June 12, 2014 Upper Madison

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Beartooth Flyfishing

The forecast was not entirely accurate about this day. The “W” factor wasn’t supposed to be IMG_1442 SM IMG_1431 SM IMG_1414 SM IMG_1409 SM IMG_1407 SMso gusty and it was. There was a bit of weather but not bad. The good news is the fish were biting and it was fun for the reunion of the “Friends of Tom” group. It was so nice to see good friends getting together and enjoying each other and a nice fishing adventure.

 

Joe and Jim took care of the guys and they helped them find the fish.

The bug choices were pretty similar to the previous week with dark stone fly patterns and streamers.

 

Part of the day some smaller nymphs started to work for trailers but most of the day the bigger wet bugs worked best.

Enjoy the photos and share in their fun!

Nancy

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June 6, 2014 Upper Madison

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Beartooth Flyfishing

Conditions were pretty ideal for this group, we shall call “Friends of Matt”. What a great IMG_1422 SM IMG_1420 SM IMG_1397SM IMG_1395 SM IMG_1386 SM IMG_1146 SM IMG_1274 SM IMG_1273 SMgroup, many learning fly fishing for the first time. The best part was everyone caught and landed trout and had great scenery and wildlife viewing. The morning started off cool with threats of thunder storms which did not happen but the overcast morning helped the bite for sure and then the afternoon warmed up for a pleasant day.

 

Joe, Gunnar, Dave, and Brandon did a terrific job teaching these guys and getting them into fish.

 

The river was steadily dropping in flows this week and the color had just become green with good visibility by Friday. The fish were hungry. The boys went from Lyons Bridge to Ruby Creek as the river turned that perfect green color we all love to fish. The dirt has surely subsided and as of this writing, the upper river is on fire, fishing well and perfectly clear.

 

The bite was primarily on Stone Flies including the Delektable Mega Prince and Pat’s Rubberleg in Black in sizes ranging from #4 to #8’s. There was also action on streamers including the Delektable Screamer in Black and Olive and Sculpzilla in Black. A variety of other bugs were also working such as caddis nymphs and caddis emergers.

As of this posting, June 11, the bite is still very good and the flows are becoming steady at Kirby at around 1,350 cfs following the past few days of more reduction in flows.

Many of the same flies are working now including the Delektable Hurless in Gray Flashback #6 & #8, Delektable Mega Prince Flashback or Flashback Olive in #6 or #8, Delektable Black Stoner #8 or the Delektable Black/Orange Stoner #8, Delektable Bug Halloween #8, The Delektable Sure Strike Yellow Peacock and Peacock #14, Pat’s Rubberlegs in dark colors or the mix with orange, Delektable Screamers Jointed and Single, Bunny Style Streamers. Basic Prince patterns are also working as trailers. Big Dries, Chubbies in purple,pink and brown size#10-12 with Delektable Hurless and Mega-Prince and Stoner droppers in sizes#6-8.

 

TOO MUCH FUN!

 

There are plenty of choices when the fish are eating. We recommend you go fish!

Nancy and Dan

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June 4, 2014 Beaverhead

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Beartooth Flyfishing

IMG_1372SMIMG_1367SMDeirdre and Roger had a great time with Brandon on the Beaverhead.  

 

They were learning techniques for the first time and had great fun and success catching. They were using mostly Sowbugs and Ray Charles patterns.

 

Nymphs were working for them.  

Nancy

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May 31, 2014 Beaverhead

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Beartooth Flyfishing

Some of us Beartooth folk got a chance to jet over to the Beaverhead for a quick little fishing/camping trip this weekend. The camping was excellent with a little rain and theIMG_1142 SM IMG_1140SM IMG_1139SM IMG_1135SM IMG_1130SM fishing was pretty good with sowbugs, caddis, little mayfly nymphs, and streamers. We floated from the Clark Canyon Dam down to Henneberry takeout. The action in the beginning of the float was mostly on caddis and mayfly nymphs, but others I talked to said they had been crushing them on sowbugs such as the Pink Ray Charles, the Dead Ray Charles and the pink Smidget in sizes 18 and 20.

The sowbugs were not really producing for us. The mayfly nymphs however were producing for Ross and I. I was getting them on little green guys on the drop like the olive Hogan’s S&M size 18 with Dan’s Delektable Big Spanker olive above that.

The sun was out hot and the fishing started to slow down a bit by noon, so we thought we would throw some streamers out the back of the boat and float down the river for a while instead of stopping and wading a bunch. Fish On! The streamer bite was the ticket for the water around High Bridge down to Hennaberry. It didn’t seem to matter that the sun was out and beating down hard, they just kept eatin. As normal, there were chases happening almost all the time but the refusals were many.  Changing up colors and stripping technique always helps. As always it was another great day on the Beaverhead with a bunch a fun in the sun!

You can see that Roy, my dog was nice and comfy napping in the boat. Andrea enjoyed the float and learned more about our fishing techniques.

Happy Fishing!!!

Young Dan and Ross

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May 29, 2014 Big Adventure/Day Off!

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Beartooth Flyfishing

This day was a rare event, Dan and Nancy took a day off to go fishing and believe it, we hiredIMG_1224 SMIMG_1228 SM IMG_1230 SM IMG_1232 SM IMG_1234 SM a guide to spoil us. It was a big treat for us and a real fun adventure. We have been wanting to fish below Lower Mesa Falls for years. Dan hadn’t done it for maybe twenty years. This is not an easy adventure and you need to be in pretty good shape to do the hike.

 

 

 

 

The day began with a drive into the park and a trail that is steep and deep. We needed walking poles to prevent from sliding down on our buts because it’s steep and gravelly. Phil, our guide, from Trouthunter, had to push the raft down the long steep trail to the launch. All this took at least an hour. Trust us, it’s not a short trail! We took a few photos on the way down so you can see the experience with us.

 

 

 

Once we got down to the boat launch area it was beautiful with lots of trees and under the rocks were loads of cases from the spent Salmon Flies. The river was clear. As we put our gear on, Golden Stones were crawling over us. That was a sure sign of one of the bugs we should try.

 

 

 

The canyon you float through is picturesque with lots of birds and wildlife. We had action and caught trout and some white fish on our flies most of the day. Our primary patterns were Dan’s Secret Salmon and Dan’s Secret Golden Stone. We also used a variety of IMG_1236 SM IMG_1240 SMChubbys with Royal being a good one. The dries floated like a cork so you could put a long trailer on it and these included the Delektable Mega Prince #10, Lil’ Spankers in various colors, Princes, and Pheasant Tails. The hatches were going on all day. We saw Salmon Flies dwindling, Golden Stones heavy, Caddis of various sizes, March Browns, May Flies, and PMD’s. It was really awesome. We also tried streamers for a bit but rare action on the streamer.

 

 

The weather was a bit too nice. We thought it would be overcast and it became sunny a good part of the day. The fish were biting the dries and eating the trailers. We waited to take pictures of bigger fish and alas most of the day our catch was in the small to mid size Trout with a few in the high teens. It was fun and silly with the catching and a great day off.

Thanks Phil!

Nancy and Dan

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