Yellowstone Country Guardians Field Journal: River Guardian Fly Fishing School 2011: Day Two Getting Involved...

Getting started under the monarch of Electric Peak.

Bright blue skies a slight breeze and warm temps welcomed us as we started day two of the River Guardian Fly Fishing School this morning. After a day full of river stewardship and watershed ecology, we dove head first into our morning casting sessions early this morning as the morning sunshine radiated off the summit of Electric Peak. We were joined today by two of our mentors/counselors who will be with us for the rest of the week, Ashley Sherburne, a grad student at the University of Montana and YCG intern who has been working feverishly on a new YCG curriculum and evaluation and John Dolinsek, a longtime friend of YCG and one of our great supporters and contributors to the 2011 River G program. We couldn’t be more enthused to have John and Ashley’s expertise and passion for Yellowstone Country as we work to inspire our aspiring river guardians.

After a spirited casting session we journeyed to the classroom where we engaged the students in a lively discussion about the mountain whitefish and the importance of this native species to the Yellowstone watershed. Often maligned for their fishier smell, pea shaped mouth and lack of brilliant colors, far too often across the region and in the fly fishing culture, the mountain whitefish is not only disrespected but wantonly wasted as many anglers will give them the customary Montana handshake which is a squeezing of their belly or worse yet, bank release them to slowly suffocate. This session dispelled the myths about the mountain whitefish as we revisited our required reading, “Respect for the Senior Blanco,” a piece I recently had published in the summer issue of Outside Bozeman.

Following this dynamic conversation and a re-visit of the River G Core Values, we welcomed guest speaker and former president of the Joe Brooks Chapter of Trout Unlimited for a presentation on the threats to the Yellowstone River. This included oil and gas development, setbacks, rip rap and aquatic invasive species.

Next we welcomed a special friend of YCG, Ranger Keith Young, a Yellowstone National Park Law Enforcement Ranger who gave a riveting presentation about resource management in Yellowstone, passionately sharing stories of fish poachers who he has busted over the years. This led us to the afternoon session where we were joined by ranger Keith and YCG volunteer Tyrene Riedl for our first river time of this year’s program.

With high water making the Yellowstone River unfishable, we were forced to adapt and instead purchased fishing licenses for the student participants and journey into Yellowstone National Park and the beautiful waters of the Gardner River. The afternoon was a great success as each participant walked away from our time in the “Hole” with big smiles and a pep in their step.

~Michael Leach, Director and Founder

YCG supporter and mentor John Dolinsek lending a helping hand.