Montana Salmon Fly Tour Revisited - June 2007
Back Again for the Big Bugs
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second visit to Montana in 2007. We patiently watched the weather,
stream flow and fishing reports from home as stories of low water, warm
weather and an early Salmon Fly hatch showed up on many Montana web sites.
We hastily packed our gear and took off on the evening of June 23rd for
another shot at the Big Bugs.
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And it didn't take long. First day out on the Madison and Margie finds a hungry Brown ready to chomp on that fluffy Sunken Golden Stone - one of Blue Ribbon Flies proven June go-to flies. |
| How we spend our days off. Floating the river is fantastic, but every other day we need to rest - or take off on our own to squeeze in a little more fishing. Here's Al on one of our favorite spots on the Gallatin having a go at a little Rainbow action. |  |
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If you find the Gallatin too hectic, you can drive into the park for a little evening caddis action. If you look real close you can see Al chatting on the mobile phone while attempting to "One Hand" a Yellowstone Brown or Rainbow. |
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The new kids take a boat ride. Jeanne and Roger get their feet wet (figuratively) for the first time on the Madison River. Two days on the Madison and a walk in the Lamar Valley is a pretty intense introduction to trout fishing - but what the heck. |
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| Filled with confidence in your humble rodmaker's ability to battle that trout with a fine split bamboo fly rod, Geoffrey sits back to work on his suntan. Truly one of the Hardest Working Guides in Montana !!! |
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This long billed Brack Hill Tackle fishing cap works equally well at keeping the sun out of your eyes, or when reversed, preventing trout slime from trickling down your neck! |
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Nothing fancy here - just another photo op with another solid Madison river Brown trout. Three full days of dry fly fishing with Browns and Rainbows lined up all the way from Lyons Bridge to the Palisades. |
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Things got a little hot in Yellowstone! The ride home Wednesday afternoon was interrupted by the first wildfire of the season. You can check out the story at Madison Arm Wildland Fire - Inciweb |
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After a short detour (through Idaho) you get a different perspective. Quite an impressive display. |
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The following evening we took a drive up Highway 191 and
things were still a little hot. I was surprised to see the choppers
get so close - it almost looked like the rotors were in the flames.
Fortunately, water was readily available and they kept things under
control - my first chance to see those Western firefighters in action.
Those guys are good!
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Another classic catalog pose. |
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If you see this on the way down the river be sure to spend a few minutes and tie on a fresh PMD sparkle dun. |
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One last pair of Madison River Brown trout. |
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This is not a recommended Fishing hole! |
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One of many interesting sights you will encounter in the Spring season of Yellowstone. This guy has a few months to dry and sharpen those antlers and gets his bugle ready. |
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Jeanne starts out with her first Madison River conquest. Nothing better than Slimy Hands in the Morning. |
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Now it's Roger's turn to show off his first Madison River Brown Trout. This was the first trip down the river for both Jeanne and Roger and as you can see they got with the program just fine. |
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A parting pose as the happy couple spend a day in the Tetons. |
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Sunset on the Madison in the park. |
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Al hangs on to a beauty - this may have been a big bug eater. |
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The Pope. One of the masters out of Blue Ribbon Flies - now impeccably dressed in his new technical fishing shirt! |
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This Rainbow gets to take a short rest break before heading back to his favorite hidey-hole. |
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Al takes time for one more photo-op. If you noticed the sagging stomachs (on the fish) you can tell it is SalmonFly time on the Madison. |
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A slightly different type of Montana fisherman. |
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