Big Sky Country - July, 2006
It’s been two months since our group embarked on our 2006 adventure to the Big Sky. Country. This year was special in that we drew permits to float the Smith R. and still made time for an epic fishing adventure on the Madison River in an unprecedented 10 day adventure over the 4th of July holiday. Before things get too far from mind, I thought it essential to give a day by day recap of our trip from “Eagle Eye’s” perspective.
Day 1
MacKenzie R. assemblage of the posse…
Disaster was averted when my baggage showed up at BZN at 5:30. We managed to assemble at the MacKenzie R. in Bozeman. We munched on the prerequisite gourmet pizza and sucked down a few trout slayers to get into the spirit of things. Shopping for provisions for our pizza run. Wandering Bear had assembled our provisions for the week. Needless to say, we didn’t go hungry during our trip. The night ended in Big Sky dividing the 96 dozen flies that we secured through our African agent Perminus. It was a clear night with excitement and anticipation in the air.
Day 2
The adventure begins….
The day started early with our projected Launch time of 10;00. The Grizzly 2 was loaded with all of the necessary gear and we parted at dawn for White Sulfur Springs to the launch point. The drive through the Bridger Valley was beautiful and filled with hair pinned curves taken at speeds well in excess of those recommended and stomach dropping dips through unmatched scenery.
We met our outfitters later than we hoped and after a brief sit down with the park ranger to declare campsites, we were off. Pipes were smoking as we left Camp Baker and started our 65 mile float on the Smith. Fishing was tough the first day, however, Wandering Bear and Tender foot managed to ace out a fellow angler with some nifty maneuvering and scored a premiere spot where a tributary entered the Smith. Wandering Bear, Eagle Eye, and Laughs with Fire did manage to spot a pod of rising trout just as tender foot and wandering bear made their way around the last bend before we found our camp site. After a few fish made it to hand and a few swigs of YUCCA from some generous fellow adventurers on their own adventure. A few swigs of YUCCA and an exchange of pleasantries and we were on our way to our first night on the Smith. The latrine ranked 2 of 4 from what I understand…
Day 3
Enter the little man…
Day three brought about unmatched scenery as our rafts made their way through the limestone cliffs that rival those found in Northern Ireland which attract people from around the world. The fishing was steadily improving and we had our first trout dinner. At our camp site, that evening we had our run in with the “little man”. This twelve year-old kid was a fishing machine that flogged the water directly in front of our cam site and constantly pestered us with questions about the fishing and whether or not we caught “any good ones…”. It was on this day that we started our chess match with the guides floatilla. This evening’s camp site was beautiful. Set on a curve in the river with a sheer cliff on the opposite side. A canopy of pine trees was our campsite’s ceiling and the trout tasted wonderful that evening. The latrine ranked 3 of 4.
Day 4
They’re getting bigger…
The fishing on day three of the float was the best. The quantity and quality of fish had reached it’s peak. The most dramatic stories of the day included the guided party making a mad dash to their respective rafts at the site of our party floating their way only to be passed by both of our rafts. The other major story involved Eagle eye getting a hook in the finger. A large brown trout was landed which slipped out of Eagle Eye’s mit and which also drove the hook of the dropper fly firmly into the flesh of the index finger. Tender Foot tried the mono-pull trick twice, which nearly evoked vomiting from Eagle Eye. The fly eventually was pushed through the finger so that the barb could be crimped. Trout was on the menu for this evening and the pressure was definitely on as only two trout were in our creel as we started to make camp. We managed, however to rise to the occasion and land two more to round out dinner. The camp site was filled with cliff swallow’s whose call we came to loathe. Latrine ranked 1 of 4.
Day 5
Danger, Death, and Dinner…
Day four on the river brought about warmer water and tougher fishing. We still managed a few nice trout early in the day but in the afternoon the fishing was slow. There were rapids that we navigated and we found our way to camp earlier than usual which brought about more evening shenangans that usual. Laughs with Fire and Wandering Bear took a hike to a dramatic look out, while Tenderfoot and Eagle Eye turned their attention to catching crayfish for dinner. Our campsite this evening was aptly named Upper Rattlesnake and we ended up coming across the sites name sake on the trail to the latrine. Wandering Bear wanted to catch the rattlesnake with his hands, however, the rest of the posse objected to that idea to which Wandering Bear swiftly headed back to camp for a weapon to properly dispose of the serpent. The weapon of choice was a part from our cots and Wandering Bear immediately went on the offensive. A whack to the back with the cot and Tenderfoot quickly separated the business end of the snake from the rest of its body and we had dinner. That evening we dinned on rattlesnake, crayfish and cheese filled ravioli. After dinner, we had a huge fire that lasted through to the morning. It was the last night on the Smith. Our adventure on the Smith was coming to and end, but we had plenty to look forward to back in Big Sky.
Day 6
The long row home…
We started the day early in hopes of capitalizing on our last day of fishing on the Smith. After a few hours it became apparent that the best of the fishing was behind us with. The water temperatures climbed as we exited the canyon that we wound our way through for the past 55 miles and entered the high plains meadow. We finished our float around noon just before the skies let loose in a down pour of rain.
After the Smith, we found our way to a fly shop in Craig, where we had lunch and gained the insights of what the real life of a fishing guide is like while relaxing on a porch in a thunderstorm. Wandering Bear also shared his wisdom of the four point take down. After the rain subsided, we tried our luck on the Missouri River. We stalked the lunkers that filled the waters but Wandering Bear was the only one who managed to bring one of the monsters to hand. After our adventure on the Missouri R. we headed back towards Big Sky to finish the remainder of our trip. The rest of the day included a long drive with good conversations, a side trip to the Land O’ Magic supper club in Manhattan, and a 1:30 emergency “pit stop” along a stretch of all but deserted highway which brought the group to gut wrenching laughter at the expense of Eagle Eye. We eventually rolled into Big Sky around 2:00 AM. Needless to say the varied nature of the day and laughs along the way will forever be etched in our memories.
Day 7
Big Sky…
We slept in after forsaking the creature comforts that we find so familiar back at home under our roofs for the last four nights. Once were all roused from our slumber, excitement of the possibility of fishing the fabled “Salmone” on the Madison filled the air. Stories of adventures past…the Beartrap…fishing guides that talk WAY too much…fishing in bear country…The Grizzly Bar…slipping and sliding in the Grizz over Lone Mt…fishing eggs to oversized browns between the lakes… Once out the door, we found our way to the nearest fly shop to get the latest news on “The Hatch” and pick up a few specialty flies that our friends from Kenya could not provide. A serendipitous stop at the Buggaboo Café, a spot which became a new favorite over the rest of our trip, and we were off on that familiar drive south on 191, then snaking along Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake and finally into the Madison Valley.
Fishing that afternoon was nothing to get too excited about, but nevertheless, we found some eager trout that had a taste for Salmon flies and also learned that we were the only ones throwing the Big Bugs at this point on the river. An early dinner at the Grizzly Bar and we were back to the River for what daylight we had left. Not a block buster day by any measure, but the familiarity of Big Sky, the drive south along 191, Reynold’s Pass, Laugh’s With Fire’s attitude teetering on the precipice of completely giving up the sport of fly fishing and sticking to MT biking, and Wandering Bear’s never waning desire to “crack the code” of fly fishing made it a good one.
Day 8
Cracking the Code…
The strategy of staying out the river later seemed to stick despite stellar results from our first day on the mighty Madison. We inquired about renting bikes to keep Laugh’s With Fire in the game and made the mistake of having a two hour breakfast at the Huckleberry Café. Conversation headed for the abstract, as one could expect given that our group consisted of two Wheaties, and an PHD physicist, despite the attempts by Eagle Eye to keep discussions to a practical level, which only brought about chastisement from the others.
As late afternoon approached, we headed back to the river. Today, we showed up later on the River than ever before and were determined to fish later in the evening than we ever had. Provisions to make sure that the mission was a success included plenty of pipe tobacco, beer, and Red Bull. Staying out late proved to be just the ticket to unlock the secrets that the Madison had to hold. Flogging the banks with large dry flies in my opinion is as good as it gets. It’s easy to become unnerved as you watch your 2 inch fly floating inches from the bank or a mid stream boulder as two feet of brown trout slowly rises from its holding spot and engulfs the fly at the end of your rod tip. Needless to say, there were countless missed fish that afternoon and many more fishing by moonlight which resulted in shrieks of disbelief that the fish was not hooked. At one point that evening, there was a revelation that revolutionized Salmon Fly fishing forever. Eagle Eye and Laugh’s with Fire (hereafter “LWF”)were fishing in close proximity as the darkness fell on the River. There was still a fly fishing suicide watch on for LWF at this point and a likely holding spot was identified for him to fish in. As he was working the honey hole, Eagle Eye never one to stop fishing while out on the hallowed fishing grounds of the Madison, quickly caught three trout in succession by merely swinging the large dry fly through the current. There was, of course, no mention of this to LWF as such news would likely bring about that end to his fly fishing career. After observing LWF employ the swing tactic and land a couple of nice fish, only then did reveal my unknown success using the same tactic. Tenderfoot, LWF, and Eagle Eye fished together that evening well into the darkness catching fish after fish.
Late in the night, we realized that we hadn’t seen Wandering Bear since our initial hike into the Madison Valley that evening. A search for the wandering bear commenced. When we cam upon the dark shape of Wandering Bear and our head lamps hit his face we found it with a strange gut euphoric look that only the catching of many large trout in a short amount of time could create. Wandering Bear was clearly disoriented and somehow thought that we had all left him on the river alone and gone back to the car. He had no concept of time and was clearly in a trance after experiencing the type of fishing that only the salmon fly hatch can deliver in Montana. At this, we wandered back to the car at 1:00 a.m. Along the way, we discussed all of the long faces that we saw on the river from fellow fishermen on the river that did not share in our success. These fishermen were all in the parking lot either in their tent or campers as we quietly slipped into the Grizzly 2 downed a red bull for the ride home and left the Madison.
Day 9
On the way home, It was unanimously decided that night fishing was the only way to go and that we should enjoy the daylight hours in Montana with other activities. Today, we succumbed to LWF’s urge to mountain bike. After renting our bikes as Grizzly Outfitters, we headed to the Porcupine Trailhead. It was apparent very quickly that this was to be a long ride up and a quick ride down. LWF set a pace that ended up sending Eagle Eye and Tenderfoot back to the car early..........NEED TO FINISH BUT FIRGUE THIS IS WORTH A BUTT LOAD OF PICTURES AND THE BILL RECONCILIATION.........PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD TO MY POST
It’s been two months since our group embarked on our 2006 adventure to the Big Sky. Country. This year was special in that we drew permits to float the Smith R. and still made time for an epic fishing adventure on the Madison River in an unprecedented 10 day adventure over the 4th of July holiday. Before things get too far from mind, I thought it essential to give a day by day recap of our trip from “Eagle Eye’s” perspective.
Day 1
MacKenzie R. assemblage of the posse…
Disaster was averted when my baggage showed up at BZN at 5:30. We managed to assemble at the MacKenzie R. in Bozeman. We munched on the prerequisite gourmet pizza and sucked down a few trout slayers to get into the spirit of things. Shopping for provisions for our pizza run. Wandering Bear had assembled our provisions for the week. Needless to say, we didn’t go hungry during our trip. The night ended in Big Sky dividing the 96 dozen flies that we secured through our African agent Perminus. It was a clear night with excitement and anticipation in the air.
Day 2
The adventure begins….
The day started early with our projected Launch time of 10;00. The Grizzly 2 was loaded with all of the necessary gear and we parted at dawn for White Sulfur Springs to the launch point. The drive through the Bridger Valley was beautiful and filled with hair pinned curves taken at speeds well in excess of those recommended and stomach dropping dips through unmatched scenery.
We met our outfitters later than we hoped and after a brief sit down with the park ranger to declare campsites, we were off. Pipes were smoking as we left Camp Baker and started our 65 mile float on the Smith. Fishing was tough the first day, however, Wandering Bear and Tender foot managed to ace out a fellow angler with some nifty maneuvering and scored a premiere spot where a tributary entered the Smith. Wandering Bear, Eagle Eye, and Laughs with Fire did manage to spot a pod of rising trout just as tender foot and wandering bear made their way around the last bend before we found our camp site. After a few fish made it to hand and a few swigs of YUCCA from some generous fellow adventurers on their own adventure. A few swigs of YUCCA and an exchange of pleasantries and we were on our way to our first night on the Smith. The latrine ranked 2 of 4 from what I understand…
Day 3
Enter the little man…
Day three brought about unmatched scenery as our rafts made their way through the limestone cliffs that rival those found in Northern Ireland which attract people from around the world. The fishing was steadily improving and we had our first trout dinner. At our camp site, that evening we had our run in with the “little man”. This twelve year-old kid was a fishing machine that flogged the water directly in front of our cam site and constantly pestered us with questions about the fishing and whether or not we caught “any good ones…”. It was on this day that we started our chess match with the guides floatilla. This evening’s camp site was beautiful. Set on a curve in the river with a sheer cliff on the opposite side. A canopy of pine trees was our campsite’s ceiling and the trout tasted wonderful that evening. The latrine ranked 3 of 4.
Day 4
They’re getting bigger…
The fishing on day three of the float was the best. The quantity and quality of fish had reached it’s peak. The most dramatic stories of the day included the guided party making a mad dash to their respective rafts at the site of our party floating their way only to be passed by both of our rafts. The other major story involved Eagle eye getting a hook in the finger. A large brown trout was landed which slipped out of Eagle Eye’s mit and which also drove the hook of the dropper fly firmly into the flesh of the index finger. Tender Foot tried the mono-pull trick twice, which nearly evoked vomiting from Eagle Eye. The fly eventually was pushed through the finger so that the barb could be crimped. Trout was on the menu for this evening and the pressure was definitely on as only two trout were in our creel as we started to make camp. We managed, however to rise to the occasion and land two more to round out dinner. The camp site was filled with cliff swallow’s whose call we came to loathe. Latrine ranked 1 of 4.
Day 5
Danger, Death, and Dinner…
Day four on the river brought about warmer water and tougher fishing. We still managed a few nice trout early in the day but in the afternoon the fishing was slow. There were rapids that we navigated and we found our way to camp earlier than usual which brought about more evening shenangans that usual. Laughs with Fire and Wandering Bear took a hike to a dramatic look out, while Tenderfoot and Eagle Eye turned their attention to catching crayfish for dinner. Our campsite this evening was aptly named Upper Rattlesnake and we ended up coming across the sites name sake on the trail to the latrine. Wandering Bear wanted to catch the rattlesnake with his hands, however, the rest of the posse objected to that idea to which Wandering Bear swiftly headed back to camp for a weapon to properly dispose of the serpent. The weapon of choice was a part from our cots and Wandering Bear immediately went on the offensive. A whack to the back with the cot and Tenderfoot quickly separated the business end of the snake from the rest of its body and we had dinner. That evening we dinned on rattlesnake, crayfish and cheese filled ravioli. After dinner, we had a huge fire that lasted through to the morning. It was the last night on the Smith. Our adventure on the Smith was coming to and end, but we had plenty to look forward to back in Big Sky.
Day 6
The long row home…
We started the day early in hopes of capitalizing on our last day of fishing on the Smith. After a few hours it became apparent that the best of the fishing was behind us with. The water temperatures climbed as we exited the canyon that we wound our way through for the past 55 miles and entered the high plains meadow. We finished our float around noon just before the skies let loose in a down pour of rain.
After the Smith, we found our way to a fly shop in Craig, where we had lunch and gained the insights of what the real life of a fishing guide is like while relaxing on a porch in a thunderstorm. Wandering Bear also shared his wisdom of the four point take down. After the rain subsided, we tried our luck on the Missouri River. We stalked the lunkers that filled the waters but Wandering Bear was the only one who managed to bring one of the monsters to hand. After our adventure on the Missouri R. we headed back towards Big Sky to finish the remainder of our trip. The rest of the day included a long drive with good conversations, a side trip to the Land O’ Magic supper club in Manhattan, and a 1:30 emergency “pit stop” along a stretch of all but deserted highway which brought the group to gut wrenching laughter at the expense of Eagle Eye. We eventually rolled into Big Sky around 2:00 AM. Needless to say the varied nature of the day and laughs along the way will forever be etched in our memories.
Day 7
Big Sky…
We slept in after forsaking the creature comforts that we find so familiar back at home under our roofs for the last four nights. Once were all roused from our slumber, excitement of the possibility of fishing the fabled “Salmone” on the Madison filled the air. Stories of adventures past…the Beartrap…fishing guides that talk WAY too much…fishing in bear country…The Grizzly Bar…slipping and sliding in the Grizz over Lone Mt…fishing eggs to oversized browns between the lakes… Once out the door, we found our way to the nearest fly shop to get the latest news on “The Hatch” and pick up a few specialty flies that our friends from Kenya could not provide. A serendipitous stop at the Buggaboo Café, a spot which became a new favorite over the rest of our trip, and we were off on that familiar drive south on 191, then snaking along Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake and finally into the Madison Valley.
Fishing that afternoon was nothing to get too excited about, but nevertheless, we found some eager trout that had a taste for Salmon flies and also learned that we were the only ones throwing the Big Bugs at this point on the river. An early dinner at the Grizzly Bar and we were back to the River for what daylight we had left. Not a block buster day by any measure, but the familiarity of Big Sky, the drive south along 191, Reynold’s Pass, Laugh’s With Fire’s attitude teetering on the precipice of completely giving up the sport of fly fishing and sticking to MT biking, and Wandering Bear’s never waning desire to “crack the code” of fly fishing made it a good one.
Day 8
Cracking the Code…
The strategy of staying out the river later seemed to stick despite stellar results from our first day on the mighty Madison. We inquired about renting bikes to keep Laugh’s With Fire in the game and made the mistake of having a two hour breakfast at the Huckleberry Café. Conversation headed for the abstract, as one could expect given that our group consisted of two Wheaties, and an PHD physicist, despite the attempts by Eagle Eye to keep discussions to a practical level, which only brought about chastisement from the others.
As late afternoon approached, we headed back to the river. Today, we showed up later on the River than ever before and were determined to fish later in the evening than we ever had. Provisions to make sure that the mission was a success included plenty of pipe tobacco, beer, and Red Bull. Staying out late proved to be just the ticket to unlock the secrets that the Madison had to hold. Flogging the banks with large dry flies in my opinion is as good as it gets. It’s easy to become unnerved as you watch your 2 inch fly floating inches from the bank or a mid stream boulder as two feet of brown trout slowly rises from its holding spot and engulfs the fly at the end of your rod tip. Needless to say, there were countless missed fish that afternoon and many more fishing by moonlight which resulted in shrieks of disbelief that the fish was not hooked. At one point that evening, there was a revelation that revolutionized Salmon Fly fishing forever. Eagle Eye and Laugh’s with Fire (hereafter “LWF”)were fishing in close proximity as the darkness fell on the River. There was still a fly fishing suicide watch on for LWF at this point and a likely holding spot was identified for him to fish in. As he was working the honey hole, Eagle Eye never one to stop fishing while out on the hallowed fishing grounds of the Madison, quickly caught three trout in succession by merely swinging the large dry fly through the current. There was, of course, no mention of this to LWF as such news would likely bring about that end to his fly fishing career. After observing LWF employ the swing tactic and land a couple of nice fish, only then did reveal my unknown success using the same tactic. Tenderfoot, LWF, and Eagle Eye fished together that evening well into the darkness catching fish after fish.
Late in the night, we realized that we hadn’t seen Wandering Bear since our initial hike into the Madison Valley that evening. A search for the wandering bear commenced. When we cam upon the dark shape of Wandering Bear and our head lamps hit his face we found it with a strange gut euphoric look that only the catching of many large trout in a short amount of time could create. Wandering Bear was clearly disoriented and somehow thought that we had all left him on the river alone and gone back to the car. He had no concept of time and was clearly in a trance after experiencing the type of fishing that only the salmon fly hatch can deliver in Montana. At this, we wandered back to the car at 1:00 a.m. Along the way, we discussed all of the long faces that we saw on the river from fellow fishermen on the river that did not share in our success. These fishermen were all in the parking lot either in their tent or campers as we quietly slipped into the Grizzly 2 downed a red bull for the ride home and left the Madison.
Day 9
On the way home, It was unanimously decided that night fishing was the only way to go and that we should enjoy the daylight hours in Montana with other activities. Today, we succumbed to LWF’s urge to mountain bike. After renting our bikes as Grizzly Outfitters, we headed to the Porcupine Trailhead. It was apparent very quickly that this was to be a long ride up and a quick ride down. LWF set a pace that ended up sending Eagle Eye and Tenderfoot back to the car early..........NEED TO FINISH BUT FIRGUE THIS IS WORTH A BUTT LOAD OF PICTURES AND THE BILL RECONCILIATION.........PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD TO MY POST
posted by Gms60302 at 11:24 AM
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