May 2010
I had a great time teaching my client, Jane Standley, how to fly fish at Nelson's Spring Creek. She did a wonderful job casting, hooking and landing a number of healthy trout from Nelson's pond. Jane is ready now to show up her husband this season!
Just can't get enough of the Missouri right now and since the yellowstone is up to 7500 cfs i accepted my dad's offer to go fish caddis on the mo with no hesitation at all. Well we didn't end up seeing many caddis but there were a few small grey baetis and lots of midges on top with some heads coming up but for us the real hot action came from nymphing. The flies of the day being black or olive micro may size 18-20 (I would cry if this bug was not in my fly box), BA's grey...
I've had the past half week or so off so was able to make it out a lot before the runoff hit too hard. I started out up on the Dearborn with three of my good buddies, for two of which this was their first fishing trip in a couple years. When we threw out the first lines, Jason Fix hooked into a fat 20 inch rainbow right of the bat and we figured we were in for one of those days. However with 80 degree weather the water started to turn color around 11, and the fishing stopped dead....
Yesterday I made the journey to the Upper Madison with partners in crime, Dan Oliver and Nick Lux. The float from Lyons to Ruby started out with some muddy water spewing from the West Fork, but it seemed that the dirty water was where the fish were hang'n out. It was slow at first, but after a couple of fly changes I settled on an olive Rubber Leg with a little flash. That dash of flash was all it took for the trout to open their mouths and eat. Later in the day as we got down...
I spent the last couple of days on the Missouri River near Craig Montana with the trout crazed King clan, Gary, Rod, and Pete. Fishing the mighty Missouri River this time of the year could be your best shot at Montana's best dry fly fishing for big uneducated trout and still share the river with only a hand full of other anglers. The mobs of fishermen that come in June and July for the famed PMD and Trico hatches will educate the trout pretty quickly. A fish can only be ...
Had the pleasure of camping out on the missouri this week with Rod King, Garry King, and Ty Webb. I love this river for many reasons but the variety of water and styles used and their successful effectiveness (dry fly, nymphs, and streamers) being at the top of my list. What better way to experience it then with some mature veterans and young trout bums alike in the group. The first day was cloudy which brought out some good baetis size 14-16, midge 18-20 griffiths gnat, and grey...
After getting off the Yellowstone on Saturday the common talk amongst my fellow guide friends was that nobody was going to see much of their mothers the next day for mother's day being that the caddis dry fly fishing has been so good. Luckily my mom fly fishes, and well, so i took her out for a float on sunday. We leisurely put on the river around noon and had steady action on top with march browns size 12-14, blooms caddis tan or peacock 14-16, usually trailed by a baetis...
Yesterday I wandered off into the Paradise Valley with my client Mike, to see if we could round up a trout or two. The day started off with blue skies, warming temps, and no wind, which in my opinion was the perfect recipe for a Mothers Day Caddis hatch. But with clouds rolling in around noon and the temps dropping, once again they didn't come. But what we did get...
Yesterday I took client and new trout junkie, Nick Slowick to the Upper Madison for a day of walk wade fishing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried about the weather going into the trip, but as it turned out, we had enough sunshine in between the snow and rain to make a fairly comfortable day. With the amount of clouds and mild temps, I expected, or maybe hoping is more ...