"salmobytes" wrote in message
. ..
Larry L wrote:

..... and the fish are right next to shore anyway

I (as usual) agree with most of what Larry said.
But not necessarily this part. Lower down the river
the fish get driven off the banks by a daily parade of driftboats.
Up in the Slide Inn area, when you can find it, I like fan-shaped
riffley runs that drain fast water into deeper, bluer water.

And the big fish are never on the bank anymore. Maybe they would be
if there weren't so many fishermen trudging along and flailing
away. But there they (the fishermen) are, and there they (the fish)
are not.

The last time I went to the 3 dollar bridge at salmon fly time
there must have been 100 fishermen there. I waded out into kamakaze-style
fast water (almost went down getting there) and
then caught my breath in the eddy behind a huge, deep mid-river rock,
maybe a quarter mile up from the bridge. I caught two 17-18"
fish there, plus 2-3 smaller ones and missed a few honkers too.
I had one really big fish on that caught some cat calls from the
peanut gallery.

And all that during a period when I didn't see anybody else touch
anything. Not because I'm such a great fisherman, but more because
I was fishing deep fast water, in the middle of the river,
that nobody else had touched all day.

I do that too from the boat, further down the river. I ignore the
banks and work the deep blue rolling runs smack in the middle
of the river. That's were the big ones are.

Hmm, I have to disagree a little, but maybe it's more because I am use to
the pressure of the PA streams. I find there are still many fish that are
willing and able along the banks, if your timing is good. Albeit, first
run in the morning seems to be best, but there tends to be some more action
in the evening after the hot summer sun has chased most off in the
afternoon. I also find that many people walk right by productive water
because "great" water lies just beyond, especially in an area under
pressure by many, they all end up fighting for the best water, running up
and down with really doing much fishing at all. Once the sun drops below
the mountains, the fish get more active again, and if you are lucky, you'll
catch one of those Madison caddis hatches. Again not sure about June, but
it can be quite a frenzy, if you do catch one.

As for the heavy water fishing, that's what I usually like best, but find
the water in the Madison around the Slide, Three Dollar, and below, a bit
fast for enjoyment. It can be productive, but it's too much like work, for
me anyway. I would rather wander up the upper Madison, Gibbon, Slough,
Firehole, Pebble Creek , or Soda Butte, at least in early July (not sure how
many of those are fishable in early June).

Lot's of great advice from many here that are more knowledable than I, and
one note Jeff made, to wander upstream from the Slide, is a great one.
That is very fast water for the most part, but it seems to force the fish
into every slower hole possible. If you can drift a fly through it, and
it's more than 9 inches deep, you can catch fish in it. I had just started
to mess around with that approach, with a little success, at the end of my
last trip up there. I'll pick up where I left off next year.

The other problem I have is concentrating on the quarry. It's hard with
such a beautiful, mystical, breathtaking, piece of the planet surrounding
you at every turn. From the Big Sky, to the boiling hot springs, you'll
find yourself wandering amongst the wildlife, stumbling upon nature's best
seemingly at will, can make it hard to do anything but gawk in amazement of
it all.

Either way, you'll enjoy it all.

Mike

who now wonders why the heck I'm not going this year....