Cold, Cold, Cold

Just back from a waterfowl hunt on the North Platte in Nebraska. Weather was warm and no ice on the river which mde the sloughs we hunted slightly less desirable than normal. Still, we shot more geese and greenheads than we deserved. A highlight was certainly a roast mallard prepared by Ted Brown that was quite possibly the best duck I've eaten. If and when he gives up the recipe, I will pass it on.  Last night, a report rolled in that a 4 man limit was shot in about 90 minutes yesterday morning out of the same blind we'd hunted the day before. Timing is everything!
      And so it goes with this hunting and fishing and probably most anything else in life. So often, it seems we're just a day early or a few steps behind. "You shoulda been here yesterday." I've long since given up worrying about that. You get what you get and if your expectations are real, dissapointment is rare. Success is directly related to the conditions at hand. So oftenm, true satisfaction can be deriven from making it happen on those days when everyone else has given up.
      Frigid here today, 9 below zero. Looks like it'll be fly tying day.

Tis the Season

The Holiday season is really something to behold. On one hand we look forward to time spent with family, to traditional meals, to parties, giving gifts and all the rest. In the other, we can find ourselves dreading the mere concept of all of it. When examined in it's entirety, it's a full load and complex in many ways.
      Much like a day on the river, surviving the Holiday Season requires strategy - with careful thought and an awareness of our surroundings, we can simplify our tactics and mindset allowing us to focus on the task at hand. For example, when an angler spots a pod of rising fish, it's common to let emotion take over. Instead of picking one fish from the group and making each move count, it's all too easy to try to catch them all at the same time. Water boils, knots break, women and children run for cover - this approach doesn't work. Think of Holiday planning in the same manner - keep it simple. Seems I have to relearn this lesson every year.
     Just yesterday, I put a basic, surefire plan to work. A simple list, two big stores - my holiday shopping would be licked in no time and everyone would be happy. First, I planned an early start to the day understanding that most consumers would be at work or in bed. Charlie and I went to Costco - needing survival supplies such as sugar, flour, milk and bread and a bag of 96 rolls. Apparently no one was at work or asleep. Most of Bozeman was there and all of the honey baked hams were gone. Not good. I was forced to visit several more stores - each time purchasing more items I had not planned on. And still no ham. Seems the bone-in style is not cool anymore. And, since whoever works the hams took the time to remove the bone, the price is now twice what it used to be. So we'll be eating elk on Christmas eve which is better anyway.
    Now 2:00 with little chance of accomplishing much more, I decided to make my last move, one surely destined to put a nail in the coffin of my remaining Christmas shopping. It was off to Kmart for serious shopping. This store, because it sucks, was virtually empty. Still, with everything from auto parts and garden supplies to candy, cooking and sporting goods, it appears the perfect place to find gifts for even the most discerning on the list. I found a great selection of ice fishing jigs that I needed and some Season Salt that I'll use on fried potatoes. Found nothing else that I, or anyone else, needed there. After several more useless stops, I was home, exhausted with little to show. My strategy had failed me - a day that could have been spent shooting ducks had been frittered away in the quest for ham.
    Once again, it's back to the basics -I will be tying flies for everyone's gift and serving up venison as the main course. Guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Basics, Simplicity - this works and let's us focus on what's really important. Good luck out there and Merry Christmas.

heres the photo

Snow is Here

Awesome snowfall yesterday - maybe 6 inches in town - wet, heavy stuff that makes for a good skiing base and does wonders for the snowpack and ultimately our future river conditions. With the snow and cold it seems time now to get crankin on the vise to replace the casualties from the past season and to rebuild and, possibly, reinvent the arsenal for 2013.
Too many, the concept of tying 700 dozen flies would define insanity. And while it may lead to it, I find it therapuetic in many ways. Creating things that catch fish is cool in my opinion but aside from that, I enjoy the time, while tying, that I have to plan future strategy and, once in a while, think back on great moments of the past season. The brown in the photo, caught by Mark Engstrom, defines one of those spectacular events.

December

After several months of technical difficulty it appears that I have managed to get the blog up and running again. Let me rephrase that. I couldnt figure out how the get this blog site to operate correctly last February. Then fishing season started and I never looked back as I'd much rather concentrate on fish than computers and the issues they present me. In the presence of technological deficiencies, it dawns on me that I may have spent too much time day dreaming about the river when I should have been paying attention in class. I'm afraid my son Jack, battling the pike in the photo, may suffer a similar fate. Either way, as the snowpack builds and the temperatures drop, I am back to my chores. If, I can manage to get this computer to work I will be posting blog entries on a much more frequent basis.

Great week of fishing

Sunday afternoon - sun is shining on about four inches of new snow from the storm yesterday afternoon and last night. It's good to see it looking like winter out there for a change. The mountains have been gettting some snow (snowpacks seem to be averaging 70-90% of normal) but we've had very little in town.

As a result, people who would often be focused on skiing are feeling the spring fishing bug creep in a bit earlier than normal. As several of these folks learned this week, the fishing is outstanding right now. More typical winter conditions have set in - it'd colder than it has been but not too cold. Instead of the 40s even 50s, we've seen high temps in high 20s to mid 30s. Warm weather seems nice but it brings wind, big wind. For the most part, in the past week, we've experienced calm conditions - exactly what we want.

Hit both the Madison and Gallatin in the past few days with excellent results in both locales. Still haven't found much in way of surface activity with midges but that will come in the weeks ahead.

So we've been nymphing primarily and while several patterns have worked well - the San Juan Worm and Shrimp Cocktail have been the most productive - no surprise as these are often my two best winter bugs. We've found fish deep, found them in the heads if the runs, really found them everywhere - they have been on the feed from about 11:30 -4:00. And while there are certainly some folks out there, we haven't run into any. Just rainbows and browns - mostly 12-15" with a few larger and a few smaller. Winter fishing is such a novelty - to be out there in a blizzard like yesterday afternoon, to be covered in snow and catching fish to beat the band - it's hysterical - fun. Size, numbers? Who cares. It's about much more than that.

I continue to hear good reports coming from the Missouri and Big Horn as well the Yellowstone when winds are down. Basically, fishing seems to be good most places right now and will likely stay that way until it gets really warm or really cold bring either wind at one extreme or floating ice on the other.

Don't give up on the skiing - it's pretty good and is just getting better. Tell that to everyone you know then head for the river.

February

30 dregrees at the moment, calm and overcast - absolutely primo conditions for an afternoon on the river. It's been an unusual one to say the least - very little snow in the Bozeman area (though the Yellowstone and Madison snowpacks are looking pretty good) and fairly warm temps. As a result, fishing has been excellent. The Madison, both upper and lower have been good when the wind has been down. I've had some wind myself which simply means nymphing instead of throwing dries though I know there's been some calm days and good midge fishing. Reports coming from the Reynolds Pass area on the upper Madison have been really good.

Really the story is much the same everywhere else - when the wind is down, fishing has been terrific. The Bighorn is experiencing great dry fly fishing with baetis and midges and NO people and I've heard from the Trout Shop in Craig that the streamer fishing below the dam is red hot. I'm sure the nymphing is good up there too - it usually is.

And while I haven't hit the Yellowstone in recent weeks due to the wind which blows down there most days during the winter, I'm sure the midge fishing would be good if you hit the right day. And there's the spring creeks - always a great option this time of year.

If there was ever a winter to fish, this is it. Often times our options are limited due to ice and other obstacles routine with a hard winter. This year however, those obstacles don't exist - at least not so far. Like most folks who live here - I feel that we're still gonna get it - just hope it's not in May and June.

I plan to be on water later this week, my son has the itch and he won't let it drop until we make the trip - most likely to the Madison or Gallatin which suit a 5 yr olds wading ability and patience level well.

Until then, I'll keep restocking the boxes and working on my winter order for Blue Ribbon Flies up in West Yellowstone. Still have Green Drake Emergers, Flav Sparkle Duns, Improved Zelon Midges and a host of others on the list. I cheated today and tied a bunch of PMD cripples, Callibaetis and March Brown Comparaduns for my box.

I'll be checking back in soon.

Late Fall Fishing?

Is Fishing Season Over?

Of course not! Though we've passed through the busy season and even the off season and have now entered in the abyss of late fall/early winter - there is still fishing to be done. With the options we have around here, there are always a few fish to be caught. Weather can be the issue now, it's hard to predict what one will get from day to day, and cold mornings are generally unproductive. Yet as the day warms we're still seeing some great action on the Yellowstone, Madison , Gallatin as well as on the spring creeks down in Livingston. Streamer fishing on the Yellowstone was at its peak just a week and a half ago and my guess is that those tough enough to brave the elements could still have a shot at a few big browns. And if it's calm, and that's a big "if" there are still fish to be caught on dries.

Though most folks are well into hunting mode and have stored the fishing gear in the corner of the room temporarily, don't dismiss the option of fishing entirely - this is the most uncrowded time of the year without question and if conditions are right, a few hours of late fall fishing might be just what the doctor ordered!

August Fishing

Though August is nearly over, conditions feel more like late July. Water conditions are absolutely perfect everywhere - cool nights have kept temps in check and higher than average flows have provided trout with ideal living conditions. Other than occasional carp trips, I've spent most of my time on the Yellowstone lately where pressure seems unusually light for the height of summer. Have seen few if any boats of most days though I'm sure they're out there. Most days have consisted of nymphing to start while the river warms and dry fly fishing starting somewhere around 11am. Hoppers and other attractors have been the ticket and the action seems to be getting more solid by the day.

Have also experienced some fantastic Spruce Moth fishing on some of the area's smaller mountain creeks - those who have not fished in and around Spruce Moth activity should try it - the Gallatin , Hyalite Creek, the Big Hole - all provide good options. There is a ton of great summer fishing to be had - with water conditions as they are, it would seem that we're in for a terrific September and beyond.

Lots of Water

Water, water, water. Tons of out out here these days and while it's been an incovenience to anglers the benefits are going to be good conditions for the bulk of the summer. Without a doubt options are limited at the moment though its a day to day kind of deal. I have spent much of the past month on the Missouri which, in spite of massive flows, has been nothing short of phenomenal . THose who have not experienced that river during May or June should put it on the list. Due to high water flows of the past few years, fish populations up there are booming and most fish are averaging 17 inches which, in my opinion, is pretty impressive. Its been a nymphing deal up there with crayfish, caddis pupa, SJ worms and Buggers - the dry fly fishing will come when the river drops in the next few weeks.

As of now, the Madison is shaping up. Fished it today and while it is off color and flowing high the fishing is good. We're hoping for salmonflies at any point though everything has run late this year so it may still be a week or so away. Aside from this it's been lakes and spring creeks. With a lake dy tomorrow, I'm off to tie some callibaetis spinners and damselfly nymphs.

The big question is wehen the Yellowstone is going to clear - it's crankin now - I'm guessing, optimistically, that it will be around July 20 - more than likely it will be Aug 1. We'll see. Keep in touch.

Lots o Water

Though we still haven't seen a ton in the way of super warm temps, spring has slowly come on the scene - grass is greening up, leaves are starting to poke out and snow storms have been replaced by rain showers (at least below 7000 ft). Runoff is certainly underway and while the Yellowstone, Gallatin, Jefferson, Big Hole and numerous smaller tribs are blown out, there are still some great options holding out.

The Madison, both upper and lower, has been fishing fine and while the water has been open the rise, the climb has been slow and the fish have pretty much stayed on the bite. Some good caddis fishing has occured on the lower during the evenings - been pretty much nymphing program during the day. The upper has been a most cooperative with nymphs as well - had some exotics out of there a week ago - a grayling, a brook trout and a fine sucker. Last grayling I saw in there was 12 years ago - cool to see one again.

The Missouri, now 15,000cfs is huge but fishing has been great if you can your bugs down the fish. Long rigs with wire worms and fire bead scuds are a huge part of the deal, putting them in the soft spots where the fish are congregated is the other. Will be spending a lot of time up there in the next few weeks giving the waterds around here a chance to settle down.

Its going to be a long runoff this year - might not get on that Yellowstone until mid July - once we do get on there my guess is that we'll see some of the best fishing we've seen in a while. The fish are loving all this water. With a few good years of it now, we're really looking good for the future.

Terrific April Fishing

Though I'd like to title this entry "spring fishing" or something along those lines, it still feels a bit like winter around these parts. Just this week we've had two significant snowfalls in Bozeman - can't imagine what the mountains received. Haven't checked the stats, all I know is that there is a ton of the white stuff up there. And while we've been dealing with cold temps and lots of snow and a lack of comfort the benefit is good water. We're going to have lots of it this summer which is going to make for ideal conditions from mid July throughout the rest of summer and fall.

In spite of the more March-like conditions, fishing has been terrific. We've had some great baetis and midge fishing on the Yellowstone, Madison and the Spring Creeks and, just this past week, experienced the wonders of skwala fishing on the Big Hole. It was cold, maybe 25, and windy but those fish were on that early season stonefly - kind of like hopper fishing in April. Nymphing, as it most often is, has been solid most everywhere and as water temps warm slowly but surely, the streamer fishing has picked up. So it's hard to figure what we'll do or where we'll be headed from one day to the next - we're lookng at wind, at water temps, air temps, flow trends, clouds, sun and all the rest. With all the options around here, there's always something fishing well - we just have to find it!

Spring Fishing in Full Swing

Though conditions have leaned a bit more towards winter than spring lately, with 2 good snows and temps only getting into the 40s in the past week, the fish have made it clear that they have entered into spring feeding mode regardless of the conditions. Without a doubt, the rainbow spawn, which has just started around here, is a driving force of some of this hot action. Pre spawn rainbows are chowing down before their annual rite of spring while the post spawners are doing the same in effort to refuel. Browns and smaller rainbows are taking advantage of the entire routine, simply gorging on the eggs that find their way off the redds and into the current. Aside from the spawn, midge hatches are enormously prolific right now and blue winged olives are just starting to make a presence. There is more to eat out there now there than has for a while, the days are getting longer, the water starting to warm and the fish are simply starting to take advantage of all of it.

My anglers from last week had to put up with some tricky conditions, mainly wind, but were rewarded with solid fishing on the Yellowstone, a superb day on Depuys Spring Creek and several excellent days on the Madison. Conditions look excellent for the next few days and into the weekend. We'll cross our fingers and hope for calm conditions which could provide us with some great dry fly opportunities.

Winter Fishing

With the mild weather we've had as of late, the fishing has picked up markedly on the East and West Gallatin, Madison and Yellowstone (when the Livingston winds are at bay). Fishing on the Livingston Spring Creeks has been good but will only get better as rainbows start to move into the creeks from the Yellowstone later in February. Though most action has been subsurface with SJ Worms, Golden Stones, Prince and Hare's Ear Nymphs as well as midge larva and pink patterns such as the Shrimp Cocktail, there have been moments of surface activity with midges. Midge hatches will get stronger and more prolific throughout February and into March providing us with one of the best dry fly opportunities of the season. With the midge fishing game, calm days are the key. Tired of skiing? Give us a call and we'll get you on some spectacular mid winter fishing action.

October Fishing

Though it's mid October, it still feels much like summer - haven't dusted off the neoprenes yet nor the fingerless gloves. Have had an unbelievable spell of bluebird days and warmth - not typical of October but we'll take it... I guess. While the weather had been comfortable, the bright days have found us working hard for our fish - they've been there but we've had to pull out some tricks to make it happen. One day it's been streamers, the next nymphs, the next hoppers. We've fished midges, baetis, psuedos and caddis as well. All in all, we've found good fishing from the Missouri to the Madison and Yellowstone but it's been random and unpredictable as have been the fish we've seen. Just last week we landed a large westslope Cutthroat from an unlikely spot as well as a walleye that ended up in the skillet. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Needless to say, given the weather pattern we've had, I have to think that some of our best fall fishing is still to come.

Fall Fishing

Though we're still getting glimpses of summer, the leaves are starting to change and the blue winged olives are starting to outproduce the hoppers on many if not most days. Hard to believe but fall is in the air which seems impossible after what amounted to a short summer. Needless to say, fishing is good these days though entirely weather dependent. Hot sunny days have been followed but cool rainy ones and with the inconsistent weather comes unpredictable trout. One day it's a pink Morrish Hopper that's getting the job done, the next it's a parachute Adams, the next it's a tan Sculpin stripped slowly off the banks. So they're keeping us on our toes out there which, honestly, is the way it probably should be.

Options are widespread right now and water conditions are primo - in fact many of the area rivers have come up in the past few weeks with the frequent rain. Spent two days on the Missouri last week. Action has picked up there and depsite the nuisance of floating weeds, the fishing was terrific with both nymphs and dries. The Yellowstone has been better on cloudy, rainy days ( which tend to produce the best hatches) but I've still run into some good hopper fishing when the sun is out. Have also had some good fishing on the Gallatin and Madison lately as well as in a few other random places not fit to publish online.

This is shaping up to be a great fall on the water - crowds have been thin and with the rivers in the shape they're in, those who managed to find their way out here are likely going to be in for some great fishing.

Hopper Fishing is Prime

Though it took awhile to get here and it's hard to say how long it wil last, summer conditions are absolutely primo as we speak. River levels and temps are ideal and with the settled, stable sunny days we've been getting the fish are looking up consistently. Morning fishing has been unpredictable (sometimes great right out of the ramp, other times slow) but the afternoon action has been consistently good - typical August fishing on the Yellowstone. Today they were on the hoppers by 10:30. Yesterday they wouldn't touch a hopper until 2 but would move across the river for a spruce moth all morning long. Might be nothing tomorrow, could be the day of the season. It's this type of fishing that gets us excited to be out there each morning - one never knows exacty what to expect - where will the fish be, what fly will they want? I've devised at least a dozen new hopper patterns this summer and whike none of them have worked i'm pretty sure that tonights epiphony will spell trouble for those fish tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Summer is here

Just today it finally felt like summer has arrived and might actually be here to stay. It was about 85 degrees out there on the Yellowstone today and with just the right amount of wind, it couldn't have been more comfortable. As is always the case this time of year, the fish seem to feel the same way. water levels are starting to stabilize after runoff and water temps are prime for not only the trout but for the aquatic insects that are enormously active and prolific at the moment. Just today we encountered 4 different varieties of stoneflies, three separate caddis, and 4 mayflies. PMDs, Green Drakes, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies, Salmonflies, Black Caddis, Brown Sedges....you name it. Unfortunately, the fish weren't looking up today but it seemed that anything dark olive pushed their button. So, the Yeloowstone is back and fishing well, as is the Madison, Gallatin and Missouri. The Jefferson and Lower Gallatin are also going to come into play soon though it's possible they're already in good shape. THough a week or so away, carp fishing is close and as soon as the water clears on the Missouri we'll be up there after them. Randomly, we landed a 30 pounder in an undisclosed location last week....in many years of freshwater fishign it was far and away the largest freshwater fish I have ever managed to land. Can't believe that hopper season is just around the corner!!! Feel free to call or email for an up to date report anytime.

No Shortage of Water This Year!

Long gone are the early season concerns of whether or not we'd have enough water to last us the season. It's been seemingly non-stop rain and high country snow since mid-April and at this point we have more water than we know what to do with. It's a good problem to have and the fish love it. And while it finds us scrambling to find fishable conditions, there are always a number of good options in spite of what most folks think. Though high and off-color, the Lower Madison is fishable and just today we had fantastic action with olive buggers, SJ Worms and some crayfish patterns. The Missouri, though enormous with flows @ 16,000 cfs, is clear and as long as flows remain somewhat consistent, the nymphing is excellent. With the caddis brewing in and Craig, the fishing is just going to get better though, after a few days with the Wire Worm earlier this week, I'm not sure if it really could improve. We have seen more big browns up there this year than I can remember. Of course, the spring creeks remain an option as well and PMDs have started - this is one of the best dry fly opportunities on the creeks of the season.
Though it's impossible to predict, I suspect it will be somewhere in early to mid July before we're on the Yellowstone again. For more currrent info feel free to contact us at any time. Tight lines!