I can't imagine what we looked like to the poor guy gearing up at the road. He thought he'd have the whole place to himself; a quiet walk down a lonesome, snowy winter road to catch a couple of trout. Then we roll in with skis, a sled, a baby, a dog. It was a shit show.

We managed to pull it all together and glide on down to the bridge. Fish were rising to midges in just about every piece of soft water we could see. We crossed and skied upstream to a favorite spot. Sara proceeded to put on a clinic while Jack, the dog, and I looked on. Fish rose well for a couple of hours until clouds and wind cooled both the air temps and the action.

We skied out with a sleeping baby, a tired dog, and a few nice fish to close out the season.

I woke up on that faithful morning, let the dogs out, started the coffee, and shone a flashlight out onto our thermometer to see what was going on - Twenty Four Below. The music from Peanuts when Charlie Brown would miss the football and land on his ass in the mud played in the back of my head. Whah, Whaah, Whaaaaah..........

But, my luck turned out to be just fine after all. The sun rose on a bright blue day, and by 11:00 am it was already above zero. I headed down to the valley reaching the Raynold's Pass sign by noon where it was a balmy 26 degrees with tons of sun and no wind. Hiking over to the river, I was amazed at how little snow was on the valley floor.

When I hit the water there were already fish rising to large midges, and I had one hell of a time casting dry flies in the sunshine. The reports held true. it was about as good as it gets in the winter, or any time for that matter -good numbers of nice, Madison fish sitting in skinny water right next to the bank sticking their entire heads out into the air like it was the last time they'd ever eat a dry fly.

I might be ruined for the rest of the winter. Who cares about powder when you can have fishing like that?

Stay Tuned.

It's hard to believe, but spring fishing is literally right around the corner. In just a couple of weeks midges, baetis, and skwalas will have fish looking up from the Big Horn to the Bitterroot. I gotta get my shit together, man. It's time to start leaving those skis behind for a five weight.

Stay Tuned.

It's snowing lightly as I write this in West Yellowstone where we sit at roughly 80% of average - not bad. However, the Madison River drainage as a whole is around 75% - closer to shitty. Other neighboring watersheds are in a similar boat. The Gallatin is around 82% and the upper-Yellowstone is 75%.

While we're not exactly choking on snow, it's not time to hit the panic button just yet. El Nino years like this are infamous for long, wet Springs. It's not uncommon at all for us to see most of our snow-pack build in March and April on years like these. So, hang in there and keep those fingers crossed for a wet end to our winter season.

For more information follow this link, http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p271324 or click on the photo above.

I've been busy being a dad, skiing, and planning saltwater trips for this spring. But, reports of good to excellent dry fly fishing from the Madison around Reynold's and $3 bridge have had me itching to get out. We'll see what happens after this snow moves through. Damn tough choices; dry flies or powder tunrs?

Stay Tuned.

    The Harriman family stipulated when gifting the property to the state that Idaho develop a Department of Parks and Recreation to manage the ranch and other special properties throughout Idaho. This stipulation came with a caveat that in absence of the families wishes the property would return to the Harrimans.

    We are at risk of losing the 11,000 acres and eight miles of the Henry’s Fork that constitutes Harriman State Park to private ownership. If Governor Otter's proposal to close Harriman State Park goes through, the Park could revert back to the Harriman Family and then be sold. It could become a private ranch with no access. It could be developed into smaller parcels. I can hear the drool dripping from developers lips now.

    Please take two minutes and follow this link to join the official petition that will be sent to Governor Otter. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-idaho-parks

    I love this time of year, because it's a chance to look forward to all of the kick ass things we get to do each year. In addition to skiing as much as humanly possible, I've been busy planning trips to the Bahamas, Belize, Florida, Yellowstone, Montana, and Idaho. I've been dreaming about catching bonefish, permit, tarpon, cutthroat, rainbows, and browns. I've got a whole new hit list of back country streams in the park complete with corresponding pins on an old, tattered topo map. I'm working through my winter fly tying list one pattern at a time, and experimenting with new materials and designs. It's only a week into the new year, and I'm already nervous about getting it all packed in.

Here's to a prosperous new year full of adventure at every turn!