Nov 29 Galatin trip

Little Ol' Lady Luck was no where to be found today on the Galatin. I fished with Sarah today above Sheds bridge and the only thing that seemed to work was a pink midge. Sarah caught one brown and one rainbow on a pink midge and that was all the action. The fish seemed to be eating more in the earlier part of the day becuase on the walk back downstream they werent eating anything. If you're heading out to the Galatin try using bright midges and maybe a rubberleg or another nymph. Head out before it gets too cold!

Monster Brown Trout!!!!

Who needs to go south of the equator for giant trout? Who needs New Zealand? Who need Patagonia? Well, me for one. But, I know of a guy who found one of those monster fish without traveling to the other side of the globe. His name is Bryan Gregson and he found his dream trout on the Madison River just up stream from Quake Lake. Does anyone remember another big fish story from the same stretch of river just a few years ago?

Check out Bryan's story on the "BIG FISH" link below.

BIG FISH

TY

Nov. 17 Idaho Steelhead

Over the last few years I've had the good fortune of making my living guiding for Steelhead in western Michigan on the Muskegon River. Actually, I'm extremely fortunate in a couple of ways. First of all I worked for Midwest Steelhead guru, Kevin Feenstra. Kevin isn't just a talented guide and fisherman, but he also has a real passion for swinging big flies for Chromers and taught me most of what I know about Steelhead. Second, I guided and fished rivers full of naturally reproducing fish that are more than willing to grab a well presented fly. Truly a spey casters playground. Being a Great Lakes Stealheader, obviously the number one fish on my ever growing fantasy fish list is a real west coast Steelhead.

This past weekend Jason the shop rat, my girlfriend Sarah, and myself piled in to J-Dog's Subaru and headed west to Idaho in search of metalheads on the north fork of the Salmon River. We arrived in the village of North Fork well after dark excited to set up camp, get a fire going, and get to work on the 12 pack of Fat Tire we picked up in Butte. With a sleepless night of freezing my back side off under my belt, we broke camp after a hardy breakfast and raced the sun light to the river to scout out potential fish holding runs and pools. One of the things that Great Lakes and west coast Steelhead have in common is that they hold in the same type of water, so it wasn't a challenge to find water to start swinging flies through.

Bright skies and clear water are great for leisurely visits to the river, but unfortunately a bad combo when trying to fool Trout or Steelhead into chasing a swung streamer. With those exact weather and water conditions working against us, we thoroughly worked water that looked to be ideal holding water for both Trout and Steelhead. After a handfull of pools and a couple of tours up and down the highway in search of more water, we had to call it a day and head back to Montana.

We rushed to get there, we rushed to set up camp, we rushed to the river, we fished our fannys off, but at the end of the day with the exception of one big Sucker Fish, all three of us got Green Butt Skunked. Unless you're a dedicated Trout bum or Steelheader this sounds like a lot of work and a lot of miles to go to not catch fish, but to us it was one of the most satisfying trip's we've had this year. To me this trip was just another reminder of how lucky we are to live in the middle of the world's greatest fly fishing water. Here in the Bozeman area we're surrounded by quality Trout streams, and just a few hours west you can fish for real ocean run Salmon and Steelhead. If you've read enough of these reports and blogs, I'm sure that it sounds a bit cliche by now but I'll say it any way.... Get out and fish! Take advantage of the thousands of miles of rivers and streams that the Rockies have to offer. After all they're right here in our backyard.

Ty

11/11/08 Changeing with the seasons

The closer we get to winter the more we think about and practice cold water techniques. Though many of us are still in the fall "big streamer big fish mode", the way we fish streamers changes as the water temps gradually drop. Ripping a sculpin pattern off the bank will become less and less effective and slow retrieves or swinging flies through deep runs and pools will be increasingly productive . Once the Brown Trout have spawned and eggs are not so prevalent, the fish will begin to go into winter mode and seek out deeper and more importantly slower pools to hang out in until spring brings warmer water temps.

Now, with all of that said, winter isn't here yet... In fact, we still have some very summer like fishing available to us in the form of a little olive May Fly known as the Baetis. With the abundance of cloudy and cool days lately, those size 20 may flies have been hatching regularly and some of our rivers have seen some fabtabulous dry fly action in the foam that collects in the back eddies and seams. We don't have too many chances left this season to fish on top, so before it's all bottom bouncing and bobbers, get out your 6x leader and dry fly box one more time before old man winter arrives.

TY

Spawning fish warning

Hey! It's spawning time and some of the big Browns are up on the gravel in shallow water making sure that we have fish to fish to in the future. Our rivers are not stocked, so lets help the Trout out and leave them alone! Also, be aware of the redds with no fish on them. We need to protect those eggs and give them a chance to incubate, hatch, and repopulate our rivers.

TY

SAVE WILD STEELHEAD FESTIVAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on in to the shop and get your tickets for the Save wild Steelhead Festival this Wed Nov 5th. The pre-party starts at 6pm where you can preview the raffle items and rub elbows with the Fly Boys. But wait!!! The fun doesn't stop there. Head on down to the Pour House for the after party and get a free drink with your festival ticket stub.

Beaverhead 11/1

traveled out to the Beaverhead on saturday and hit the browns during the spawn. They were hiding in the deep water eating pink nymphs, hares ears nymphs, and the occasional pheasant tail. If you get the chance it's well worth the drive so pack up and head out!