West '05 Trip - Day 14

Posted: 2006-03-28
By: Randy Cochran

The Madison is a river I had been dying to visit for as long as I can remember an interest in fishing, so to finally step foot into its waters, cast a fly over its trout and absorb its beauty was akin to religious experience.

Starting out at Clark Canyon on the Beaverhead, I lingered a bit after a surprisingly comfortable sleep and then headed off to Dillon to meet Tom of the Backcountry Angler about potential web work and perhaps a guide position in the coming year. He and I shot the bull for a bit and then I hit the road.

I arrived in Ennis after driving through Nevada City and Virginia City, two amazingly well-preserved and complete ghost towns. Lack of gas forced me through in a hurry, and by the time I made Ennis I was running on the fumes of fumes. It's a wonder I didn't break down.

Every fly shop in and around the area got a good look at me, yet I still didn't find the sorely needed replacement soles for my Korkers. G*D DAMNIT! 2 or 3 stores AT LEAST had some in stock, but all in the wrong sizes. I needed a lift of spirit afterwards, so I went to the river for a bit.

First place I checked out was the Slide area below Quake Lake. Very neat, but not for everyone. The river here is incredibly turbulent and swift, with deep pocket water and very few slow, shallow spots for wading. In essence, my favorite type of water.

Nymphing deep with a double rig and an indicator brought a few fish, including two nice rainbows at 14" and 16" and a fouled brown of 18". And there were of course quite a few whitefish to bug me as well.

I hooked into a beauty that took me downstream and nearly for a swim as I tried to keep up. In an instance of deja-vu, my fly popped out AGAIN as it had the day before. C'est la vie. The wind picked up and so I was off to check out Quake Lake and the river between Hebgen and Quake.

Not much going on, so I drove downstream to try a few other spots with much the same result.

Darkness fell quickly on the drive in to camp at Cliff Lake. 3 deer caused a slight variation in course, but luckily nothing too major and I kept it on the road. Later on down I encountered a small bull moose trotting up the road in front of me. Whenever my lights would fall on him, on down the road he'd go, till he cleared the next bend out of the light. I'd slowly creep up and then off he'd go again as my beams touched his coat. This happened for a good 1/4 mile or more, all the way down to the campground turnoff where he jumped down into a meadow to graze, which happened to be right next to a couple's campsite.

Talking to them (Greg and Sarah) for a bit, I found out that he was there a few times the last couple of days. I also found out that Greg and Sarah are from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Midwest, represent! Later, as I helped them out with their nasty surplus beer problem, they mentioned having some fair luck at another nearby lake. A few minutes later it was time to bid adieu and shuffle off to raise the tent.

After a trip to the pit toilet (with flashlight scanning the way for signs of a curious moose), lights were out and dreams were dreamt.