Top ten reasons I should have just stayed home.
10. I hit a long traffic jam on I-80 an hour from home due to a fatal accident. Bad omen.
9. Upon arriving at the first creek, I see only one riser (nice one!), "wader-up", make one cast, fish eats, miss it bigger than shit, then wind comes up hard. No biggie, I've got 3 more days.
8. Get to Driggs late, stop into Broulim's great deli for a late dinner, and they've just put it all away. Settle for a pre-packaged pasta salad that wasn't that good. No biggie, Henry's Fork is an hour away.
7. Wake up on Henry's Fork to howling north wind.
6. All the "regulars" in the Ranch parking lot are standing around behind the trees drinking coffee, telling lies, washing dishes, and doing things besides stringing rods and putting on waders.
5. Arrive in West Yellowstone to fish the Madison in the park. Upon going into a fly shop for a park license, I'm told "It's on fire!" Great, right? No, literally. "On both sides of the river above 7-mile bridge."
4. Get to Madison between the lakes to find a fisherman every 100 yards.
3. Evening bite on Henry's blown out.
2. Next morning on Henry's. Smokey and calm. Tricos all over the water. Only 4-12 inchers rising. Did see one head working nicely. Two casts later, never to be seen again. 10:00-Raging south wind. Red-Flag warning for remainder of weekend. Time to just go home a day early.
1. And the number one reason I should have just stayed home . . . Despite all the idle time I had for 2 1/2 days, I didn't snap one a picture of the wind, the smoke, the wreck, or the rise-less waters so that this post could match the layout of the others. I drove 740 miles and could have bought a new Hardy for the $130 I spent in gas alone. Never touched a fish.
But at least I didn't fry a wheel bearing, hit a deer, break a rod, rip a hole in my waders, lose a fly box, or have any great mishaps. In discussing what I think of as the "overrated" honey ant hatch on the ranch with one of the regulars, he said "sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time." I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time from start to finish.
