Self-Handicapped

 

I hiked up Bear Trap Canyon on the Madison this afternoon armed with my 4wt Hardy Zenith, Cutter and two-dozen flies. I limited myself to these flies as a little test: two buggers, two worms, two different stone-fly nymphs, two different beatis nymphs, a midge pattern, (the Job-Jonski,) two hot-beads, two parachute Adams, a skwala, two different midge clusters and a crayfish I tied. I know. Once you list them all, that seems like a lot but when you're used to having thousands of flies at your disposal covering just about any possible hatch on any river in the West, (and having ten different patterns for each bug,) this was a big step. I think what I really wanted to do was to just prove a point; armed with a little knowledge, fish are fish and regardless of what river you are on, finding fish and being able to present a fly well is more important than finding that magic fly.

The first time I was ever on the Madison was about 11 years ago. I had only fly-fished a few times and it was always with limited success. I was kind of a "do-it-yourselfer" and enjoyed exploring new water. Trying to figure it out for myself was part of the process. Don't get me wrong, I did stop at the local shops and asked what was going on before heading out and I usually paid for the information by dropping 50 or 60 bucks on the go-to flies they were selling but once I left the shop, I was left with my own instincts and vague memory of all the details the shops would dish.

Most shop employees, (or even owners for that matter,) fall within in two categories. Either they want to hold their cards close to their chest, which preserves the knowledge for themselves making them more valuable to the fly-fishing wanna-bees or they spew out so much information and ramble on for hours in order to look like they are more knowledgeable than they really are. On my first trip to the Madison in 2002, I was surprised to meet someone at a local shop in Ennis that was neither. He actually wanted to help for the sake of helping.

I had heard all about the Mother's Day caddis hatch on the Madison and at the time I just figured a caddis was a caddis. So after getting my ass handed to me the first day, I went into the shop to get some advice for day two. He did spend about an hour talking me through all the different scenarios I might encounter and I did wind up spending $50 or $60, but it was definitely worth it.

As I walked out of the shop he said, "Oh and by the way, if you don't catch anything don't worry about, it took me about three months to catch my first trout on a fly-rod when I moved out here..."

"Great," I thought as I apprehensively headed out of town towards Bear Trap Canyon.

It took me a few hours before actually catching a fish that day. At one point I even sat down on a rock and watched a guy fish water right behind me--sticking fish left and right. Once my ego was thoroughly thrashed, I lifted my head up and studied what he was doing and then headed back into the river to emulate him. I wound up catching about a half dozen fish in the last half-hour that evening before walking back to the truck. It was a victory, however small but none-the-less, a definite boost to my confidence.

So today was a kind of redemption and by handicapping myself it was a way of saying I could be successful regardless of the odds stacked against me. The last time I was in the Canyon was 2006 but I've heard there have been a ton of midges and I know the beatis were just around the corner. I only fished with four of the patterns I brought. I caught fish immediately on the Job-Jonski, (it's really just a red midge so please take the name with the intended sarcasm--Nathaniel, who I've been fishing with the last few trips forgot my last name and reverted to a rough simile,) and fire-bead combo. When I broke that off on a fish, I switched to the crayfish and beatis and the crayfish did well. I also caught fish on the beatis, which either means that they are coming or that any fly that looks buggy will catch fish if presented well. Take your pick.

I definitely enjoyed being out there today exploring new water even if it was like visiting an old friend. I'm looking forward to the next adventure. Maybe I'll only bring a dozen flies.

Keep 'em where they live...