A few days on the Missouri, a few on the Madison and back again to the Mo’.  The commute from West Yellowstone is beautiful and a boat ride on one of greatest rivers in world is not to be missed during Fall.  It’s October and while most local anglers are hanging around YNP, a few of us make the trek north and hang out on the Missouri River.   3500 feet in elevation makes this place an ideal Fall getaway.  I start my season on the Missouri and end my season on the Missouri………sometimes, it is hard to tell whether it’s Spring or Fall.

We were blessed by the gods over the past weekend as the trout rose quite well to various dry flies.   Some of them actually ate a #12 Parachute Adams while most chose the #20 Cripple BWO.  Those tiny little sonsabitches called Pseudocloeons came off in full force, but peppered in there were a few big #18 Blue-winged Olives.  Clouds and drizzle, mixed with just a touch of sunshine made for near perfect conditions for dry fly angling on the Missouri River.  We fished up and down the river and found pods in all the likely spots.  Trout within a pod become extremely competitive for the drifting fare, eating flies every single second for minutes on end.  Do you realize the amount of food that is cruising by to get this kind of response?  Sometimes, one must make ten or fifteen perfect drifts in order to hook a fish.  While other times, one can make five cast and hook three fish.  Timing is everything, as is a little luck.  Making that first drift count is always helpful too……