The Beaverhead....

Some really good fishing right now can be had around Dillon, Montana...(if you hurry...)!?


The above picture it was guessed is the profile of the beaver itself; hence the river bares its name. It took Steve and I a few seconds to "see" it, but with the right kind of eyes it shows up across the entire horizon.

Or its entirely possible we're both wrong, which would mean we dont have a clue.

....




No dries used on this trip, it was mostly tailwater stuff and a nymphing game. Though I had several to choose from and caught a few on my own emerging patterns; we did stop in Tim Tollets' shop in Dillon and grabbed a few "local favorites". His crane larvae and PT Cruiser are must-haves on this river as the fish ate them up just like promised.

















Unfortunately it appears the lower flows wont last for long and as soon as the engineers checkout the Dam; they intend to alleviate the problem flooding in the Resevoirs' campground by intentionally letting out a shit load of water!


So while we'd intended to return as early as next week and with the boat,its now looking like at least two weeks before we make a return trip.

..Until next week's adventure..(to where, as yet undetermined..)


I'm signing off till then, a man's gotta work you know (at a fly shop no less).


Moe
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Fire Hole in Yellowstone...

So nice last week, I went back for seconds...

....

I cant recall who it was who said that 'going down through Ennis was quicker to get down to West Yellowstone'; but if I ever remember I'll be sure and tell them they're liars!





Not that I mind the town itself, in fact I find it about perfect, its that I'm the worst when it comes to seeing things worth stopping at and fishing waters as I pass; its no wonder this trip took 3 hours instead of the usual time which is at least half..



The Lower and Upper Madison however, are a high running and deep muddy brown; and though there's bugs (and likely fish eating them); I wasted over an hour before I realized they werent interested.

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It wasn't all bad though, as I managed to stumble upon a few elk sheds...









'..The Mother Load' it seemed and I offered the old guy "$500.00 for all of them" and he accepted.


Not true, but was nice to visit the old Rocky Mountain Antler Museum (now no longer a museum), but still ships the things all over the world for artists and chandelier craftsmen to do what they will...


Once I left Ennis, it was smooth sailing for miles upon miles and it was about right here somewhere when I began cursing the fella who told me of this "short cut" as it was near 6 o'clock and I was still not in the park...


..Once beyond Quake and Hebgen Lakes (above), I eventually entered thru the west entrance; and was once again on fish within minutes of stopping and rigging up...

















The caddis hatch was something to behold and the surprisingly few fishermen and lack of pressure only added to the experience..


It was solitude at its best (above on the Firehole) and wasn't uncommon to have hundreds of yards or even close to a mile all to ones' self..

...





Once up in 'the Flats' however it was a bit more crowded, but nothing close to shoulder-to-shoulder as I've often heard it gets. While it was decent fishing, it was not even near as good as down lower on the Madison below the Gibbons Junction I thought.

Not only that, but the mosquitoes up in the flats were near unbearble. As picturesqe as it may look, I was miserable and was only to happy to head back down toward faster running water...





...
All in all it was another wonderful day in Montana, and besides the near death collision with a monsterous bull elk who thankfully stopped before catapulting into my windsheild (true story); it was a pleasant trip and one I'd recommend you do as soon as possible..



Moe