The Three "F's"...And Fishing Is One Of Them!!

These three "F's" are my favorite things in the month of December... Family, Friends, and Fishing!!  There...I squelched out the fun of guessing what the other two were! So, when I think about the month ahead and all that goes on during this busy month, it is flabbergasting!  The parties, the trips to relatives houses, the relatives visiting you, shopping for Christmas presents, cooking and more cooking...etc. etc. etc..  So, how do you get fishing in?  EARLY in the month!!!  I remember a fun trip to one of my favorite places...The Madison River, in the great state of Montana.  I have now been up there a few times since the wintry trip that I'm so fond of.  I must admit, there was something special about sharing a snowy river with a great group of friends.  Now, it doesn't look like the cold is bothering us, does it?

This was a lunch break in the parking lot...yes, there were quite a few crazies that got together for a great time.  Heck, we even had "Piper" Jim, the "Bagpipe King", serenade us while we munched down our hogie sandwiches in the snowstorm!  If you must know, the tall geek in the middle with the fur hat is me.  Believe it or not, this was one of my first flyfishing trips and the cold didn't drive me away!  I wanted more!!!  I love the Madison...and I'm sure that most of you that have visited this "big water" river, would agree with me on how special it is.  What type of winter fishing?  Well, I do remember that I had a nice 23" brown trout...maybe that's why I kept flyfishing!  Beginner's luck...  Ok, I look a bit colder standing in the river...don't I?

But, to this day...I will always remember how this nice, brown trout "warmed" my heart as he was finally pulled out of the water.  My friends were cheering all around me as this was my first "brownie" and my largest trout caught up to that point.  It was awesome.  And the cold, brisk days are ahead again.  And guess what?  They won't deter me, not one bit.