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62206 We affectionately called this spot the "Study Hall." |
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It was actually a noisy and bustling place to try and concentrate.
Immediately to your right was a beaver sliding through the water at day's
end. |
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Way upstream on the west bank (to
the right of the cars in the shadow) was a cow Moose and her calf. |
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During the years 1980-'81, you would be occasionally startled by a low
flying B-52 bomber. |
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The trout were always present. Little "Pocket Fish" would
always be flopping along the bank lunging for a flying morsel. |
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When the hatch hit it's zenith, the water would be frantic with jumping
trout. |
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What's a "Pocket Fish?" - It's a trout so small, that you can put two or
three in your shirt pocket. |
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We won't bore you with fishing stories. We'll just have you compare
the hooks (below)
of the early 1960's with what we use now-a-days. |
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62106 1950 - 60's era Madison trout fly. |
62106 1990's era Madison trout flies |
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The red tail on this fly was once five inches long. |
Mudler Minnow, Bead Head flavor of the day, |
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The fly is in relatively good condition considering all the use |
Pheasant Tail and Hare's Ear. |
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it got on the Big Hole
River and Madison. |
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You can tell this is an old fly, |
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the barb wasn't pressed down for an easy "catch & release." |
Click here for
a Madison River hatch chart |
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62206 To reach the "Study Hall" you have to walk along "Lover's Lane."
(Above) The single path was
once two tire tracks that made |
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a perfect "two-lane" pathway to hold your "Sweetie's" hand as you each
walked along a tire track. |
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For over six decades local fisherman would bring their date to this area.
If she loved fly fishing, even with the lack of bathrooms, |
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the abundance of "ticks" and the occasional rattlesnake, you knew you had a
"Keeper." |
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It was here the ladies could learn if he loved to fish as a "hobby" or if he
was planning to become a "fulltime" (no
job) fisherman. |
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If he was thinking about becoming a "fulltime" fisherman the lady had plenty
of time to cut the line and throw him back. |
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22705 What happened to the "green?" You ask.
This is the Madison in February. Still pretty but a different kind of
pretty. |
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We are looking at the east bank. You can still see sections of the
1950's jeep trail that went all the way to the dam at Ennis Lake. |
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Does anyone have a picture of the cottonwood cabin that stood next to Bear
Trap Creek? It was burnt down in the 1998. |
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The summer resident living at the cabin (1974
-'79) caught monster brown trout on a J.C. Higgins cane rod |
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with a green 1950's era South Bend
"automatic" reel. |
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He would cut a silhouette of his recent catch on light green irrigation
plastic and hang it on the north side (facing
downstream) of the cabin. |
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The light green plastic "hook-jaw" silhouettes were as long as the distance
from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow. (22
inches or more.) |
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