Deirdre 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
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 the
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
This day was a rare event, Dan and Nancy took a day off to go fishing and believe it, we hired
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 
Chubbys 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
Ross and Emmett did well between the lakes. There were four other boats there though! 
So someone else figured it out. Emmett caught his rainbows on a red copper john that he tied and on a rod that he made!
Thank Dan for the good recommendation!
Ross and Emmett
As the Madison got high and dirty, the big bugs arrived on the Henry’s Fork. As of this
writing, they are headed past the Box Canyon. We have also heard reports they are at Rock Creek now, in early June. The Henry’s Fork was still clear, low, and full of hatches: Salmon Flies, Golden Stones, Caddis, PMD’s, March Browns, etc..
We sent our friends Jim and Keefer to Island Park. They had a nice day fishing with the big bugs with Ryan from Trouthunters.
Keefer caught a noteworthy Hog! Way to go Keefer!
“Please find a couple pictures of my Henry’s Fork brown trout attached. This fish was landed on a size 6 Tennessee volunteer orange chubby.”
“I casted the fly a foot off the bank and dead drifted through an undercut bank near the Aura put in.”
Keefer and Nancy
