A day of fishing on the famous Madison River in Montana including myself, John Delekta, friend Steve, and our guide Jim Morrison. Our float was from Windy to Storey Ditch. We started our float about 10:00AM. The day started with a cool morning but warmed up during the rest of the trip. The first hour was slow fishing. As the weather got warmer, the fishing heated up.

The next four hours I caught and landed four large brown trout. Two trout were over 18 inches and two were over 19 inches. Steve caught a 19 Inch Brown Trout plus a number of smaller fish.

Later that day I caught the biggest fish of the day, an over 20 inch Brown Trout and a fat Rainbow Trout over 18 inches.

You know I will fish whatever it takes to get the trout and I like whitefish but I was doing really well with a two nymph rig and sometimes a nymph off of a streamer. Steve was working the dries pretty hard and was catching smaller trout with the dries. Sometime after lunch Steve converted his rig to add nymphs and soon after he had another really nice trout landed. This was another great day of fishing. Nancy and Dan think I look ten years younger every time I fish. At 87 years going on 88 I can use all the help I can get. I am going to try to fish more and fish harder. Thanks Jim for doing a great job guiding and thanks Steve for taking the pictures. What a fun day!

Grandpa

A day fishing on the famous Madison River in Montana with Jim Morrison, our guide, my friend Steve, and myself, John Delekta, Chairman of the Board at the best fly shop in Montana, Beartooth Flyfishing Shop and Lodge with the hosts Dan and Nancy Delekta. You can tell this is a proud father.

Our float trip was from Ruby Creek to Varney Bridge. Steve was fishing dry flies and I was fishing a two nymph rig. Steve was the first one to catch a good size brown trout. I missed the first two good fish I had on. They were in the 18 to 20 inch range. Jim and I both witnessed the one fish broke my line and the other one jumped and spit the hook. I did better the rest of the trip and landed all the rest. Two of the brown trout I caught were over 19 inches long. Steve and I also caught a bunch of browns and whitefish in the 16″ to 17″ range.

All in all it was another great fishing day on the Madision River.

Grandpa

The last couple weeks have been very interesting on the Madison River, with many asking, “This is August, right?” Bright, hopeful mornings have given way to nearly daily afternoon thunderstorms, with quickly dropping temperatures. Some days were outright chilly, and there was even a hail storm or two thrown in for giggles and grins. But fishing remained good; except during the hail storms, of course; with fishermen scoring on a combination of nymphs, streamers, and dries, depending on conditions. We have had some great adventures.

Still, the cool, wet weather kept the grasshoppers at bay, with the constant question being heard every day in the shop; “When will the hoppers start?”

Well … Good news! … The hoppers have started!!!

The last couple of days have produced enough consistent hopper action to report and are what we’ve all been waiting for. And with a sunny and warm forecast for the next several days, the action should only get better. Also mixed in with the hopper bite are the Spruce Moths, which have been producing fish throughout the unusual weather. Earlier this week we had a great Father/Son day with both sets of fathers and sons catching some nice trout enjoying regular action on both dries and nymphs.

A variety of hopper patterns have been working, mostly in sizes 12 and 14. The Spruce Moth patterns with the most consistent success have been the Half-Down Hopper in #14, Gold Tarantula in #12 and #14, and the Delektable Twisted Baby, Tan/Brown, in #12, #14 and #16.

And don’t forget the ant patterns. Fished in tandem with a favorite hopper, these tasty little morsels can be deadly. A variety including the Delektable Flying Ant in Cinnamon in all sizes have been working.

Along with the surface action, nymphs, whether fished alone or as a dropper under the hopper patterns, are still a great choice. Stoneflies, especially Girdle Bugs, in a variety of colors in size 8 and 10 have been good, along with the normal mix of Mayfly patterns, such as the Lightning Bug, Copper Johns, Red-Headed Stepchild and Delektable Lil’ Spankers, in a variety of colors, all in #16 and #18. Caddis patterns, and Caddis Emergers such as the Serendipity, are also an excellent choice.

So get out there and enjoy the sunny, warm weather. The hoppers certainly are!

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

First, the bad news; it’s been a while since we posted our last fishing report … Too long.

But the good news is, it’s because we have been SO busy, we haven’t had time to publish one. What an incredible season it’s been so far! Our other excuse is true, Nancy is still recovering from her spine surgery and can’t be living at a computer keyboard so much. The pictures we posted in this report cover two weeks to yesterday.

For those who have been languishing in the interim, waiting for a new fishing report, we greatly appreciate your continued interest in our reports, and we apologize. As we continue through this very busy and successful season, we will strive to publish reports as often as is feasible.

We graciously and sincerely thank you for your consistent interest, patience, and support. Without you, our loyal, fishing enthusiasts, who are downright fun, and interesting customers, we would not be enjoying such success. We have the BEST customers in the world. You guys and ladies ROCK!!! It has been fun at Beartooth Flyfishing and you are very much a part of our daily adventures in the shop and on the river. Thank you!.

Tight Lines!

The Delektable Crew