Montana Fish Bum Blog

Well run off is in full swing and aside from some of the local lakes and a few tailwaters there’s not much fishing to be done around here. So a couple of us from Montana Fly Fishing Guides, Sweetwater Fly Shop, and our friend Bob Bergquist are headed to Acklins Island in the Bahamas. Acklins is an out island of the Bahamas about 100 miles off the eastern tip of Cuba. It’s very remote and in our past experiences on this island we’ve yet to see another angler. With a population of only about 450 residents, tons of wadable flats, and lots of Bonefish and Permit it’s definitely a special destination. We’ll also be doing some blue water fishing for White Marlin, Blue Marlin, Tuna, Wahoo, and Dorado.

Our friend Bob owns and operates a small fishing lodge near Salina Point and he and his local guides have a great knowledge of the local waters. We’ll be fishing here from June 6 to June 13 so stay tuned for some great images when we get back. We are also working on a couple of hosted trips to the Salina Point Bonefish Lodge this winter so feel free to email Eric Adams if you would like to learn more about this great location.

We’ll run off is pretty much here to stay for the next 5 weeks, however some of the tailwaters are still fishing well. Dr. Smith came out for his annual spring trip with Montana Fly Fishing Guides and we manage to catch a few trout on Armstrong’s Spring Creek despite the tough conditions (few bugs and bright sun shine). The next day we headed out early and got some good fishing on the Lower Madison River. The early morning found us fishing to trout chasing caddis emergers. Dr. Smith did a great job of working the pods of fish and we landed a number of trout before lunch on a sparkle caddis pupae. The afternoon proved tougher with the high winds but we managed to slow the boat down and work a number of deeper holes which produced several fish. We even had a huge Madison Brown on that ripped across the water reminiscent of a bonefish - that one will have to wait till next year as the hook pulled before we could land it. The highlight of the day however was the Brown Dr. Smith caught on a dry fly at lunch. I noticed a large fish randomly feeding on the surface under a bridge. There were several black stone flies around, but not on the water. We decided to give it a try and making a great cast Dr. Smith landed a very nice 18+ inch brown.

Well it’s almost the middle of May and our cool, wet weather so no signs of letting up. This has made for some great spring fishing so far. However, as of May 8th we are sitting on 124% of normal snow pack. What this means if you’re coming out this summer to do some fishing it might be wise to plan your trip for around the 2nd week of July. While there are still many places to fish in our area I would suggest coming out it late July or August - if you want to float the Yellowstone River. If last year is any indication of how our summer will transpire you should find some spectacular fishing with big hopper during this time frame. To stay up to date on the snow pack you can view this website under the “Upper Yellowstone Drainage“.

Well the Mother’s Day Caddis has yet to hit full steam on the Yellowstone River this spring. Our weather has been a mix of snow, rain and cool water temperatures so far. The river is fishing very well between 12pm and 5pm with complex hatches of March Brown and Baetis Mayflies and when the weather is warmer some Caddis. Our water clarity is holding out with night time temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, especially in the higher elevations. I think we’ll be fishing the river for at least another few days before the warmer weather starts our annual run off - so stay tuned and we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest action!

This week was great fishing for a number of our clients that took full advantage of our Spring Fishing Discount. We spent several days on the local spring creeks with good midge fishing in the mornings and some dry fly Baetis fishing later in the day. We also got to experience Jones Lake and caught some monster 3lb to 6lb rainbows. This lake is the best trophy lake we’ve experienced in the past few years. If you’re interested in fishing the spring creeks or Jones Lake this summer let us know so we can book your reservations in advance.

Spring time in Montana is toying with us as usual – the weather has been 70+ degrees the last few days but cool weather is forecasted for this weekend.  These warmer temperatures have caused some of the lower snow to start melting and the Yellowstone was a bit off color yesterday.  However, we did have some guides report good fishing on March Browns and even a few caddis were spotted fluttering around.  The cooler weather this weekend should bring the river back to its normal spring color and we’re predicting some caddis to start showing up as early as next week.  Keep you fingers crossed and check back shortly for the most recent update!

R. Lyons with a nice Yellowstone River Cutthroat trout

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to guide two different groups. Mr. Lyons and I fished the Yellowstone River from Carter Bridge to 9th street and had a beautiful spring day. Temperatures where in the mid forties with little wind, and it was bright and sunny - which didn’t help out for the Baetis hatch, but we did manage to catch between 12-15 nice trout. The fish were very healthy and we even caught several nice Cutthroat trout in the 14 – 15 inch range. It’s always a pleasure to catch the original Montana native! We caught all the species found in the Yellowstone River; Rainbow, Cutthroat, Brown, and even some Cut-Bows (a hybrid of Cutthroat and Rainbows).

The following day the Hobson boys graced my drift boat and after looking for a spot to get out of the wind (25+) we ended up back at the same float. In the early part of the day it was hard to tell how the fishing was, due to the heavy breeze and tough casting conditions. However, by about 2:30 we managed to find some feeding trout just below a riffle corner and out of the wind.  Mr. Hobson was the first to strike a trout and then 9 year old son Kyle hit the jackpot. While the breeze made it challenging our patience paid off and we managed to land about 8 or 10 good trout. Our biggest catch of the day was hopefully young Kyle who is going to be a very good fisherman some day. He ended the day right by showing off his skills at the take out, catching a nice rainbow with his Mom and Sister watching from shore.

A small Tungsten Zebra Midge fished under a shallow indicator was the ticket on both of these days. We tried every imaginable location, but just below the riffle corners and in whatever foam lines we could find were the most productive. The Baetis hatch is right around the corner and we’ve seen them on the cloudier days. Later this week should prove good fishing as it’ll be in the 50s and cloudy. Fellow Montana Fly Fishing Guide Eric Paramore and I will be hitting the water and we’ll be back to give you the most recent update.

… is me beating the bottom of my drift boat with a broom handle.  Why?  To remove the 4 inches of ice covering my floor.  Why?  Because I’ve got two guide trips this weekend and sometimes it’s difficult to stay in the boat when it’s not iced up.  The weather is looking a bit on the chilly side, but it could make for some great Baetis weather this weekend.   I’ll get you the final report on how the fishing was early next week so stay tuned!

EA

Well spring has sprung and we couldn’t be more excited. In fact we’ve been fishing for the past couple weeks. Eric Adams just got back from a great Florida trip with Captain’s Ted Christie and Perry Coleman. The weather was great and the Tarpon and Permit fishing was very good. Upon his return he found that the warm Florida weather had followed him back to Montana. He hadn’t been off the plane for more than 12 hours and fellow guide Eric Paramore convinced him to fish the Boulder River. Midges were on the menu and the trout didn’t hesitate to take our imitations. Although going from 80lb shock tippet to 5X was a bit of a challenge for Adams. This is one of the best times of year to fish, the water is clear and low and the fish are eager to feed after their winter slumber.

A few of our other guides also had the itch to enjoy the early warm weather and fishing on the Yellowstone River has been quite good. We just started to see some Baetis on the water and the fish are eager to take emergers fished just under the surface. As the water gets a bit warmer we’ll start seeing more of those fun spring Blue Wings.

Montana Fishing Report -  while its still early to predict our river levels we are encouraged that our current snow pack is at 107% of normal for the season. As many of you know our run-off can be quite unpredictable - if you missed it last year we did not fish the Yellowstone River until the 3rd week of July!
While last years run-off was unique we will keep you informed of all the relevant factors that might influence you fishing vacation. Below are a few link which you might like to refer to on occasion that will give you some information on the current conditions in the Livingston area.

• Weather in Livingston
• USGS Snow Pack
• Web cam on the Yellowstone River near Pine Creek, Montana
• Web cam on the Yellowstone River near Gardiner, Montana