The Professor is in town, from Wisconsin, and is enjoying his new found retirement. His pick-up truck is littered with fly rods, waders, duck decoys, shot guns and a fine bird dog named Cody. Howard's trip this fall will span the next 6 weeks........that's one heck...
Early September……
............and all is well. Nymphing in morning has proven to be pretty darn good around these parts. Prince nymphs, zonkers, shop vacs, various serenedipities, non-beaded PTs and rubber leg patterns have all been producing good numbers of trout. The afternoon is...
Madison River Fishing Report 09.04.2012
The Madison River has been inconsistent as of late. Why? Who knows at this point. The river is starting to cool off and quite possibly, the fish are getting used to this. Brown trout are on the move throughout the river system, some days they are on the bite and...
This Season
Ten seasons ago, I had a young German Wire Hair pup, wound tight as drum and ready for something. Something which was innate, a predetermined mind set with a nose for birds......and a few whitetails. Back then, sitting in my mid-twenties, I had no idea of how to...
Pine Creek Fire
Time to make the Donuts
Luckily, my job is not like this guys. However, there are days when I wake up mumbling as I walk to the bathroom with coffee in hand......especially in late August.
Ants
Ants are out from the Reynold's Pass all the way down to Ennis. One never knows exactly where you'll see them, but over the past two days, the big honey ants have been out in full force throughout the Madison Valley. Below is a version of Turk's Power Ant, which I...
Madison River Fishing Report 08.19.2012
Lots of smoke hanging in and around Yellowstone National Park and southwest Montana. Sunrise (above) this morning was red.....red skies in the morning - sailors take warning. A new fire lit up yesterday afternoon not too far from town and inside the boundaries of...
Don’t ride the bench…..bring the A game
It's very smokey in our neck of the woods. A fire in Idaho, 50k acres, is burning hard and the smoke is filtering over to SW Montana. Rain is forecasted for today and tonight....keep those fingers crossed! We need the moisture. Now is the time to bring your A game...
Madison River Fishing Report 08.12.2012
The flows have dropped back down a couple hundred, apparently to conserve water in Hebgen Lake.... FYI...the lake is NOT low. The powers that be at PPL are saying they dropped the flows because they don't want to get below the "Recreation Level" on the...
Hebgen Lake Report
One can find lots and lots of rising trout on Hebgen Lake each day. There are flying ants, calibaetis, midges, tricos, damsels and a few caddis hovering around the lake. Hebgen's elevation is sitting about 2 feet from full and those weed beds are starting to get...
Madison River Fishing Report 08.06.2012
Here lately, the morning has been down right chilly. Yesterday it was 28 degrees and there was ice in my boat at 6am. Notice Rich, above, wearing a beanie and layers.....in August. I wore my Patagucci down hoody 'till 9 am, but once the sun hit the water it got...
YNP, Yellowstone, Madison 07.30.2012
There are places in the Park that change every year, river bottoms undergo a massive change each season. Ever read the Living River? If you fish river at all, it gives a wonderful perspective of the Madison River and the changes it has went through during the days...
Go Early, get off early……
.....Or don't go till' the sun drops below the mountain. Our beloved Madison River is hanging in there....the water is keeping cool, but the afternoon temps are rising quickly after 3 pm. Those who watch, like a hawk, the USGS Stream flow web site are catching more...
Madison River Fishing Report 07.27.2012
Flows have bumped up over the past twelve hours, hopefully, this will help to insulate the deeper runs in the Upper Madison River. We just might get a little more water in the days to come. Floating lower in the river the past few days, putting in at MacAtee...
Back up and running….
Things around the fishing report and web site have been on the fritz for about 10 days or so. FYI - everything here is safe and there are no more problems. Sorry for any inconvenience and we appreciate all the emails and texts letting us know that things were a bit...
Madison River Fishing Report 07.11.2012
We are happy to report that the Madison is holding up quite well thus far. The hot and dry summer has been met with a few afternoon thunder storms which are helping to keep the river cool and the fish hungry. We have seen a day or two of warmer than normal river...
Everyday you can
Being on the water/river every single day has it's benefits, that's for sure. The season starts out with a trip here, a trip there and then sometime around late May things get rolling and all of the sudden, there is no time for anything else....except maybe for date...
Madison River Fishing Report 07.02.2012
Big Bugs are throughout the entire river. Also hatching are: goldens, PMDs, Green Drakes, several sizes of Caddis and Yellow Sallies (olive and yellow). The Madison is busy, but of course it always is around the 4th of July - dating back to the 1970's. If you are...
Flying by…..
June is gone....forever.....until next season that is. Not sure where it went, but slowing the summer season down to snail's pace doesn't seem possible at this point. I wish it was. I wish we could have June all season long......but of course I wish October would...