Fly fishing the West

[taxmiser]

I spent the weekend chasing trout on the Madison and Ruby rivers in SW Montana.  Things have changed greatly since I first fished the Madison in 1957 and surely not for the better.  My brother from Idaho Falls met me at Ennis and we have a great time even with the substandard fishing.  The trout were stressed this summer and the numbers seem to be down considerably.  I often find myself wishing we fisherpersons had enough pull to limit the irrigation on rivers to the point of preventing the large fish kills that plague Idaho and Montana.  I have witnessed that beautiful Gallatin River drained down to the point there was no flow between the holes.  Of course you never hear nor read anything about the decline in fishing, after all it likely would effect the dollar supply in a negative way.
I never found it published in any national publiciation that fishing was limited to early mornings to help the trout survive the low water and heat.  They waited until the unsuspecting non-resident arrived and spent those lovely greenbacks.  Our "professional" keepers of the fish and wildlife at their finest.  Greed is alive and well here in the West.
 Unless this drought comes to an end soon trout fishing will be but a memory in the very near future. :cry:

[flatlander]

Sad, isn't it. I do most of my fly fishing in Colorado, and if it doesn't happen while backpacking in the middle of nowhere, I just don't really bother too much. Yeah, you can catch some fish, but there is nothing quite like fishing in the less pressured areas. I guess I just don't like standing side by side with some guy who's slinging hooks around.