Montana - July 2010

Monday Morning on the Madison River

First things first! A brand new rod for Brack Hill Tackle gets a thorough evaluation on the Madison River. The 7'9" - 5 weight Garrison 209E taper worked really well casting dry flies to hungry trout out of Geoff's drift boat.


Marge still remembers how to stick 'em. This fat little rainbow glows bright silver in the Montana sunshine.

	It's kinda like a tradition - Geoff gets a little hug after helping out with another Madison River rainbow.

One of the main reasons for the trip - 7'9" 5 weight Garrison 209E taper. Very sweet rod, not too fast, not too slow but just right! I spent the week casting dry flies ranging from #18 PMD's up to #10 Hoppers and the rod worked great. Both guides gave it a pretty good workout and the the report was positive - "I think I like this best of all your rods" - sounds good to me!

Tuesday in the Park
	Here we go - like a zoo without bars. The kids were learning how to photograph with their Nikon spotting scope, so many of these "subjects" were several hundred yards away. This little pronghorn buck was near the Lamar River just resting in the shade - he hardly knew we were watching.
Another long range photo. This Black bear was a little ways off the road in the Dunraven pass. Nice to be able to stand back a ways from this guy.
	Sure didn't need a telephoto for him. He decided to change lanes in front of us - I did not argue!

Something a little more gentle - the Mountain Lupines were everywhere - how nice.


The scope was working hard for this shot. A Mama grizzly with two cubs was about 1,000 yards into the valley and the two youngsters were having fun wrestling and chasing mom in the warm Montana sunshine.


One last long shot - Big Sky Country!

Wednesday - Kids on the Madison

Stacy hooks up! Kinda cool in the morning, our girl is layered up but still grabs hold of a Madison river trout. I think this one got off - be she is learning fast!

Stacy hooks up again. This time fast approaching the Sun West Ranch bridge - she's hanging on tight - rod tip high!
	He's in the boat! Geoff lifts a swell little Madison River Brown trout.

Stacy gets her first Madison River photo-op.


Not to be out-done, Adam also gets a photo op with a pretty little rainbow.


Not wanting the kids to get all the P.R. - Marge and Cam show how it's done with a real nice Rainbow. (Women always catch the big fish!)

	But wait! Even the old man gets into the act - still working that Bamboo rod and managing to fool a few rainbows down the river. Please note: all of the photos of your humble rodmaker were the result of fishing DRY FLIES all day - every day!
Here we go again. Notice the beautiful bend in that Bamboo! You gotta love it!

Friday - Moonlight on the Madison

Something a little different on the last day. Marge rested at the cabin while Geoff and I chased the gulpers around Hebgen Lake. A fun way to spend the morning, they were busy sipping spinners as we tried to head them off with a little surprise - as you can see, it worked a couple times!
The trout in the lake get large and strong. No current to fight and plenty of bugs, even after a short battle they still have a lot of wiggle left!
	After a short break for lunch (and a nap), we headed down to the Madison for one last boat ride into the evening. The bugs were working hard and the trout looking up for an easy meal.

Madison in the Moonlight! An amazing way to end the week.


One last piece of Trout Porn. A very memorable Rainbow who came out of a slick for one last snack. Surprise!


Credit Cam Coffin for this cool look at a Rainbow in the water - he knows he is going back where he belongs.
The End - Until Next Time