We arrived in West Yellowstone around 11:00 AM to clear skies and very comfortable fall temperatures, and we went our separate ways. After a stop at one of the many local fly fishing shops to get licenses and a fishing report, Sam and I decided to hit the Fire hole river in the park first. We each picked up some small Rainbows, in addition to those Sam did hook into four nice Bow’s and was able to land two.
Next we drove to the Madison river between Quake lake and Hebgen, hoping to catch some bigger fish. It was nothing like what we had hoped, Sam caught six or seven Whitefish and I drug in one. Before heading back into town we went over to the Quake lake slide area to get some pictures.
On Sunday after breakfast we went with the rest of our group to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. This day was noticeably cooler than the day before, but nothing a jacket wouldn’t fix. After an enjoyable time there with the grandkids, Sam had to head home because he had to work on Monday.
Between 2:30 and 5:30 PM I fished the Bakers Hole area on the Madison. While I fished the clouds started building and getting darker, but it never did rain. I landed six fish, (2) small Bows, (2) small Browns, (1) Whitefish, and (1) nice 19-inch Rainbow. I had an estimated 17-18 inch Brown almost in when he spit the fly.
Monday morning I went with Linda, Jenny, and the grandkids shopping in town. It was cold and raining hard at times. Around 2:30 PM it was just raining lightly, so I went to see what was happening at Barns Hole on the Madison. I arrived at Barns No.1 just in time to see a guy land a nice Rainbow. Since I had never been in the area I continued down to the end of the road to Barns No. 2. It was still raining lightly, and two guys were fishing. One of them told me he had only caught two fish that day, but the day before the same area fished very well. I decided to give it a try. They told me that when fishing this run with multiple individuals, you start at the top slowly work your way down and when you get to the bottom, get out of the river, walk back to the top and start all over. This seemed to be a good system for everyone. It wasn’t long before the rain started and the hail began pounding us. When it got really bad, one of the guys left. The other guy and me continued, and he soon hooked into an 18-inch Rainbow. After several passes up and down the run drifting glow bugs, I had landed one Whitefish, and had hooked four Bows (one big) that all came unbuttoned before I could get them to the net. Four more guys showed up so I quit.
It was a fun trip, and I was glad to get more familiar with water I had never fished before.
