!15Madison2

The Madison River flows out of Yellowstone Park on its way to join the Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers to form the Missouri River. These are the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi which ultimately winds its way to the sea. I have fished the Madison since 1951 and it was once one of the finest Brown and Rainbow Trout resources I have ever known. I say was, because a good number of the Rainbows have disappeared, victim to Whirling Disease. This devastating blight was deliberately introduced to the watershed by man in 1992.

The first image is of the Firehole River. The second is Gibbon Falls. The Firehole and the Gibbon River flow together at Madison Junction to form the Madison River. The third photo shows a herd of elk in the meadow adjacent to Madison Junction. The fourth picture is of one my favorite fishing spots, Duck Creek, a feeder stream of the Madison River at Hebgen Lake. The fifth photo is the Madison just above the Barnes Pools. The sixth photo shows Howard with a fish on in the first pool around the bend (just downstream from the Raynold's Pass bridge.) The next is a beautiful Rainbow Trout. The eighth photo is the Madison River just below the bridge to Wade Lake. The ninth picture is Hebgen Lake in late summer. The next two pictures are of Quake Lake. Hebgen and Quake Lakes are actually impoundments of the Madison River. The twelfth photo shows the Madison River inside Yellowstone Park and the last image is yours truly casting at "Three Dollar Charlie's".

The Madison

                    Montana Streams from snow-packed Slope,
                    To reach blue Seas, Life’s only Hope;
                    True nurturing Kaleidoscope,
                    For Eagles, Dreams and Antelope.

                    Clear Waters run o'er gravelled Bed,
                    Rise Caddis, Stones, dun Wings outspread;
                    Till Spinners fall, Returns well-bred,
                    Near noble Trout, their spawning Redd;
                    Watch Mayflys hatch in solid Ranks,
                    Catch Rainbows stalking grassy Banks;
                    Fly-fishers pray; eternal Thanks!

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