Over the past few days the wind on the Madison, actually throughout SW Montana and Eastern Idaho, has been relentless.....30 mph sustained wind and gusting to 50. What that really means is that my arms are three inches longer from pulling on those damn oars! The...
Madison River Fishing Report 06.22.2012
The Big Bugs have arrived on the Madison near Ennis, about as early as most of the local folks expected. The weather is prime for the hatch to move quickly, but honestly, there could be pockets of salmonflies popping up and down the river over the next several...
Madison River Fishing Report 06.21.2012
Summertime showed up this week. We got the memo, but apparently, nobody else did. That is what happens when one lives in this part of the country - you get to take advantage of the early season, when everyone else is wondering if the river is any good yet. FYI -...
Madison River Fishing Report 06.18.2012
The flows out of Hebgen Dam have dropped down to 1340 cfs, from 1500 or so. At Kirby Ranch the Madison is sitting at 1930 cfs.....perfect flows for trout fishing. Molly and I splashed the boat around noon today and floated down to Palisades. We started out with a...
Happy Father’s Day
I would not be here without a father (above with 6 lb Largmouth from last week) who took me outside to see the natural world. Thanks Dad. As for you folks out there - take your kids out of doors and get them interested in fishing, hunting, camping, the...
Madison River Fishing Report 06.17.2012
The Madison is in prime shape, almost happening overnight. But of course, it never really went out of shape above Lyons Bridge this spring throughout run off. In fact, it has been fishing pretty darn well since it opened up almost a month ago. There are no big...
Madison River Fishing Report 06.16.2012
Run off is on the down swing and I would guess that the Madison is just a week or so away from seeing the Big Bugs - maybe 10 days. If this happens, it will be 2 weeks earlier than last season. Last years high water made for great Salmon fly fishing, this year will...
Back in SW MT
Two weeks on the Missouri will make one think about moving to Craig, Montana. Back in the mid-Nineties, I did my time (3 seasons) on the Missouri, but back then, all the action was in Wolf Creek. These days, Craig is the hotspot on the river. Fly shops, bars, good...
Down below Craig
The Chicken boys have departed and we all had a super good time. Thanks gentlemen - you guys make the trip easy on us, that's for sure. Today was a busman's holiday on the Missouri. G. Falls, Kuhnert and myself splashed the boat for a little R & D and found a few...
Missouri River
The Chicken Boys are back in town for their 8th year and are always good fun to spend the week with. Fishing below Holter Dam has been great to shitty to great again, all in the past few days. We floated below Craig today and were treated to a red hot morning,...
We took kids fishing…..
.........and they had a blast. At this point, I am not sure who enjoyed it more - the twelve fishing guides from West Yellowstone, or the eighteen kids from our school. Honestly, I think both the guides and the kids gained a whole lot of respect for each other over...
Upper Madison River Fishing Report 05.24.2012
The Madison is still green and fishing quite well. How long will this last? Who knows, but the cold weather around here will slow down the snow melt and keep things fishing for a little while longer. I bet we get another week or so of great nymphing here on the...
Take A Kid Fishing
Almost 2 years ago, while at a board of Directors meeting for FOAM, Dennis Alverson (of Livingston, MT) brought up the idea of a program called Take A Kid Fishing - TAKF. Last year, Dennis organized and implemented this program in Livingston, then brought all the...
Madison River Report 5.20.2012
Madison River Flows at West Yellowstone: 383 cfs below Hebgen: 1050 cfs at Kirby: 1580 cfs.....40 cfs lower than the day before at Varney: 2300 cfs Quake Lake has minimal visibility, the Slide has about 12 inches, yet as one travels further downstream, the Madison...
Upper Madison – General Season Opener
Madison River Flows below Hebgen: 1010 cfs @ Kirby: 1620 cfs.....quite good for this time of the year. Very floatable. The General Season Opener is upon us. Tomorrow, the season officially starts from Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge. Another guide and myself took a...
MRRMP’s CAC is now Official……
Received this notice in the mail box as of this morning. Why West Yellowstone was left out of the mix is still in question. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 14, 2012 Contact: Cheryl Morris, 406-994-6359 FWP APPOINTS MADISON RIVER CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE BOZEMAN—Montana...
Madison River Rec Plan – CAC revealed……
The Madison River Recreation Management Plan has advanced in it's planning process as of Friday, May 11, 2012. FOAM announced that the CAC has been chosen, but it looks as if the total number of committee members has shrunk from 12 down to 7. Throughout the scoping...
Yellowstone Spring
All winter long I write about Yellowstone National Park and post, from time to time, a few things about fly fishing. During the summer, I hardly ever I write about the curiosities of Yellowstone as fishing consumes me. Hiking without a fly rod is simply...
Feels like summer…..8 days till the Opener
While we patiently wait for the General Season Opener, May 19, there is some great fishing to be had in between the lakes - Betwixt. I don't head down there very often and pound the same holes and now, after the warm temps over the past two days, Cabin Creek is...
Dispatches from my better half….
Many of you think I spend my free time ironing Joe's fishing shirts and making guide lunches. Hardly. My home is the home of Big Sky Anglers, and its stuffed to capacity with rods, reels, flies, a shop's worth of fly tying materials, boots, waders, hunting gear, and...