Bucket Fishing

 

Yes sir. It's that time of the year where fishing takes precedence over just about everything else and we as guides, actually get to throw a few casts before it gets crazy busy. The weather is warming up and folks that are getting the itch should really get on board with this early season fishing. It's good. The crowds are minimal and fish are happy.

 

I was checking out some duck hunting spots last year and came across Grey Cliffs FAS on the Madison. We did set up some decoys and tried it out as it looked promising but of course, the ducks knew it was being hit pretty hard and we didn't fire a shot. However, the way the Madison braids out down there was pretty enticing for the angler folk so yesterday I figured I'd grab a rod and try to figure some things out.

 

There are a few things you should know about the Madison. The Lower only fishes from about February to about June. Then the water heats up too much and any fish that would be eating are spending all their time dodging inner-tubes. The Upper fishes well in the early summer with stones and other aquatics but it gets HAMMERED and they don't call it the 80 mile riffle for nothing. If the water is low, you better not care too much about replacing the bottom of your drift boat. You will hit rocks.

 

The thing about large, river-wide riffles, is that they can be as tough to read as the flat water of the Missouri and when you're in a boat traveling at the speed of the river, you've got to really know and anticipate, where the buckets are because by the time you see them, it's too late. That's why wade fishing the Maddison, especially all the way down by Grey Cliffs can be so much fun. And this time of the year with this weather; the fishing is heating up.

 

So given the structural characteristics of the Madison, I decided to try something out I've been putting some thought into for a while now. On the Mo, we like to short leash or use what we call the marsh mellow rig. It's essentially just a really shallow nymphing rig. The problem is, finding a decent indicator that is buoyant enough to hang your nymphs but yet not really intrusive to the fish and easy to cast. Here's what I've been working on.

 

 



I know, it kind of looks like a blue hopper but it's not. It's a piece of blue foam with some widow's hair tied to a straight nymph hook that was bent around to form an eye on the back. So what you do is cut your leader back to about 6 feet; just at the bottom of the butt section so it's roughly 0-2X. Then tie about 3 feet of 3X fluorocarbon to the eye you made by bending the hook and tie on a Czech nymph. Below the Czech, I tied on a fire-bead Ray Charles and that was it. No other weight but before you get in the water, make sure to gink up that indicator.

 

Here's the benefit of this rig. Because the indicator is tied on to a little bit heavier section of the leader, it will allow you to roll your cast over easier but it's still far enough from your fly line to not spook fish and it will float well enough to keep weighted flies up. The Czech is a cool fly because fish will eat it but it also adds enough weight to get down without having to use a split shot that can cause hinging and compromise your cast and with it being a short rig, you can run riffles and buckets getting down quickly a couple feet to where the fish are and you can run right along the bank in the seems without dragging on bottom.

 

So why not just do a dry-dropper? You can but if fish aren't coming up, you've just wasted one of the two flies you can fish with. Like I said, the Czech will get your bottom fly down and it will get eaten so double the opportunities and double the fun.

 

We all like to dry fly fish when we can. I get it but this kind of nymph fishing is really fun. The indicator is pretty delicate so you have to actually complete a good cast and with the short rig, you have to hit your spots--you're not just chucking it out there and watching a bobber floating down stream. And because it is a delicate presentation, any drag at all will suck your indicator down so it really forces you to get a perfect drift. It's kind of like going from a bait casting rod to an ultralight rod with 4lb test line for walleyes. You just have to be that much more precise but once you are, game on.

 

Fishing other rivers with completely different characteristics definitely helps you become a better angler and a better guide. It allows you to put more tools in the belt and maybe put those tools to use on your home waters. No matter where you're at or where you might want to be, get out there and make the best of it and you'll become a better angler for when you are on your honey waters.

 

Keep 'em where they live...