Upper Bear Trap Canyon

I kicked off the 2010 fishing season in the Bear Trap Canyon on the Madison River with my gal pal, Sarah and local trout sicko, Sam Bergman. We got up real good and early to get a jump on the fish before they knew what hit'em. Like, 11:00 in the morning early. One of the nice thing about fishing trout in the winter is that you don't have to bust your fanny to the river at the crack of dawn in order to get there before the other fishermen and the heat of the day. Peak fishing hours this time of the year are usually in the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest and raises the water temps just a hair. That mini warm spike is all it takes to get midges moving and even hatching. Apparently we timed it right, because when we stepped in the water, we had a hand full of fish feeding on the surface in slow, deep pools. All three of us had a nymph rig on, and none of us were willing to switch over to a dry set up, so we just stuck to it and bounced bottom. Normally I will do anything to fish a dry fly, but stuck to nymphs due to laziness and knowing that if a few trout are eating on top, more will be eating below. For me, a black zebra midge and "anything pink" dropper are my go- to patterns for winter trout in the Bear Trap Canyon. On this day it was the "anything pink fly".

TY