By Mary A on August 16, 2011
yellowstone brown
Well folks, the secret’s out…the Yellowstone is fishing again! . With the river hovering just above 5,000 cfs in town, we’re getting better clarity for the fish to see (and eat) just about everything we offer them from above Yankee Jim to downriver of Livingston. Give a hopper dropper rig a try and see who eats in those soft spots they’re still hanging out in. Our favorite hopper is still Morrish’s with a King Prince or Yellow Sally underneath, but other combo’s are working great depending on the time of day. Head on in to the shop and we’ll show you the other patterns that the fish are keyed in on.
Slough Creek and Soda Butte are fishing well again too. Black seems to be working best, so grab our newest pattern for the park (it’s called The Tick and it’s a handsome little bug that the fish seem to be fond of), your crickets, your hoppers and drake patterns then head up there with your hiking boots on to get away from the summer crowds.
Posted in Yellowstone N.P., Yellowstone River
By Mary A on August 5, 2011
Downtown Brown Town
With the Yellowstone fishing better and better every day, we’re starting to see photos like this again from the river (nice brown, Leslie!). It’s still plenty high but big nymphs, streamers and even the occasional dry have started to work well. Some days are better than others, and the ratio of whitefish to trout isn’t what we’d like to see yet but we’re just happy to be on the Yellowstone again. So get out your tungsten, your King Princes, you streamers and big dries from which to drop them. Then head over our direction for a few more specific patterns that we’re using over here! As always, please be safe on the river!
Posted in Uncategorized, Yellowstone River
By Mary A on July 25, 2011
For the last few months, we have been running back and forth between spring creeks, lakes both private and public, the Big Horn and the Missouri fishing the clearest water we can find. Slowly but surely the driving patterns of our guides have finally began their shift homeward…first it was to the Madison or the park, now it’s the Boulder and the Yellowstone. The Boulder is high but fishable (and plenty of people are. Use caution and remember the high water mark, folks!). The Stillwater is also fishing pretty dang well and it looks to be fishing even better soon. Even the creeks around here are high and clear. But the big news is that people are again fishing the Yellowstone. It’s dropping like a rock, and we’re seeing a little more green and a little less brown out there every day. Folks are doing okay both on nymph and streamers, so try tossing a stonefly nymph under a golden dry in those soft spots. Or give the streamers a shot-either way, come in the shop and we’ll show you the patterns we’re using. Don’t forget to give us a report, and don’t forget to use your head out there. The river’s changed and it’s still high.
Posted in Uncategorized
By Mary A on July 15, 2011
Okay, so it isn’t the Yellowstone, but the Upper Madison is a great river to go fish from time to time, particularly when we’re just now seeing our home river dip below 20,000 cfs in town here. So we headed that direction yesterday, putting in below the crowds up higher on the river. Finally. We got to catch fish on our beloved gold Chubby Chernobyl again! We switched the dries up a fair amount, trying patterns both new and old, and managed to catch a fish on just about everything we tried both on top. We also got them below the surface, using caddis emergers, stone fly nymphs and streamers.
Holy Hail
And what day wouldn’t be complete without a little weather in Montana? A little sun, a little wind, a little rain and a little hail rounded out the day for us. I’m just glad I wasn’t the one who forgot my rain jacket…
Don’t forget-the PMD’s are still out on the spring creeks in the afternoons, so next time you’re over this direction stop by the shop and we’ll show you our favorite nymph patterns that you can fish while you wait for those noses to come up. FYI-our other home waters are on the verge of being in fishable shape (yep, some are more on the verge than others). Here in the shop we’re gearing up for another great, if somewhat condensed, hopper season. See ya soon!
Posted in Madison River, Paradise Valley Spring Creeks, Yellowstone River
By Mary A on July 14, 2011
We’ve been hearing reports of a salmonfly/guide boat hatch on the Upper Madison, so a few of us from the shop are heading over there this morning to fish the frenzy. Stay tuned for the report this evening…
Posted in Madison River, Yellowstone River
