DePuy Spring Creek Fly Fishing

DePuy Spring Creek is considered by many to be one of the finest spring creeks on the planet. Its productive waters located in the heart of Paradise Valley draw anglers from far and wide. DePuy spring creek is actually the bottom half of Armstrong spring creek that begins on the O'hair ranch. The creek ranges from 30 to 100 feet wide and has a wide variety of trout habitat including riffles, deep runs, glassy flats and a spring fed pond. Few places on earth can match the picturesque beauty of the DePuy ranch with the Absaroka Mountains towering above a valley filled with deer, swans, cranes and bubbling trout waters.

Fly fishing on the spring creek is good year round and is arguably the best winter fishery in Montana (along with the other Livingston spring creeks). Fishing really heats up in the spring when large numbers of rainbows run out of the the Yellowstone River to spawn in the spring creeks. Unusually high catch rates can be experienced during April and early May as a result.

Hatches at Depuys are stronger and more prolific than on larger Montana rivers. Dry fly fishing begins in the late winter of midge hatches. Cloudy days in the spring produce outstanding baetis hatches. Pale morning duns make a regular appearance during the first half of the summer and eventually give way to solid terrestrial fishing with hoppers, ants and beetles.

Nymph fishing is productive year round for anglers that can produce a solid drift in the tricky currents of the creek. Spring creek trout are notoriously fickle and a day spent plying the waters at DePuys is similar to playing a game of chess. There is no better place to match wits with some of the most technical trout in Montana than DePuys!

Rod fees: $100 peak season, $75 shoulder seasons, $40 winter season