly didn’t do so well. Paul Bretz and John Glover two of my most experienced guides have a secret weapon that they use at these times. With Paul it’s a Caddis Quigley and with LJ it’s a Devil Bug. Now they tie these flies differently and even when you throw them in the middle of a raft of Caddis you come up with a trout. Now I have been known to boot leg any number of patterns that work, but I promised not to put these flies in the bin under penalty of having my fingers broken. There is a line in an old movie (Casablanca) where Peter Loire tells Bogie that he, in his own way likes to help people too and Bogie says “ for a price Agouti, for a price”. I can be had!
Even though the run-off has started I think the water has just enough visibility for a short time where you still can find some fish that will take a Caddis. As the run-off progresses the fishing will slow down where the only flies that will work are big black buggers. The Boulder as of Saturday was still clear to fish and there is Caddis on the water.
Good luck and good fishing.
Volum#2 Number#4

Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop
Yellowstone National park July 2005

Not being the kind to look a gift horse in the mouth, my sweet daughter Dandy insisted that I take a brake from the toils of owning a fly shop and take a few days off to visit my most favorite place in the world, Yellowstone National Park.

This was the first opportunity this year to fish the two best creeks in the park, Slough Creek, and Soda Butte. Accompanying me was off-course Koichi and my daughter’s best beau Chad, who I’m training to be a guide for Hatch Finders. This kid can fish and he’s not hung up on what you are supposed to do when fishing the creeks but what he thinks is fun to try. There was a number if times when he would ask me “the

so-called expert” what to use for a fussy fish we saw rising. I would with deep consideration, offered with my 25 years of experience and say a size 16 spent wing PMD close to the bank. Chad would say, “I think I’ll use a hopper” and commences to take every fish in the hole and not a small hopper but the biggest one in his box So much for my vast storage of knowledge.

After taking care of business on Friday the three of us left for the park around 10:30 am. I know it was the weekend and the waters would be crowded if we got their to late but we wanted to fish late and would out last most of the visitors who just wanted to wet a line. We arrived at the soda butte just in time for lunch. You have to fuel the engine, it’s a long walk. After rigging up I put Pookie in the pack with some effort, as she wanted to walk and sniff, but knowing the temperament of the wild life it was better if she rode.

O glory the first bend had rising trout taking PMD’s. It was one after another as the day progressed for the next 7 hours.

Koichi was trying one of Yukihiro’s new bamboo rods a 9’3” for four-weight hollow built. It is light with a strong backbone. It is just one beautiful rod! Koichi can make casting any rod look easy.
After the first two hours, Pookie couldn’t stand it any longer so she jumped out and follows us up river. Staying no further than 5 feet from us I thought it was safe enough to let her inspect the trout we were landing. When the water got to deep for her she would stand next to me and look up saying ”OK daddy you can carrier me until we get to the next gravel bar”. After walking several miles, 10 miles to Pookie, she has such short legs; it was no trouble getting her back in the pack for the walk back to the truck.

We had dinner at Roosevelt Lodge, chicken fried stake with all the trimmings, Yom! Just what I needed before a good nights sleep. We camped at Slough Creek campground so we could get an early start for the next days fishing.

When the sun went down the skeaders came out. Even Pookie was itching. Well after getting bitten more than I could stand, Pookie and I crawled into my bag and went to sleep. Until she fell asleep every critter that went buy the truck she would give out a low growl, she’s so tough!

The next morning broke clear and cool, perfect! After a good coup of strong coffee and a cherry pie, we were off. We parked at the second parking area over looking the meat hole, saw fish rising and PMD’s in the air. I could see Pookie was ready to go as she was jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean. She knew right where to go and lead the way to my favorite riffle. Koichi went down stream to his favorite spot

and Chad came with me to once again prove to me that hoppers were the best fly for the day. Pookie never wandered more than a few feet from me. And that was a good thing too as I was taking a brake watching Chad land one after another fair size cutthroat Pookie gave out a sharp bark and looking behind me we saw a rather large coyote just sitting their giving Pookie the once over. I think he was inviting her to lunch with her being the main course. Well in one jump she was in the pack and casting dispersions in the coyote lineage. After a while seeing Pookie was no easy pick up he went on his way and Pookie resumed inspecting the trout. I managed to land a fairly hefty cut-bow and as Chad was taking our picture Pookie was giving it a friendly lick when the trout bit down on her tong. I think Pookie won’t be French kissing any more trout any time soon. For a while after she barked with a lisp.

Koichi Managed to land a good number of trout again fishing one of Yukihiro’s rods an 8’6” 5 weight. The best trout he landed was a 20 ¼” measured cutthroat taken on a rusty spinner size 16.
I lost count on the number of trout Chad landed using a pattern called a grand hopper size 6. To recap on the flies used; rusty spinner size 16, PMD spinner size 16, trudes size 14, and grand hopper size 6.
As I was getting ready to head back to town I learned the hard way not to leave anything on in my truck as my battery went dead. No jumper cables what to do? Just as I was about to say to hell with it and go back to fishing, a wonderful retired couple from Ohio named Mr. & Misses Kurt Saile offered a helping hand with cables and a jump. As it turned out they had been to my shop the year before and remembered Pookie and I. I wish to extend my heart felt thanks to two wonderful people.

A reminder to all my friends, the Federation of Fly Fisherman will be holding the 40 annual conclave this August from the 9th to the 13th at Livingston’s High School gym. Hatch Finders will have a booth this year featuring Koichi’s fly tying magic and Yukihiro’s wonderfully crafted bamboo fly rods. I invite everyone to come and enjoy all the great exhibits featured there.

Until next time, tight lines with just enough wind to keep you cool, and the hoppers in the water.

Volume # 2 Number # 6

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop
The Mother of all Hoppers August 2005

 The FFF conclave was a huge success. A lot of the credit belongs to, and I’m proud to say one of my guides, Molly Semenik. She was a regular dynamo in getting everything organized and coordinated with all the exhibitors and tiers.

We had over 2000 fisherman in town for the second week of August and it seemed they all wanted Pink Pookies. Dandy and I tied Pink Pookies till the sun didn’t shine. Again for the third year in a row it was the most popular fly on the river.

I haven’t been much use to Dandy since the conclave. She has been tying most of the summer flies while I have been lamenting on fishing and not inspired to do so. Chad came in wanting me to tie the biggest hopper I could. Always up for a challenge I used a Mustad 9672 #2 streamer hook and began spinning antelope for the body (brown) and olive deer hair for the thorax. After tying in the legs and wings, voa-la “The Mother of all Hoppers”. It looked like a small bird. It was just what Chad wanted. After tying the hopper I though I wouldn’t mind having a few of these myself, so I tied a half dozen. The Gods of fisherman must have been watching my inner struggle because a friend of mine Doug and his wife Janelle came in, wanting a few flies to fish for the day. They were playing hooky and asked if I wanted to play too. Doug is the science teacher at Arrowhead school and Janelle works for an environmental outfit out of Bozeman. Dandy, giving me a long side ways looks and said,“Gee Dad why don’t you go “. Really meaning, “ get out of my hair”. Anxious to try out the new hopper I must have left a vacuum as I was leaving, because all kinds of feathers followed me through the door.

After calling Hooters for a shuttle we put in at the 89 bridge for the float to Springdale. The river looked absolutely pristine, clear and cool with just a slight breeze. I was determined to fish the MOAH all day knowing I wouldn’t hook many trout, but confidant that if I did they would be big. I did hedge my bet a little by tying on a soft hackle I lifted from Koichi’s vest as a dropper.

After launching the boat Janelle sat in the driver’s seat. She wanted to sharpen her rowing skills and give Doug and I the opportunity to fish. For a relatively new oarsman Janelle did a fantastic job. I offered to drown Doug so she could devote all her time to rowing me down the river, but sadly she declined, I think they are newly weds.

We fished down to Tom McLean’s place before I hooked my first trout on the soft hackle. It was the first of three on that fly. The second trout was about 16 inches and hit the soft hackle like a freight train. I was beginning to think that maybe the MOAH wasn’t going to produce any fish. As we got down to Pig Farm on a heavy riffle, I pulled the hopper under the surface to see if that technique would work better. Well, a bow about 20” came up from the bottom, hit the hopper and came out of the water by about 5 feet. After a few more jumps and two long runs I managed to get him to the net. The only other trout that was big enough to eat the hopper was about 18’ long, in the center of the river, just down stream from the camel back. That one almost made me wet my waders. It was an absolutely wonderful day and I want to thank Doug and Janelle for the adrenaline rush.

I haven’t mentioned Pookie on this trip. Pookie was under the weather and much to my dismay I had to leave her with Dandy for the day. After a wicked tongue lashing and a frigid cold shoulder I’m glad to say she is feeling much better now and is back to her happy self.

Summer is rapidly coming to a close, so don’t be like me, stuck behind a vice, get out there and go fishing.

Volume # 2 Number # 7

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JAPAN
Travel Log
December 8th to the 18th

I would like to start my description of my trip to Japan with a brief mention of the history of the Japanese people. The islands of Japan were inhabited during the JOMON period (10,000 - 300 B.C.), a prehistoric period of tribal/clan organization. This continued through the KOFUN period (YAMATO) (300 B.C. – 645 A.D.) The Unified State begins with the emergence of powerful clan rulers; Japan establishes close contacts with mainland Asia. As you can see it is an ancient culture and can be intimidating to the new kids on the block.

In these ancient times the clan rulers entrusted certain members of the peasant class with the duties of managing and maintaining, in perpetuity, the forests and other woodlands of the islands. For over two thousand years the families of these people have taught the forests to grow in a way we will never understand. The Japanese people were the first environmentalists. If you ever get the chance to visit that island nation you will see the most beautifully managed woodlands in the world.
As the temples, shrines and palaces were built, gardens were planted to give visual pleasure and a sense of tranquillity to the inhabitants. Most of the gardens I visited are almost two thousand years old. Every tree, shrub and blade of grass were planned and planted to give the viewer a sense of balance and peace.

The customs of the people of Japan make it possible for the population to live in peace and harmony with one another. You always see a polite bow and a smile on their faces when you are introduced to them. Shaking hands is a custom introduced by the west.

Everyone has heard stories about the food consumed in Japan. Let me tell you I have never eaten as well as I did in Japan and I lost 10 pounds. Most westerners will turn up their noses at the thought of eating raw fish. I had the pleasure of attending a dinner with Koichi and Toshie at one of the finest sushi restaurants in Tokyo. Every item on the menu was presented with an artistic flair with ingredients caught fresh that day. The flavor was unbelievable to the pallet. Salt, other than what is naturally contained in the food is never added. Even the most common dishes presented were of many courses with flavors distinct to each dish. All meals were toped with a sweet desert. The equivalent of Japanese fast food is noodles in soup. Chicken, fish and beef makes up the broth with vegetable tossed in. If McDonald’s would serve this instead of burgers and fries the obesity of the American young would disappear.

The reasons for my trip to Japan were twofold. To attend the Yokohama fly and tackle show and to spend a week with Koichi and his family. I have been to many shows in the past and this was my first in Japan. Many of the items presented in the show were common to most shows in the US with the exception of some of the crafts. Net making is a real art form to most of the Japanese anglers. Most are small but beautifully made with exotic woods native to Japan. Some of the fly tying demonstrators tied the most exquisite detailed flies native to Japan and sure to catch the wily yamamie trout.
Bamboo is the traditional fly rod of Japan. There were many builders of bamboo rods at the show producing beautiful works of art, but as Koichi pointed out to me and casting a few of them demonstrated, they are made more for hanging on the wall than for fishing. The exception to this was rods made by Yukihiro Yoshida, a true master of bamboo and a pure delight to cast.
Spey casting is becoming very popular with the Japanese angler. Many of the commercial manufactures were represented at the show and I tried to cast as many of them as I could, but I’m prejudiced and I still like the ECHO-2 12.5 Skagit.

Hatch Finders host at the show was Fly Shop Rocks and a better bunch of guys you never met. Most of the people there have fished with us in the past and it was like old home week. After the show we all went to one of the craziest dinners I have ever been to. Karaoke was the entertainment of the evening and let me tell you they really got into it. I just didn’t feel like setting back Japanese- American relationship a hundred years by giving a solo performance.

The remainder of my stay was with Koichi and his family in Kyoto. To get there we took the bullet train. A train that travels at approximately 170 MPH and so smooth

could balance a pensile on its eraser and it won’t fall over. Remarkable! His father Kunio-son and mother Kazuko-son could not have made me feel more welcome in their home than my own family. Mr. Kunio made out an itinerary to cover as much of Japanese culture as could be fit into a week. We visited many temples and shrines whose gardens and buildings rivaled anything the world has to offer. We were also treated to a float trip on the Hozu River. A white water river that flows through Kyoto. These are very popular excursions by the Japanese and they are taken on a 30 foot flat bottom boat crewed by three men. The boats hold about 10 people for a two-hour tour down the river. Being an oarsman myself, I can appreciate the skill it takes to get one of these boats through the rapids. I’m just glad they didn’t ask me to row.

One of the most beautiful events we attended was the Hanatourou bamboo forest light show festival at Arashiyamn. These are great groves of bamboo lit with many colored lights. Crowds of people walk through the groves at night to enjoy the spectral light show.

Most homes in Japan are small in square footage but laid out in such a way as to give the appearance of a much larger space. There are no beds in the homes and what are slept on are called futons, with feather comforters. Being a soft Gi-Jing, I wasn’t too sure I would be able to get up in the morning, but as it turned out it was the best night’s sleep I ever had.
Eating can be a challenge. But there are chairs for the kneeling impaired and forks for the less dexterous. After some practice sitting on the floor and using chopsticks, I could shovel it in with the best of them.

It is customary to takes ones shoes of at the door when entering homes and some restaurants. The reason for this is Japanese homes don’t have carpets like we do in the states. What they use are willow mats called Tatami. These mats are woven from willow stocks into a very fine and soft mats that will wear quickly if walked on with shoes. The rest of the floor covering is with beautifully finished Japanese hard woods that will scuff easily. So when visiting Japan make sure your socks don’t have holes in them.

The most pleasurable experience I had in Japan was the baths. Each home had a tub that you could completely empress yourself in with water that stays hot at about 98 degrees. By the time you hall yourself out of one of their baths you feel reborn. This might be a bit personal but I must mention the toilets. They are heated and makes sitting on one very enjoyable when it’s cold in the morning. When it comes to baths compared to Japan we are just barbarians.

I am very grateful to Koichi and his family for the opportunity to experience the couture and life stiles of the Japanese people. They are a beautiful, graceful and ancient people that most of the world could learn from.

Volume # 2 Number # 8

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly ShopFlies that are hard to find but easy to tie

In all the years I’ve been fishing there are two flies almost impossible to find in any of the fly shops I have visited. The first is a spider that doesn’t take hours to tie and an angler would hate to use because some ties are just too beautiful. The second one is the common everyday ladybug. This fly is seen everywhere along any river, but never paid attention to. But let me tell you, the trout notice them.

In the past two years I have found the ladybug to be a never miss fly on tough waters like Silver Creek, or say DePuy’s when the trout are so fussy you would think they just won’t eat anything. Spiders can be used on any summer day. They are best fished when the eggs hatch and they spin a trailing piece of silk to be taken by the wind. When they land on the water the trout hardly ever refuse them. The immature spiders are small by most standards but if fished in a size #14 or #16 in the middle of a piece of flat backwater, you may get a big surprise. When a spider lands on flat water (lake or pond) or any water it usually means its ultimate demise. On flatwater like a lake it will move around for quite a while or until an inquisitive trout comes cruising.

On the Yellowstone River I look for a nice piece of flat water coming of a bushy bank. It’s the perfect feeding lane even when there aren’t any hatches coming off. Float a small tan spider along this line and if there is a trout sitting there he will come up for it.
Last year I fished the spider on Slough Creek after the water went down. I had great luck on many of the pools found there and for any cruising trout along the high banks. Spring is a great time to fish the spider, as there are many along the banks.

As to the ladybug, it’s not a fly I fish all the time. It is a fly I use when things are slow on the waters. Ladybugs are found along any bushy bank throughout the summer. After feeding on the tiny aphids found everywhere they become poor flyers and often fall in the water along the banks. I find the ladybug to be a food source rarely refused by a trout looking for dessert.

To tie the ladybug I use a Dia-Riki 320 hook size #16, black 08 thread, strung peacock and tan fly foam. When the tie is finished I mark the top of the fly with six dots with a black indelible marker.
The list of materials for the spider is a size #14 or #16 Dia-Riki hook, 08 Rusty Brown thread, grizzly hackle stems, for the legs and white hi- vis as a strike indicator. The spider is marked with brown indelible marker for color differential.

If you have any questions about tying these two flies, come in and I’ll be glad to show you. You will catch trout!

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Volume # 3 Number # 1

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop

FROGS

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Frogs or as my daughter calls them Froggies. A fun and interesting pattern to tie. I should mention that I boot legged this pattern from a magazine and from Montana Fly Co.’s catalog. In all my years of fishing I have never seen a pattern that really looks like a frog. This one does.

Lets start out with the receipt; I found that a Mustad hook #3366A size #2 works very well for the hook gap and it has a straight eye. The body is made up from your standard craft foam found in most fly shops, olive and olive green. The legs are tied with Centipede Legs speckled Chartreuse #796. To cut out the body of the frog I use the STP Frog Foam Body Cutter Set. It comes with three sets of dies 2, 6, and 10. I have found that Montana Fly Company is a great source for most of these items. On the eyes you can do several different things. Suitable eyes can be found in any fly shop. I prefer to use Easy-Glue Eyes because of the look and cost. The thread used for the frog is bright red Gudebrod 6/0.

After stamping out an equal number of frog bodies of your chosen colors, I color the inside part of the mouth with red Prismacolor marking pens, why, I don’t know, it just looks good. On the top of the frog I mark the back with a black pen to give it a pattern. I also glue the eyes on the head and give them time to dry.

After tying in the two halves of the body, making sure that the outside of each half is facing each other. Let them rotate around the hook to be one on the bottom and one on top of the hook. The legs are tied in at this point making sure the bulk of the legs are tied on the underside of the hook shank. This will insure that when the fly lands on the water it will be upright. Fold the two halves forward and tie off. That’s all there is to it, very simple. If all else fails, look at the picture.

You may ask, now just where do I fish this fly? I haven’t had the courage to fish it on the Yellowstone yet but on Slough Creek in the park in early summer, it is devastating on the cutthroat. I have found the frog effective on ponds and lakes where tiny frogs exist. And for the stray bass fisherman in the group, strip the frog along any likely structure and just hold on.

To all the anglers who have been house bound since the beginning of winter, take heart. Spring will soon be here! And with the spring come the caddis. My body quivers with the thought. I have come up with a few new patterns, which will never take the place of the old tried and true elk hare caddis but worked extremely well for me last year and are fun to tie. Stay tuned.

Volume # 3 Number # 2

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop

My Crystal Ball

Today is March 20th, the first day of spring. It’s 22 degrees with snow flurries. So much for spring, but typical for Montana.

All winter long with a steady stream of trout bums sitting in the shop, sucking down my lifer’s juice (coffee to you non-military types) and complaining about the weather, and wondering when the caddis will start. Will we have clear water, when will the runoff start, how many days will the hatch last? Everyone has an opinion including me.

The basic consensus of opinion was with the snow pact being what it is (very good), results of the last three years of the hatch, and the most important thing of all is water and air temperature. It is important to have enough BTU days to get the caddis ready to hatch, but not warm enough to make the runoff start. It’s a delicate balance.

Last year the first reports of caddis came in around the 15th of April. Some of the guides who couldn’t stand not being on the water any longer started floating the Yellowstone the first week of April. Now everyone is looking for an early hatch. I wish I could be that optimistic. It’s too soon to start predicting the weather 30 days out, but looking into my crystal ball for all you anglers itching to get the first scoop, or my best guess, I’ll say we should start seeing caddis by the last week in April. This isn’t rocket science just what I have seen for the last 25 years of fishing the hatch, if the conditions permit.

I tell my clients who wish to fish the hatch to be as flexible as possible. To be able to hop the first plane out and hope for the best. Not many are willing to take the chance, that’s why I get to do my best fishing more often than not all by myself. It’s the only

time I will close the shop and not give a dam who is left waiting. It’s my reward for sitting at the vice tying all winter.

Last year I was able to get 5 days on the river with each successive day, the conditions getting just a little worse as the runoff became stronger. But what a week of fishing. Determined to fish the heaviest part of the hatch, I would put on the river by 3PM and fish till dark. I would see blanket hatches start around 4PM till about 7PM. Rising fish were on every feeding lane and on the riffle turns. From Mallards Rest to Pine Creek (my favorite stretch) you couldn’t see the rocks from the water line to 4 feet up the bank, the caddis were that thick.

During the peek periods of the hatch I would use a pattern developed by my head guide Paul Bretz called a caddis cripple. I would cast it into a raft of caddis and I would come up with a nice fat trout. Results are what counts.

As the hatch wound down I would switch to a more conventional pattern, an elk hair caddis, or one of my MFC Wing Material caddies. All produced good results.
Dandy, my lovely daughter and head tier (careful guys, she has a boyfriend) and I have tied up a good supply of caddis to fit everyone’s needs. Buy early, because when the hatch starts Pookie and I won’t be here.

This article contains so many ifs, ands, or buts, I feel like a politician. But what I can say for sure is if you don’t get out and fish, you won’t catch any.

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Included are three of my favorite caddis patterns.

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1. Caddis Cripple.
Hook: Dai-Riki 14, 16
Tail: White Z-Lon
Body: Super Fine Dubbing, Color to suite
Hackle: Dun
Back: Belched Elk Tied in Humpy Stile

Wing: Tied Quigley Stile
Thread: 8/0 Gudebrod, Color to suite
2. Cinnamon Caddis
Hook: Dai-Riki 10,12, 14, 16
Body: Super Fine Dubbing, Brown Olive
Hackle: Dun
Wing: MFC Wing Material, Dun Colored Brown
Antenna: Striped Grizzly Hackle Stem
Thread: 8/0 Gudebrod, Black
3. Egg laying Elk Hare Caddis
Hook: Dai-Riki 12,14, 16
Egg Sack: Fl. Chartreuse Supper Fine Dubbing
Body: Light Olive Supper Fine Dubbing
Hackle: Light Dun
Wing: Light Cow Elk
Thread: 8/0 Gudebrod, Olive

Good luck and good fishing.

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Volume # 3 Number # 3

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SPRING TIME FISHING ON DE PUY’S SPRING CREEK

After so many months of talking about fishing, Pookie and I finally got the chance of removing some of the winter rod rust that has a tendency of building up over the long cold winter.
On the 7th of April, three friends of mine from New York who were here for some spring time skiing decided to spend a day on De Puy’s and invited me and Pookie to come along. Putting down my bobbin and garbing my favorite 4 Wt Echo rod and with a nod of approval from my daughter, out the door I went with Dandy saying, “catch a big one for me”. I just love that girl!

As soon as we turned into the driveway Pookie went ballistic. She knew she was getting the chance to get muddy and kiss some fish. As we pulled up to Eve’s hut, I turned Pookie loose. With a look of pure joy she tore down to the creek and waded in, but only up to the tops of her feet. The weather was still a little brisk but the wind was down and the sun was making a valiant effort to burn through the overcast. Pookie was in her element.

As we were rigging up, Pookie was giving out some very excited barks. Looking at me saying, “I found them hurry up”. Walking down to see what the fuss was all about, I about had heart failure. I have seen the creek full of fish before, but I swear you could walk on their backs. There was a good number of spawning trout on the gravel bars, but twice that many in the deeper runs flashing and feeding on BWO’s emerges and midge emerges with just an occasional riser.

We each tied on a different style of midge pupas and BOW emerges, being very careful to avoid the spawning beds made our presentations. With just a few casts we started hooking up. At one point we all had fish on and poor Pookie was running her legs off trying to give a look and approval to all the trout.Fishing and landing was on par for De Puy’s this time of year. No count was kept, but we were all busy for most of the day. As the day wore on so did the fishing. The trout became more and more selective and after a few hits we had to change flies to a different pattern to keep the trout’s interest.Speaking for myself, the best patterns were the RS-2 for the BWO’s and LBN’s (little black nymphs) of various sizes and colored heads for the midges.By 6PM we were all tired and in need of Ben-Gay. Pookie was lying in the grass not interested in inspecting any more fish, so we called it a day. I want to thank my friends for a great day of fishing and to Daryl Smith the owner of the creek for keeping the spring creeks in top condition.

A few words as to what the guys have been doing on the Yellowstone. On overcast days witch has been plenty of late, big black buggers have hooked up lots of cutthroats and a few big browns. On less windy days BWO’s are out and the trout have been feeding on them.

The Caddis hatch is only a few weeks away. I expect to see feeding trout on Caddis by the end of the month with the blanket hatches by the first week in May. It appears we will have a cool spring so the river should behave itself and give us some good days of Caddis fishing.
Stay tuned for updates as the hatch comes on. We have a good supply of Caddis flies on hand but they will go fast. He who hesitates will loose. I believe we will have a spectacular summer this year so get out there and go fishing.

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Volume # 3 Number # 4

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly Shop

WHAT CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
Or in this case the caddis hatch or the run-off.

Saturday, April 29th. As predicted the caddis hatch came off on the appropriate day and so did the run-off. The river cane up approximately 1000CFS with logs floating down along with all the drift boats.

It was my pleasure to treat Denny Hasburg and Carol his better half from the Great Falls Missouri River Flyfishers to a float on the fickle and sometimes heart breaking Yellowstone River. As we put in at Mallards Rest, the visibility was about 18” with many tan caddis fluttering along the banks. Talk about a perfect day, no wind, warm and flying caddis. Pookie was in her glory chasing after caddis. What more could a person ask for.

The caddis hatch had just started that day and I suspected that the trout hadn’t picked up on the dries yet so we rigged up with soft hackles and caddis pupas with the hope of switching to dries as the afternoon progressed.

Stopping at the first riffle we spaced out and commenced to beat the water. It didn’t take long and Carol hooked up on a small bow. I’m thinking we will have a fair day! After an hour of fishing we all came up empty except for Carol’s one bow. Moving down river we stopped at all of my favorite spots with no results. Pookie started giving me dirty looks at each stop. I know she was thinking, “well OK bud and fair weather fisherman. You have no wind to complain about, where are all the big trout you promised me to kiss?”

The river was rising steadily and becoming more and more off color as the day wore on. Denny and I managed to each land one white fish apiece, with a total of three fish to the boat. Trying to hide our disappointment we all commented on how beautiful the day was and that it was a great day fishing, just the catching wasn’t so good. I was thinking, I should have gone east, the only excuse a guide can give.

Carol was a fishing machine, pounding the water all day with a smile on her face. If only all the people I take fishing could be that way.

As we were pulling out there were a few boats waiting in line. Being nosy as I am I asked several fisherman how they did. When I told them we only landed three fish, they said they wished they had that well of a day. “Opus”.

Maybe it’s just my heart speaking, but I don’t want to believe that we won’t be able to fish the hatch any more this year. I’m hoping for a reprieve with the amount of water coming down, that the clarity will improve and the trout will feed .No matter what the river does the caddis hatch will last for two more weeks, with blanket hatches occurring daily.

Until next time, good luck and good fishing.

Volume # 3 Number # 5

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Fly Fishing with Pookie
Written By Dean Reiner of Hatch Finders Fly ShopHow the Pink Pookie came into existence;

About three years ago in the beginning of the hoppers season a guide from Bozeman came into the shop and asked if we had any pink body hoppers. Pink not being a standard color for hoppers I said we don't. He then asked if we could come up with a pattern for the next day. The fly bins in the shop were full and my partner Koichi Kawai and I decided to give it a try. Just playing around we tied up 10 different patterns 6 each, and the next day we gave them out  to him and the guides working out of my shop. The reports back the next day were very favorable. Pink was very attractable to the trout. We had tied hoppers the standard way and with foam for speed. The guides favored the foam hoppers because they floated well and didn't required to be dressed as often. Koichi and I kept playing around with different ways to tie the foam on the hook and with different colored legs until everyone agreed on the pattern that became the Pink Pookie. The next steep was coming up with a name for the fly. Just calling it a pink hopper would do nothing for the mystique of tying a new pattern, we needed a hook to get people interested in the pattern. In the curse of tying many dozed flies a day some eventually end up on the floor. Pookie never paid much attention to what we were tying but when one of the pink hoppers fell on the floor, Pookie jumped right on it and began tossing it into the air. Not wanting her to find a hook I got it away from her. Being a dog she jumped up on her hind legs pleading with me to let her have it. As she was standing up she exposed her very pink belly, Koichi and I thought that would be a great name for the fly, hence "The Pink Pookie". After a week of handing out the fly as an experimental pattern the number or requests for the fly grew to the point where we had to put it into the inventory. For the next 45 days we had guys standing 3 deep at the vice at 6 in the morning waiting for us to turn out the fly. We must have tied 200 dozen that first summer and for every year since it has been the most popular pattern for hoppers. For that name Pookie has become the most popular dog on the river, everyone knows her. The Pink Pookie is fished as you would any hopper. It's float ability is such that it will support a nymph as a dropper. The fly is durable enough to stand up to many trout and the only reason to change fly's is if you lose it. I hope the anglers and tiers out their will enjoy the Pink Pookie as much as I do.

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