Epic Trip Report, Part 7 – Madison and Big Hole
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I feel like not that much cool stuff has happened since my last update, but I’ll give it a go and see if anything interesting comes to mind while I type it out…
After the last update, I hit the road and headed over to the Madison River. The Madison is famous among fly fisherman, and although it didn’t fish great for me, it also didn’t let me down. I landed a couple of really nice browns, met some good people, and just generally had a good time. I fished a section of the river just downstream of the slide that created Quake Lake in 1959 (I believe), and then I also fished a section about 15 miles downstream of there. If you’re ever in that area, stop in at Kelly Galloup’s fly shop, the Slide Inn. Galloup is a fellow Michigan boy, who moved out to Montana a few years back. He’s probably the foremost expert in stripping big streamers for large trout. Everyone at his shop was super nice and more than willing to give me all the info I needed to go hunt for some hogs.
I also spent a fair amount of time in the Grizzly Bar and Grill on the banks of the Madison because its the only restaurant within about 30 miles. It also has some down-right delicious food! I got a taste of Hollywood by sitting next to and chatting with Billy Devane two nights in a row there (he plays the sectretary of defense in 24, among plenty of other movie and TV roles like West Wing, and Knots Landing for those of you before my time), and picked up some tips on water to fish from the bartender and chefs. They were all great people in there, I would highly recommend it if you’re in the area!
After the Madison, I headed up to the Big Hole River to see what kind of damage I could do there. I fished for a few hours, and then went to watch my boys in maize and blue beat up on the irish. Go Blue!! I hit a local fundraiser ball that night that I swear everyone within 50 miles attended, and then I settled in for yet another night of camping. The trico hatch was coming off pretty good in the mornings and would usually last to about 1:00pm. At one point, I was literally watching about 150 fish rising within a 100ft section of water. The down-side is that they were all whitefish, and almost no trout. The upside is that I caught about two dozen fish that morning.
I headed back to Twin Bridges, where I sit now typing this update in a restaurant in town. I’m planning to fish the Ruby River for about two days, and then head to Big Sky to meet up with a couple of buddies (Eric and Corey). If you’re ever in Twin Bridges, check out the 4 River Fly Fishing Co. They have a great shop there and are super nice people. Mt trip with Corey and Eric will probably be the last trip before I head home. I apologize to anyone that I didn’t get the chance to meet up with on this trip, especially Mike Cline. I would have loved to meet up with you Mike, but it just didn’t work out. Next time for sure!
The one last highlight that I forgot to mention is the Taco Bus in Dillon, MT. That place is awesome! If you’re ever there, make sure to stop. Great mexican food, so good in fact that I stopped twice.
Enjoy the pictures:
Hebgen:
Madison:
Little fish like big meals too:
No idea what this one was thinking, the fly was at least half as long as he was:
Leroy:
Virginia City:
Taco Bus!!!!!!!
Whitie Madness on the Big Hole:
Check out his tail, that’s not a shadow:
Tim
I feel like not that much cool stuff has happened since my last update, but I’ll give it a go and see if anything interesting comes to mind while I type it out…Tim
Tim, dude, you have been de-sensitized!!!!
Nice report.
I feel like not that much cool stuff has happened since my last update
TimI can’t let that quote go by unnoticed. I count 13 fish pictures and freedom dripping from every shot. Dude, this is the coolest stuff there is . . . 😀 ;D 😮
Another fantastic report from your EPIC trip! Lovin them .. and lookin forward to meeting up later this week!
I apologize for the comment about not very much cool stuff happening. I got a little jaded in the first 5 weeks of this trip. Don’t get me wrong, I’m having a blast, catching some nice fish, and livin’ the dream with the freedom of the open road.
This picture looks like a painting. That background looks almost like a fake “mall” pull down. That must be God’s country for sure.
Neal, you caught me. I actually selected the “Madison River Brown Trout” shot at Glamour Shots in the Cameron, MT mall. 😉
As Neal put it, I’m truly lucky to be out here in God’s country.
Tim
Tim, the cutt/slide area holds a special place in my heart. I spent a lot of summer nights fishing that area and it used to be a lesser known and fished area. Kelly used to joke that you needed to wear running shoes to fish that area b/c hooked fish would run across the current and down river taking you into your backing within a matter of seconds, and it was true. I hooked and lost more 20+ inchers there than I care to remember. If you ever go back you should park at Reynolds and hike up the opposite side of the river
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