Montana Fishing Reports

August is here and so are the hoppers! If you like sunny days and summer-time fishing, now is a great time to be fishing near Bozeman, Montana.

Overview
Most rivers across Montana are hitting there mid summer stride, and water levels will continue to drop as what is left of the snowpack trickles out so moving to smaller flies, longer leaders and finer tippet is often a successful tactic. Water temperatures are a huge driving force in mid-summer. Every fishery has a different temperature profile, but it is an important factor to keep in mind. Some fisheries are already too warm for good fishing during the day (like the Jefferson and Lower Madison). Other fisheries are best in the early morning and still others fish great in the afternoon (like rivers closer to the mountains or spring creeks with colder water temps). 

What to Expect and What Hatches to Fish
On big rivers like the Madison and Yellowstone the morning fishing has been better than the afternoon fishing. Trout are becoming more opportunistic as aquatic hatches subside and are looking for a mixed bag and are not as selective as they were in the early summer period. For surface action terrestrials like grasshoppers, beetles and ants can be very effective. For subsurface try big patterns that imitate small bait fish like sculpins along with smaller attractor nymphs that are pretty general. There are still some late caddis hatches in the early mornings and on some fisheries the tiny trico mayflies are thick. Pay very close attention to water temps as this will drive the best fishing. On the big rivers water temps are best in the early morning but on small mountain streams and shaded mountain rivers the early morning can still be pretty cold so just pay attention to the fishery you are on. Some fisheries just get too warm for safe fishing and fighting a fish in 75 degree water can kill the trout so stay away from the lower elevation big river fisheries until they hit their stride again in September. Many of the individual reports on our page also have a temperature profile so you can watch these closely. On days when a cold front pushes in or we have good cloud cover some water temps will be lower than normal and you can fish waters later into the day or visit rivers that are normally spring and fall fisheries. Trout eat every day so just make sure you are on the river during their feeding window - when that is just depends on the fishery. 

Summer is the busiest time of the year for fly fishing in Montana, so trout on popular public waters have now seen some flies. It pays to try to think outside the box and get off the beaten path. If you can find lightly pressured waters, trout will aggressively slam big hopper patterns. If you are fishing waters that see a lot of pressure, the hopper bite might only be so-so. This is the time of year when we start working extra hard to find trout that have seen fewer flies. Sometimes that means a visit to a private ranch, a long hike, or simply fishing water on the big waters that other guides are skipping past like the backside trough of a rock well on the Madison that can only be cast to from the bank and not from the boats float fishing past.

Interestingly, when a hatch is sparse we flip flop are strategy.  On the surface you can still catch fish with an exact imitation but you can often be even more successful with a large attractor fly that will move fish farther.  The trout aren’t so keyed in on the natural that they won’t switch gears and eat something even bigger like a fat albert or chubby Chernobyl.  When nymphing it is nice to continue to have an exact imitation but consider trailing it behind something larger like a big stonefly nymph, crayfish or sculpin.  

Where Should I Fish Right Now
Find the coolest water possible....early in the mornings and till early afternoon. The Upper Madison, Yellowstone, and Missouri are all great options right now.