The Madison and Gibbon Rivers, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

TIME:  4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
WEATHER:  Clear, late breezes, mid-70s
WATER CONDITIONS:  Clear, cool
LOCATIONS FISHED:  Madison River and Gibbon River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
ROD USED:  8’ 3” 2 wt Winston 
FLIES USED:  #16 Caddis
HATCHES:  Caddis
OTHER:  Fished solo.  Kay and I had wanted to fish the Henry’s Fork just to say we had, but one of the employees at Henry’s Fork Anglers told us that the Henry’s Fork was too warm and we should go north for dry fly action.  We drove back to the RV park for our fishing stuff, then headed north, opting to fish the Madison in Yellowstone National Park. 

The water looked benign enough, but the current was very strong, and there were very few hatches and NO rises.

 

I struggled with wading, and after a half hour, we drove upstream to water that appeared a bit more quiet.  We again only saw a few hatches, and one rise, though last night about 7:15 PM, caddis were coming off like crazy.  I fished it hard for a half hour or more, fighting the current the whole time.  And, it was much warmer than expected.  Picking up again, we drove further north to the Gibbon which we fished yesterday, and fished it real hard.  Kay had one miss under a cut bank, and I didn’t have so much as a look.  The river, set in a few scattered trees in a large meadow, looked awesome, and late in the afternoon there was a good caddis hatch; perhaps it was the clear sky today, as opposed to an overcast sky yesterday, but we had no significant luck.