Rock Creek is a 52-mile long anglers haven located west of I-90 and just 30 minutes south of Missoula.  On any given day you can hit a “grand slam” by catching beautiful browns, rainbows and west slope cutthroat and even the occasional brookie. The river corridor is surrounded by pristine land of the 2 million acre Lolo National Forest and is widely considered to be one of the most scenic trout rivers in Western Montana and the home waters of our partner the Blue Damsel Lodge.  The smaller size of Rock Creek and ample public land make it a favorite location for wade fisherman.

One of our favorite times to visit Rock Creek is in the colder winter months. You have every hole to yourself and, if you’re lucky, will not see another angler all day.  Western Montana has a milder climate than farther south and it only freezes over during the coldest arctic blasts.  The colder water temps drive trout into easily targeted slow and deep runs.

Fly selection in the winter is fairly easy due to the limited food sources.  The brown trout and whitefish spawn proceed the winter months and and eggs are periodically flushed off the redds helping to nourish trout throughout the entire winter. It is no surprise that egg patterns are effective in the off season.  During the frigid winter months trout’s metabolisms slows down and they become very lethargic. Unless you literally hit them in the face with a small nymph, they will not make the effort. Large offerings such as stone fly nymphs and egg patterns are a go to choice for winter.  A stonefly’s life cycle can last up to three years depending on the species, so there are always stonefly nymphs to be found in the water.  Rock Creek has a robust salmon fly  population (Pteronarcys californica) and these massive insects are a favorite of trout.  Few trout will let such a well placed egg or stonefly nymph go by unscathed.  It is imperative to get your nymph rig down deep enough to where the fish are. The rocks create friction making the current on the bottom of the river the slowest, making a suitable lie for trout.  If your nymphs are not ticking the bottom every once in a while, you are not down deep enough. Split shots are essential in the winter to achieve this.  When nymphing the ever popular “steak and eggs” combination of a stonefly pattern on top trailed by an egg pattern is a good place to start and often all that is needed for an afternoon of fishing.  Fly selection isn’t rocket science in the winter months.

Midge larva and small immature mayflies are also prevalent in Rock Creek.  Midges can be especially important in the later winter months of February-early April when daily hatches can occasionally produce a few snouts on the surface.  Dry fly fishing is a big bonus in the winter and most days nymphing will be the name of the game.  If the steak and eggs combo isn’t producing dropping a midge larva behind one of the larger patterns can sometimes do the trick.

One of the keys to successful winter fishing is to make sure you are fishing where the trout are.  About 95% of the river is devoid of trout in the colder months.  Nearly all of the trout in the river will be jammed into a few slower and deeper runs.  Anglers need to skip all of the gorgeous riffles and swift pocket water that produces in the summer months and seek out slower, deep runs where trout have protection and don’t have to work hard.  These runs can often hold over a hundred trout each and on a good winter afternoon you may only need to string one or two of these productive pools together to rack up a lot of fish.

Unlike the rest of the year, fishing in the morning and evening is less productive than the middle of the day when the sun is on the water. 11:00 to 4:00 is prime time. This allows optimum time for the water temperature to warm up and for you to enjoy a leisurely morning.  Also, this gives you ample opportunity to catch some Trout Slayer beers at a local Missoula brewery after a productive day on Rock Creek.

Rods, leaders and tackle
A five or six weight is perfect for winter fishing.  A longer 9 or 10 foot rod helps to manage a drift which is very important during winter fishing.  We like a longer leader – often a 9’ that is custom built to have a longer tippet area to help flies sink directly below the indicator.  It is important to match the weighting of your rig to the bottom so flies regularly tick off of rocks – trout don’t work hard in cold water and won’t rise high in the water column to take flies.  Since trout don’t move far to take flies and they are in slow water to start with the motion on the strike indicator will be very subtle.  Fishing a yarn indicator in the winter will help to see the delicate flutters that are often a take.  Strike first and ask questions later when fishing slow runs with lethargic trout.  If you expect your indicator to get yanked under expect a slow and unproductive day even though trout are most likely taking and spitting your flies on a regular basis.

Flies for the Winter Months on Rock Creek
Fly selection is about as easy as it gets when waters are cold.  A few stonefly patterns, egg patterns and midge larva or smaller baetis nymphs are all that is needed.  If the trout aren’t eating you are better off waiting until peak midday hours or even better moving until you find fish.  Spending time going through your fly box is generally not needed if you can find the heavily concentrated winter runs.  Here are a few flies that always produce in the winter:

Egg Patterns
Eggs are relatively abundant in river systems throughout the winter following the fall spawn of brook trout, brown trout and whitefish.  Pick your favorite pattern but always have a few in your box.

Stoneflies
golden stones, yellow sallies and salmon flies are all abundant in Rock Creek.  The larger goldens and salmon flies have a longer life cycle and are the top choice for winter trout.  You don’t need to get to fancy on your patterns and goold ol’ rubber legs will work just fine.

Midges
Midges are abundant and become more important in the later winter months of February and March when some early hatches occur on warm days.  Midge larva trailed behind and egg or stonefly sometimes can fool some pickier fish.

 

One of the most frequent questions I am asked when visiting anglers are planning their fishing trip to Montana is “when is the best time to come out”. That question is impossible to answer so I generally try to feel out what is most important to someone: nice weather, lots of action, dry fly fishing, big trout, etc. If your top priority is catching big brown trout the answer is easier: October. There is no better time to fish Montana for large trout than October (and even November). Brown trout which tend to make up the majority of the trophy size trout that we see each year spawn in November and early December. Browns are notorious for becoming more aggressive prior to the spawn. The aggressive nature of browns in the fall combined with the fact that they are on the move running up river and sometimes into tributaries can produce some heart stopping action for lucky and persistent anglers. Late fall fishing isn’t just about targeting huge trout, there can also be some great dry fly fishing over the baetis hatch. For most of our guides, however, we get caught up in chasing really big fish in the autumn months. Hunting huge browns in the fall isn’t for everyone and if you are going to play the game there are a few important guidelines worth considering.

Dress for Success
October and November in the Northern Rockies can be notoriously unpredictable. Days can be warm and sunny or the snow can be blowing sideways. Make sure you prepare for any kind of weather from hot and sunny to cold and wet. If you are travelling all the way to Montana to chase big October browns you don’t want to be shut out just because some bad weather blows in. Although October and November are dry months, there will always be some early winter storms that move through and these often produce great conditions for browns that love low light conditions. I still wear gore tex waders but I also have long underwear and fleece pants to layer underneath as well as plenty of layers on top. Don’t forget the gloves and winter hat either.

Arrive at Peak Times
Although big browns begin moving in late September, the best fall run fishing isn’t until after the middle of October and sometimes as late as mid November. The peak fishing on the Madison run above Hebgen in Yellowstone is usually the third week of October while monster browns on the Missouri usually don’t start showing up until November.

Throw Giant Streamers
Most anglers know that big browns are predators and that fishing streamers is a great way to target them. If you are going to throw streamers in the fall don’t underestimate how big of a fly a huge brown will eat. I have seen big browns regularly eat relatively big trout in the 15” range – they often can’t swallow them all at once and spend a day with a big tail sticking out of their mouth. If you want to move fish over 24” make sure you are stripping the biggest streamers that you can find. I usually have to tie my own tandem hook streamers that are around 10” long. These massive flies are best fished on a seven or eight weight. They won’t put you into many small trout but if you throw them long enough you are sure to see some huge fish at some point.

Try Egg Patterns
Whitefish, brown trout and brook trout are all fall spawners which means there are a lot of eggs bouncing around the rivers in October and November. Although huge browns tend to prefer a big meal, eggs are so packed with nutrients that even the largest browns will still eat them. There are days when fishing egg patterns under an indicator will outfish every other method for big browns.

Target Spawning Runs
Although any large river that holds big browns can produce a monster in the fall, targeting fisheries that receive a spawning run of browns from a lake or larger river downstream is a good option in late October and November. Most of these fall run fisheries are no secret. Expect to see some other anglers if you are chasing browns on these fisheries that include the Madison in Yellowstone Park, The Lewis Channel in Yellowstone and the Missouri between the lakes. There are other locations that aren’t as well known that also produce a great run of fall browns if you do some legwork and experimenting. Even on the famous fall run fisheries like the Madison in the park there is always plenty of room and on a weekday with a bit of fall weather you will often see very few other anglers. November fishing is also extremely productive and the fishing pressure dramatically drops off with very few visiting anglers in the state and most of the locals out hunting.

Many avid anglers target September as their preferred month for fly fishing in Montana. Once kids go back to school the amount of tourist traffic visiting the Big Sky state drops off dramatically so the casual anglers sneaking in a guided day of fishing on their Yellowstone Park vacation almost vanishes and the rivers are left to more serious fly fishers. Locals also begin turning their attention to the fall hunting season so the trout see relatively few flies in the Autumn months. September also offers some of the most pleasant weather of the year with dry weather, crisp mornings, and warm days. Fortunately the fishing can be very good in September with a mixed bag of dry fly fishing, streamer fishing and nymph fishing

Where to fish?
All of the favorite classics that fish well in the summer are still a good option in September. Legendary rivers like the Upper Madison, Yellowstone, Gallatin etc. still produce. One of the perks about fishing in September is that several of the lower elevation rivers also become a good option. Waters such as the Lower Madison, Upper Missouri, Jefferson and Lower Gallatin often get too warm in the popular mid summer months to produce good fishing. Once the nights become longer and temperatures begin to drop a bit these fisheries often hit ideal trout temperatures and once again become productive. The lower elevation waters often have lower trout counts per mile but often produce some of the larger brown trout in the region with a ten-pounder a possibility for a very lucky angler. Spring creeks are also an interesting choice for September. By the end of the month the fall baetis hatch is producing steady mid day match the hatch fishing. Earlier in the month terrestrials are the main dry fly staple but nymphing the troughs with midge larva. Usually the famous spring creeks near Livingston only have a few rods a day in September so you can have all of the best runs available without a lot of other anglers around (just be prepared for technical fishing).

Dry fly fishing
September offers ample opportunities for anglers that enjoy surface action. In the beginning of the month the terrestrial fishing with ants, hoppers and beetles is often the most productive. Although everyone starts to get really excited about hopper fishing as early as late July, some years the hopper fishing doesn’t hit its prime until September. Terrestrial fishing is generally good the entire month, especially on the warmer sunny days which make up the bulk of the days during this dry and mild time of the year. By the middle of September we begin to see some of the mayfly hatches in the region that can get the trout very excited. Tricos are still on some of the waters in early September but by mid September we begin to see baetis mayflies, mahogoany duns, grey drakes and ephrons. Even sparse hatches in September can provide some nice dry fly opportunities.

September streamer fishing
Brown trout are just beginning to get colored up but are not really on the move yet prior to spawning and will get more aggressive moving into October. Streamer fishing can still be a good option in September. Since the mornings are arriving later with the longer days it is easier to get to the rivers at first light which is often the window to get nice streamer action on a sunny day. Of course if you have cloud cover or a front pushes in streamers can be effective throughout the day. Generally September sees a few cold fronts that come in and produce a bit of precipitation for a day or two which can really turn some big fish when stripping bunny fur.

Nymph fishing
Its no secret that trout take the majority of their food subsurface so nymph fishing will always produce regardless of the season. In September we often try to find dry fly opportunities but we still do a lot of nymph fishing. On some of the lower elevation rivers mentioned earlier there are some really big trout and even if a few trout are rising we often still nymph big sculpins and crayfish patterns with a smaller baetis nymph dropper to try to entice some of the trophy trout in these waters.

September is certainly high on the list as a great time to visit Montana. If you are looking for a time of year that produces dry and mild weather with fewer anglers on the water then it should be high on the list. The diversity of opportunities that can experienced in the early fall is also a bonus to traveling during September.

We just returned from our annual spring guides trip. This year we went back to Cody, WY after visiting last season when we got rained out on the Bighorn. The rivers were blown out last year in May but we enjoyed the area so decided to give it another shot. Half of the fun of fly fishing is trying to figure out how to unlock the code on a given river and for a specific time of year. We rented out a great ranch on Rock Creek at the edge of the Beartooth front about 30 minutes from Cody and just 10 miles from the Montana border. Fishing is only part of the experience on a trip like this and our crew of 8 guys thoroughly enjoyed fishing by day followed by great food back at the ranch and some heated rounds of “Kubb” on the lawn followed by pool in the game room once the sun went down. Our fishing was a mix bagged of blinding brilliance and “should have been here yesterday”. We are slowly getting the Cody area dialed in and are already looking forward to 2013. No other location matches Montana fishing for diversity and quality of wild trout fisheries, but it is always fun to explore some new waters!

Day 1: North Fork Shoshone
We targeted the North Fork of the Shoshone on our first day of fishing to intercept the lake run rainbows out of Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The lower part of the river is closed until Newton Creek. The fish were already above the closure and we hit numerous rainbows in the 15-20” class. The top fly was a small brown size 10 stone that imitates the Skwala stonefly that was hatching. Worms, egg patterns and princes were also productive. The trout were definitely hold up and were in surprisingly fast water for April. The most productive water was the medium speed riffles at the head of deeper pools with about 3 feet of depth. When you found fish we often pulled out 4-8 trout out of each run. Sometimes an hour or so went between nice pools. After lunch the fishing really heated up and we managed some big bows and a few nice cuts. The scenery was outstanding and many of the wildlife were along the river corridor including some giant bighorn rams, bison and lots of mule deer.

Day 2: Shoshone tailwater
The Shoshone had been fishing lights out for several weeks over midges and baetis hatches. About 2 days before we arrived they bumped flows from the dam which reduced clarity a bit and released a lot of moss. The river was still green so we gave it a shot. We had some great action right out of the gates near the put in with a nice midge hatch bringing up a about a dozen trout along a grassy bank. When we went back to drifting we had action every 5 minutes pulling light colored streamers for the first hour after the put in. Lots of chases and a few hookups on browns and cutthroats. As we continued our float the moss became more problematic and the fishing dropped off after lunch and became pretty slow. We learned from the guys at Tim Wade’s shop that they tend to bump flows around the 15th of april each year due to calls for irrigation. We decided to time our trip a week early for 2013 to try to catch this fun little tailwater that can offer great dry fly fishing over spring hatches.

Day 3: Newton Lakes
Our plan A on the third day was to hike up into the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone canyon and do some more wade fishing. Unfortunately the warm weather had bumped the flows overnight so we opted to fish the Newton Lakes trophy stillwater. Newton produced our only good fishing from 2012 when we arrived in late May during run off. The midge hatch was on when we arrived and we managed to produce some nice hookups on 20” browns sipping midges while cruising the banks. Matt and Adam did some deep nymphing by slow twitching scuds and chironomids and had steady action and even a few doubles. Our boat opted to continue sight fishing and patrolled the banks looking for more cruisers. Once the midge hatch stopped the fish weren’t as shallow and the sight fishing wasn’t as good as last year. The callibaetis were just beginning to hatch but not in enough abundance to really turn things on. Many of the rainbows were in the “false spawn” and were chasing each other along gravel patches but not interested in feeding. We weren’t interested in nymphing and managed a few more eats in the shallows but nothing spectacular.

Summary
After our second spring trip to the Cody, WY area we are slowly beginning to figure out the timing and access areas. We nailed our timing for the North Fork rainbow run but were just a few days late to catch the good dry fly fishing on the Shoshone. Next year we have decided to arrive one week early to get there before they calls for irrigation cause bumps on the flows of the Shoshone. Part of the fun of fly fishing is figuring out new rivers and streams and we will keep going back until we get this new location dialed in!

Excellent dry fly fishing on Armstrong’s spring creek started this week with thick hatches of both baetis and midges.  Fish are taking anything parachute, such as a parachute adams, parachute BWO, and even parachute ants!  The fish are looking up productively all day too providing non stop surface action.  Anglers can also pick fish up just below the surface by hanging a small midge emerger or larvae a few inches below a dry fly.

-Miles

Matt Morris, his girl Laura, and I took a drive over to the Missouri below Halter today. We were let down by the weatherman, who called for 68 degrees and sunshine. Instead we encountered fog and low clouds with temperatures barely breaking the high 40′s. Our attitudes weren’t glum for long though; fortunately our day was warmed up by hot beads, the choice fly for countless rainbows (several pushing 21″).  We soon lost count regarding the fish in hand, not that we were counting anyway.  Productive runs offered as many fish as a person could catch.  The fish were hot too, fighting, jumping, and putting on a show.

-Miles

I took my wife to the Lower Madison to fish on a partly sunny 50 degree afternoon.  It was certainly nice to be on the water again this spring, which has produced high quality spring fishing.  We parked the truck and took a short walk before fishing a deep bucket (depression).  I immediately hooked and landed a spunky 14″ rainbow on the first cast.  Before spoiling the pool, I had my wife replace me and make the second cast.  Another slightly larger rainbow agreeably received her baetis nymph offering.  Our first child received her first assist, at the spry age of 8 months and still in utero!  We pulled another 7 fish from this hole before wandering a little farther upstream.  Before long we had our fill of fun with great action from the pods of fish stacked up in the deeper runs.

Baetis were not observed on the water that day but are conceivably beginning to move more frequently subsurface as the long awaited spring baetis hatch looms ever closer.  Midges were hatching productively all day.  Trout aggressively began rising on the midges around 3pm once a large cloud came overhead and began spitting light sleet, hail, and large snowflakes.  I took advantage and rigged up my new dry fly rod, a Winston B-IIT 9′ 4-weight.  Numerous rainbows quickly cooperated in selecting my midge cluster dry fly patterns, ultimately highlighting pure pleasure with the new rod.  I always remember and appreciate the details of the first trout on a new rod!  Time will tell if our in-utero baby girl has the same romantic memory of her first trout assist.

Miles

My good buddy Dan visited Bozeman this weekend for a short late winter vacation get-a-way.  Dan and I grew up in grade school together, later became college roommates, and more recently served in each other’s weddings.  We awoke Friday morning to the delightful surprise of 11″ of cold smoke powder skiing at Bridger Bowl, located just a few minutes outside of town.  The new snow was in addition to the five feet of snow that fell within the last three weeks at Bridger.  Skiing conditions were more than amazing to say the least.

 

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed another welcome surprise, 7″ of new snow at Big Sky ski area.  Dan and I hooted and hollered as we descended nearly 3000 vertical feet on a tram run in knee deep fresh powder.

 

I dragged Dan out fishing on the third day, although I sensed a reluctant attitude as he hinted how we should go skiing again given the perfect conditions on the mountain.  It didn’t take long for the warm sunny weather and excellent fishing to change his opinion.  We sampled a few of the local rivers, wade fishing here or there for an hour or two at a time.  We enjoyed great fishing at every stop.  Rainbow and Brown trout were enthusiastically greeting us by moving aggressively for olive midge nymphs and the occasional egg pattern.  The Ruby River had at least one aggressive Brown trout waiting in every hole, while the Madison provided pockets of schooled rainbows in each of the deeper runs.  Dan commented frequently about the great fishing fun and expressed surprise because he is used to slow marginal winter trout fishing around his local trout rivers in Oregon.  I think he must have been pretty impressed by the size of the Ruby River Brown Trout he was catching because on the fourth day he elected to decline a free ski pass in order to get one more day of fishing in before his evening flight home.  I chuckled as I thought to myself, “Another Montana angling convert”.

 

-Miles

 

July fly fishing in Montana produces some of the most diverse angling conditions of the year. July is hand’s down the busiest time of the year for fishing the blue ribbon rivers of the Big Sky state. The popularity is due in part to the fact that July is often when a lot of people like to plan their summer vacation combined with the fact that many anglers target the month for the great fishing that it can produce. The beginning of July produces and entirely different set of fly fishing conditions than the end of July. To complicate matters, water levels and hatch timing in July can very greatly from year to another depending on the snow pack.

Early July: the peak of the hatches
Fishing in early July is completely driven by the hatch cycles of the many aquatic insects that make their home Montana rivers. Food supply is completely driven by these hatch cycles and trout become fairly selective during prolific hatches. Fishing can be terrific during these hatches if an angler is dialed into the correct insect cycles and have patterns that match the natural insects. This is often the best time to visit Montana’s legendary spring creeks where the pale morning dun produces prolific daily hatches and actively rising trout. Other important early July hatches include the salmon fly, golden stone, yellow sally and a variety of different caddis species. The timing of these hatches is different from one river to the next and from year to year but the sequence is always the same. Generally the hatch cycles begin with the salmon fly and end with the caddis species. Hatches often produce exciting sight fishing to rising trout but other times they can frustrate anglers when trout have filled up on larger insects like salmon flies or when there are so many naturals hatching that your imitation is a needle in a haystack.

Mid July: attractor dry fly time
As the early July hatches begin to wind down trout become more opportunistic. Water levels are also on the drop and trout are more and more interested in looking to the surface. Usually there is some caddis activity in the morning, but later in the day trout will readily snack on a variety of different food sources since there is no single insect or food supply dominating their diet. While a variety of techniques can be productive that include nymphs and streamers, this is a great time to fish attractor dry flies like pmx’s and royal wulffs. The feeding cycle of the trout is often spread over the course of the day and good fishing from morning to late afternoon can often be experienced. This is a great time to target Montana since many fisheries can be targeted.

Late July: terrestrial season
Late July marks the beginning of terrestrial season which is eagerly awaited by both locals and visiting anglers alike. Once the hoppers mature and grow their wings the terrestrial fishing begins to take over. By late July many of the aquatic hatches have run their course and trout begin to rely on the insects falling into the river from above. Grasshoppers, beetles and ants become a very important component of a trout’s diet during this time of the summer and great dry fly fishing can often be experienced. Anglers hunting for large trout shouldn’t ignore the subsurface opportunities. With the absence of hatching insects the larger fish are more willing to chase streamers and sculpin patterns from farther away and slow twitched bait imitations produce some of the largest fish of the month.

Winter fly fishing in Montana isn’t rocket science. The fish have left the shallow riffles and heavy pocket water in favor of the slower and deeper pools. Once you find a good wintertime run there will probably be dozens if not hundreds of trout in it. The trout are going to do 95% of their feeding between noon and 4pm and you with some exceptions you will be nymph fishing. Trout are also receiving very little pressure during the winter months and are not very picky on fly selection so an elaborate fly box is not essential. The following list of flies are all you need to catch fish on every stream and river in Montana during the winter months including big freestone rivers, tail waters and spring creeks. There are certainly other patterns that will also catch fish, but you don’t need to get too complicated and don’t waste time changing out lots of flies. If you aren’t hooking up in the winter it probably is because you haven’t found good holding water or you aren’t getting down to the fish. Make sure you have enough weight to put flies directly on the bottom and use an indicator that detects subtle strikes such as poly yarn.

Girdle Bug
Stoneflies are important on every boulder strewn freestone river in Montana and trout are looking for stonefly nymphs even in the colder months. Although there is a plethora of different stonefly nymph patterns there is really no reason to get more complicated than a girdle bug (aka rubber legs). A black or brown size 6 or girdle bug trailed with something smaller is a good bet for freestoners.

Pheasant Tail
Pheasant tails catch fish year round and on every trout river in the world. It should be no surprise that it is also a great winter pattern. Try a smaller size in the colder months like an 18 or 20. Any variation of the pheasant tail will work. They are best fished behind a girdle bug or san juan worm.

San Juan Worm
It might not be glamorous but sometimes you just want to catch a trout in the middle of February and san juan worms are often the magic ticket. Fished in different sizes from 10 to 6 and in colors including red, pink, wine and orange they are almost always productive in the winter. Wire worms are a nice option for deeper runs where getting to the bottom isn’t a trivial process.

Eggs
Browns spawn in late winter and rainbows spawn in the early spring so it should be no wonder that egg patterns are effective all winter (especially late winter). Smaller eggs are often more productive than large patterns and roe orange, chartreuse, and cream are the most productive.

Pink Ray Charles
I don’t think there are a whole lot of pink sow bugs out there but this bug definitely hooks up, even on rivers without sow bugs. There is something about the color pink in the winter that just produces: pink worms, eggs, and attractor nymphs are all effective. My guess is they eat the pink Ray as an egg. I like them with beads for freestone rivers and beadless for spring creeks.

Pink soft hackle lightning bug
Notice the pink theme. There is a reason that the bins with pink lightning bugs and pink soft hackles are always empty at the shops from February to April. Trust me, just try it.

Zebra midge
Not much hatches in the winter (except some midges) and there are often more midges than just about anything else in a whole lot of fisheries (especially spring creeks and tail waters). A small zebra is almost always my point fly on spring creeks and tail waters and also a good option on freestone rivers in the winter. Go small – 22 and 20.

Palomino midge dry
Although dry fly fishing dries up in the winter months, some tail waters and spring creeks produce predictable dry fly fishing over late winter midge hatches. A small palomino dry is all that you need.

Griffiths Gnat
The Griffith’s gnat imitates a cluster of midges and on some tail waters like the Bighorn winter midge hatches can get pretty thick. When midges are clustering they become a target for trout that enjoy the benefit of taking in multiple insects in one gulp.

Sculpin
Don’t be afraid to fish some meat in the winter months, especially on freestone rivers where sculpins are common. The best way to fish these in the winter is just to dead drift them with maybe a few twitch mends mixed in. Fish your favorite rabbit fur sculpin pattern with a smaller worm, pheasant tail or egg pattern behind it and swing for the fences. Although the catch rates usually go down you just might fool that monster trout that hasn’t seen flies in months.

One of our most frequently asked questions by seasoned anglers planning Montana fishing trips is “when and where is the best dry fly fishing?”. As with most fishing related questions the first answer is “it depends”! The biggest attribute of fishing in the Big Sky state is the vast diversity of high quality fisheries that are available. This enormous selection of thousands of miles of water in all shapes and sizes make any type of “when is the best” or “where is the best” question nearly impossible to answer concisely. The good news is that there is always some great dry fly fishing to be had from March to early November somewhere in the state. I will do my best to provide a few ideas on where and when to target great dry fly fishing. Keep in mind that conditions change from year to year, especially the timing of events. On big water years everything is delayed and on drought years timing is accelerated. Another disclaimer is that we spend the majority of our time on the waters of the Southern part of the state and we simply have much more of a knowledge base on the waters that we fish every day.

When to come for the best dry fly fishing?
A safe response to this question is to simply describe some of the different high points of the season that can produce good surface eats. Each time period has its advantages and disadvantages and I will try to emphasize each of these.

Late April to Early May – although there is some good fishing on the surface before late April it tends to be short lived. One can have pretty good surface action on midges on some tail waters like the Bighorn, Missouri and Ruby in March and early April. Missoula anglers also get excited about the Skwala stonefly that produces some upward looking fish in early April. The most exciting early season action, however, really gets going in late mid April with the arrival of the beatis (aka blue winged olive) mayfly. This hatch really heats up the last week of April and is joined by the much larger size 12 March Brown mayfly. During the first week of May the Mother’s Day Caddis begins to explode off of rivers like the Madison, Yellowstone and a few others and extends until run off hits (the Mother’s Day Hatch isn’t as important on tailwaters). The best match the hatch dry fly fishing on the larger rivers is often during this window. The water levels are still low since most of the snow is still locked up in the high mountains which encourages fish to come to the surface since they do not need to fight the stronger current of higher flows. The only downside of spring dry fly fishing is that the surface action tends to occur during a fairly compact feeding window that lasts for about 3 to 4 hours each day in the afternoon when the hatches take place (the morning can produce good nymphing or streamer fishing). Another thing to consider is that the mayfly species (baetis and March brown) are highly variable and produce much thicker hatches with cloud cover than with bluebird days. The caddis hatch seems to come off in abundance on sunny days. For avid Montana anglers this is a must fish time of the year!

Late May – Run off begins in mid May on most freestone rivers across the state. As such, visiting anglers tend to avoid late May. This is a big mistake since this time period can produce awesome fishing. Although some rivers are blown out, the spring creeks and tail waters below dams are still in great shape. Cool snaps also quickly bring back freestone rivers back into shape for one last shot at good fishing before full on run off arrives. Late May is one my favorite time to fish some of the spring creeks in the Yellowstone, Gallatin and Beaverhead valleys. The baetis hatch brings trout up like clockwork on a daily basis. Weed beds on the spring creeks aren’t that established and the big trout are still easily fooled (at least as far as spring creeks go). This combination makes it possible to both hook and land the biggest fish in the creeks on dries. There are very few out of state anglers to compete with at this time which enhances this time of the year as an “under the radar” window to get some great fishing in.

Mid June to Early July – This is THE time to toss dries on the spring creeks. The pale morning dun hatch usually begins around the 10th of June and picks up each day afterwards. The larger insects hatch first (about size 14) and then drop to 16s by early July. There is something about the PMD that makes wary spring creek trout behave like intoxicated brook trout on a remote mountain stream. During the magical window from late morning until about 3pm each day the fish become a little more tolerant of errant casts and less than ideal fly placement that would normally send the darting for cover. Experiencing the PMD hatch on some of Montana’s legendary spring creeks should be a must for any dry fly loving fly fisher!

Early summer is also the time to chase salmonflies and golden stones on some of the big freestone rivers like the Madison, Yellowstone, and Big Hole. These monstrous insects can reach 3” in length. The salmonfly definitely does not produce high fish counts in regards to surface fishing. The appeal of the salmonfly hatch is that you are in the game to catch the largest trout in the river on a dry. Fishing during the “hatch” can be frustrating and slow when the fish are gorged (which they often are), but it only takes one massive strike from a 25-28” brown to turn a sane mortal into a mumbling fool.

Mid July – Mid july This time of year produces a hodge podge of aquatic hatches that includes yellow sally stones, pmd mayflies, nocturnal golden stones, and assorted caddis species. Mid July also produces great attractor dry fly fishing with big bugs like stimulators, pmx’s, and assorted foam patterns like chubby chernobyls. The trickiest part of fishing at this time of year is fly selection because sometimes the trout really key in on one insect species or the other. I find that caddis are a safe bet early in the morning and some type of pmd style pattern is effective later. Fishing two dries is a good bet with one large attractor on top trailed by a more imitative insect pattern like a caddis, pmd or yellow sally behind. Mid July is a very safe time to visit to target good dry fly fishing.

Late July – Early August – The first wave of hopper fishing usually arrives in late July. This is the best time to catch great hopper fishing on the more famous larger fisheries such as the Madison, Yellowstone, Big Hole, Missouri and Bighorn. This is the busiest part of the season and everyone is salivating to throw hoppers and get the jump on some big “foam” eats. As a result, the trout on the legendary rivers start to wise up to hopper patterns by mid August. Hopper fishing can still be good on the most famous waters, but also expect some more “sniffs” and tender takes. If you can catch the first wave of hopper fishing it can really produce some unworldly fishing. The trick is that this one or two week glory window changes from year to year based on early summer temperatures and weather conditions. The good news is that if you arrive in late July and the hoppers still aren’t ready there will still be some great attractor dry fishing!

Mid August to Mid September – This is when the best terrestrial fishing of the season occurs. The trick is that the best hopper fishing isn’t always on the big famous waters anymore because those trout have started getting wise to the larger patterns. On the big waters smaller patterns like ants tend to be more productive. The really great hopper fishing is on lesser known waters, private waters and stretches of larger rivers that are harder to access. We can’t name names on these locations because it has take us so long to locate and identify them but it is safe to say that the trout are nearly 100% keyed in on crushing hoppers by this time of the season!

This is also a great time to target the trico and callibaetis hatches. Tricorythode mayflies occur in great abundance on Ennis Lake, Hebgen Lake, the East Gallatin, Bighorn and Missouri rivers. These diminutive mayflies make up in quantity what they lack in size and will often bring pods of nice sized rainbows to the surface. Callibaetis are a larger mayfly (about a 16) that are lake specific. They show up in late July and hatch through August on still waters. The best Callibaetis fishing is on Ennis and Hebgen lakes. Die hard river anglers are often surprised by how much they enjoy fishing still waters when they are targeting cruising fish that are “gulping” duns off of the surface.

Mid September to early October – This is one of my favorite times of the year to throw dries on big waters like the Yellowstone River. Fishing pressure drops off fast in late August once kids go back to school. Many locals have had their fill of fishing and outdoor enthusiasts now turn their attention to hunting leaving legendary waters nearly empty. The lack of fishing pressure helps erase any memories of foam hoppers that the trout may have had. This time of year produces a mixed bag of both weather conditions and dry fly opportunities. More often than not we experience an Indian summer that extends the terrestrial season into early October. It isn’t uncommon to experience the best hopper fishing of the year in late September or even early October. When grey skies and early fall storms arrive mayfly species including baetis, mahoganies and drakes come off in abundance. Even when high pressure sets in trout are often looking for mayfly patterns and targettng sipping fish in foam lines and inside corners of riffles with a parachute adams can often be deadly.

Early October to early November – The heart of the autumn season produces terrific baetis hatches with almost zero fishing pressure on many waters. The best baetis hatches occur when cloudy skies settle in. The spring creek dry fly fishing also kicks in with the fall baetis and you can often get lucky and be the only one on one of the famous creeks like DePuy, Nelson and Armstrong. The down side in terms of dry fly fishing is that the hatch is variable from day to day and even on a good day it is mostly an after lunch event. The upside is that if you are willing to go down under with a streamer or nymphs this is also a great time to run into some giant pre-spawn browns. Since my two favorite modes of fly fishing are stripping streamers and casting dries to rising trout this is one of my favorite times of the year to get out on our local waters!

As I mentioned in my last post, fall fishing in Montana is synonymous with huge browns.  Miles, Doug, and I headed out the day after Thanksgiving to target some large browns and weren’t disappointed.  After driving through some nasty blizzard conditions in the dark we arrived at the Missouri River to do some wade fishing just after dawn.  The air temps were a balmy 32 degrees and the blizzard temporarily let up.  Doug started laying into the rainbows instantly and landed a few in the 15-18″ range.  Miles eventually headed up the river with Sawyer to successfully jump some ducks.  Doug and I eventually hit pay dirt and our quest for 20+” browns paid off.  Doug tightened up on a log that wouldn’t budge.  After feeling some head shakes he realized he wasn’t snagged.  The fish slowly and methodically moved down the river with Doug chasing after.  The power of these trout is impressive and when they want to move there isn’t much you can do to stop them.  Eventually we netted a true monster that we taped at 26″.

Eventually my luck took a turn for the better when I managed to hook into a nice 22″ brown.  On any other day that would have been a trophy to be cherished but after seeing Doug’s pig it seemed “small”.  Less than 10 minutes later my line tightened again.  I thought for sure I had a snag but after 20 seconds I felt the head shake and knew I was into a monster.  The fish slowly moved down and stopped again.  I thought for sure it must have wrapped around something because I just couldn’t imagine a fish holding in strong current against zero x.  Finally the trout took off for a blistering run that nearly ripped the rod out of my hands.  After a few more runs the slab surfaced and Doug netted it – 25″ on the tape!

Miles managed to rope in a few nice rainbows and knocked down a teal and a gadwall to round out the day!  Nothing like a cast and blast on the Thanksgiving weekend.  It is good to be in Montana!

 

Many anglers flat out forget about Montana fly fishing in November.  Out of state anglers don’t want to make a trip in the late fall and risk winter weather and most locals have moved on to hunting elk, deer, grouse and other fur and feathered critters.   November has a lot to offer and can produce some monster trout.  Weather is a very big wild card and any week of the month can bare its fangs with sub zero temps and blizzard like weather.  On the flip side the days can also be almost summer like when an Indian summer lingers.  Typically the late fall weather is still decent and allows for good fishing.

At the beginning of November there can still be some great dry fly fishing over the baetis hatch.  The baetis mayfly is highly variable in its hatching intensity but if you can catch a warmer day with grey skies and not too much wind the bugs can come off in droves.

Another perk about late fall fishing is that some of the largest browns of the year are caught.  Most avid fly fishers hear about the big browns that Montana offers in October.  The reality is that most browns don’t spawn until mid to late November or even early December.  Some of the largest browns in Montana move in to rivers from large reservoirs and lakes below.  Some of these monsters don’t even make it into the river systems until mid November.  For anglers willing to brave the weather and pay their dues the rewards can be astounding.  Targeting lake run fish is much like steelhead fishing.  Learning the runs that consistently produce big fish is important and making lots of casts is a given.  Patterns for fall run browns include eggs, streamers and small mayfly nymphs.  It is best to fish on a dead drift or a slow swing.

~ Brian

The storm track recently changed forcing the withdraw of sunny near record high temperatures with cool cloudy conditions perfect for fishing.  These recent storms brought snow to the high country and misty weather to the valleys.  Over the course of the last ten days, we’ve been seeing great fishing action throughout the area.  One aspect anglers should head caution toward are the changing water levels associated with the recent precipitation and more importantly the local farmers discontinuing to draw irrigation water.  Several local watersheds saw an approximate 15% increase in volume roughly over three days, which may have a temporary effect on catching.  There are plenty of rivers to fish around southwest Montana so check the gauges before you head out.

Big fish have been on the move.  Throughout the course of the week, our guides hosted several groups of beginner (never-ever) anglers as well as repeat seasoned anglers who all successfully caught a variety of very nice brown and rainbow trout approaching the 20″ mark on both the Yellowstone and Madison rivers.

 

On another trip, I was delighted to share McCoy’s Spring Creek near Dillon, MT on a cloudy day with two seasoned anglers.  We enjoyed lots of action after lunch including seven notable hookups with fish ranging from 18-23″ on small size 20 dry flies.

Great fishing should continue as big fish aggressively put on weight for winter.  Depending on the conditions, anglers currently have prime opportunity to catch big fish with small dries, streamers, or nymph rigs.

Miles

October is a fantastic time to enjoy Montana fly fishing.  Water temps are dropping fast as the days get cooler and the fishing can really turn on as the summer tourists have headed back home and kids are back in school.  Tom Jenni and I put on for a three day overnight float on the Lower Yellowstone last weekend and only saw 3 other guide boats in 3 days despite averaging 40 trout per boat per day.

Although the very beginning of October can still produce some decent hopper and ant fishing, autumn fishing is dominated by the baetis hatch and stripping big streamers.  Although making any hard and fast rules in the sport of fly fishing is never a good idea, there are two main strategies I use in October: going big and going small.

The baetis (aka: blue winged olive) is the dominate late season hatch on Southern Montana waters.  This dependable small mayfly weighs in at a diminutive size 18 or 2o.  Despite is small size its dramatic abundance raises the interest level of even large fish.  In October we almost always fish some type of baetis imitation when tossing dries or nymphs.  When dry fly fishing a parachute adams is a good bet, but the many versions of baetis dries out there will also work.   When nymphing trail your top fly with a beatis nymph or emerging baetis pattern.

Browns also become more aggressive in the fall and targeting large pre-spawn migratory fish can produce the largest trout of the season.  The best way to catch browns over 20″ is to drag big streamers around.  Both stripping with a classic streamer retrieve and dead drifting or “tight lining” bunny fur can produce some very big tugs.  Although numbers go down when you up the fly size quality definitely increases.

October fly fishing offers many options, but to maximize enjoyment try tossing small baetis dries for the best surface action and stripping giant streamers when targeting monsters.  Go big or go small!