Magic on the Madison

by Dave Vedder

In every marriage involving a fishing fanatic and a relatively sane person, the choice of the annual family vacation always becomes a tug-o-war pitting the fanatic's never ending search for fish and the other spouse's desire for fine dining, souvenir shopping, plush hotels and relaxation. Last fall my fishing fanatic friend, Jack Berryman, and I faced the angler's worst nightmare. A week of vacation with no fishing in the equation. Fortunately, Jack saved the day by calling Montana tourism to see if they could help us come up with some good reasons why our wives should want to visit Montana. We already knew that there were many good reason for an angler to visit Montana - reasons with names like Yellowstone, Madison, Gallatin, Big Hole, Firehole and the like. To our surprise Montana tourism came up with several excellent ideas to tempt our wives into choosing Yellowstone country for on a fall vacation.

After researching the huge stack of materials sent to us by the state tourism department and the Yellowstone area tourism region, we began seriously plotting our Montana vacation. We decided to take two cars, so the guys could spend quality time with their wives on the drive from Seattle to Yellowstone country. Once near the rivers, we planned to take one car to the river, leaving the wives the other for sightseeing, shopping or whatever they needed. The plan was to fish all day then join our wives for dinner and romantic evening under Montana's big sky. The plan worked so well that the four of us are already planning next year's Montana get away. Here's what we found, what worked, and what didn't.

About the only negative we found is that it's a damn long way to Montana, unless you happen to live in Idaho. And once you get to Montana, it's a damn long drive to anywhere else in the state. Montana is indeed Big Sky Country which means you may need to drive four or more hours to get from one river to another.

The drive from Seattle to Livingston took a bit over fifteen hours which we split into two days to allow some time for sightseeing. Our first night was spent in Missoula temptingly near the Clark Fork and the Bitterroot. We took a pass on those rivers and spent a leisurely evening plotting our next few day's adventures. Based upon a recommendation by the Montana tourism, folks we chose to spend our next evening at the historic Murray Hotel in the heart of Livingston, and coincidentally, right next to Dan Bailey's Fly Shop.

The Murray was an unexpected treat. The historic old hotel has been carefully restored to reflect the area's western tradition. The rooms were huge, each featuring a different motif with an eclectic collection of western art and artifacts. In the lobby a major display of art by the local artist Parks Reese displays an assortment of whimsical art with a fishing and wildlife theme. If you are looking for fishing prints, t-shirts or such, with a unique comical twist, the Murray is the place to shop. We dined in the hotel dining room, where we were served one of the finest meals any of us could remember eating. With bulging stomachs we went to bed to dream of big wild trout. No doubt our wive dreamed of antique stores and fabric shops.

We met our guide for the first day, Tony Valeriano, at Dan Bailey's fly shop on an unseasonably cold September morning. A rare late summer cold front had crept in from Canada bringing with it temperatures in the 30s and snow flurries riding gusty winds. Naturally, we had to spend a few moments admiring the dramatic assortment of five pound plus trout silhouettes displayed all along the walls. Tony told us he couldn't promise we would take any that large, but he was optimistic we could find some very respectable fish nearby in the Yellowstone.

We launched Tony's drift boat about half way between Livingston and the entrance to Yellowstone Park. The river was low but colored from recent heavy rains. Tony told us to rig with six foot leaders tapering to five pound test. We chose big flies like Wolley Buggers, Flash-a-buggers, and Zonkers - all heavily weighted. Tony told us to cast as near the shore as possible. He said we should slam the big bushy flies in hard, then begin stripping in fast five inch strips. He explained that the Yellowstone browns, rainbows, and cutthroat all hold near the drop offs that form near the river bank. By dropping our heavily weighted flies in the shallows we could be certain the flies would drop down the shelves where the trout waited for insects to sweep into their lies.

Jack started things off with a fifteen inch Brown on his first cast. The fall brown smacked Jack's black and green Flash-a-bugger hard and fought the same way. Tony netted the brightly spotted Brown, Jack posed for a few quick photos then released his first Montana trout. In the next half hour Jack hooked three more trout including a huge rainbow that broke him off, a seventeen-inch

whitefish and a brace of browns that both pushed seventeen inches. I was happy for Jack but beginning to wonder when my turn would come. Tony, sensing my concern, watched me make a few casts then told me to strip in bigger and faster strips. He explained that these early fall fish are very aggressive, and that it takes big flies moving fast to turn them on.

About three casts later, my rod was nearly jerked from my hand as I was stripping line like a tuna fisherman working on commission. It was a brown - a big one. He took three runs, each short but fast. Then he sulked near bottom for several moments before we could coax him to the net. Tony estimated my brown at a bit over nineteen inches. I was as proud as a new papa, knowing I was holding a rare gem more precious than any that ever graced a King's crown.

The rest of the day, the Yellowstone displayed all her bounty while mother nature displayed her fury. We hooked many browns, and cutthroat, a few big rainbows and about a dozen aggressive whitefish. We would undoubtedly have caught more fish if the weather had cooperated even a little.

For the first two hours, we fought gusty winds. Then Mother Nature got really nasty. Two separate snow squalls passed through Paradise Valley. Each squall brought bone chilling winds and snow pellets that stung exposed skin. The fishing never cooled off, but eventually, we declared nature the winner and asked Tony if he knew a nearby takeout. Tony was clearly disappointed. He was loving the action in spite of the problems the wind and snow wreaked on boat control and our casting. Tony told us that many late September days start nippy and end in shirtsleeves with anglers tossing hopper imitations to gulping trout. The preview of winter we encountered was rare for early September.

Jack and I were pleased with the day's action. We soon learned our wives were as well. When we got back to the Murray, we found a fresh pitcher of martinis and two very contented wives. They had spent the day touring Yellowstone Park. They eagerly listed all the animals they saw in the park and recounted their shopping adventures in the souvenir shops along the way.

The next day we checked out of the Murray and headed for an appointment with Zack White of Madison River Outfitters. Zack planned to give us a brief look at the fall fishery on two of the Park's premier rivers, Slough Creek and the Madison River. We were joined for this outing by Barry Thornton, Author of "Flyfishing Saltwater." Barry is a very experienced angler, but he had never fished in Yellowstone before. He was particularly eager to try for the legendary browns of the Madison.

Zack first took us to the lower reaches of Slough Creek. The usually sluggish lower river was barely moving. The previous evenings cold front froze the river's slow moving fringes. Zack warned us this would be some tough fishing. Yellowstone cutthroat are not exactly the rocket scientist of the trout world, but these fish had been hammered by world class anglers all season long. Now they were nearly dormant holding in near freezing water as clear as a winter night sky.

Zack rigged Barry and Jack with sixteen foot leaders tapering to two pound test tippits. He suggested that we start with size 22 midge patterns - tiny flies about the size of a piece of dandruff. I couldn't see well enought to tie on the tiny flies. I knew I was out of my league and opted to watch Jack and Barry, both of whom are excellent casters.

Unfortunately, the trout were less than impressed with long graceful casts. Occasionally, a fat cutthroat would turn and look at our flies. But none would sip the tiny flies. Finally, Zack decided to try something a bit different. He rigged Barry with a size 20 Prince nymph with a tiny split shot a few inches ahead of the nymph.

Barry cast seventy feet of line across the ripple free surface of the run, then began retrieving line in tiny two inch strips. A good fish turned and began following the fly. "Come on," Barry whispered. "Take it. Take it. Come on, come on." "He has it," Zack whispered. Barry lifted his rod tip ever so gently to set the hook without breaking the spider web thin tippet. The cutthroat turned and dashed for freedom as Zach, Barry, Jack and I whooped for joy. Eventually, Zack netted Barry's prize. We joked it might be the most photographed fish in Yellowstone's history. But we didn't know then what was to come.

We declared moral victory over Slough Creek trout and headed for the Madison. Zack took us to one of his favorite runs called "Nine Mile" near the West Yellowstone park entrance. Zack rigged Jack and Barry with short strong leaders and suggested flies similar to what Jack and I had used the day before on the Yellowstone - big, buggy patterns like Wolley Buggers and Zonkers. I again opted to serve as photographer.

Warm sun and a lambent breeze provided a dramatic counterpoint to the previous days nasty weather. Golden late afternoon light bathed the swift run Barry and Jack worked methodically with their big weighted flies. An hour passed seemingly in an instant. Did I perhaps doze off? We had promised our wives we would meet them at Buck's T-4 resort in Big Sky by 7:00 PM. We would have to quit soon if we were to keep our promise. We each were preparing ourselves for a skunk on the Madison when Jack hollered "Fish on." Zack took one glance at Jack's wildly leaping fish and announced, "It's a huge rainbow." Almost at the same instant Barry struck hard hooking our second, eleventh hour Madison River trout.

If ever there was magic on the Madison, it was this moment. Two anglers, each sharing a lifetime dream of hooking a Madison River trophy shared the magic. As if every part of this moment were ordained to be perfect, Barry's fish was a Brown - a damn big one.

Jack's rainbow ran and ran until Jack began to worry he might be spooled. Finally, the red flanked beauty grudgingly turned and came back up stream like a puppy being drug on a leash. Barry's fish thrashed wildly on the surface, not really jumping, just shaking his head trying to dislodge the Olive Zonker firmly wedged in his lip.

Almost in unison Jack and Barry reached for their dreams. Jack cradled a rainbow that stretched to more than twenty inches. Barry reverently held his dream brown. I did the honors with my Nikon, then we all cheered as the two valiant battlers swam back to their lair. We had to quit. Not just because it was time to go, but because the magic was gone.

Our wives joined us for another fantastic dining experience at Bucks T-4 followed by a dip in the Lodges' thirty person hot tub. Jack and I each sipped a bottle of Henry's, smoked a fine cigar and soaked under Montana's big sky with smiles on our faces that remained even after we learned how much our wives had spent at the souvenir shops.

If You Go

Montana has more top flight trout streams than you will ever be able to fish in one vacation. That's why all four of us eagerly look forward to next year's Montana vacation. It's hard to choose where to try first, but we both agree you can't go wrong with The Yellowstone and The Madison. Plan to spend at least one night in Livingston. The Murry Hotel (406) 222-1350 is an experience not to be missed as is a tour of Dan Bailey's Fly shop. For a guided trip on the Yellowstone, contact Dan Bailey's (406) 222-1673. Ask for Tony Valeriano. He's personable, and he knows where the big ones live.

If you want to fish in Yellowstone, you can find many fine motels in Gardiner just outside the north entrance to the park. I recommend the Absaroka Lodge (800) 755-7414. For a top notch guide contact Madison River Outfitters (406) 646-9644. Ask for Zack White. He loves to fish, and he knows the park waters intimately. Plan to spend a day or two within striking distance of West Yellowstone, the home more world class fly shops than any other small town on earth. I recommend Buck's T-4 Lodge near Big Sky (406) 995-4111. They have outstanding rooms at a reasonable price and a world class dining room featuring a large variety of wild game cuisine. Buck's T-4 is also within easy striking distance of the Gallatin River and the shopping and tourist attractions of Big Sky.