July 30, Upper Madison

Had the day off today, so Pete and I went to the Upper Madison for the afternoon and what fun we had. The fish were eating flies under the water as well as on the top. We fished Hoppers with trudes and the fish ate. We fished hoppers with Royal Wolfs and the fish ate. Pete even fished a Hopper with a Calabaetis and the fish still ate each fly. It is the end of July and hoppers with droppers are the way to go. Let's get out and have a Hopping good time.

July 28th

Fished with Ron and Harry on the Jeff and got a few nice bows along with some dinks. As normal this year the rain came and soaked us and our dry fly action. Remember, always bring your rain coat.
The nocturnal stone were coming off and the rubber leg nymph was king.

July 27th

Fished the Yellowstone again with Don and Jon Lister. After a great day the day before with hoppers, a cold front moved in and crushed the dry fly action. We did manage to get a few to the boat on nymphs and cubby chernobyls. I have been trying to work with Don on his fish photos.
We had a great time as we always do. Thanks Don and Jon see you in September.

July 26th

Guided Ron Webster today on the Yellowstone and the fish were on the bite in a big way. We started out of the gate with this nice Brown and rocked them all day on hoppers. The 'Stone is on fire so get out there while she's hot. Speaking of hot, today was a scorcher temperature wise and the water temps stayed at 64-65 all day. See you on the water.

July 25th

Jon Lister and Don Lister

Friday July 25th
Fished with the Listers on the lower Yellowstone. We fished hoppers from 10:00 on after taking a few nice big 'bows down under. The action was not hot and heavy but better than the day before. Jon is an excellent photographer but never shares his photos with the rest of the world, so this is the only shot I have, the mug shot of the boys. We had a great time.

July 24th

Fished with Greg Conradt and Ron Kubera on the Yellowstone. We had a fun day and landed some nice fat rainbows and a brown. The fishing was spotty and we stayed with nymphs all day. Great guys and I really enjoyed the day, but I could see the Yellowstone was improving in clarity and dropping slowly with better fishing to come.

Thursday 7/23

On yet another scorching hot summer Thursday, Peter, Ty and I headed to some of our favorite local waters. The day started off very well with tons of fish and continued to fish well throughout the day. When it's really sunny and hot out, look for shady dark holes next to rocks and deep, cool water. We caught most of the fish on caddis pupa's and beadhead buggers. If you head out, try throwing olive soft hackles, prince nymphs, iron sallie's, and olive buggers. If you need to get your dry fly fix, try using a golden stone pattern, brown caddis and PMD's.

Upper Yellowstone

Tuesday Sarah, Daniel, and myself fished the upper Yellowstone River from McConnell to Joe Brown for a day looking for our little native friend, the Yellowstone Cutthroat. Most of the fish came on nymphs and buggers but we did manage to find a couple pods of cutties feeding on Caddis in eddies that provided some solid surface action.

11 yrs old, first fish, 20"

Today I was on the Yellowstone with Bill and his 11 year old daughter. We floated for 4 hours and landed 5 fish. Kate's biggest and first fish landed on a fly rod was 20 inches, congratulations Kate. The fish were eating bow river buggers trailed with an iron sally. The river has cleared and the fish are very hungry. Today Bill and Kate hooked several fish that they did not get in the boat. Get out and go for the big one.

7/10 on the Yellowstone

I had the pleasure of taking Andrea and Mike from Irland today to the Yellowstone. Doing a 13 mile float was enjoyable and we caught plenty of fish. The river is still off color, with about 18 inches of visibility. Fishing buggers and beadheads was the trick to finding fish today. The river is coming down and clearing and the fishing is getting better every day.

A Rainy day on the Jellystone

I headed to the Yellowstone river on Wednesday with Ty to try our luck at finding some hungry fish in the high water. The water level was pretty high still, but the water was green and had good visibility. As soon as we put the boat in the water it started to rain, and it didn't quit until we reached the take out. As miserable as it was, the rain brought out a huge caddis and PMD hatch, and the fish started to feed. With the water running fast, the fish were up right against the bank eating the caddis pupa as they hatched. We had good luck with green caddis pupa, green copper john's, and olive soft hackles. We found some fish feeding on the surface in the slow moving eddies, and had some strikes on a tan caddis, size 14 or 16, but most of the action was sub-surface. The water levels are dropping every day so plan some time to get out and catch some river monsters!

The Missing Link

I have been hiding up on the Missouri River waiting for dry fly fishing to start. We did have a sampling of great dry fly fishing for about 5 days when the river was dropped to 5200 cfs. The PMD and Rusty Spinner fishing was silly. There were 18-20" fish moving 3-4' to eat a dry. That almost never happens on the Mo. Then, they shot the river back up to 10,000+ and the dry fly fishing went with it. Now, do not get me wrong, I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool purist, but as a recovering nympho I was ready to fish dries, and not look at an indicator until fall. The nymph fishing with long leaders was and still is off the chart, with big bows and browns in the 18-20' class eating like mad. I even threw streamers several times and nailed some nice fish. So, with no heads up to dries I was content to row Pam, my wife, down the river for days, waiting to throw a small dry on long leaders. As you will see she landed some fish and hopefully it got me some browny points for later in the summer when things really get hot. There is some great dry fly fishing on Caddis on the Missouri between 8pm and dark with size 16-18 spent caddis, but I normally have a cocktail in my hand and am sitting around the campfire by that time of day. I would like to think that this is what they call maturity and not old age.

The fishing closer to home is just getting good with the Yellowstone River greening up and the visability getting better each day. The rest of the Bozeman water has been back and forth with the evening rain showers, but is fishing well over all. For what patterns are working or up to the minute reports just call The Bozeman Angler at 800-886-9111 and we'll be glad to give you the straight skinny on what's happening. Here are a few pic's of Pam's fish. More browny points!!!!!!

Fishing report, July 9th 2009

The big story this week is that the Yellowstone is finally fishable. The water clarity is about 1’-2’ and a nice green color with levels at 9,800 CFS. Even though it rained all day yesterday, the feeder streams are still running clear and have feeding fish gathered at their mouths. Anglers will find a buffet full of fish food consisting of PMD’s, Green Drakes, Caddis, Golden Stones and a few Salmon Flies. The best angling approach is still from a boat, but it won’t be long and the wading fishermen will be able to fish their favorite holes.

The Gallatin is still running a little high and dirty but the fishing has steadily improved over the last few days. If you’re still looking to get your Salmon Fly fix and keep your trip close to town, you should look to the canyon near Big Sky. Anglers are still finding big bugs and feeding trout in this area. If you prefer to stay on the valley floor you’ll find Baetis, PMD’s, Golden Stones, and Caddis on the menu. The wading is still a little sketchy, so be careful and try to fish with a friend.

The upper Madison is still the place to be for the die hard Salmon Fly hunter. The hatch has moved to the Three Dollar Bridge area and is fishing well. If you still need to chase the big bugs, be prepared to have company. Tuesday night 27 cars were parked at the bridge. A wise fisherman will show up early and fish until the crowds arrive and come back in the evening after the mob is too pooped to fish. The giant Stone Flies are still the star of the show, but, make sure you have a hand full of PMD’s, Caddis, and Golden Stones.

Between the up and down water levels and the bikini hatch, the lower Madison has been a frustrating chunk of water to fish lately. The better fishing reports are coming from the Bear Trap canyon, but they still aren’t the consistent fish stories we like to hear. If you do find your self on the lower Madison, focus on the evenings when the floaters have gone home and the fish have had a little piece and quiet. The water from Warm Springs to Black’s Ford is easy to access for a few hours of fishing after work and can be a good place to find some dry fly action. The bugs of choice will be Golden Stones, PMD’s, and Caddis.

Yellowstone 7/7/09

The Yellowstone is finally down to levels that are safe to float. I spent the day with fellow guides Travis Dubyac and Joe Sharpe. We caught a number of fish on nymphs even though the water was still a little off color. Joe fished with drys for a little while and managed to land one nice brown on the surface. There were Salmon flies, caddis and even a few Green drakes in the air. Look to the Stone in the next few days for some great fishing.

July 2nd, 3rd

If your over the "big bug" thing, fishing the small feeder streams is great way to take a break from playing bumper boats with the hoards of Salmon Fly hunters. Yellow Sallies and PMD's are in full affect on the "off the beaten path" type of water. So, get away from the big rivers, bust out the 3 weight, and check out creeks like Spanish Creek and Portal Creek in the Gallatin Canyon. Not only are they quiet and uncrowded, but their full of fish.

I spent the 2nd and the 3rd with clients on some small water avoiding the Salmon Fly craze and hunting for trout on foot. Pictured above is Steve Stith and his daughter Tracy on her first fly fishing trip. Both Steve and Tracy found trout eager to eat PMD and Yellow Sally nymphs from the time we stepped into the river to the time we called it quits. If you head out load up on Iron Sallies and Hogan's Military Mays for your nymphs and Para PMD's and Yager's Never Sink Yellow Sally.

TY

July 3rd

Once again on the Upper Madison chasing the Salmon fly. This day proved to be long but excitement was in the air. The bugs were everywhere however the fish ate few. Tim and Mike did however manage to land a few nice fish. Tim was able to find a nice rainbow on a stone pattern early in the day and Mikes Best fish was on a yellow stimulater. The fishing should be good over the weekend and early in the week if you are looking for the salmon fly's, enjoy and good luck.

July 2nd

I finally had the chance to fish myself today with fellow guide Bo. It was a day that will not soon be forgotten. The salmon flies were out in droves on the upper Madison. We rolled 20 + fish before a storm came in over head, after which the fishing went dry. Tomorrow should be another good day for the salmon flies so as they say, " GO BIG or go home.

Weekly fishing report July 1st. 2009

The Salmon Flies have made the leap over Ennis Lake and are making their way up stream on the upper Madison. This week our guides found the giant stoneflies in large numbers between Varney Bridge and Ennis. If you plan on chasing the big bugs this weekend, give us a call and we’ll let you know where they are and what pattern their eating.

Constant changes in water levels this week has made the lower Madison a difficult piece of water to fish. Look for a couple of days of level water conditions if you want to find fish in the eating mood. We should be seeing the last of the spring run off, so the river should be a little more predictable soon. Golden stoneflies, PMD’s, and little brown Caddis are still on the menu, but now that the Salmon Flies have moved on, the big boys will begin to look for craw dads and sculpin again.

Though the Yellowstone River is still high and mighty, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The water has cleared to about 1’-1 ½’ of visibility and is slowly beginning to drop. It may be a couple of week before it’s where we like to see it, but we’re getting there.

The Gallatin River has dropped and cleared just in time for the arrival of the Salmon Flies. The big bugs have been spotted in the lower end of the canyon and will make their way to Big Sky in just a few days. The river is still a little high, so stay close to the banks and fish the soft pockets at the rivers edge. This is a great place to avoid the crowds of Salmon Fly crazed anglers on the Madison and still get a shot at this famous hatch.

Water levels on the big lazy Missouri River are through the roof, but some how the fish are still coming up and feeding on PMD’s and Caddis. Look for the water to drop over the next couple of weeks and watch this river come alive. So don’t let the high water scare you off and take advantage of Montana’s best dry fly fishery.