The Never Ending Riffle...

Now, what is better than this picture?  Ugh, nothing.  And that is why this is my OBN "Photo Prompt" of the week!  One has to love the "forever riffle"...I mean, this is a blog titled, "Adventure In Every Riffle", so it only makes sense!  The water between Quake Lake and Ennis Lake never changes...You will not find any slow pools, boulders, or fallen trees.  What you will find, is a wide river that looks like one long, gigantic riffle.  And so it has been called, the "50 mile riffle".   When I visit my "Favorite Outdoor Place", the first words that come out of my mouth are: "Bring it on, "Maddy"!!"  Ahhh...The Madison River in the great state of Montana.

Who is this fishin' fool?   I need to wear my hair down more!!  Ha. Maybe that's why I show off my nails instead of the fish...so, I look more like a girl...Anyway, I had a request to highlight one of the rivers out here in the West from a fellow "hoot" of a blogger...then, out of the blue...OBN puts up a photo prompt asking for our "Favorite Outdoor Place".  Well, it is one in the same!  How about that?  The Mighty Madison River in Southwestern Montana; a fly fisher's dream...or in my case, a yearly journey up north.  This "Big Water" should not be missed during a fisherman's lifetime.  I have had the opportunity to fish it four times now and in each season.  And every time, I have traveled to a different part of it.  Another excellent stretch of water is between Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake (which was created by an earthquake in 1959).  Quake Lake is a must see...as there is a memorial there in honor of those who lost their lives in the massive slide that created what is now Quake Lake.  And down the road from the slide area, is my favorite fly shop and a pretty well known one, for being in such a secluded place!  Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn...check it out when you are up there.  He is a master fly tyer.  They also have an excellent website and online store...www.slideinn.com.  There's a free plug, Kelly.  Discount?

The headwaters of the Madison above Hebgen has slower pools and easy wading. The Firehole and the Gibbon Rivers in Yellowstone form the Madison which flows into Hebgen Lake.  There are excellent slower dry fly pools there too.  And you can find rainbow and brown trout reaching 5 - 6 lbs. or more...very nice!  I still need to take my pontoon up to Hebgen Lake to find some of those large fish there, since that is where they originate from!  Woolly Bugger time!  

I have caught rainbows and brown trout on the Madison...although I have heard that there is an occasional mountain whitefish in there...I can't remember who said that...anyway, I guess that I enjoy this river so much because I have never been skunked on it...ooops...that was bad luck.  Anyway, I don't know why that is.  It can be a tough river.  But, it can also be a very rewarding experience.  The fish are stealthy and have so much color!  I just love them...love them, love them.  What more can I say?  A large brown in my net just gives me that smile and extra kick in my step...and even if you have one snap off...what a fun battle, let me tell you!  It's worth every penny of gas.

Hatches on the "Maddy" include BWO's (my fave), Caddis, Salmon Flies, and Yellow Sallies, to name a few.  Of course, they have the hoppers in the late summer too.  My success has been on nymphing with large rubber legs and a personal favorite, the "Pepperoni".  Oh, I could go on and on and on about the Madison River, but I will just say two words more...   "Go Hither"!!!   <"((((((><<