The Montana Road trip continues their hot streak. The last few days have been nothing short of amazing. Our home on the Madison River has provided fishing memories that will last a lifetime, but the time had come to move on.
Yesterday, we packed up camp on the Madison in search of some new water, beautiful scenery, and willing fish. We set up camp just outside of Big Sky in the Gallatin canyon. Our site sits directly on the banks of the Gallatin River. Within minutes of our arrival, before we even had our tents set up, we had caught our first fish. After setting up our tents and catching a few more with our tents still within site an afternoon storm rolled in. We took the opportunity to run into town for a quick stop at Montana Troutfitters. Following social distancing guidelines, our friends at Montana Troutfitters opened its doors solely for LFFE students and guides. With the assistance of Troutfitters, students acquired local knowledge and flies to ensure success in the next few days on the Gallatin. Our day came to an end around a hot campfire and the soothing sound of the river.
When we woke up this morning we found the river a greenish-brown and about a foot higher than the night before, completely blown out. The storm must have dumped rain on the tributary streams which filled the Gallatin with sediment. In comes the advantage of a road trip. We had a hasty breakfast, packed lunch, and made our way to fish the famous upper Madison for one more afternoon.
It is crazy to think our trip is already coming to an end. In the next few days, we look forward to fishing the Gallatin. After gaining invaluable experience on the technical Madison river the fishing should prove to be a numbers game for our skilled anglers. Once our fishing concludes on the Gallatin the trip will wrap up with a full day float on the longest undammed river in the lower 48, the Yellowstone.
Best,
Patrick, Oliver, Stefan, Yantis, and crew.
