Mo

Things really started to blow out around here last Sunday, so Chis, Lance, and I made plans to hit the MO on Wednesday for my last hurrah before I head to Ohio fro some family time. The fishing was really good...not amazing...but very good. We got fish to eat a bunch of different nymphs ranging form Hare's Ears to Worms. Caddis were out an about in good numbers, along with some March Browns and Baetis. Fish were rising in the back eddies, but we really didn't mess with them much as the nymphing was working just fine.

I've been fishing wih these two clowns quaite a bit this year, we started out in New Zealand and have fished together several times since then. We're each very different, but we get along great when it comes to fishing. There are very few things in life that I enjoy more than floating down a big western river with two great friends. We even usually get some fish. Lance got a great Brown the other day, we thought it would go 6 pounds when we firsty saw it! It turned out to be 20-21 inches and closer to 4 pounds than 3.

I head to Toledo tomorrow with Matthew and Christine. 3 days on the road with a one month old! We're going to Rushmore tomorrow and Wall Drug the next! It should be interesting.

Of course, everything has started to come back around to fishable around here. Well, teh Madison anyway. The upper opens tomorrow above Macatee and has 3 feet of vis. This is the first opening day on the Beaverhead that I've missed in 7 or 8 years. Salmonflies shoudl be going around here when I get home though!

Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day, so needless to say... I did not fish. I did get to go to some lakes on Friday night and camp out, just Alex, my oldest son, and I. His patience for lake fishing is not his most impressive trait! It was great to get out with him and just spend some time in the greta outdoors. He got to ride up in the front of the Suburban on the dirt roads, whihc he though was pretty cool. We saw some deer, heard some snipe and Sandhill Cranes, confused some cows for Moose (they were far away!) and ate dinner overlooking the Madison Valley from high up in the Gravelies. I can't wait until my new new son, Matthew, is old enough to join us.

I'm really blessed to have an amazing wife and partner that not only accepts my pescatoral insanity, but encourages its continuning development. She's me best friend and marrying her has been the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Our first date was during the Mother's Day hatch 5 years ago and I can honestly say that she's a pretty good fly fisher. It'll be great to get out woth her again this year, once Matthew is old enough to join us.

A Break In the Mud

We got out on the Yellowstone yesterday - just after it cleared and right before it got dirty again. Cold nights of last week brought the river around to fishable shape for just a couple of days. The Caddis hatch has been intense over there and the increased visibilty brought a lot of fish up yesterday during the between 1:00-4:00. Hope for some cold nights again, but my guess is that the whole thing is over for awhile.

We saw mats of bugs for about 2 hours yesterday. I mean so thick you could skip a rock on bugs all the way across the river. We really didn't have much action until the bugs started coming off. Caddis hatches can be like that becuase the adults don't stay on the water long after hatching and the pupa's swim very quickly through the water column. So, ideally you wait until the bugs start laying eggs on the water and then the fish tend to really get on them. In the meantime, fishing a dripper off a caddis dry can find some fish pretty reliably until they get on the water. If nothing else, the presenc of that many bugs is mind boggling and a spectacular sight.

They're still out on teh Lower Madison and the nxt few evenings should be pretty damn good with the return of the warm weather. Get out there before it's gone.

Greening Up

The last 4-5 nights have been cold and the days have been mild. So, we're starting to see some clearing in teh area rivers. The Yellowstone, Upper Madison, and Gallatin are all fishable today and I'd expect that to be the case through Wednesday. I've been staying on the Lower Madison and it's been more good than bad the last few days. It seems like the fish have settled into some lies and are feeding well with 60 degree water.

I love this time of year out there as the fish really start to pile into the buckets below riffles. If you can read the water, you can really find some good fish numbers. Reading the water out there is pretty difficult, or it just takes some time on the water to figure it out. Look for changes in current speed and the wave structure.

Crayfish and worms have been working well still, but we're also getting some fish on small baetis nymphs. My trip on Friday was a great time with a good angler. He's active with the One Fly in Jackson - event that raises a ton of money for fish and their habitat.

I'm going to try to get out on the Yellowstone tomorrow, but baby commitments may say otherwise. I will get out to the Madison this evening though.