The past two days was filled with Dan Morrill guiding Red and the Sun Ranch. His 20 plus years of experience provided surplus knowledge, lots of behind the scenes work and of course ACTION!! Dan and clients hooked into some great fish, both wading and floating. The weather was good and the “W” factor was hardly present. The HOT flies included: Physco Prince Purple, Delektable Hammerhead Pheaseantail, Delektable Lil’ Spanker, Davies Evil Weevil, Partridge and a Hare’s Ear, Delektable Sure Strikes, Delektable Elk Hair Caddis Tan and Dancing Caddis Tan. As always you can’t catch fish unless you get out there and get the fly wet.

Keep Throwing Darts! Will

The Upper Madison is without a doubt a pretty cool place to fish. If you look around and take in the beauties of the surrounding mountains hugging the river, it can put many other things aside. If fished right and with the right flies, you have the ability to hammer fish. Colin, a long time friend and college roommate of mine, booked a plan ticket on a Tuesday and flew up that Thursday from Virginia to experience the Maddy. A highlight of the trip was a thorough wading afternoon session above the Westfork. The key was to take our time moving up the river fishing the buckets, banks, seams and slower moving water. HOT FLIES included: Lightning Bugs, Delektable Hammerhead Hares Ear’s, Lime Juice, Delektable Mr Rubber Legs Wire Chartreuse, BH Prince Nymph, Partridge and Hares Ear, San Juan Worms, Delektable Chubbyness Royal, Delektable Halo Tan, Parachute Caddis Olive and Purple Haze. Besides a small incident that involved me breaking Colin’s rod in half it turned out to be a great day and let’s just say we caught a LOT of fish!! Time spent with friends on the river build memories that will last a lifetime, so get out there and explore the river. It really takes time, persistence and hard fishing to figure out how the river fishes, where the fish are and last but not least how to catch them.

Keep Throwing Darts! Will

Streamflow screamflow, the bugs have been constant, they don’t care. You will see an abundance of caddis, mayflies and even the big boys still out. The Caddis, PMD and Salmon Fly hatch is what I would like to call, ON!!! We had groups come and fish with us, the Ansell family and Red and Sissy. Dan D and Nancy even got out for a guided trip with Brandon, which we love to see. Some great fish were caught and what we observed worked the best for these groups was a “small ball” combo of two small nymphs and small PMD and various dries and an occasional hit on the big dry. Check Check Check it out!

HOT FLIES: Salmon Fly size 6, Golden Stone size 8-10, Bomber Caddis size 10-12, Tan Caddis size 14-16, Delektable Halo tan size 16-18, PMD patterns size 14-18, Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail, Formally Known as Prince size 14-16, Lightning Bug (Silver), Delektable Sure Strike (Yellow/Peacock), Brandon’s secret ties with the CDC Prince and other secrets, and BH Prince Nymph Flashback. 

I think its safe to say that Dan G and Dave got themselves deep into the mix of things and absolutely crushed trout all day long below Reynolds Bridge. We’ve been hinting that Salmon Flies are ON above Pine Butt and the flies of choice for the two were a Salmon Fly size 6 and Golden Stone size 10. There’s nothing better than when you figure it out and have a big numbers day. 

This summer the wind has been blowing, crazy huh? That’s what wind does. Take your 6, 7, or 8 weight rod for these days (everyday on the Maddy). If you can get it out there in the water, they will eat it. Set yourself up for success and use the right tools for the right job. If you are having any difficulty and problems that seem relentless and insurmountable in that you just can’t seem to catch fish…come in and get your local flyshop fix!

Happy Fishing!!! -Dan G/Will

This summer has been a real buggy one for us here in the Madison Valley. With the water on the rise from progressing outflow release of the Hebgen Dam, the fish have been eating and eating and eating. No hook has been too sharp, no net not slippery enough, and no dirtbag has been too scary looking to persuade these fish to stop eating over and over and over again. Even if you look the fish in the eye and tell them, “you need to be more careful with how you select your food, it’s a dangerous world out there”….you will still see them in the net the next day. As for the river, it sits at 1420 CFS at the very moment and has been holding near there for the past couple of days. Northwest Energy has upped the flows since July 1^st after attaining their goals and required capacity, and now they will be letting a higher flow out for the rest of the summer to comply with the Reservoir/River regulated permit that exists. On that note, go fishing now, because it’s epic.

This week we had the pleasure of welcoming several groups, including the Rush and Filance families. Like mentioned previously, the fishing was HOT!! Getting the opportunity to set up trips for big families and groups like these really get the Beartooth Family excited, especially seeing them after a day of fishing with great stories. Dave joined in on the fun and guided two days with success. Check out some of these great pictures. 

Please throw the bugs as follows; Dry: Salmon Fly size 6, Golden Stone size 8-10, Bomber Caddis size 10-12, Tan Caddis size 14-16, Delektable Halo tan size 16-18, PMD patterns both dry and nymph size 14-18 and various midge patterns on the lakes have been good as well. Nymphs: Brown/Tan variegated Pat’s size 8, Olive/Brown variegated Pat’s size 8, Brown Pat’s size 8, Trout Retriever Golden size 8, Delektable Mr. Rubber Legs , Caddis Case with red glass bead on a curved hook size 10 (self tie), Lightning Bug (every color) size 16-18, Delektable Pheasant Tail Spanker size 16, Silvey’s Primetime Puppa olive size 16, Beadhead Prince size 14, Psycho Prince Purple size 14-18 Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle size 14-16, Rs2: PMD and Olive size 16-18 and last but not least the blood midge on a size 8 curved hook (San Juan). 

Happy Fishing!!! –DanG