2006 Jeff Miller's Montana/Wyoming Clave Photos

July 2006 - Jeff Miller & Friends at the Montana 'Clave

These photos were submitted by Jeff Miller from his trip to the Montana Clave.

From Jeff:
it was a great trip and a fun time. lots of good fishing in pretty places with excellent companions and friends. i learn new things each adventure and i'm grateful to each of you that shared your days and evenings with me. the folks i've met and shared time with from roff have been exceedingly gracious (well, most of them), and i'm appreciative. mike...as always...it's a privilege to fish with you, and you're nearly as fine a fishing roommate as indian joe (though i think his metamucil regimen might have some salutary benefits you should consider )

let's do it all again soon.
-- Jeff

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typical rainbow and brown caught in the madison. lots of big, strong fish. the salmon fly hatch was mediocre and quick this year during our stay (notice rogue salmonfly in rainbow's mouth), but the ever-reliable caddis were plentiful and the nymph fishing was good. we raised a lot more fish this year that brushed or spit the hook than i've been accustomed to during the trip. one afternoon above raynolds bridge, i'd guess between willi, mike, and me we saw more than 30 fish take a look or swipe at our flies. the fishing pressure in that area is heavy and probably contributed to their wariness. but, caught a huge brown out of ross' pool above reynolds fishing with makela one evening.

can you spot the fish?.. big brown.

this is quake lake, above the slide inn on the madison where we stayed, and the scene of frank's entanglement with some mythical beast. it has huge browns and rainbows in it according to lou, the camp host at beaver creek campground. you'll need a boat and 1x leader to catch them at night around the banks and submerged timber. the black dot in one of the dead trees is a bald eagle...it was perched in the same general area daily. we saw a lot of them this trip.

a bit of the madison river between quake lake and hebgen lake.

willi l. and mike makela at a crossing point on the madison...

willi on the gibbon. the gibbon fished poorly during our trip this year. it was too warm in this lower stretch above madison junction. we moved to the gibbon because the nez perce was even warmer. i usually do well in both streams. caught a grayling in the gibbon last year...and the park ranger who spoke with willi and me was doing a grayling study of the river. willi caught a nice rainbow immediately, but we hit a dry spell and caught only a few more afterwards. still, it's a lovely place to spend a day. i missed my good friend joe as we usually do this stretch together.

upper gibbon in yellowstone.

some of the gang at breakfast in the campfire lodge joint. great hosts and breakfasts...always good company among this crowd. mark tinsky's friend, nancy(blonde hair at bottom right), added to the pleasant surroundings... the breakfast area sits on the bank of and looks out on the madison. it's near the spot jacklin caught the huge brown recently. we frequently saw eagles and osprey while eating breakfast.

slough creek cutthroat (makela took the photo with my camera...he wasn't accustomed to it), and an area of slough creek we fished with good success.

willi on miller's archipelago of the madison...my favorite area to fish. i ghillied this one for willi

every year on the archipelago these daisies bloom in the same spot on the rocky bank of one of the islands. i posted photos of them last year. i hope i get to visit and photograph them for many more years...

one evening, as the sun was going down, mike and i fished the stretch of the madison above the slide inn. we did very well in one slick with caddis near dark. mike appears a bit tired in the photo , but he was in full penns creek darkfishing mode for 20 minutes, catching several fish in a short span. always fun to fish with, and a valued fishing companion and teacher, makela did very well in the catching category on every stream we fished this year...

on the hike to fawn lake, we hit an area with numerous sheds of elk antlers...these are a few held by warren, but there were a lot more.

anyone who has been to fawn lake will recognize these peaks.

chas fishing the headwaters of the gardner just below fawn lake. excellent...excellent... brookie waters. easy to fish, lots of fish, no crowds unless an outfitter has brought a group in. fawn lake backcountry campground is just above this area of the gardner.

warren with a 17" brook trout caught in fawn lake on a mickey finn.

look familiar? YUP...SAME PLACE! on the yellowstone.

mt. washburn in yellowstone. we didn't make it to the top...we were on the way to soda butte.

mike on soda butte...lots of 12" cutthroats. a pretty stream. the lamar valley area is one of my favorites.

yellowstone falls

yellowstone lake

lewis falls and lewis river in the southern area of the park... i've now been in or out of every entrance to the park. the southern is my least favorite area...

northern end of jackson lake approaching grand tetons. my first time in the area. simply amazing to see. the road to the jackson airport offers lots of viewing opportunities of the tetons from different angles. the area on jenny lake was my favorite.

from jenny lake

Click here to see other ROFF photo essays.

typical rainbow and brown caught in the madison. lots of big, strong fish. the salmon fly hatch was mediocre and quick this year during our stay (notice rogue salmonfly in rainbow's mouth), but the ever-reliable caddis were plentiful and the nymph fishing was good. we raised a lot more fish this year that brushed or spit the hook than i've been accustomed to during the trip. one afternoon above raynolds bridge, i'd guess between willi, mike, and me we saw more than 30 fish take a look or swipe at our flies. the fishing pressure in that area is heavy and probably contributed to their wariness. but, caught a huge brown out of ross' pool above reynolds fishing with makela one evening.			can you spot the fish?.. big brown.
this is quake lake, above the slide inn on the madison where we stayed, and the scene of frank's entanglement with some mythical beast. it has huge browns and rainbows in it according to lou, the camp host at beaver creek campground. you'll need a boat and 1x leader to catch them at night around the banks and submerged timber. the black dot in one of the dead trees is a bald eagle...it was perched in the same general area daily. we saw a lot of them this trip.	a bit of the madison river between quake lake and hebgen lake.	willi l. and mike makela at a crossing point on the madison...	willi on the gibbon. the gibbon fished poorly during our trip this year. it was too warm in this lower stretch above madison junction. we moved to the gibbon because the nez perce was even warmer. i usually do well in both streams. caught a grayling in the gibbon last year...and the park ranger who spoke with willi and me was doing a grayling study of the river. willi caught a nice rainbow immediately, but we hit a dry spell and caught only a few more afterwards. still, it's a lovely place to spend a day. i missed my good friend joe as we usually do this stretch together.
upper gibbon in yellowstone.		some of the gang at breakfast in the campfire lodge joint. great hosts and breakfasts...always good company among this crowd. mark tinsky's friend, nancy(blonde hair at bottom right), added to the pleasant surroundings... the breakfast area sits on the bank of and looks out on the madison. it's near the spot jacklin caught the huge brown recently. we frequently saw eagles and osprey while eating breakfast.	slough creek cutthroat (makela took the photo with my camera...he wasn't accustomed to it), and an area of slough creek we fished with good success.
			willi on miller's archipelago of the madison...my favorite area to fish. i ghillied this one for willi
every year on the archipelago these daisies bloom in the same spot on the rocky bank of one of the islands. i posted photos of them last year. i hope i get to visit and photograph them for many more years...		one evening, as the sun was going down, mike and i fished the stretch of the madison above the slide inn. we did very well in one slick with caddis near dark. mike appears a bit tired in the photo , but he was in full penns creek darkfishing mode for 20 minutes, catching several fish in a short span. always fun to fish with, and a valued fishing companion and teacher, makela did very well in the catching category on every stream we fished this year...
	on the hike to fawn lake, we hit an area with numerous sheds of elk antlers...these are a few held by warren, but there were a lot more.		anyone who has been to fawn lake will recognize these peaks.
chas fishing the headwaters of the gardner just below fawn lake. excellent...excellent... brookie waters. easy to fish, lots of fish, no crowds unless an outfitter has brought a group in. fawn lake backcountry campground is just above this area of the gardner.			warren with a 17" brook trout caught in fawn lake on a mickey finn.
	look familiar? YUP...SAME PLACE! on the yellowstone.		mt. washburn in yellowstone. we didn't make it to the top...we were on the way to soda butte.
			mike on soda butte...lots of 12" cutthroats. a pretty stream. the lamar valley area is one of my favorites.
yellowstone falls			yellowstone lake
	lewis falls and lewis river in the southern area of the park... i've now been in or out of every entrance to the park. the southern is my least favorite area...		northern end of jackson lake approaching grand tetons. my first time in the area. simply amazing to see. the road to the jackson airport offers lots of viewing opportunities of the tetons from different angles. the area on jenny lake was my favorite.

from jenny lake