Dec. 6th Upper Beartrap

Yesterday I headed to the Lower Madison's Beartrap Canyon with fishing buddy Nick Lux. First on the list of car ride conversations was what the wind situation might be and what our options were if the canyon was screaming. When we drove through Norris the car was getting rocked from one heck of a stiff breeze, and it wasn't looking good for a quiet day on the river. When we dropped in to the Madison Vally, the wind was light, and we noticed that the few unfrozen areas on Ennis Lake had just small choppy waves. By the time we entered the upper canyon the wind had almost completely stopped blowing and stayed that way for the remainder of the day.

The fish were more than willing to eat a well-placed nymph, but it had to be put right on their noses. Our drifts needed to be perfectly dead with zero drag or there was no chance at detecting the incredibly light takes. When I say "light takes", I mean the strike indicator would hesitate just as if your rig barely bumped or scraped bottom. Once we figured that out, we were more eager to set the hook with the slightest movement, but a trigger-happy fisherman catches more fish!

If you go, a basic selection of nymphs such as Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs, and Hare's Ears should fool a few trout, but a simple midge nymph tied in pink is my favorite Beartrap fly.

Ty