Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Never Ending Riffle...



Now, what is better than this picture?  Ugh, nothing.  And that is why this is my OBN "Photo Prompt" of the week!  One has to love the "forever riffle"...I mean, this is a blog titled, "Adventure In Every Riffle", so it only makes sense!  The water between Quake Lake and Ennis Lake never changes...You will not find any slow pools, boulders, or fallen trees.  What you will find, is a wide river that looks like one long, gigantic riffle.  And so it has been called, the "50 mile riffle".   When I visit my "Favorite Outdoor Place", the first words that come out of my mouth are: "Bring it on, "Maddy"!!"  Ahhh...The Madison River in the great state of Montana.


Who is this fishin' fool?   I need to wear my hair down more!!  Ha. Maybe that's why I show off my nails instead of the fish...so, I look more like a girl...Anyway, I had a request to highlight one of the rivers out here in the West from a fellow "hoot" of a blogger...then, out of the blue...OBN puts up a photo prompt asking for our "Favorite Outdoor Place".  Well, it is one in the same!  How about that?  The Mighty Madison River in Southwestern Montana; a fly fisher's dream...or in my case, a yearly journey up north.  This "Big Water" should not be missed during a fisherman's lifetime.  I have had the opportunity to fish it four times now and in each season.  And every time, I have traveled to a different part of it.  Another excellent stretch of water is between Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake (which was created by an earthquake in 1959).  Quake Lake is a must see...as there is a memorial there in honor of those who lost their lives in the massive slide that created what is now Quake Lake.  And down the road from the slide area, is my favorite fly shop and a pretty well known one, for being in such a secluded place!  Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn...check it out when you are up there.  He is a master fly tyer.  They also have an excellent website and online store...www.slideinn.com.  There's a free plug, Kelly.  Discount?


The headwaters of the Madison above Hebgen has slower pools and easy wading. The Firehole and the Gibbon Rivers in Yellowstone form the Madison which flows into Hebgen Lake.  There are excellent slower dry fly pools there too.  And you can find rainbow and brown trout reaching 5 - 6 lbs. or more...very nice!  I still need to take my pontoon up to Hebgen Lake to find some of those large fish there, since that is where they originate from!  Woolly Bugger time!  

I have caught rainbows and brown trout on the Madison...although I have heard that there is an occasional mountain whitefish in there...I can't remember who said that...anyway, I guess that I enjoy this river so much because I have never been skunked on it...ooops...that was bad luck.  Anyway, I don't know why that is.  It can be a tough river.  But, it can also be a very rewarding experience.  The fish are stealthy and have so much color!  I just love them...love them, love them.  What more can I say?  A large brown in my net just gives me that smile and extra kick in my step...and even if you have one snap off...what a fun battle, let me tell you!  It's worth every penny of gas.


Hatches on the "Maddy" include BWO's (my fave), Caddis, Salmon Flies, and Yellow Sallies, to name a few.  Of course, they have the hoppers in the late summer too.  My success has been on nymphing with large rubber legs and a personal favorite, the "Pepperoni".  Oh, I could go on and on and on about the Madison River, but I will just say two words more...   "Go Hither"!!!   <"((((((><<

33 comments:

  1. i am a big fan of the madison and it's brown trout. When I first drove past it, I was struck by how it did indeed appear to be a "50 mile riffle." Once I fished it, I found it to have much more channel complexity. It is subtly complex. I went there this fall. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Mostly threw streamers to its big browns. I made a video depicting my time on the river. Sorry for this shameless blog plug, but here it is.

    http://yukongoesfishing.blogspot.com/2010/11/yukon-goes-to-madison.html

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  2. Hey, Ivan...thanks for putting that vid up...everyone should see what we are talking about! It's a very rewarding journey, for sure.

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  3. The Madison is home water for me even if it is more than 2000 miles away.
    http://middleriverdispatch.com/2011/01/favorite-outdoor-place/

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  4. Tom...Gotta love the Madison!! It is just one that brings you back. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. thanks for posting about the madison, i feel safe to choose the big hole as my favorite outdoor spot now.

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  6. Haha...So many choices, so little time!

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  7. I don't know the Madison from the next river, but it looks beautiful. Although, no offense, not as beautiful as the sight on this river:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKQarqcZqAM

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  8. Troutrageous...Thanks for the link up! :)

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  9. The Madison....oh how I wish I were with thee....right NOW...
    Yet another photo entry that didn't help with my Cabin Fever =)
    Rebecca

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  10. That's one place that is on my bucket list. Beautiful river. I'm with you on this one Damsel.

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  11. Cofisher, I should meet you ( and RD) out there. That looks like some awesome water! I was kinda wondering how you decide where to fish it - knowing that it can't all be super - I guess like any river, some spots are more productive than others. Here, you know to throw behind that rock, under that tree, in that deep pool....there...I'd def. need a guide! :) Thanks for posting that RD. I think a great OBN prompt would be just like this - not just your fav photo of a spot, but a description of your favorite river. Very interesting and exciting post!

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  12. Looks nice... I wouldn't know where to start... no pocket water? no deep slots for my overweight nymph rig? no slack eddy near the bank? I guess I'd just throw a good ol' bead head woolly bugger and hope for the best.

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  13. Rebecca...Only a couple more months... <"(((><<
    Madison in the fall...late Sept. Join me!
    Cofisher...You're invited too.

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  14. Jay...The Madison has pocket water, riffles, eddies, undercut banks, boulders, underwater structure, side channels, braids, beaver ponds, and more. Whew! I just covered the riffles because of the picture. Read more: http://www.gorp.com/weekend-guide/travel-ta-montana-fishing-sidwcmdev_055714.html

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  15. Owl...If you can teach me how to cast under a tree, I'll teach you how to nymph in the deep, swift water! Deal? That's why fishing is so great...everyone has their own expertise and style...makes it fun! Come out WEST!!!!

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  16. This is not related to your post, but I figured I'd ask anyway - being a Utah fly fishing River Damsel, do you know WHERE the photo from my blog is from?? I've actually done quite a bit of FF in Utah!!

    Wolfy

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  17. Well, I have three places I'm thinking of...I'm going to sleep on it and you will have my "final answer" tomorrow! The kicker is the grayling...

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  18. Yeah - that does limit them, doesn't it??

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  19. Wolfy...were you fishing up in the Uintas? I just keep going back to that because of the cold water lakes up there...and the graylings could be found in the creeks coming off of those...

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  20. Damsel, I would love to meet you on the Madison. Owl, I'll fish with you if you leave the dammm Tenkara at home. I've got enough drama in my life.

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  21. Cofisher...Owl has a "chartreuse fly line and Ross reel"...we will see him coming! And I have a feeling it will be sooner than later. I think that he is "guidable"...ha.

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  22. drains out of the Uintas, of course, but this one's closer to the metro area. I'm not sure many people know about the few grayling here

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  23. Ahh...you like this game, I can tell. Well, I'm going to go back to my very first hunch...just by the picture alone and not knowing what kind of fish. How about the Diamond Fork River? Am I close?

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  24. Nah. I've fished Diamond Fork, and really like it, but not on this one.

    Strike 1 for the Damsel

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  25. Uinta's and closer to Metro...any other clues that you would like to share? Chances are that I haven't fished it...I go to the same two each week!

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  26. This could potentially go on forever!

    Upper Weber - 1000 Peaks Ranch. I haven't been back there for about 5 years, but fished it quite a bit before that. Its actually not my favorite piece of water in Utah, but I liked the picture. And - no - the Green isn't either. too many people. Which also rules out the entire Provo.

    I love the small streams in Utah!

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  27. Gotcha! I fish the Weber a lot...out of Coalville and sometimes journey to the good ol' Morgan Golf Course! There's a whole lot more than golf up there...let me tell you! Anyway, put me on that blog roll of yours and I promise to fish more small Utah streams!! <"(((><< And add a few pics later on...

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  28. You're already on my blog roll :)

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  29. I haven't fly fished now in a few years, but, I will tell you that I have a bunch of memories from fishing the Madison between Hebgen and Quake Lake. One of my Idaho getaways in Montana! Also, enjoyed fishing Quake Lake on several occasions. Excellent review of the Madison, my friend!

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  30. I have put my time in on that one. Below Innes lake Is my fav, a bit down river from where you like.. The fish are big and plenty thats where all the white fish are. You can about wade the whole thing but a boat is where its at.

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  31. Mel...I really appreciate your kind words. I am hoping that you will maybe write a post on the South Fork of the Snake...???
    Josh...I'm sure there is more to cover...I will probably head that way next! Yes, there are some monster fish in that river for sure...

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  32. I just started doing this whole blog thing. I really enjoy the way you write your blogs. Have you ever fished Washington st. Lime the Yakima river or the methow river? Anyway please feel free to checknout my blog. Hope all is well in the riffle.

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  33. MGT...I have only been to WA. once...Seattle up to Vancouver. It was beautiful! I'm sure that my journey will take me up there again someday.
    Thanks for stopping by and welcome to OBN! You will enjoy meeting the many great people out there that share your passion for the outdoors!

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