September 28th- October 9th | Madison River Fishing Report

So the episodes of Shark Week continue……

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These last weeks we have been waiting for the colder weather to come in and stir things up. Well, we got our wishes and the fish are all kinds of riled up now. Last week was a good start to the fall fishing and now it is in fullll… swiiiing!!!  We have been seeing some good sized fish in the last few days here. The streamer bite has been on and there have been some nice fish coming in and submitting to the net. The BWO and Baetis bite is on because of the colder weather too, so if you don’t like throwing streamers or big nymphs, you are still going to be satisfied with decent dry fly fishing! That being said, I would like to tell a quick dry story. Emmett and his father went out to throw nymphs. Big fish were lurking and looking up. Now, dad had his bobber get eaten by a decent sized fish a few times and so he told his son, Emmett. Dad: “what should we throw on?” Emmett: “Well, lets throw a salmon fly on.” So, in very late September they throw salmon flies on and…. well you guessed it…blaaam, they were into a few nice fish. Take a peak, its Shark Week!!! ….again.

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Now, before I get into the streamer talk (which is probly going to seem repetitive)img_0047-sm I’ll let you in on the guide bugs and whats working for them out there right now. The stones are crawling around and a Black Pat’s Rubber Legs in a size 8 will do just fine. There are a couple of different colors in that pattern that are also working very well, like Brown, Tan/Brown, Black/Brown and Olive/Black. The size is an 8 but a size on either side of that will do just fine also. Bend the shank to give it a much buggier look (and give you an up on yer buddies) 🙂 . Also, try a Twenty Incher Stone (it’s a peacock stone) in a size 8 or 10. As usual, the Delektable Mega Prince Standard size 10-8 is a good call for any stretch of the river, but especially the top end right now.  The rock pocket img_2686-sm img_2679-sm img_2683-sm img_2280-sm img_2285-sm img_1572-smpicking is spectacular above the Lyons Bridge Recreational Area all the way up to the Slide at Quake Lake. The Prince nymph in a size 12 has been a “go-to” with the guides here as well as a whole slew of small darker BWO/Calibaetis style nymphs. As for the streamer bite… all the colors are working, all of the silhouettes are slaying and all the rods SHOUUULD…theoretically and historically be…BENT!!! Some of the best colors have been olive and black combos on articulated streamers. Olive and Yellow has been really good too. Black, Black and Blue, Black and Purple, White, Silver, Tan and various colors of the natural spectrum have been doing well. That pretty much covers the rainbow huh? Well, if you are having trouble hooking up on the “straum” (streamer) and you want to quit and throw nymphs again, just take a look at these photos and rethink your decision. If you want to catch a fish on a streamer…you must first throw the streamer…in the water.             20161008_075633-sm 20161001_074804-sm

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I don’t want to give away all the secrets about streamer fishing to the world wide web, but if you would like to know a little more, please come on in and let’s have a ‘lil heart to heart eh? Please have a wonderful rest of your season and fish your brains out!!!img_20161005_223248-sm img_20161004_161505-sm

 

Happy Fishing!!!  _DanG

 

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September 20-27, 2016 | Madison River Fishing Report

The Mighty Madison has a couple of weeks every year where it has the potential to be …. Shark Week! …and it’s now. Brown sharks… Sharks… Sharking. Sharks attacking streamers…

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This past week has been really quite awesome in regards to the streamer bite. All the leaves are in full bloom and raging yellows and reds and oranges. In corrilation, all the streamer colors are working. All of them. White has always been my favorite, but lately its been the olive/gold combo. This river is just full of streamer-eating, carnivorous, slimey, fattened up monsters now. The lakes (Ennis and Quake) are literally putting out, I mean puuuutting out right now.

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The float sections down near town have been really good this past week and seem to get better by the day. But then again, some of the big fish you see in theses pictures came from higher up. Some of us have been throwing only streamers and doing verrrry well. This is the time to do that if it’s not really been a strong point for you. Your chances are looking pretty good right now, just throw it in the water in the morning and you might be surprised. But do take a second to look at the colors on the trout before you slip them back in the water, they are just gorgeous!!! Also, take a look at a few of these photos and the colors they have been displaying!

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The streamers that have been hurled out here involve multiple articulations and/or stinger hooks. Trevor has been catching fish, Sheila has been catching fish, the Zonker has been catching fish, Mini Loop has been doing well and of course Dan Delekta’s Double Screamer in all the colors. Bow River Bugger has also been getting stripped outta the bins here at the shop. they are still eating the nymph really well too if stripping streamers is just not your thing. Some dries are even working yet. The Ant and even the Hopper are out in this late September weather. If your are a dry or die kinda guy or gal, you will still be matching up with BWO’s, Caddis and Midges in the 18-22 size range. The nymphs that most of the guides are going out the door with are getting back to the larger size.Try some bigger prince nymphs and bigger lightening bugs. It is about that time of year again where you are going to see the size 14 mayfly patterns working again. Well, there is the polished version. If you need more info and you just want to talk to us here at the shop, call us! If you are more lost than a Salmonfly in September (which does happen occasionally) call us and any one of us will be happy to point you in the right direction.                                  Happy Fishing!!!  -DanG

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September 22, 2016 | Yellowstone River Fishing Report

The Yellowstone River has been through some crazy times this summer with some record lows and a pretty hefty whitefish kill, but it is getting back into the swing of things now. Some friends and I went over and floated from town down about 13 miles with perfect weather for throwing streamers. It was kind of rainy and cloudy at first but the sun came out a little bit later and warmed it up a tad. we saw a few eagles before we set off, and that’s always a good omen, so we knew we would see some fish.

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The streamer bite was most definitely on! We did see some nice big fish follow our flies all the way up to the boat and swat at them without total commitment. At least we were seeing them. The flies and colors that were the best where brown/yellow and olive/gold wool-head sculpin patterns. Yellow and brown are just really good fall spawning colors to throw. White was also a good color to throw in the articulated world as white is always right.

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Well, I hope you all are doing well and fishing your little @$$’$ off! May you all fish long and prosper!

Happy Fishing!!! -DanG

 

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September 20, 2016 | Missouri River Fishing Report

Dan Delekta, Bernie Sundell and Mike Mach went to the Missouri river this past week and it was good for them. They caught rainbows, browns, carp and walley. Long days on the river with your buddies in the Clacka is the best way to spend the fall out here. Articulated streamers in white, black and black and olive were the hottest flies of the day. Dan’s Delektable Double Screamers in white were the best while black and back and olive were good towards the end of the day.

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the Delektable Chubbyness and other dries were working in the film in the back-eddies, but you know how ya get when the fall comes around…force feeding of the streamer! The weather was perfect for banging walley too. They hit streamers hard and would keep you occupied if you were not catching trout. The limit for walley is 4 each, so they came back img_1956-smwith some white meat that Captain Marty deep-fried in his special Cajun ways that tasted soooo good (just take my word for it). As for the carp, Mike caught that on a white Delektable Double Screamer (I know, wierd)

So, heres to fishing and drinkin with buddies on your day off!

Happy Fishing!!!  -DanG and Danny D

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September 13th-19th, 2016|Madison River Fishing Report

This week’s fishing report is brought to you by….me. It’s not a funny one this time either. These reports have been lacking and slacking in what we all really want to see…and that is whitefish after whitefish after WHITEFISH, and these rainbows and browns just keep getting in the way. We still take quick photos of the trout still (just because we kinda feel bad for them), but one day we will have a perfect report with only native mountain whitefish…just how it should be. Who’s with me!?!? I know Grandpa Delekta would be.

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Hahaha, well, I’m afraid I may be on my own team on this one 🙂

Speaking of the great white fish, if it matters to you, the “whitefish conspiracy” over on the Yellowstone River is somewhat under control and you are now allowed to fish certain sections of the river again. Check it out for yourself if you’re interested. This also provides updates on the analysis of the parasite impact to varied fish. Right! It is not really a conspiracy, just protection. (http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/closures/waterbodies/nr_106.html ) We have also seen a lot less people and guide boats over here now and thus less pressure on our slimy, slippery, yet very sneaky little friends.

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The browns are coming up on a very important annual event here soon…homecoming. Some will be late and some will be early, but it is up to you to see where they may be and what they are going to be focusing on for food during that period of time. Some friends around the shop here and I myself have been experiencing some early birds getting the worm. You may hear things here and there, but I recommend you get out and find out for yourself. So do your homework before it’s too late to turn it in. I can give you some sharp little pointers but that’s going to be the things that are working for me. Every section is going to be fishing differently, so maybe try some different unorthodox tactics (not dynamite) to lure them of their comfortable little underwater dirt/log housing complexes as you bounce around from place to place.

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As for the nymphing end of things, the little tikes (18’s and 20’s) have been the ticket lately trailing the big Pats Rubber Legs once again. BWO’s and Caddis are out and I know by this time you have those standard little nymph patterns ready to go already, so get those out and get ‘em wet again. If you are out of the loop a little, I will list a few nymph patterns that have scored well that you could try. The Prince nymph (sizes 14-18), Crystal Dip (size 16-20 black bead), Copper John (size 16-20 red and chartreuse), Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail (size 16-18), The Worm (any size), the Panty Dropper BWO (18-20) ,Delektable Sure Strike (size 16-18 peacock), and Delektable Mr Rubberlegs in a couple different colors including rust/olive.

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Like I have previously stated in previously written reports…the streamer/nymph combo under the “bob” is a killer combo for these Madison River fish. Some streamers in that realm would include Shelia (size 6), Trevor (in black, barred natural and olive), Mini Loop (in natural and olive), Delektable Screamers (white, olive/black, black, and olive), and Zonkers (sizes 6-8 in natural and copper).

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Articulated streamers also have been producing some gems. Delektable Double Screamers (white, black/olive/silver, black/olive/gold, badger, black), Bunny Love (black), and the Sex Dungeon (White, black, olive). Also some of Bernie Sundell’s patterns have been going out the door: Sundell’s Badboy (yellow, grey); and his Silver Fire (olive/black/silver).

Overall…get out there and send it!

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Happy Fishing!!!   -DanG

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