Another Nice Day on the Madison River at My Favorite Spot

Sunday September 13, 2015   day 47    Gallatin N.F.  Baker’s Hole Campground, site 31, 3^rd day

The fourth laundry day of the trip.  Went into West Yellowstone to a laundromat across from Blue Ribbon Flies on the main drag, Canyon Street (US-191). 

Laundromat in West Yellowstone.  Pretty exciting, huh?

But before we did that we had breakfast at the Timberline Restaurant because we had a nice one there a few days ago.  But not this time.  It was very crowded and very busy.  They sat us at a table in the middle because no booths were available.  We waited and waited for our food.  Other people who came after us were already finished eating and we had yet to get our food.  Called the waiter over and he told us the kitchen never received the order!  The restaurant had a POS system.  I thought that prevents this type of thing from happening.  When we got our food it wasn’t correct.  I got a side of sausage instead a side of sausage gravy for my biscuit.   No more Timberline Restaurant.

While waiting for laundry to dry, I bought two more days on my MT fishing license at Blue Ribbon Flies. 

Blue Ribbon Flies

Today I went fishing at my favorite spot on the Madison.  And I caught fish.  It’s the place where I park on the bluff and walk across the meadow to the place across from the cliff.  I always savor the view from up there and the view as I walk across the flat.  Ospreys flying around, their young ones in the nest peeping for food.  The whole experience is beautiful.  The river is quite powerful here, too.  It can be dangerous if one is not careful.  The river has rocks about the size of bowling balls that are slippery and difficult to get a footing.  These areas require a wading staff to get across.  It’s basically an expensive stick that is tied to your belt with a lanyard or retractor so you don’t lose it.  (Read September 6 blog about losing wading staff).  I bought a new one made by Simms.  It is a much better design than the one I lost.

Here are some photos I took of Hebgen Lake on the way there.

 

Had a very good fishing day today.  Caught a nice size brown trout on a Prince nymph.  I wanted to photograph it and measure it, but he got out of the net after I got the hook out and swam away unharmed.  I then got a rainbow trout, not as large, but nice, on the same nymph.  After those two fish, not much action for the next hour. 

Prince nymph I caught the two fish with.

I then switched to a dry fly called Purple Haze, designed by Jimi Hendrix.  Just kidding.  I don’t think Jimi Hendrix fly fished.  It looks like the Adams parachute I photographed, but has a purple body instead of gray.  Fish love it.  I was our here about eight years ago when a fly shop told us about this new killer pattern.  Now it is very popular out here.  Sometimes fish will go after something that is not really anything.  These kinds of flies are called attractors because they will attract a fish’s attention, but they don’t suggest any particular insect.  I caught three rainbows with this fly and had quite a few hits from ones I didn’t catch.  It was really a fun day.

For your enjoyment, I took some pictures of Quake Lake on the way home so you can see that not only do I fish in a great place, but the ride to and from there is also great.

 

It’s our second to the last day in Yellowstone before we leave for home.  We treated ourselves to a pizza at the Wild West Saloon & Pizzeria.  It was just as good as before.  It must be owned by someone from Pittsburgh because the whole lounge area is decorated with Pittsburgh Steelers paraphernalia.  Montana doesn’t have an NFL team, so I don’t know who they root for, but I wouldn’t think it would be Pittsburgh.  Closest NFL team is probably the Broncos or the Seahawks.

Bullwinkles, another restaurant in town, has Green Bay Packer stuff.  But you see that all over the U.S.  You don’t have to be from Wisconsin or the U.P. to be a Green Bay fan.