Day 8: Itinerant Angler

June 29th, as my Park pass ended, I headed to Madison below Quake Lake. I was hoping that water would get warmer and clearer while I was fishing the Park. But it wasn't really what I hoped for. I started from the east side bank of $3 Bridge. I hadn't fished this side yet. My rigging was back to nymphs again. Nothing but snagging really happened while I fished up-stream. As I fished down-stream swinging soft-hackles. I caught a 5-incher and a potentially nice one tugged and then lost. Someone said "trout were feeding at night with moon light". I was skeptical about that because there were nightly storm somewhere and anywhere. Anyway, this morning was really slow.
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I drove around and saw lots people on each parking lot. Park rivers were much less crowded as long as I handled other sightseers jammed by wildlife. I drove to Lyons Bridge. I was going to fish up-stream. There should be less or no people as everyone there were most likely to float down-stream. Then the strangest and memorable encounter happened to me.

As I was getting my gear ready. A fisherman who was already parking there talked to me. He introduced himself John visiting from Nebraska. Then he asked me if I want to float with him???
I said "What?? Are you a guide?" (who wants to make some money? - in my mind.)
He said he had been fishing Madison but his friends had to go home and he needed someone to float with. He asked me if I can oar. "No!! I've never done that!!"

He explained to me that "it's not that difficult" and "drift boat is made tough". And trying to persuade me, he said he would show me what to do first... Yet I didn't want to ruin his day.....

I have floated this section from Lyons Bridge to Palisada with Mike from Blue Ribbon Flies twice. I never thought about me oaring the mighty Madison. John assured me that "I can't kill him" by the boat accident, nor he would kill me. I was finally tempted. "Hey, I live only once!!".

John put me fishing first and right off the bat, I caught a 17-inch rainbow!!! In lots of ways, this was a very memorable trout during this trip!!

I did oar too!! Little did I knew that the drift boat was that heavy!! I asked John a lot about handling. Yet in my first turn I crashed into two maybe three rocks. With all of new and sudden experience, I could barely see the water and enable John to cast well. But my second turn, I actually did pretty well for about a 1/4 to 1/2 mile. I sort of got a grip and really enabled John to cast to the bank which ended up to crash into trees........... So for this 8-mile float, I ended up fishing 87.5%............

John was also a traveling angler like me but a much larger case. He's been fishing Madison with his own boat for over 15 years and traveling many other places in the West while my focus is limited to West Yellowstone and Livingston so far. I enjoyed talking with him because we talked about streamer fishing for 10 minutes and next we talked about complicated match-the-hatch situation at Firehole and Henry's Fork.

My original plan had been to fish above Lyons and headed back to $3 Bridge. But I cancelled that. John said he was heading to Henry's Fork during the night, so I invited him to my regular "Last Supper" of the trip in West Yellowstone as we were both heading that way. I try to grab a nice meal at the end of the trip. This was a night before the last but it didn't matter and I later found this was good for my digestion. I had to eat something buffalo!!! My favorite Buckaroo Bill was closed only at 8:30pm. So I suggested another place that I wanted to try, called "Old Town Cafe". They have a sign "fresh natural buff meat", something like that. I ordered the highest in the menu. Buffalo top sirloin done in medium-rare!! Look at this slab!!

With a new friend, the dinner tasted much better than eating by myself.

We may not call each other after each trout we catch but I'm sure I will bump into him somewhere along Madison. John also loves to fish the Madison in the fall.

John, thank you for the experience. I will be in West Yellowstone at the end of October. I might be able to swing by Ennis but also find me Madison in the Park while I'm swinging sof-hackles and stripping streamer. Also, I will be fishing a very sensitive baetis hatch along Upper Madison, Mdison in the Park, and Firehole.

Day 7 PM: Muleshoe Bend - Last Effort & Happy End

In the evening of 28th, I went to Muleshoe Bend of Firehole three evenings in a row. It was a slight difference in nature but a huge encounter for anglers at Muleshoe Bend. Also, it was the end of my 7 consecutive Park entrance.

In this evening, Helicopsyche was dominant on the water and in the air. White Miller started flying toward the end of the day. Helico X Caddis was one and only my ticket.

Muleshoe Bend is probably the best and well-known spot in Firehole but also the most challenging. Winds typically come down from the mountains that cause for angler to cast and make dead-drift very difficult from the far bank. If anglers to try to cast from the near bank, trout seldom respond.......

I did move and caused lots of rises on my Helico X but only a few came to the camera.

Day was ending, I saw lots of trout rising on my Helico X caddis but I had to compete with naturals emerging en masse. It was very frustrating. Finally my nerve and hook-set held and a respectable 12-inch browny came out.............

Some of you might laugh at about catching a 12-incher with a dead effort...... But if you know Firehole habitat along with its complex hatch, this was a beauty.

All of three evenings were quite an experience to me. Matching the hatch and tying flies for that.

I really didn't catch anything big but the meadow section of Madison and Firehole kept me in shape and made me a better angler.

A very satisfying end...............

Now I'm looking forward to facing baetis hatch in the fall at both rivers!!

Day 7 AM: Last Day in the Park

June 28th in the morning, I went back to the section below Big Bend as in the morning of 26th. White Miller Caddis were on the water again, but fishing was a bit slower than past three mornings.




Yet some of trout rose on my fresh tied White Miller Iris Caddis.

That was good enough and of course I hooked, lost, and landed many more.

I noticed that PMD was on the water and the air, so I trailed White Miller X Caddis and PMD Sparkle Dun. It did work too.


Later on, I tried a PMD Foam Nymph again.


Just under the surface, a respectable 16-incher took it!!


Gotcha!!!



Over all, my experience in the meadow section of Madison in the Park made and helped me a better angler. It had been fearful and challenging, but once I really put myself into it, including sinking in, it is one of the greatest places to fish in the world.......

Day 6 PM: Firehole - Puzzle Solved!!.......Just a bit

After a quick lunch somewhere along Madison, I went back to town and dropped by Blue Ribbon Flies again. Besides I dropped the brush of my Frog's Fanny and I needed a new one, I really wanted to ask them about the little caddis emergence that I encountered at Muleshoe Bend of Firehole. Luckily, Craig Mathews was tying flies in the shop so I greeted him and told him my observation and that I had a problem between White Miller and this unknown little caddis and showed him a couple of picture from my camera. He kindly stopped his tying in the middle and showed me one of his books. The book is all about insects in Yellowstone country. He told me to read about one of caddis species, called Helicopsyche. He bet what I saw was this. Just reading a page or two, I knew he was right.

Here's a quick summary that I scanned with my eyes from the book he showed me (without buying).

• Size 20 & 22
• Dark/gray wings with amber body
• Hatches particularly around Muleshoe Bend of Firehole when water gets warmer
• Also hatches en masse
• Causes lots of frustration among anglers
• Up-stream casting refused

Well, I'm not much of a up-stream dry-fly caster anyway at least. That might have been why I managed to entice a few trout by just the size of caddis flies.

At Blue Ribbon Flies, they have all kinds and colors of dubbings. I did pick up right ones. Craig suggested me to mix these to a bit.

At my motel room, I tied up about a dozen flies quickly. Top ones are Iris Caddis and Nick's Soft-hackle for White Miller and bottom ones are X, Iris, and Nick's for Helicopsyche.

Helicopsyche X Caddis is here, tied with TMC 102Y #21.

As I went to Muleshoe Bend around 5:00pm, trout were rising. Again, White Miller caught my eyes but I tied on Helico patterns. It did work!!! Trout rose to my fly positively, not skeptically any more!!

I had to shoot a quick grip-&-grin!!

Yet still frustrating and puzzling. Trout rose to X Caddis and hit on it while swinging but never responded to Iris Caddis and Nick's Soft-hackle tied in the same size and color.

I caught a nice 12-inch rainbow that almost tried to go between my legs!!

Also, what I noticed was that trout really suck on this tiny caddis (and my flies). I was sure my hook-set was as right as any other experience but somehow this tiny pattern was set into throats rather than around mouths. Very puzzling.

As I was inspecting my flies in my motel room, Helico X tied with TMC hook was gape-open.

Probably this is one of the reason that Firehole is referred as "strangest trout stream on earth".

This evening was a great experience for me that I can't express in words. And I believe that's what's all about fly-fishing. I observed what was going on on the water, asked experienced anglers, tied right flies, fished with them, and caught trout.

Yet I had experienced another development in the following evening.............

Day 6 AM: Big Bend - Sinking In!!

June 27th in the morning, it was another nice day. But also there had been storm (with or without hail) during the night time. Park waters remained the same.

I went to Big Bend, just a mile down stream from Madison Junction. Unlike past two mornings, I was assembled with full of PMD and White Miller caddis patterns. At 8:00am, White Miller were all over the water and trout were eager to take them!!

All I needed was this deadly combo again, X caddis + Nick's Soft-hackle in White Miller.

Both of these were taken either on surface, subsurface, and while swinging. I hooked a lot and lost a lot but it was just as good as the morning of 26th.

Then only one accident of this trip happened. Much milder case than accidents before though. Big Bend has the same river bottom structure as the section below. It's with full of drop-offs, mounds, and weed banks. But the river width at Big Bend is narrower than the section below, hence deeper (concentrated so to speak).

As I wanted to change my tippets and flies, I wanted to go back to the bank. I was standing on the weed bed in the middle of the river. The weed bed by the bank was only 10 feet away so I thought it was easy to cross. But it happened to be it was a 5-foot deep hole!!!! Because Madison in this section is not slippery or fast, I didn't fall in but sucked water into my wader while struggling to cross......... I barely made it. Fortunately also, this section of Madison is very warm as in Firehole and Gibbon. I walked back to my truck uncomfortably and stripped off. My tops and pants were bearable to keep but wader and socks needed dried. Thanks to mild breeze and the Sun, they got dried quickly. Meanwhile, I was sitting on my camp chair, pretending to read a book, waited for my shirts and pants to dry off a bit.........


At least I found that Big Bend would be a great place to fish with nymphs in the fall. I would just cast them to deep holes among weed-banks. Since Big Bend is narrower than the section below, it should be easy to locate and focus on each run and hole.

Day 5 PM: Firehole - Puzzling??

I went back to town after stream-side lunch. I had to do a load of laundry, meanwhile dropped by Blue Ribbon Flies, crossing the street, for shopping and fishing intel. Relaxing in my motel room and stuffing early dinner on purpose, I went to Muleshoe Bend of Firehole. A group of three anglers started to fish the bend right in front of me. But I knew they were not doing right and these kinds group fishers usually don't stay long. I fished a section below, actually a nice run, till they were gone.

White Miller was so visible as in the Madison in the morning.

It seemed to be an easy money to fish with White Miller X Caddis,

trailed with Nick's Caddis Soft-hackle.

I saw lots of bank feeders but they didn't even look up my flies, yet still kept on rising. I made sure that I was dead-drifting and swinging correctly, still no bites at all. A bit confused, I walked toward the bank to see what was floating. There were mass of tiny caddis on the water, emergers and cripples.

Adults were crawling on my wader.

I switched into smaller X Caddis and Iris Cadis in my box. That meant to be Glossosoma (size 20 with black body). I finally started to move trout. They started to pounce my flies but just looked skeptical.

At the end of the day, I caught a bit larger one of White Miller X Caddis while swinging.

But it was really puzzling. Trout were not interested in White Miller and smaller patterns wouldn't quite get it right............ What was going on??

Little did I know that I would learn more in the next two evenings.......

Day 5 AM: Madison in the Park - What's Today's Special?

On June 26th, 27th, and 28th, I fished the meadow section of Madison in the Park in the morning till noon, headed back to town for something, and went back fishing to Muleshoe Bend of Firehole, almost like a routine. For these three days of magnificent match-the-hatch with dry-flies, I'd like to separate what I've experienced to morning and evening posts for each day.

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June 26th, with great dry-fly experience of 25th (and experienced an iffy condition along Madison below Quake Lake), I decided to stick with Madison in the Park, particularly the meadow water section. I am familiar to around Madison Junction. I fished with nymphs and soft-hackles last fall. Locating chutes and pools, I caught several trout. I wanted to push myself to challenge if I can repeat match-the-hatch as I did on the previous day.

This section is much harder to fish and wade than below, say Upper Haynes and Talus. While the surface appears smooth, the river's bottom is full of drop-offs, mounds, and weed banks.

I started to with nymphs without any success but snagging weed beds. Meanwhile I started to see White Miller Caddis were flying and little fish were rising.

I rigged up two soft-hackles and started to swing down-stream. I only hooked one little fish but I believed that I was doing right. As seeing more rising trout and caddis, I switched into X Caddis. I had already tied a suggested White Miller imitation by Blue Ribbon Flies but I didn't carry them because I was expecting PMD hatch!!! But regular X Caddis in light olive,

trailed with Nick's Caddis Soft-hackle did the job right.

Starting with this one, I really lost count. Trout took my flies on surface, subsurface, and while swinging. There was a wildlife jam on the road so with plenty of audience (only if they gave me a damn), I kept hauling fish!!!!

The biggest catch was this 16-inch brown on Nick's Soft-hackle. Casting to the bank from middle of the river, this one took the Nick's on surface before swinging. But the visibility of X Caddis let me know the take and I set the hook!! This is the deadlies combo!!

A nice hump back!! Soon he will go back and force Hebgen and Madison and grow bigger.
I noticed he had a couple of scars on the back. Maybe an osprey attack, I imagined??

This one was nothing huge but I saw he was calculating his rise to my X Caddis from four feet below!!!

My Frog's Fanny ran out by noon so I stopped.

I didn't see PMD at all!! At least it must have been an unnoticeable amount. I dropped by Upper Haynes where I fished the previous day. Eating my lunch, I noticed White Miller was all over also.

Enough lesson. For the morning of 27th and 28th, I carried both my Mayfly box and White Miller patterns!!

Day 4: Madison in the Park - Match the Hatch Paradise!!

June 25th, as I checked out a motel (that I didn't intend to stay) to the original one, I headed to Madison in the Park to fish till noon or thereabout.

Madison in the Park above Seven Mile Bridge is known to "only 20 percent of those fishing this water catch fish" by Charie Brooks. I conquered this fear last June and October by nymphs and streamers. So I consider myself that I belong to a "20% Club". I started at Upper Haynes, which is one of my favorite and most promising spots. I started with a Rubber Leg

and a $3 Serendipity.

But somehow fishing at Upper Haynes was slow. I barely hooked and lost a whitefish. Since it was early, I could drive to other spots I could think of but I waded down-stream around the island. I immediately found this is the very productive deep pool!! Now it's on my list for the fall fishing. Somehow, I caught mix of rainbow and brown of $3 Serendipity over a Rubber Leg.

I caught one large bow on a Rubber Leg though.

After this, there was no more action nymphs, instead I started to see lots of trout rising. I had noticed that smaller trout were rising from early morning but now rising trout were all over and not taking nymphs. I observed the surface. It was a Pale Morning Dun hatch.

As I left my midge box of Day 1 at Cascade Lake, I forgot my Mayfly box!! This time, I could have gone back to my truck and/or use a PMD Sparkle Dun from my secret Dutch Box again. But I thought there should be some things I could do. Besides duns and cripples on the surface, I also noticed that emerging nymphs were crawling on my wader. Now it made sence to me that trout favored $3 serendipity over a Rubber Leg stonefly nymph.

I did have several PMD Foam nymph in my general box!! This is meant to fish the surface as an emerging nymph with a foam wing-case.

I also had Royal Wulff Cripple as an attractor and an indicator fly trailed with a PMD Foam Nymph.

PMD Foam nymph was taken as Royal Wulff Cripple let me know the subtle take at the surface!!

It's been while that I really fished for the hatch. Very memorable moment for my fly-fishing career because I accomplished this at Madison in the Park.

Both Royal Wulff Cripple and PMD Foam Nymph worked on the surface. I took a couple of nice 15-inchers.

In the afternoon, I checked into my original motel. I settled in for the 2nd half of the trip.

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In the evening, I went to $3 bridge again. It was not dramatic at all. I felt water was a bit colder and higher than 24-hour ago..... I thought weather had been nice enough to clear up the Madison below Quake Lake........ So I decided that I would fish Madison in the Park till my Park entrance ran out.