Madison Campground, Firehole River, Nez Perce Creek

Tuesday September 8, 2015     day 42     Yellowstone N.P.    Madison Campground, site B44  1^st day

18 miles

 Left Baker’s Hole at 09:20 and were at our site at Madison campground at 10:00.  We didn’t need to dump tanks or take on water.  We signed up for 3 nights.  Cost us only $39 for three nights with the senior pass.  That’s less than you pay for one night at a private campground.  But we don’t have a swimming pool, playground, free wifi, electric, water, or sewer.  Madison does have a dump station, though.  And an ice vending machine.

Madison Campground, site B44

Marsha sweeping door mat.

Marsha sweeping ground under door mat.  Lots of pine needles to track in.

Before leaving I went into town to get us some cinnamon rolls from that good bakery we found.  The place was packed at 07:00 in the morning, a very cold morning (25^o) I may add. 

It wasn’t long after I got here, I went fishing.  I wanted to fish the Firehole River which follows the Madison-Firehole road for about 16 miles.  It is a trout stream that has boiling water draining into it along its length.  It gets quite warm in the summer, but with these cold nights, it cools down to normal temperatures.  Trout cannot thrive much above 68^o. 

The character of the river varies along its length.  I drove along Fountain Flats road to check it out, but there were a lot of cars and tourists hanging out along here.  The river looked rather shallow through here, too.

There is a picnic area nearby called Nez Perce where I pulled over.  I walked to the Firehole and saw two fisherman there so I moved on.  Further up the road was where the Nez Perce Creek passes under the road.  I pulled over and walked up the creek to try it.  It was quite shallow, but the scenery and experience was beautiful.  There was a bison grazing across from me working his way down.  Upstream about ¼ mile was another one.  I had a couple hits on a foam beetle, but didn’t hook them.  They were small, anyway.  But just being there was so enjoyable.  I even came across a little hot spring dumping into the creek.

 

Bison enjoying himself, ignoring me.

Hot spring bubbling into Nez Perce Creek.

After I got back, I looked up the Nez Perce Creek in my fishing books and it said the best place to fish it is two miles upstream in a series of pools.  It is a beautiful creek in a meadow setting.  I enjoyed my time there.

Decided to try going upstream on the Firehole.  About a mile up the road was a massive traffic jam.  A buffalo herd was crossing the road.  I did a U-turn and headed back to the Nez Perce picnic area and tried the Firehole at that area.  I walked down the river looking for better water.  Came across four fly fisherman from Pennsylvania who were there for a one week trip.  They weren’t catching any.  I walked back up the river to the truck and looked for another spot. 

I stopped at another turnoff several miles downstream where there were some pools and another fisherman there.  At this time, about 14:00, a white caddis was coming off and the fish were jumping at them.  Wow, I had it made now.  Not!  The fish were not taking my fly.  I hung out there about an hour and talked to the other fisherman who was an older guy from New York State.  He was a very knowlegable fisherman.  I enjoyed talking to him.  I left the area at 16:00 and returned to the campground. 

I fished the Firehole last year during the white caddis hatch and caught a ton of fish.  I was hoping for a similar experience this year.  I think I was in the wrong section of the river, and I had the wrong fly to match the hatching flies.

Back at the campground, we took our daily walk around.  We walked three loops.  There are a lot of large Airstreams here.  There is a group who are on a two month trip through the Canadian and American Rockies.  They just spent a month in Banff, Jasper, etc. 

We walked down to the river junction where the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers meet to form the Madison River. 

Gibbon River at Madison Junction.

Gibbon River in foreground, Firehole River coming in from left to form Madison River.

National Park Mountain.  It was here the idea to set
 aside Yellowstone as a national park came to be.

We made an evening fire with our chips and salsa in the late afternoon.  Then some grilled salmon and veggies.

Hung out inside the Oliver after that trying to stay warm.