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The thing about fishing is that it's really fun. There are times when it feels more like work than fun on my end of the oars, but in the end...it's really fun. Got to spend the day, which will end up being my second to last trip of the year, (I hope) with a great lady, enjoying the river, colors, and enough fish to make it another great day on the lower Madison. Slow morning, great mid-day, slow late afternoon. Buggers and sow bugs...WTF?
The thing with the lower is that its a weird river. Some days you pick fish up everywhere while other days there are only certain places that you find them eating. There can be a blanket hatch with no fish rising or a sparse hatch on a windy day that is bring fish to the surface all across the river. Fish there like to eat crawdads probably more than anything else, while they are yummy, you'd think they'd take the easy way out and just munch on all the little bugs drifting by. Someday you can catch on flies the size of my foot while the next day they're eating nothing but teeny crap. You can throw streamers and move a bunch of fish with no grabs, but slow it down and they hammer it.
There was a time, say 10 years ago, when I was terrified to do a guide trip there because of the ass kicking I knew was coming my way. Anymore, it's probably my favorite stretch of river in terms of the water and fish. I could do with less highway noise and tubers. But the water itself is interesting and things are always changing.
Some days I do get my ass kicked there but I tell myself it's OK because I know I'm not alone. I did not get my ass kicked today though and I hope to hell I don't tomorrow either!