The Big Horn

Sarah and I headed east this week to fish the worlds most famous tail water fishery, the Big Horn River. The trip started out with a little excitement in the form of a high speed tire blow out just west of Billings. With my wannabe NASCAR pit crew skills, I was able to get us back on the road and river bound in no time flat....no pun intended. Unfortunately, this bit of fun was to be the highlight of our weekend adventure. When we finally got the boat in the water this is what we found. Bright skies, a crap load of river grass, and spooky fish. We hooked one fish on a streamer, one on a nymph, and a few on drys late in the day. We even had a killer Baetis hatch, but with the blue bird skies, the only trout coming up to eat were just dinkers.

TY

Oct. 1st Yellowstone River

Clients, Steve and Asa, came back for their second trip this season to the Yellowstone River for some early fall Salminoid love. Though we did run into a few trout, the only true love was coming from the hoards of Whitefish that have taken over every square inch of the river. We fished every fly that a trout would love and a Whitey would only eat if it was bounced off of his nose. Still couldn't keep Mr. Whitefish off the hook. We threw the biggest Bow River Bugger I had in the boat, only to be inhaled by the biggest Whitefish upstream of Livingston. So, if you're a numbers guy and you're looking to rack up some points, head over to the Yellowstone with those crap flies you tied after too much beer. They'll eat it.

Ty

It's a warm fall

Some of us here in the Bozeman area feel like we were screwed out of about a month of summer. The month of June was officially changed to Junuary. It's now late September and it feels like it's the middle of the summer. With temps in the 80's and 90's, it looks like we're making up for that lost month of warm weather. As much as I love warm weather, cold river beer, and not wearing waders, I'm ready for fall fishing. Though the browns are getting territorial and beginning to chase streamers, we need some rain and cold weather to get those big Salmo Trutta in the mood for love and hating big rabbit fur flies. Pictured above is my client Christian Nordby and a perfect example of what can happen when fishing in these unusual warm fall conditions. It's hot and the shirt comes off. It's fall and the streamers come out. The wind picks up in the afternoon, and the picture tells the rest of the story.

TY

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.

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

Back to the Big Hole

We headed back to the big hole this past Friday to see if we could sucker some fish into eat'n a Salmon fly pattern. We fished up stream of Wise river to avoid playing bumper boats with the crowds down stream. But, I think we went a little too far up stream. Though we saw few boats, we also saw very few bugs. The fish we did manage to bring to the boat came on streamers and nymphs. Next week, the Missouri Rive for some early day PMD action.

Big Hole report

I floated the Big Hole this weekend with Sarah and our friend, Liz, now known as "The Grayling girl". Though we were a little early for the Salmon fly hatch, we did find the fish hanging out on the banks intercepting the giant stone fly nymphs as they made the migration to the rivers edge for their emergence. Most of our fish came on big streamers, but a few were picked up on nymphs dropped below a dry stone fly pattern. Liz's day was marked by a few firsts. First fish caught on a fly she tied, first fish on a streamer, and first Grayling. Actually, two Grayling caught back to back.

Ty

Fishing the runoff

It's June 1st and it's full on run off season. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at the rivers and come up with an accurate fishing report. High, dirty, a little scary, with poor fishing. But, it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. If you put your thinking cap on and imagine what you would do if you were a trout in fast and dirty water, it won't take too long to find a few trout ducking the nasty water. The fish don't want to hold in that fast stuff any more than you want to stand in it, so they seek out easier places to hang out. Many of the river's residents get pushed to the banks looking for soft pockets to hang out in until the water returns to it's clearer and more manageable conditions. The beauty of this is that you can usually fish from the bank just up or down stream of the pool or pocket and not worry about fighting the raging river. So look for slower water at the rivers edge behind structure or on the inside of a bend and get your itch scratched.

TY

May 16, Ruby River

With river levels finally on the rise in the Bozeman area, Sarah and I headed west to the Ruby and fish water that hasn't yet felt the effects of run off. The water below the dam was in great shape with that typical Ruby River haze and levels at 255 cfs. We stepped in at about noon and found caddis in the air in big numbers, but didn't see any fish feeding on top until we left at about 5:00 or so. We started with nymphs and caught fish, switched to streamers and caught fish, and at the end of the day threw drys and caught fish. Good stuff!

TY

May 1st Yellowstone River

It's dry fly season, people. I floated from Pine Creek to Carters on the Yellowstone with clients Asa and Steve in search of our slippery little salmonoid buddies. The day started off with Steve stick'n a nice little brownie on a dead drifted bugger within the first fifteen minutes of the float. As we all know, catching a fish right away could either jinx you or it's a good sign of things to come. Well, fortunately it was a good sign. With the exception of a few fish here and there, the majority of the day was quite slow. There was no sign of bug life until about 3:00 when a few Baetis began to pop, but we didn't see but maybe two fish feed until 5:00. Game on. When the clock hit five bells it was like a switch was flipped and the feeding began. We found large pods of fish eating BWO's in the back eddys like it was their job.....I guess it is their job if you think about it.

TY

April 25 Lower Madison River

I partnered up with Chad on a slightly dirty lower Madison yesterday for my first guide trip of the '09 season. We had about 2'-3' of visibility until we reached Cherry Creek, which was dumping a bit of mud and making the right bank of the river chocolatey. Shortly after we soaked the boats at the Warm Springs access, we found our little buddy the baetis hatching in fair numbers and seemed to be present all day. But, as often is the case on this piece of water, very few fish were looking up to slurp those BWOs off the surface. So, we stuck to bouncing nymphs through buckets and runs in search of hungry trout.

If you find yourself on the lower Madison anytime soon, be prepared with flies that will stand out in water with a little stain. San Juan worms, egg patterns, prince nymphs, and lightning bug are your usual suspects but don't forget your sculpin and crawdad patterns.

Pictured above is Tony from California with a little Brown Trout that jumped on a San Juan fist thing in the morning. After I let this fish go I told Tony that It was a 15" fish. This was the first client caught fish in the boat this year and I think my "internal guide measuring device" is a little rusty. He'll be a 15" trout next year for sure.

Ty

Bitterroot river 3-14-09

I ventured west to the Bitterroot River this past weekend for a romantic getaway with my fish-o-holic partner in crime, Sarah. Though the fishing was secondary on this trip, we did manage to get a few hours on the water. One of the more attractive buckets that we fished had a big slow back eddie full of emerging midges and the occasional stonefly nymph, witch told me that Skallas are just around the corner.

Check out the very short clip of the "fish of the day" caught by Sarah just a few hours before I asked her to be my permanent fishing partner and the future Mrs. Webb......She said yes

Ty

2/06 Upper Madison

This past Friday I headed up to the Raynolds Pass area with fishing bud, Nick Lux, for a day of snowy fly fishing on the Madison. Quarter-sized snowflakes, upper 30's temps, and next to no wind made for a quiet and beautiful winter scene on the river. If you haven't fished this time of the year, you really should get out and take advantage of the light pressure and hungry trout.

The fishing was far from hot, and the fish weren't in the slow winter holding areas like we're used to this time of the year. Due to the midge hatch that seamed to go on most of the day, the fish were hanging out in more traditional feeding lies, keying in on tiny nymphs. I feel like we would have done a little better if we were prepared with flies smaller than the size 18 midge nymphs I packed. However, we suckered a few with Prince nymphs and flash back pheasant tails.

If you go, arm yourself with midge nymphs in size 20- 22 for sure. We're entering the time of year when midgeys are popping, so have your basic selection of midge drys too.

TY

Jan 10 Upper Madison Trifecta

Yesterday, my gal pal Sarah, fishing buddy Nick Lux, and I headed to the Ennis area for the Madison Vally trifecta. What is the Madison Vally trifecta, you ask? Well, it's the perfect way for a fly fisherman to spend a winter day in south west Montana. First, pile on the layers and dredge up a few trout on your favorite stretch of the Madison River. Second, head to the Bear Claw Bar and Grill in Mcallister to tell b.s. fishing stories over a beer and possibly the best burger and fries in the state of Montana. Thirdly, and for sure the best part of the trifecta is soaking your tired back side in the water of the god's at Norris Hot Springs while sipping on another cold brew and taking in some live blue grass.

Fishing report...

With a little snowy weather rolling in on us, the upper Madison was a bit slow, but we still managed to run into a few trout. The stretch of river we fished was typical upper Madison water with few deep pockets or pools to collect pods of winter fish, so being able to read water is very helpful. The obvious lies were found behind boulders or anything that may slow the current down enough to give a cold blooded salmonoid a break from the swift main stream. The not-so-obvious lies are given away only by the slick or smooth surface created by a large submerged rock or a depression on the bottom of the river. Early in the day bouncing stonefly nymphs and Lightning Bugs on the bottom brought a few tight lines, but in the afternoon, fish keyed in on midge nymphs. Finally, we saw some surface-feeders slurping down adult midges before a winter storm rolled in.

Fish Food...

Nymphs: Brown Pat's Rubber legs, Prince Nymphs, King's Prince, Zebra Midge tied in black or pink, Lightning Bug.

Dries: Griffiths Gnat, Para Gnat, BWO.

TY

Gallatin River Jan. 4

Happy New Year, Fish Heads!

We're five days into the new year, and I have yet to wet a line. But, I did get a Gallatin River report from good buddy Nick Lux, who said,"shelf ice with slush." This is going to be the conditions we will have to deal with until we get temps consistantly higher than the 20's. If you do get a chance to get out, you should look to tail waters close to the dams or near springs bringing warm water into the main river to avoid fishing in a giant slushy. Shelf ice is hard to avoid, so watch your step getting in the water. Fish the usual winter patterns like San Juans, Midge pupa, Beatis Nymphs, and your favorite egg pattern. Remember in cold conditions, concentrate on slower pools and runs, and keep your bugs tight to the gravel.

TY

IT'S COLD AS HELENA OUT THERE!!!!!!

With the temp at -22 this morning in Bozeman and no expectations of getting any higher than the teens this week, I think fly fishing will be put on hold for a bit. On the bright side, Mr. Weather Man said that we may see 30 degrease by Christmas day, witch is all we need for some productive Holiday fishing. Until then, poking a hole through the ice on one of our local lakes may be your only angling opportunity.

TY

Dec. 6th Upper Beartrap

Yesterday I headed to the Lower Madison's Beartrap Canyon with fishing buddy Nick Lux. First on the list of car ride conversations was what the wind situation might be and what our options were if the canyon was screaming. When we drove through Norris the car was getting rocked from one heck of a stiff breeze, and it wasn't looking good for a quiet day on the river. When we dropped in to the Madison Vally, the wind was light, and we noticed that the few unfrozen areas on Ennis Lake had just small choppy waves. By the time we entered the upper canyon the wind had almost completely stopped blowing and stayed that way for the remainder of the day.

The fish were more than willing to eat a well-placed nymph, but it had to be put right on their noses. Our drifts needed to be perfectly dead with zero drag or there was no chance at detecting the incredibly light takes. When I say "light takes", I mean the strike indicator would hesitate just as if your rig barely bumped or scraped bottom. Once we figured that out, we were more eager to set the hook with the slightest movement, but a trigger-happy fisherman catches more fish!

If you go, a basic selection of nymphs such as Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs, and Hare's Ears should fool a few trout, but a simple midge nymph tied in pink is my favorite Beartrap fly.

Ty

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