Current Fishing
April 10th, 2008
Spring fishing is in full swing, and should continue to be great until the first week of May, when this incredible snow-pack begins to melt and dirties up the rivers for run-off. You can bet all the guides are out fishing these days, shrugging off the winter blues, by drowning them in the local rivers.
Madison River: Only open from McAtee Bridge to Ennis, and downstream of Ennis Lake, to protect spawning rainbows. The lower river by Ennis is finally free of ice, and is fishing well with a variety of nymphs. Try big rubberlegs, SJW’s, shop vacs, and crystal serendipities. The lower Madison is fishing well with the same nymphs, but add a few of your favorite crayfish patterns for the chance at a big boy. A cloudy, calm day will bring out some great emergences of Baetis in this stretch. A #18 baetis cripple with either a black wing or gray wing will do you fine. Nymphing the buckets just prior to the hatch with Sawyer PT’s, baetis thin mints, and other #18 mayfly nymph patterns will produce.
Gallatin River: Also ice free, and nymphing great in the long slow runs. Go deep with SJW’s, egg patterns, hare’s ear’s, black copper johns, and golden stone patterns. Some midge activity and a smattering of Baetis in the afternoons can bring fish to the surface. Check the tailouts of long runs, and the shallow edges of long pools for risers. They can be spooky, but more than worth the effort.
Yellowstone River: Great midge fishing and some Baetis are showing up. Look for March Browns, the first large mayfly of the year, to begin to unfetter its beautiful mottled brown wings in the next week or so as well. Floating this awesome river in the spring can be a good way to get to foam lines, back eddies and side channels where the fish tend to rise more frequently at this time of year. Anywhere on this majestic river is an option now!
Lower Henry’s Fork: Only open from Vernon Bridge downstream, but great dry fly fishing can be had on this stretch. Midges, Baetis and the soon to be seen March Browns, make this one of the best options for early season dry fly fishing. The large rainbows in this stretch just LOVE a cloudy day!
Ruby River: Low and clear and fishing well. Watch out for spawning rainbows and avoid wading or disturbing these fish as much as possible. Clean gravel in shallow riffles-stay away. However the many Browns in this river are on the hunt for midges, and baetis. Good fishing can be had from the dam downstream.
Tight lines of jumping trout, Rowan
Fishing Report March 11, 2008
Madison River: The Madison is now closed from Quake Lake to McAtee bridge. This stretch will reopen the third Saturday in May in conjuction with Montana’s General Fishing season. However the rest of the Madison remains open and the ice is slowly beginning to break up around Ennis. The best place to fish the Madison right now is below Ennis Lake through Beartrap Canyon and below, and Between the Lakes. Nymphing is the main name of the game. try SJW’s in red and hot pink, small lightning bugs, shop vacs, and crystal dips. If you are fishing the beartrap area I would add your favorite crayfish pattern to the mix. If the wind isn’t blowing (yea right) look for some fish eating the increasing number of midges----Griffith’s Gnat, Baybee!
Gallatin River: Open below (or North of..) the YNP boundary, concentrate your efforts in the long, slow and deep runs. The fish are still concentrated at this time of year and nymphing deep in these runs can provide a lot of action. On the Gallatin I like #10-#12 goldenstone nymphs, trailed by either a #16 shop vac, or a small SJW. Many of the local will fish bacon and egg tandem rigs now as well, and this can certainly be deadly.
Henry’s Fork: With the warmer temperatures the lower river down by Vernon is quickly becoming an option. Midges are the main game, but look for the season’s first baetis any day now, and soon to follow more baetis, and more baetis, and even more baetis.
Ruby River: have not made it here yet , but is usually solid nymphing with the usual suspects, and a decent chance to find a few noses up eating midges. Will update when I make it over there.
Spring is a coming and the fishing season is on!
Fishing Report January 10th 2008
This is coming to you a little later than I had promised, but here we go. We have a lot of snow here in West Yellowstone with over 3 feet of the fluffy white stuff on the level. I am hearing rumors of 9 feet of snow on the south plateau, Wow! If the weather warms up enough, look to the Madison as a prime place to go. A few midges are buzzing around Reynold’s Pass and the West Fork area. Look to the slow pools and quiet water created by all the rocks for a nose or two poking up to sip in midges. Nymphing will be the best bet, with the terrrible trio (#16 shop vac, #18 crystal serendipity, & #10 Pink San Juan Worm) being a winner. Josh reported good fishing in brutal conditions on the Lower Madison below the Beartrap. Midges were present and fish were caught, including a beauty of a Brown trout that nosed upwards of 19”. Way to go J-Dags! Thanks to everyone who came to Jimmy’s in Idaho Falls to watch me tie a few bugs. I had a lot of fun. On the way home however I checked out the lower H-Fork and to my surprise saw a number of eager trout rising to random midges. Hard to beat a griffith’s gant with a little tuft of black EP fiber for visibility. Also the Gallatin has some open water around Big Sky and downstream through the valley. The terrible Trio will definitley be a deadly combo here, but I also love any small golden stone imitation in about a #12 as well. Look for tough rising whities and trout in the tailouts of any of the long pools, and the slack water along the banks of those same pools. Alice has been keeping an eye out on the Firehole on her daily trips in to YNP via snowcoach, but hasn’t seen much yet, which is good since the Firehole doesn’t open until Memorial Day weekend. I am already dreaming of those beautiful days in June with tons of Rainbows and Browns sipping in PMD duns as they drift down the gentle currents of the Firehole. Rowan
Fishing Report December 23, 2007
All the recent snow and cold has kept me off the rivers lately, and with the Christmas season in full swing, I have been knee deep in the shopping throng rather than the icy cold water of the Madison. For the die hards, it is still possible to wet a line every now and then though, especially if you don’t mind chipping ice out of your guides every few casts or so. The Madison is low, but this has many of the fish concentrated in the better looking holding water. A few midges brave the icy elements but not many trout are following them to the surface. Expect nymphs such as Shop Vacs, Zebra Midges, and Crystal Serendipities to do the most damage, especially if they are hanging off the back of a Pink San Juan Worm. The Gallatin has been mostly iced over, making it difficult to even find water to cast a fly into. The most open water is close to Big Sky, where a lunker is always possible. The Henry’s Fork is too cold and windy for me, so I cannot honestly say, but I am already dreaming of the spring emergences of Baetis and March brown mayflies that begin to show in less than three months. Bring on the snow and fill our rivers.... Rowan
Posted December 8, 2007
Well Folks, the snow has been flying here in West Yellowstone. We have about 20-24 inches of the white fluffy stuff, on the level, and hopefully this is only the beginning. I am currently staring out the window of the latest passing storm that dropped a couple of new inches, and two more fronts are predicted this week. Things are looking good for the 2008 season.
With all that snow the Montana General fishing season came to an end on the 30th of November. The fishing for fall run Browns and Rainbows remained good up until the bitter, cold end. The Madison down by Slide Inn and $3 Bridge have been good on days when the wind isn’t howling. Midges have started their annual winter appearance and you can bet Josh, Alice, Zach, and myself are going to take advantage of that. The Ruby is busy with Browns doing the spawning thing, which only means more beautiful fish for the future. The lower Henry’s Fork has also been good, but it is starting to get harder and harder to coax out the desire to brave the cold and snow. Meanwhile, George is hunting birds all over Montana; Allan is getting ready to head to Chile; and Gabe is slaying the steelhead in California. Keep the snow flying.... Rowan
Posted November 2, 2007
What an interesting fishing season to say the least. Of course the Ranch has been closed
since the end of September, and overall, it was a good fishing season, although there were several developments to deal with. Low water, high water, hot, windy, river closures, and all the usual stuff. Yet the fishing remained good.
Several of us have been able to get out lately, sampling the Firehole, Henry's Fork, and both the Madison in the Park and out. If you find yourself out here, try wade fishing the Madison around Reynold's Pass. Look for noses on cloudy days sipping tiny Baetis
(#22-#26), in all the slack water pockets behind boulders. Nymphing will be very good with small Shop vacs, and baetis Thin Mints. The channels around Ennis fish very well this time of year as the fish stack up in the deep runs. Nymphing is best, with all the usual suspects. The Firehole will have great Baetis every afternoon until the Park closes on Monday November 5th. The Lower H-Fork is also fishing very well, mostly on small nymphs. With snow starting to pile up in the high country and a few inches on the level here in West Yellowstone, we are all very hopefull for a full snowpack this upcoming winter.
If you are headed out this winter, give us a call, and we can let you in on some of winters fishing secrets. Rowan
