Upper Madison- July 26 / 28

Had the pleasure of fishing with my Mom and Dad this past week, so we decided to spend a couple days wade fishing the braids of the Upper Madison. On Monday we hit it just right. With cloud cover and upper 70 degree weather the fish were on the rise and couldn't keep away from a size 12 Tan or Gold Chubby Chernobyl trailed by blue Lil' Spanker's and various soft hackles. Most of the takes, and bigger fish for that matter, were within a few inches of the banks. Basically we put on chubbys from the start and didn't change up all day. Even though there were lots of caddis and PMD's out, which I'd bet would have been just as productive, it's kinda hard to beat throwing giant dry flies all day long to hungry fish. The fishing was so good that we decided to head back on Wednesday, however a large mud plug kinda blew out the lower sections of the Upper so we decided to venture to clearer water and ended up at Three Dollar Bridge. Turns out we weren't the only ones with this section in mind (surprise, surprise). The water looked great, the fishing was marginal, and 20 or so people got to witness one of the more graceful falls I've had this season.

After getting tired of the crowds we headed to the top of the Bear Trap Canyon for the evening caddis hatch. A small afternoon T-storm brought out a good hatch and for the first time this year I had some success on the Bear Trap with some large yellow stimulators, size 10. Just can't get enough of the big bugs. Needless to say the fishing is pretty darn good right now, and the Madison is a good bet for any day trip. Just watch out for the mud after any large Thunderstorm and you should have some success. Thanks Mom and Dad for an awesome couple days.

Mike