The Park section of the Madison has been in fine fettle this year, maybe fishing better this fall that it has in some years.
Jake and I were in the Park yesterday believe it or not on business (really) and spied a fair number of anglers plying the Madison despite the bright (more or less) mid-day sun and breezy 36 degree temperatures; as you can see from the pic it was a gorgeous day with little snow persisting along the river (we have more on the ground in Bozeman, and it’s snowing here this morning again). More on a change coming in the weather below.
Soft hackles, streamers and olives have been taking fish with some consistency for patient anglers willing to play the game on the Madison. The sun has been the fly fishers fairly consistent companion for most of September, pushing the best fishing windows to early morning and late. We’ve been most lucky in the evening, though admittedly that’s part laziness – to be on the Madison at 7 AM means pretty much a 5 AM departure from Bozeman for us – the river is well worth it but it’s been fishing well in the evenings too and there’s the bonus of Baetis in the afternoons (watch for overcast days) from about 330 or 4 on.
It probably seems we’re I’m a bit weather obsessed – it comes from years of running a horse operation up in the Flathead near Kalispell. We were out in the weather every day of the year, multiple times a day, no matter that the weather – it’s been hard to shake the habit of watching the weather and calculating how long chores are going to take and what gear we’d need to wear for that particular outing. Getting on the river in the weather is actually pretty similar – when it gets chilly you need to be a tad more thoughtful about gear, staying warm, travel and food.
There’s an unusually chilly air mass moving down out of Canada – not really cold mid-winter stuff, but enough to get your attention. Tomorrow’s high in West is forecast to be 34, with high temps then not clearing freezing for the next three days, and Saturday morning is forecast to be a chilly -2.
That will definitely be a two cup of coffee morning.
Tags: River - YNP - Madison
