More than just a rental agency, we at Phasmid want you to share our employees experiences and adventures throughout Montana. Pro-Staff Adventures is our way of doing this and keeping our customers in the loop.
Since this is my first post I will give a brief introduction of who I am; My name is Sam Cassidy. I just recently joined the team here at Phasmid Rentals after relocating from North Carolina. I’ve been exploring Montana for close to 10 years now and it is quite the love affair. From fishing and camping to hiking, climbing, snowboarding and everything in between I try to do a little bit of all of it and it will be my pleasure to keep you all in the loop!
This past Friday (March 25th) I had the day off and decided to brave the snow and head to the Madison Valley for a day of fly-fishing on the Madison River. I left Bozeman around 10 am in light snow and decided it would be a gorgeous drive down highway 191 paralleling the Gallatin River (the semi-long way); the drive was absolutely breathtaking. The snow was falling most of the way, clinging to the trees lining the river and the road with almost no traffic to speak of, needless to say, I was happy to get out and do some exploring. On the way I saw plenty of wildlife; shortly before reaching Big Sky there was a group of about 10 deer hanging out and grazing next to the highway, shortly after Big Sky another group, this time mountain goat. As I got to the intersection of highway 287 and 191 the snow broke almost immediately and opened up to a big blue sky and puffy white clouds (which admittedly, I was pretty happy to see). Driving down into the valley I stopped by Hebgen and Quake lake noticing they were still firmly frozen over, also slowing down to (safely) check out some Bison hanging out on the side of the road.
I reached Raynolds Pass around noon and started fishing, knowing it was going to be a fantastic day on the water. Fortunately, I had a buddy give me a good lead on some hot flies the day before and I started hooking into some great fish almost immediately. I don’t typically fish the Madison during the winter and was pleasantly surprised to find there were only maybe three other people on the river for a few miles. No bringing my own rock to stand on this day! All said and done I hooked into about 15 fish within just a few hours and decided to kick back on the bank and enjoy my lunch with one of my favorite views in Montana, looking out over the river and valley with the snow-capped Madison Range in the background, although not a 50 fish day it was certainly still one for the books! I can’t wait to get back and catch up with all of the fish that I missed.
I’ll leave you with a quote and some pictures, more updates coming just as soon as I get the feeling in my fingers back!
“In the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River-Madison River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise.” – Norman Maclean