FALL BECKONS

THE WATER WAITS

We Visit

the fish hide

BAKER'S HOLE ON THE MADISON RIVER
ASTRIDE THE PARK LINE

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.. It's not really a contest. There's no real competition involved. The chatter in the pubs tries to avoid the topic. A nod in the direction of the river is granted.
.. And, the neighbors all have the thought in the back of their minds. Big fish will be in the rivers soon: maybe as we speak, and someone will catch the first one.

MYSTERIOUS PLACE FOR FISH TO HIDE

.. It is really too early, (by a couple of weeks,) but the cool nights and amber meadows demand that the topic of Fall-Run fish be addressed. So it is.
.. Talk centers on the big holes and hides: the flies, the water levels, the water temperature, the news from lake fishers and worm-dunkers.
.. It's a conversation that is inevitable, starting with the invasion of visitors for this long weekend. It's a conversation that won't die with the first snows. It won't die even with the catch of the first submarine of Fall.
.. The pleasant and eager anticipation of the season is throbbing in the souls of fishers next door, down the block, in the surrounding countryside, and in foreign lands such as Idaho and Utah. There are even folks on distant planets such as Los Angeles and Cincinnati and Philadelphia, that feel the pull of the big fish.

TRADITIONAL FALL FAVORITE

.. So be it! Many of the eager neighbors have been practicing with streamers, (and taking good-sized resident fish.) The big holes and undercut banks are being scrutinized with renewed interest.
.. The rivers are rearranged from the prolonged high water of this year. They have been renewed and revitalized. Boulders and cobbles have been rearranged. Traditional holes and hides are different to varying degrees, (some have disappeared or been greatly rearranged.)
.. We speak of Spring as the season of renewal. It may be. Fall is the season of verification of that renewal.
.. So what's the story? The Madison River is still running at about 200 cfs above it's seasonal norm. Undercut banks are deeper and wider. The grass at the river's edge is long and still green - and shows signs of drooping into the water.
.. Fishers on Hebgen Lake are still enjoying gulper fishing. The worm and gear guys report that there are concentrations of large fish in the major arms of the lake. Nothing giant has been reported from the estuaries yet. Stay tuned.

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A GOOD STARTING PLACE FOR FALL FISHING

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