Not the most impressive headline I know. Many people have already been floating and if one lives where the weather is a little nicer in the winter there really isn’t a first float of the year. Winter in Montana gives us time that we generally can’t put the boat in to float the Madison River.  So I have always looked forward to the first float on the Madison River of the new year. I enjoy rowing a boat. So much so that I really look forward to being back on the sticks and in the middle seat of a drift boat.

This year I had the pleasure of fishing with Ryan Whalen from Madison River Fishing  Co. and another younger angler Tyler Dimeola. We mainly fished streamers with some stretches fishing particularly well. White and or white under olive produced the best for us.  We did some nymph fishing with moderate success but it was nice to see aggressive brown trout and a few bigger rainbows eat the meat. Mostly lying in shallow water that was soft and not moving quickly. I like to call it “walking speed” when I talk about what I’m looking for in a good winter spot. Not too fast, not too slow. Just right.

More than being on the sticks for the first time in a long enough while. I find poking around the river, searching and taking the time to notice what is new or changed to be much more rewarding. I think the short of it is I’m glad for it to be changing back into that time of year again.

Spring is right around the corner.

Keep your tip up!

Montana Fish Man