October 9th
was a full day off from work. I camped at Madison Campground for the night so I
could spend more of my time fishing in search of those run-up trout from Hebgen
Lake. From the campground, you can walk to Junction Pool just a few hundred
yards away where the Firehole joins the Gibbon to form the Madison. A short
twenty minute drive from the campground takes you down to the Barns Pools.
Chilly Dawn on the Madison River, Oct 9th |
Another
week had gone by in Yellowstone country, and still no ‘fishing weather.’ No
rain or snow; still bluebird cloudless skies. Very unseasonal. At least, it had
stayed colder, that should help move the fish.
From my
series of outings on the Madison River in recent weeks, I have noticed a
distinct morning and evening bite to the fishing. My plan was to be at Barns
Pool to take advantage of that, and to be a little less intense about it
midday.
I arrived
at the parking lot before sunrise. It was cold, about 20 degrees, clear, calm. I
would share the spot with about half a dozen other anglers, still not the crowd
I had anticipated.
Rainbow Trout, Barns Pool |
I had my 7
weight rod this time, rigged for nymphing.
I was in a take-no-prisoners mood. It was fall on the Madison, big fish
were being caught, and I was down to my last handful of days to fish before my
Yellowstone season would end. I joined the line of anglers at the top of the
hole, four of us, and began fishing.
Did I say
it was cold? It was cold…think steelhead fishing in Michigan. Iced-up rod
guides grabbing at the line, numb fingers. After months of cursing the
cloudless skies and bright Rocky Mountain sun, I was coaching the sun to climb
over the hilltop this morning. Other than numb fingers and the pesky ice on the
rod, though, I was very comfortable in my cold weather layers.
The sun
was on the water by the third rotation down the three hundred yard run of Barns
Pool #1 (takes about half an hour when done at the right pace). Its warmth
cleared the rod guides and warmed my fingers. I had missed a nice strike by a
good fish, but otherwise it was already a great fishing morning. There I was…at
the zenith of my Yellowstone trip in terms of the fishing, working Barns Pool
in October.
Landing fish with new ghost net, so much easier |
The bigger
rod was working great, easily throwing the floppy nymph rig and mending long
drifts through the pool. I felt the confidence of being a regular, familiar now
with how to fish here.
Barns Pool
has several sweet spots to it, one being at the bottom of the run and on the far
side. Many guys walk out of the run before they get down there, but I had seen
a lot of good fish taken there. It takes a little extra effort to fish it; a
farther cast and across a current differential.
I was
working that piece of water when I got another nice strike. This time, the hook
set. Immediately, a big trout came leaping out of the water heading upstream. Rainbow
trout, no doubt! What a great feeling to have a big trout on, the payoff when
time, effort, skill, and chance finally intersect.
Barns Pool
is a great place to fight a big fish. There is space to play the fish, no
snags, and the depth gives way gradually up to a shallow gravel bar. I have
learned from all my Yellowstone fishing to just be patient landing a good fish.
Let the rod and the reel drag do their job rather than pull too hard. It was a
great fight with a strong fish. After the usual last nervous moments right at
the net, there she was in my net, a gorgeous Hebgen Lake rainbow trout. Crimson
gills, rainbow flank, coal-black spots on silver and olive body. It was 10 am
on a bright, cloudless morning…boy, do I Iove Rocky Mountain trout fishing!
That was
the only fish I saw taken that morning. Walking back up the bank, I struck up a
conversation with a fellow angler, a local resident with years of experience
fishing the fall run on the Madison. He said the big run of fish still had not
happened yet, that when it does, the entire Barns Pool fills with fish. As
evidence, he wore only hip boots and worked the water virtually from the bank
rather than wading midway across. He suggested I watch Walter, another local
angler, who was working Cable Car Run, the next hole upriver. I did so, and
found Walter in the same mode…in hip boots, walking within feet of the bank,
casual quarter-downstream casts swinging the fly.
Midday cloud cover...finally! |
I spent
midday running into town for a sandwich, then exploring a favorite spot below
Grasshopper Bank to see if any fish had showed up in the past week. Sure
enough, I found a pod of rising fish. From the look of some of the riseforms,
they looked to be more than just dinks going after a tiny mayfly on the water.
I was completely unprepared to fish dry flies, though, and my attempts at these
fish showed it. An inadequate leader plus the confounding matrix of
cross-currents quickly taxed my patience. My mind was fixed on fishing the
evening at Barns Pool, and a shot at another fish like the one this morning.
I arrived
there about 5 pm. Several anglers were working the run. While suiting up, I
noticed this group of anglers started fishing the run below the very top where
the main current curls around a rock corner on the far bank. They were ignoring
a piece of slack water there at the top.
I recalled
the advice of an angler the week before, ‘if you’re the first one in the hole,
always work that slack piece of water before you wade into it…fish like to hold
there.’ Heeding that advice, I stopped
short of that spot and threw into the slack water. On just my second cast of
the evening, I was tied to another strong fish. It ran straight down the river,
nearly to the bottom of the pool. Working the fish around another angler, I
netted it on the shallow gravel bar. It was another beautiful rainbow trout,
male and a little bigger than the morning fish.
Campsite at Madison Campground...Oct 9th, still dry as a bone |
I fished
until sunset, content with the day. With one last week of fishing to look
forward to, my Yellowstone season was coming to a very satisfying end.
Great blog! TQ
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