Ladies and fly fishing bums (gentlemen), we have water!! This is now. Realize it. Get out and fish, because next week we are going to see much warmer temperatures resulting in a bunch of hoot owl closures around the area. But as for the very moment, these days are the days that you all have been waiting for! This is the type of flyfishing therapy that you NEED to survive the rest of this summer! The big bug fishing continues!!! Hoppers and nocturnal stones are out and about keeping a well rounded good ole constant with the big dries!

With the river keeping at a steady level, there have been large assortments of flies that have blown up and been good this week. The insect assortment we have in and around the river right now has been between the stones, hoppers, pmds, pmd rusty spinners, tricos, and a variety of caddis, so diligence with experimentation is definitely your best tactic to put fish in the net. If you’re a dry fly person, then a good fly to experiment with would be the Fat Albert or the Delektable Slammer. Colors of choice lately are with Fat Albert: the Tan Foam and Yellow or Red Thread or with The Delektable Slammer: Yellow or Red. These have been very productive in sizes 12-14. Some other dry flies to experiment with are the Delektable Chubbynesses in UV Cinnamon, 2Tone Royal, and Rootbeer, all in sizes 14-16. Most of your Caddis, Mayfly, and PMD Dries are very effective, but if you prefer to fish with nymphs, try a Psycho Prince in sizes 14-16 below an Olive/Brown, or Brown/Black variegated Pat’s Rubber Legs in sizes 10-12. That would be a worthwhile endeavor. Most small Mayfly or PMD Nymphs have been effective in sizes 14-18, therefore they would be worth trying too.

The fire in the picture is one we can see from the lodge that we believe is now under control but scared a bunch of friends who experienced a close call as they were almost evacuated. Thank you to our local fire fighters. Remember if you’re having trouble out there and need any assistance at all or just want to talk to a few fishing nuts come by the shop for your local fix. Happy fishing to all!!

-DanG/Emmett/Will

Another BUSY day at the Beartooth with a nice group of fishermen. We had the pleasure once again to host the Wild Adventure Group who are always a joy to have. The weather was good, the bugs out, the fisherman eager, the dinner bell ringing and the rods insisting to be bent to the breaking point.

HOT flies for the day included: Pats Rubber Legs (Olive/Brown), Beadhead Shop Vac, Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail, Lightning Bug (Silver), Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Delektable 2Tone Chubbyness UV Dark Olive and Delektable Chubbyness UV Purple.

We had Brandon, Gunnar, Ian, David, Willie, and John guiding the Wild Adventure Crew. The “W” factor did take over part of the evening, thus less photos, and better rowing. Like Jim Rohn once said “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” That’s just what happened and the Wild Adventure crew consistently throughout the day caught fish.

Not only did we have the Wild Adventure Group but also Randy, Tim, Dan M and Marty guiding clients. The groups were spread out in different locations on the river with the timing of the groups being half morning and half evening. There was floating, wading and of course fish to be caught. Smiling faces and great stories tagged along all the way back to the shop at the end of the day.

Keep Throwing Darts! Will

Well hello hello hello! I hope you all are thoroughly enjoying this epic weather as much as we are here at the Beartooth. This warmer weather has been putting out hoppers on the Madison flats faster than Frank Abagnale Jr. could put out fake checks. I mean, it’s happening. Check out the Varney Road and see for yourself. We have had multiple reports of big hopper eats from McAtee down river. And with the nocturnal bugs starting to pop, the guides are still finding fish on the big bugs. The fishing this week has been great! The fish have been eating all sorts of food! Some popular food for the fish this week has been Hoppers, Nocturnal stones, Mayfly dries, Caddis dries, and most small beadhead nymphs.

During the first half of the week we had Dan M, John and Ian guiding. From reports coming back into the shop in seems that there is some bad news………The fishing’s GREAT!! There has been reports of sore arms, bug overloads, and strained eyes from watching fish eat flies over and over. Now would be a good time to call your friend who needs a good fish catching experience.

During the later part of the week John K, Dan M, Ian and Terry were out on the water. We have some great pics to share with you from their adventure on the Madison.

SUMMARY: If you take anything from this report it would be that hoppers, yes hoppers, are here. Drive down Varney Road and see for yourself. HOPPERS, that is all.

-Dan G/Will

The 13th of July was a busy day at the Beartooth, with fourteen guides and thirty clients passing through the shop. One could say it was a little CRAZY and we got to witness something never seen at the Beartooth before… A stage coach bus pulling into the parking lot and unloading clients. We had both the Sun Ranch Partner Group and a group of nine veterans hosted by Wild Adventures join us. The day started off with lots of licenses being purchased, waders being fitted and flies getting ready to be tested. From the feedback we received at the end of the day, both groups had a blast and the day was all around a great success. Oh ya and LOTS of fish were caught. 

HOT flies for the day: Crackpack PMD, Lemon drop, Hogans S&M PMD, Mahogany Soft Tackle and Nocturnal Chubby. Hint: Tight lining two BH nymphs about 24-30 inches apart, letting it swing and feeling the bite has been working. Don’t be afraid to try new techniques and tricks because if you don’t test out new waters then you’ll never know what fish live there.
We want to thank all our guides for their continued hard work. We would also like to thank and recognize the nine veterans who we had the privileged of meeting, as well as all the other men and women in the armed forces. Your service to this country makes it possible for others to enjoy the things most loved in life, like fishing. We hope your experience was memorable. God Bless.

 
Will