August 20, 2011
As predicted, the big-water year has produced great fishing throughout all our river systems, sustaining strong dry-fly action on many rivers well into the season. One of those rivers continues to be the Big Hole.
We have made a number of trips recently to the Big Hole River, and the storied waters have been stellar every time.
Our most recent trip was with a wonderful family from Utah. Mom, dad, son and daughter all had a wonderful time floating through the breath-taking scenery; and, of course, the fishing was great. Eager fish rose to dry flies all day, giving consistent action for the happy anglers. The choice of the day was Spruce Moths, with a variety of patterns working. As was the case on other recent days, there was a strong Mayfly hatch early in the day, with a more modest one later in the afternoon, making standard patterns like the Parachute Adams and Purple Haze excellent choices, especially in size 16. A small caddis hatch in the late afternoon also had fish taking #18 Delectable CDC Caddis.
At one point on the most recent trip, father and son in Dan's boat caught four species of fish within a 100-yard stretch of the river. During a trip a few days earlier, I had a client catch six species of fish during the course of the day.
There are many things in my life that I am thankful for, and the Big Hole River is one of them. It's a wonderful, special place.
Marty
August 6, 2011
CLEARING SKIES, GREAT FISHING
The drive over to the Big Hole on Friday was dark and stormy, with some rather ominous weather lurking ahead of us. Though concerned, we pressed on over the hill. The weather hadn't changed when we arrived at Great Divide Outfitters, so we took advantage of the shelter of the fly shop to put on our waders and rain jackets, and headed to the river.
It was the right decision.
When we got to the launch, the clouds were still hanging low, dark and heavy; but the rain had stopped. It was chilly, in the low 50s, but not unpleasant. By the time we had rigged our gear and got the raft in the river, the clouds were looking less threatening. Within the first half-hour of the float, there were patches of clearing sky, and we were greeted by full sunshine within an hour.
But this isn't a weather report, it's about the fishing.
From the get-go, the bite was on. We were fishing nymphs, and at first, the majority of catches were big, strong whitefish, with the occasional trout mixed in. But the trend soon turned, with only trout coming to the net ... One after another after another ...
A variety of small nymphs produced fish, including Delektable Little Spankers in silver, red and pheasant tail; Copper Johns in copper and red; Lightning Bugs; Micro Mayflies in olive and brown, Bead Head Pheasant Tail Tungsten Flash Bugs; and Tungsten Studly Nymphs in olive; all in size 14 and 16. But the real kicker, which brought in nearly all the better trout, was Pat's Rubberlegs, in black, and large; size 6 and 4.
Get out and fish!
Marty
July 2011
The fishing and flows have been fabulous over the last two weeks. August is looking good, still have PMD's, Caddis, Hoppers, and the hope of Big Time Spruce Moth action. Water temps and flows are the best I've seen since the late 90's. I know I'll be fishing on the Big Hole August, September, and October this year.
Dan
September 23, 2010
On Thursday, I enjoyed a day of fishing on the famous Big Hole River with my fishing partner and buddy Steve. We were led by my friend and Beartooth guide Marty.
As is usually the case this time of year, the water in the Big Hole was low, but that made for good dry fly fishing. I was fishing my normal double bead-head nymph rig, while my partner threw a double dry-fly rig all day.
The two first fish I caught were Whitefish and, ironically, they were the only whites I caught all day. The rest of the day was about Brown Trout and Rainbows for both of us, with the bigger trout taking Steve’s dry flies.
It was another great day of fishing in Montana.
Grandpa
September 1, 2010
Today was a rare and special day for Dan and Nancy. Everyone knows we put in the hours and work alot during the summer. It is a rare day for us to take time off, even more rare to take time together, and extremely rare to take time off fishing together with someone else rowing for the entire day. Yeah! Somehow it just all clicked that we were meant to go fishing. I was going to float with Grandpa but he chickened out because it wasn't warm enough outside so I invited Dan to join me with Jim Morrison as our guide. Dan fished all day and did not row. We really had fun. The first two hours were slower. We were using streamers with small nymphs behind them. It was pretty cool out first thing then it warmed up. As it got warmer the bite turned on. We started getting some pretty good action on both the streamers and nymphs. When I added the sinking leader to my rig, it made a difference and really improved the results.
After lunch I caught a number of nice trout and despite the crazy weather which included big gusts and occasional light moisture, I wanted to try some dries. Roger shared a big goofy bug I put on the top and trailed it with a smaller fly behind. We got some action but after switching to either a Split Wing or Parachute Adams or a Delektable Royal or Purple Teaser as the trailer, we got more action. We caught and landed plenty and missed plenty. The trout colors were vivid and quite memorable. Jim did a great job of taking care of us. Thanks Jim.
We are now refreshed for more Beartooth fun. See you in the shop!
Nancy
August 13, 2010
It was Friday the 13th, and the weather report at the local fly shop was a winter-storm advisory for elevations above 6,000 feet. Despite the ominous skies, and the cold, wet air, our guys from Pennsylvania and Texas said, “Let’s fish.” It was the right choice.
We added layers as we geared up rods, with a cold, crisp breeze blowing downstream. Dark clouds were building around us. It’s the middle of August, and we’re wearing fleece and ski caps … hilarious. But the foreboding forecast didn’t pan out. Not long into the float, the sun came out, layers came off, and sunscreen went on. There were a couple patches of dark clouds during the day, dropping the temps and prompting the return of some clothing layers, but they didn’t stick. The sun kept returning, warming things up.
And boy, oh boy; were the fish happy!
Dan had the Pennsylvania boys in his raft. They fished a mix of dry flies and nymphs, with solid, quality bites the entire float. After a while, they stopped taking pictures of fish below 18 inches. It was that good.
I had the father and son team from Texas, and we drifted nymphs all day. We didn’t catch as many trout as Dan’s boat, but we also had a great day, with lots of fish. The highlight of our day was when 15-year-old Taylor caught a beautiful, pig of a brown trout; the biggest trout of his young fishing career. He couldn’t have been happier, and his dad couldn’t have been prouder … As guides, we live for moments like that.
The flies that worked for Dan were …
We scored our fish on Pat’s Rubberlegs in Brown, Olive/Brown and Black/Brown, in #8 and #10; Superflash Yellow #18; Tungsten Bead Pheasant Tail #16; and Pheasant Tail Tungsten Flash Bug #18.
Another memorable, beautiful day on the river!
Marty
June 14, 2010
We were off to a big adventure on the Big Hole River with Aunt Nancy, Uncle Dan, Drew, and Joe. En route we watched a golden eagle take a gofer off the road. It was a beautiful day, sunny, warm, light wind, with the natural tea colored water of the Big Hole. We visited our buddy Al at Great Divide Outfitters. We saw Rodger fishing on the banks that evening. We ran into friends on the river and had fun visiting. It's really nice to enjoy a day off.
The river had been coming down for a few days and the conditions were nearly perfect. As of June 17th the river spiked abruptly up again. We floated from East Bank to George Grant. At first the fish were taking stone fly nymphs. The take slowed down during the heat of the sun. Late in the afternoon we tried some cripple dries including Dan's new Delektable Squeezers in Royal and they turned on. Funny, around the same time the stone fly nymphs were working again too. The trout must have finished their siesta. We caught Rainbows, Browns, and Brook Trout.
We had a great time and really enjoyed the nice weather for a change.
March 28, 2010
Dan Delekta and Bernie Sundell embarked on a Big Hole adventure Sunday. It was either going to be a float from Melrose to Glen or the upper river from Wise River to Divide. On our dirve up the Big Hole, the Wind started to blow upstream as we approached Melrose. Easy decision, let's go to Wise River. We put the raft in at Jerry Creek, no wind, perfect conditions. 
The temperature was 30 Degrees at 10 A.M. but warmed up quickly as the trout started to bite from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M.
It was just a great day with one of my best friends. Browns and Rainbows from 12" to 17" ate #8 Delektable Mega Prince Flashbacks, #8 Delektable Olive Hurless Flashbacks, and #14 Delektable Sex Flies. The midge and BWO hatch never materialized but the nymphing was great.
Dan
September 17, 2009
This was very skinny water to float. Our float with Doug and Bob was a mine field of boulders to negotiate with the raft. In the morning nymphing was productive with size #18 Lil' Spankers. The afternoon bite; one of my favorite late season combos of a hopper with a #18 or a #20 beadhead dropper was great! For hoppers we used Delektable Slammers, Tony the Tiger, and Morrish's Hopper. Lil' Spankers were Red, Purple, and Silver in color.
Dan
August 25, 2009
Fun with clients from the past...
Great renewing old friendships with an adventure on the Big Hole with Dan and Marty guiding a group of four. We started at 10:30 AM and finished at 8 PM; a day for the memory bank. Trico's, Pseudo's, Hoppers, Flying Ants, and Spruce Moths provided action on the surface. One of my favorite Dry/Wet combos, the Hopper with a #18 BH Micro Mayfly; spanked them in the afternoon. We caught Rainbows, Browns, Grayling, Cuttthroat, Whitefish, and Cuttbows. The only species we didn't land was a Brook Trout. It was an amazing day with great people.
Dan
August 23, 2009
A day on the Big Hole with family friends from Ennis, Jack and Jenn. One of those windy threatening thunderboomer days of August. Luckily no rain and just some wind making the rowing and dry fly fishing interesting. We prevailed having big fun, landing multiple species of trout, enjoying the conversations, scenery, and fishing.
Dan
August 20,2009
What an incredible day! Dan and Nancy having a day together on the river in the summer is a rare thing for sure. I have been updating these reports for all our guides who get our there more often than me, the shop rat, and I really wanted to test what Dan meant by the river being "On Fire". Well, he was right. We had a great day. We rowed each other into some really nice fish.
The fish were on the bite so good it was downright giggly. Yeah!
We started off with Rusty Spinners and they liked them for a while. When it got warmer out the hoppers were all over the place so we tried them and the fish loved them too. The fish were rising to the flies with full body leaps. It was really fun. Then we could see the spruce moths out and switched to the Delektable Twisted Baby Tan/Brown and the Tarantula in Gold. They wanted the Baby like you can't believe and sometimes the Tarantula too. I definitely missed a ton of hits and landed so many I lost count. I had two great events at the end of the day. I caught double Rainbows on dries and landed them thanks to Dan's netting skills and then had a huge Rainbow that got away because I had personal problems with my line.
It was a terrific day and my sweetheart got me into a ton of trout. I caught Browns, Westslope Cutts, Rainbows, White Fish, and Grayling. Thank you Dan.
Love,
Nancy
August 17, 2009
I fished the Big Hole River on Monday with Gerry and Sarah. The Upper Big Hole was on fire fishing Trico's, PMD's, Psuedo's, Caddis, Hoppers, and Spruce Moths.
From the start to finish of our float; the fish consumed the dry flies presented to them. We caught Browns, Rainbows, and two Westslope Cuttthroats. What Fun! This was one of those days you dream about.
Dan
July 18, 2009
We just completed the annual July tour with Dan Delekta and the Tim Miller group. One of my personal favorites and most challenging guide weeks of the year is with Tim Miller and his friends and family in July. This year's trip started on the Madison, the next two days were on the Missouri below Holter Dam, the next day was on the Jefferson River, then on to the Big Hole River for a day, the Beaverhead River for a day with the last day on the Madison River. I refer to this as the "Whirlwind Tour"; I love to be able to go to a variety of different rivers and be successful on each system and catch fish. This requires a lot of different fly patterns, leaders, and techniques. This is a unique challenge of rowing, driving, stamina, and focus; testing all of the senses. This year Tim brought his brother Brian who was injured in a motorcycle accident with his knee, thigh, and ankle all messed up. Brian couldn't wade but was fishing start to finish out of the boat. We caught fish on all the different rivers; punctuated by a 60 to 70 fish dry fly day on the Big Hole and an incredible last day on the Madison with nymphs and dries.
This season has seen the third year of a good snow pack in a row; a near record rainfall in June on all the rivers of S.W. Montana. The perfect storm creating the maximum number of fish on all of our rivers and red hot catching opportunities all summer long until winter sets in. With all the rivers having great water levels; the fishing pressure should be evenly distributed throughout S.W. Montana. The Hopper, Spruce Moth, PMD's and Caddis flies will all be overlapping with in the last week of July; the Perfect Dry Fly Storm.
Dan
Big Hole Fishing Report for June 9th
Big Hole River Flow at Maiden Rock
Tuesday was a road trip day for the boys of Beartooth, with Dan, Marty and Charles P heading out to the Big Hole.
After a brief stop at our buddy's fly shop, Great Divide Outfitters, for a shuttle and pleasant conversation with shop rat Roger, the trio headed to the upper end of the river. The river was still “big,” flowing at roughly 5,500 cfs, but it was clear and very fishable. Overall, the conditions were wonderful.
The action was slow at first, though accented by several brook trout, which was an exciting addition to the catch. As the day went on, browns and rainbows began accepting the offerings.
The fish were taking a mix of Delektable bugs, including the Mega Prince, Gray Hurless and Lil Spankers. Streamers were thrown in earnest at the beginning of the float, but the fish weren’t chasing them in the bright, comfortably warm conditions.
Later in the afternoon, however, when the sun got lower and the boys were adding layers against the wind, the streamers began scoring well, especially for Charles P, who scored several nice fish. They were first biting on the Delektable Double Screamer Olive and Black, then further into the float on the Delektable Double Screamer Badger.
It was a great day on yet another of Montana’s beautiful rivers; just another day in paradise.
Dan
, Marty, and Charles P
Big Hole Streamflow Report: Big Hole River Flow at Maiden Rock
Big Hole Fishing Report for May 8th
CFS: around 2800 at Divide
Dan and Marty needed to get out of the fly shop and do some field testing and the Big Hole River was the choice. We decided to put Marty’s drift boat in above Sportman’s Park and float down to Jerry Creek, which is a 16 or 17 mile float. I had some of my new streamer patterns to test…these babies are 9” long and triple jointed! The weather was a strong mix of snow flurries and sunshine. The fish never really turned on to the streamer bite but they did eat the Delektable™ Hurless Stones in Olive and Gray in 3 wade fishing spots. With the river on the rise, no bug hatch and snow flurries, we felt fortunate to score in double digit fish numbers. All in all a fabulous day to be out floating one of our rivers in southwest Montana. Dan Delekta