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Here’s a long overdue post for a trip I took earlier this month. My buddy Colin from Denver and I made our return trip to the same house on the Gallatin River we hit last year. Even with lower water and bluebird skies, this trip did not disappoint. We flew in on a Friday and fished behind the house for 2 hours day one, stayed in the same area on Saturday, and did float trips Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The fishing was so good on the Gallatin, we stayed there Wednesday and I wrapped up with an hour or two behind the house on Thursday before checking out. Except for a couple smaller fish during doubles, and one of Colin’s first browns on the float trip, and one pretty cutbow, every fish pic I’m posting is over 16”, with at least 5 over 18” with one just making 20”. Colin got the big fish at 21” on one of the float trips. Enjoy the pics. There are lots!
Day 1- Friday afternoon after checking in. Gallatin River.
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2nd cast, 1st fish of the trip. Solid rainbow.
First night, 8 fish in 2 hours. Great start, time for a nightcap.
Day 2- Gallatin River
This brown was lit up!
We fished on and off day 2 and I ended up with 23 fish. One of my best days trout fishing yet.
Day 3- Lower Madison River
We had the same guide as we had last year and he worked hard all 3 trips for us.
I picked about 10 fish but didn’t get a shot at a big fish in this stretch of river that holds some giants. We went back to the house and I got 3 more before dark including this fat brown.
Day 4- Jefferson River-
I was excited for this trip. The Jefferson is not a popular river because it can be very finicky and it’s difficult to get to, but holds some really big fish. This is the River the guides like to fish when they fish together. Unfortunately, this day was one of those finicky days and we only landed 2 fish all day and missed a few others. Fortunately, my one fish was a healthy 20” brown.
I picked 2 more behind the house just before dark.
Day 5- Lower Madison River, new stretch. Great scenery on this stretch.
Big fish of the trip. Pic doesn’t do it justice, it was a tank.
I was off my game on this float but still managed to pick 8 fish, but nothing big. While eating lunch we saw some rising fish and I did get one on a dry fly.
Day 6- Gallatin River. Another great day wading and another 20 fish day.
Here’s one of 4 or 5 cutbows I caught on the trip
Day 7- checkout day. First day of overcast and rain. I only had a couple of hours but the fish were lit up. I did not want to leave. Another 8 fish to finish the trip.
My last fish of the trip. A FAT hard fighting brown
All told, I caught over 80 trout. Colin had about half that amount but had big fish of the trip. This really was an amazing trip. We also had some fun at nigh with great dinners at the house and great drinks.
To put the icing on the cake, we were about to check out and Colin says “holy sh*t…. Look at your tree”, referring to a downed tree that has a deep run right in front of it where I caught 15 or 20 of my fish. The pics came out fuzzy but you can imagine how amazing this was.
The perfect end to a perfect trip.
Last edited by Paul Naj (Oct-24-21 5:45AM)
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Most excellent! I like boat fishing and that looked like a great time!
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What a great trip! Beautiful scenery, nice fish and lots of smiles!
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The bald eagle knew there were fish under that tree
Nice report - thx for sharing
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Thanks for sharing this, I had a big smile the entire time reading it!
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Great pictures and report! What an amazing trip. Looks like the bourbon was going down nicely. I've had to quit drinking for a while, so my stash is sitting here collecting dust for now. Still collecting though! lol.
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Such an amazing report! You should also try the John J Bowman single barrel if you haven't already, great stuff.
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THAT! is a good trip!! You fish well and drink very well.
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