07-24 REELLIFE print single digital - Flipbook - Page 19
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Mountains come out of the
sky and they stand there.
Snow-covered peaks create
a breathtaking backdrop
as we work our way down
the fast-flowing, slightly
off-color river. I could say a
whiter shade of pale, but I’d
be pushing the 70s music
lyrics references a bit too
much.
Matt and I are floating
the Madison River, Epic,
Historic, Blue-ribbon… pick
your adjectives. At first
glance, I wondered “Where
do you even fish this?”
To the untrained eye, the
river looked uniform from
side to side, a fast-moving,
rocky, never-ending flow
of energy. Hunter and
Sam, our guides from
River Borne Outfitters, had
briefed us on the strategy
to fish for this untamed
wild river.
“Today you’re going to be
fishing buckets” Hunter
elaborated, “When the
water is running this fast,
you want to target the
small back eddies, slicks,
and close to the shore.
You’ll see the holding
water better as the day
progresses. It requires some
accurate casting but it’s not
that hard. The fishing can
be really good, but I’m a bit
worried about the color of
the water.”
For my part, I was glad to
be fishing and not rowing.
We rapidly drifted past
large boulders that would
easily have flipped a less
skilled rower.
“That’s why you fish with a
guide”, I thought.
Suddenly Matt called out
“Fish on!”.