JUNE-JULY 2013
Montana
The Madison River was in full bloom. The Salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica)
hatch
was the best I've seen in 20 years but so were all the traditional
insect hatches. They all came together in a perfect storm and the dry
fly fishing excelled. The trout got enough cutin and big bugs to carry
them through the lean winter months. Evening after an early supper we
head to the Colonel Jones pool and hammer the rainbows on dry. Next
morning walk upstream hammering or float the river in my Koffler for the
big browns and chubby Chernobyls suck up from the pocket water to a
floating bug.We repeat that routing most days.Camp was calm this year with the additional of our youngest son, who graduated and on his way back to the Far East to continue his studies in Classical Chinese. He is an expert shot on high flying doves and a pretty good fly fisher and so he brought his guitar, flyrod and his love for the river. It took good care of him
Our floats started well after the guides and their paying clients whizzed down river to make the magic spot for lunch and home by dark. The water levels fluxed from 350 to 1,100 cfm but with our skiff designed shallow draft drift boat we did well.
The Big Hole was excellent this year with a late Salmon Fly hatch and when combined with soaking in the Elk Horn hot pools fishing started to remind me more of a California cultural event.
Matching the hatch at night was easy. There were other predator seeking our bugs and like the Hex Hatch on the Fall river in California just before sunset flying mammals with keen radar tried to snatch the man made bud.
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