We fish the Madison often because it runs through town and is convenient for us. It is easy to go out for a couple of hours in the morning and still put in our workday, or to go out in the evening to fish for awhile.

The river brings to mind the reason the Rocky Mountains are so named. The Madison is fast, sometimes not too deep, and extremely full of rocks. Bern has to redo the bottom of our driftboat from time to time because it is impossible to miss them all.

The upper river has the rockiest passages. Below Varney Bridge the river begins to separate into braids, flowing among willow covered islands that hold deer, geese, and all manner of wildlife. We usually see eagles, osprey, herons, kingfishers, hawks, and perhaps even a coyote or bear.

I remember camping in this area with my brother in law's exchange student newly arrived from urban England. He was agog at the different world he found here. One night the guys were getting the steaks ready to grill and I was tending the campfire. A pack of coyotes began to howl in the darkness.

James' eyes got wide and he said, "It's just like in the movies!"

I could not help laughing. This is normal life in Montana.

The Big Hole is one of my favorite rivers, and you can see why in the picture. I caught that brown when Bern and I had the good sense to have a professional photographer, Tom Haseltine, in the boat to take the photo.

Actually, you can only see part of the reason I love the Big Hole in that photo. The river is a particularly beautiful float, and especially spectacular in the fall when the aspen and willow leaves turn colors.

Having enough water to float can be an issue on this river. We had a couple visiting from Texas and decided to take them to float the Big Hole. Bern called the fly shops to make sure the river had enough water and they all assured him it was fine.

Wow, what a brutal day of rowing! Our driftboat is a large Clackacraft. Add four people and it is heavy. I could not handle the boat at all. I can row well, but lack sheer brute force. Bern did all the rowing and we made it, but the boat needed the bottom redone soon after that.

Obviously the fly shops had rather miscalculated on that judgment call although they usually are accurate.