3$ Bridge.
I planned to fish my way to $3 from Raynolds’ Bridge. It was a perfect day for fishing midges; 26 degrees, calm and partly cloudy. I never made it far from the bridge. Trout were rising to emerging midges in the pockets and pools near the parking area. I had 2 hours of fine dry fly fishing using a #18-20 Scotty’s Midge. While the fish were mostly 12-14” I did take a 17” brown that made me feel glad I did not fish my Tenkara rod setup since it ran several yards downstream and jumped twice mid-river.
Several times I looked east to the Madison Range and behind the Olliffe Ranch, thankful the ranch and surrounding $3 Bridge area is in a conservation easement and forever protected against harmful streamside development and open to anglers and hunters.
On my way home I checked out dozens of wintering bighorn sheep along with elk and mule deer. I’m a lucky guy to live in this part of the Madison Valley!