SUN'S UP LATER
Mayflies Still Awake
clouds and gentility rule
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.. It's easier to justify getting up earlier 
when the sun gets up later. Each cloudy morning brings the last of the mayflies to the surface. They are small, (16 - 20,) and not as sparse as the skeptics would have you believe... The neighbors love these mornings. The slick sections of the Madison River along the
park boundary are dimpled with noses. The head hunters are in the northeast section of the park. The fish counters are having a second cup of coffee and are waiting for the caddis on the Gallatin River... The Madison River is not abandoned, but
the elbows are rare. The fish food is diverse and the trout can ignore some offerings and chase others... Yesterday morning they were ignoring spruce moths in favor of little green flies. There is just no accounting for the preferences of trout.
.. The hatch was happening by 7:00 AM and continued through noon, (they must have known it was going to rain.)
.. Clouds of ravenous mosquitoes accompanied fisher folks on their Sunday, (sundry?) wadings. It's a small compensation to know that they are trout food!
.. Twitches induced by the little blood suckers can certainly ruin a drift in the glassy waters of a Madison morning.
.. As the river cools the action will pick up and the density of fishers will follow. The large fish are already staging in the willow darkened estuaries of the small tributaries to Hebgen Lake. A few early runners have been reported in the Madison River; but they weren't taken on size 18's.
.. Speaking of Hebgen Lake; gulpers are gulping. Catching on the surface is excellent until the breeze begins to blow. The fish are still gulping but it's nearly impossible to see their noses and cast to them when the wind picks up... Some sizable fish, (to 20",) have been taken on local callibaetis imitations. We use a feather duster with a wood duck flank tied like a soft hackle - works just fine.
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