Fly fishing the Gallatin (Day 9)

My final day in the mountains (free of seeing them from the drivers seat of my car) was spent fly fishing the Gallatin with my Dad.  While living in Colorado, I loved dry line fly fishing and developed a passion for it.  I loved the peacefulness that comes with the repetitive motion of the cast, the thrill of setting the hook and the fight that a good sized trout puts up as you reel in your line.  For the past 10 or so years, I have talked about fishing the Gallatin but never found the time or was willing to spend the additional money due to the fact that I sold my gear to help pay for our wedding.  But this trip, Dad suggested that we go and do it and I was all in.  We used an outfitter and guide, it was just easier to go this route because then all the gear would be provided.

We headed down to the shop a little before 9am so that we could get the most time on the river possible (we only booked a half a day [4 hours]).  Our guide took us down the canyon and found us a good spot to start.  He spent some time showing Dad the proper way to set a fly hook and cast and provided me a brief refresher.

We ventured down the embankment by the highway and onto the river.  I had almost forgotten the rush of excitement, apprehension and joy that all happen at once the minute you step into the river and make your first cast.  This was my first foray into drift line fishing and it took me a bit to get the hang of it.  But after the first half hour, it was like I had stopped fishing yesterday.  My muscles, though sore and our of shape, remembered the rhythm of the cast and allowing the rod to work for you.  We spent almost 5 hours on the river - our guide didn't have another group booked and wanted to make sure that we got a chance to catch as many fish as possible.

We finished our morning of fishing on a flat, fast moving section of the river where Dad had by far more success than I did.  Below is a picture of the good sized rainbow trout that he caught.  I believe that Dad and I have found another outdoor past time that we will partake in every chance we can get now.

After getting back from our fishing trip, Mom, Dad and I headed up to the base of the mountain to check out the shops and get some souvenirs.  We wandered past M.R. Hummers and saw that BOGO happy hour was to start at 4pm so we decided that we would head over there to get a drink before heading back down to the condo for dinner.  Well - what was supposed to be one drink turned into an all night excursion hanging out with Big Sky locals and talking with the owner about the changes that continue to happen at our mountain.  I love spending time with my parents, they have the ability to start conversations with anyone, anywhere.  We made our way back down to the condo (after many, many drinks - including my new favorite shot the "Hummer" and a fabulous dinner of prime rib and bone in ribeye) at around 11pm to sleep our last sleep in the mountains before heading home.