The end of July has been interesting for some. The word ‘inconsistent’ comes to mind for a lot of the regulars around here. There have been excellent days for high quantities of smaller fish and excellent days for lower quantities of large fish. The best news of all is that the dry fly action seemed to take over take the sub-surface regime we all seemed to be stuck in during the middle of the month.                                                       

With that said, there were a few days of relatively slow fishing compared to what we are used to during July. By  no means was the fishing bad, but it took a lot of work to get them hooked.  Presentation was more important than fly selection. Nocturnal stoneflies, caddis, PMDs, ants and some baetis during cloudy and cooler afternoons were common. Chubby Chernobyls, flying ants, small Purple craze/haze,  Yeager Never-sink Trudes and the Delektable Twisted Sister were top producers for dry flies. Sub-surface flies were all over the board. Anything small and flashy produced fish with silver being a top color. Also, slender bodied sculpin patterns produced some solid fish on overcast days.                                                                                           

July 25^th and 26^th were exciting for us at Beartooth. We hosted the annual Montana Hope Project fundraiser at our shop with Captain Marty cooking up his finest batch of authentic Louisiana gumbo. He did not disappoint and neither did our generous customers who showed up to support this wonderful cause. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Montana Hope Project, please take a look at their website, here. Their efforts go towards something that is truly special for critically ill children and it is never too late to support them.
Happy Fishing and enjoy the rest of your summer!!!!                      -Parker                                                           

When you catch a fish that is almost the size of you…you need to take a nap! Conrad Morrill hangs out with his dad, Dan Morrill, one of our great guides here on the Madison River. It is that time of year where to weather is perfect to go out and play on 0the river with yer family! Hope you all are enjoying the sun and nice warmth like Conrad and Dan! Happy Fishing!!! -DanG                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

A day with Captain Cain-garoo!

Reva and Alan went out with one of our very great guides here on the Madison, Randy Cain. They had a very successful day you might say! The fish were eating and the hammer was brought down! Great job guys! Its cloudy right now and the weather is perfect for throwing bunny with a dropper. Get it while its good!                                                                       

DanG

The past couple weeks have seen an abundance of insect hatches with Caddis, PMDs, various other Mayflies, Yellow Sallies and a few Nocturnal Stoneflies in the mix as the primary food source for our trout.                                                                                            

There have been some epic days of dry fly fishing using PMDs, Parachute Adams, Purple Haze, Caddis, Ants and small attractor patterns such as the Delektable Chubbyness. There have also been some slower dry fly days, and many of us have turned to adding small nymphs about 3 feet under the dry fly or using two small nymphs with a small split shot. Most notably productive nymph patterns have been the Psycho Prince, Delektable Sure Strikes, Copper Johns, Red, Purple, Gold and Silver Lightning Bugs and the Delektable Hammerhead. Small Girdle Bugs in different colors have also come back into style after a brief hiatus following the salmon fly hatch. Split shot above the flies has allowed anglers to get down quickly behind rocks and into the buckets where fish seem to be lying in the middle of the day.                                                      

The weapon of choice for a lot of us though has been the streamer/nymph combo. An effective approach has been to cast dark sculpin patterns and various nymphs close to the bank, giving it a couple quick strips into deeper water where you can mend and dead drift through the buckets, eventually allowing it to swing across. This has produced good numbers and some quality fish. Ants and Hoppers should be just around the corner.

I hope you are enjoying all the fish porn…because its just going to keep going…Keep scrolling.                    

It’s a good time to Go fishing! So….GO:)                                                                                                                                     -Parker

Marty Authement is our number one guide after Dan Delekta out of the shop here at the Beartooth. He is from Homa, Louisiana as some of you know from a redfish trip or two with him. He is one of our best trout guides here! (he can also catch whitefish too:) Britt and Suzanne found out just how good Marty can be at getting people on fish today! The bugs were size 12, 14 and 16 caddis and mayfly dries of royal colors. The nocturnal stone is about to be in full swing here in a minute er so, so get your big, dark bugs out again and get ready for that wingless little fast runnin’ stonefly! I hope you all are having a killer summer, do swing in the shop and say hey if you get the chance! Great job Britt and Suzanne!!!      Happy Fishing!!!                  -Dang