Nancy and Big Fish Kim floated the Madison today from Ruby Campground to Burnt Tree with Brandon Struckman as their guide. Dry flies weren’t happening despite an abundance of adult PMDs, caddis and yellow sallies. Small nymphs of these varieties through the lower section of their float were very productive. We’ll let the pictures tell the rest!  Of special note was that Kim’s incredible persistence really paid off. She never let her line be dry. Her flies were in the water all the time, even when taking a break on the side for lunch, she had her flies in the water. Nancy had some action on dries but caught smaller fish with the dries. Tight lining with two small flies was a good option in addition to using a bobber with two small nymphs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Parker

Ham and Eric took their very first flyfishing trip with the famous Brandon Struckman today. It was a learning experience for them and they loved every minute of it. I know this because i saw them when they landed back at the shop. Their faces were glowing! I said, ” Well, how was it?”. the response was nothing at first, with eyes open and head shaking, out came a…”whoa, it was soooo fun! We have never done this and it was the most spectacular day!!!” Brandon found the fly; Dan Delekta’s Delektable Peacock Surestrike size 14. It is a caddis pattern on a curved hook that has holographic biots on the sides and a CDC collar. I was very happy and stoked to see yet another couple of souls latch onto the sport we all love so much here. Thank you Brandon for all your hard work!!!

Bob also had a stellar day on the Madison today! Dave Evans was his guide. Bob caught fish, yes, but Bob was on a mission; to catch a fish on his father’s bamboo rod. With Dave’s help Bob caught many other fish, but the one rainbow on the ‘boo’ was a special fish for Bob today. if you have a bamboo rod just hanging on your wall, you might want to think about taking out for a cast or two on the river. After all, the rod was built for fishing and the bamboo has living fibers that will stay strong for a very very long time! Thanks Dave for all the help!!! Awesome ‘Boo-Bow Bob!!! Happy Fishing Everyone!!!

-DanG

This report is fueled by our guides and visiting anglers. The Salmon fly hatch has been the talk of the valley this past week. The fly fishermen have arrived as expected and the fishing has not disappointed. The hatch kicked off around Ennis with scattered adults emerging along the grassy river banks. There were more shucks found than confirmed adult sightings early on, but eventually we saw an abundance of adults later in the week as the hatch moved up river. Also in the mix was a consistent caddis hatch with the smaller caddis present all day and the larger specimens emerging in numbers by the evening. We also had Golden stoneflies, PMDs, yellow sallies and mayflies emerging as well.  

Throughout the week the shop received reports from all sections of the river. It seems that with the high pressure settling over the valley that the best fishing has been moving up the river as the water temperature rapidly rises during the day. Just yesterday we had a temperature reading at Storey Ditch of 70 degrees in the late afternoon. There have been many reports that the best fishing has been occurring before 11 am and after 5 pm. In fact, many boats have reported epic fish counts with many 18”+ fish caught on salmon fly dries and various droppers. Hot patterns have been Dan’s Secret Salmon Fly, The Royal Chubby, the Delektable Bomber Caddis, and small Purple haze. There have been spans of slow dry fly fishing midday, and for numbers a #14 or #16 dropper set at least 3 feet below has been the ticket. Sure Strikes, pheasant tails, Prince nymphs, Delektable lil’ Spankers and the new Delektable Hammerhead tied on a jig head has been red hot. With the boat traffic and water temperature, tight lining nymphs has been very effective. It’s a little early in the summer for “small ball”, but it is definitely working with low flows and sunny days. Streamer fishing has been put on the back burner for a lot of us but definitely give it a shot if you can sneak out early or late.  

More warm weather is expected as we progress into the final week of June. SLIGHTLY cooler temperatures are forecasted for the beginning of July. Watch the flows as more water is expected to be released from Hebgen Dam to maintain water temperature. This could help the fishing during the day. We went down to 750 CFS at Kirby Ranch on June 21 and 22. Since then the river has been slowly rising to 950 CFS today.

Here are some words of advice: fish early and fish late; don’t be afraid to fish the small stuff; lighten and/or lengthen your leader; play and handle the fish efficiently but gently to reduce fatigue and stress; wear sunscreen; drink tons of water and smile because it’s beautiful out there.

-Beartooth Family