Madison & Missouri River fishing report 07.16.2013
Just a few days ago, I arrived home after a week of guiding on the Missouri River. Jin and the boys had a wonderful time. When I left, the flows were hovering just above 3000 cfs, today it's about 2650 cfs. The nymphing was superb from the moment we put the boat in...
Summertime with a little snow
June was superb on the Madison and thus far, July has proven to be the same. The Madison River float stretch has been kinda busy, but not like some may think. With all rivers in south west Montana fishing really well right now, the Madison is seeing limited...
BIG BUGS
Big Bugs are on the water. Some days are better than others, but the afternoons have found them flying around and dropping eggs....drift the fly and they will eat it, as long as you let them! Caddis, PMDs and sallies are hatching as well in solid numbers. I have...
Madison River Report 06.22.2013
Molly and I got out for a float this week with some friends from Cody, a nice little treat as things are really cranking up here on the Madison River. The river is low, but clear and fishing quite well right now. There are all kinds of bugs hatching and the fish are...
Drakes
Wade fishing is one of my favorite past times. Why? Because it's just you and the river - intimacy with a river is hard to come by unless one gets out of the boat and stalks trout. When wading, all your skills come into play: stalking, reach casts, managing slack...
Wednesday
This morning, I took a walk with a buddy, to an unnamed stream in southwest Montana. A short drive really, and a bit of gamble for the fishing, but shit, who cares about the fishing, right? We walked slowly upstream, rigged with dry flies and streamers, with hardly...
Big Bugs
There are Big Bugs throughout southwest Montana and parts of YNP. I caught my first trout of the season on Jacklin's Salmon fly not too far from West Yellowstone.....love this pattern and Bob still ties them. There are not cheap, but this fly is hands down, one of...
Missouri Flows to drop down
Below is a press release from the BLM that made it into my mail this afternoon. Down goes the Missouri....it's gonna be skinny out there. The Madison is already low as well, but with the recent rains, they might be a bit more of the white stuff up there in the...
Missouri River Chicken Trip 06.03.2013
The Chicken Trip departed early this morning leaving us in the pouring rain. Fishing with this group of anglers is a highlight of our season and we hope to see them once again next season. Greg and I can't thank you enough....... On the way back from Helena there...
Early summer on the Missouri…
...or late Spring in Montana. Everything is green, seems to be greener than normal - it is. Maybe a few weeks earlier than most years, but there is still snow that could fall. One never knows what the weather will bring this time of the year. River temps are in...
TAKF…….
....Take A Kid Fishing. Why? Because you should....it's good for them and it great for you. Yesterday, two dozen 8th and 10th graders had the opportunity to fish with a dozen fishing guides from West Yellowstone. Not only did the kids hook a bunch of trout, they...
Madison River Report 05.19.2013
She's open and dirty, but fishing really well. There might be a foot or so of visibility, but trout have to eat and fishing a big rubber legs on 6lb Maxima is a ton of fun. We also played around with small nymphs as a solid hatch of BWOs rolled down the river over...
Why even try…..
....to look into the future? Just go fishing. That's what I'd do. What I mean by this, is can one really say what the summer angling season will actually look like? Educated guesses are popping up all over the Web and some of them are quite good. I pay attention...
Missouri River Fishing Report 05.14.2013
With flows hovering around 3800 cfs, the Missouri River is a bit on the shallow side. Normal flows right now are about 5200 cfs and after some discussion at Joe's Bar a couple of nights ago, we agreed that the river is the lowest we have ever seen for this time of...
Craig
Been back in Craig, Montana for the past several days. All is well and the fishing is quite good. The Dearborn is pushing in some mud, but there still is good visibility down through the Canyon. Bright sun kinda turned them off late yesterday afternoon around 4...
Missouri River Fishing Report 05.04.2013
The stats are true: there are lots of fish in the Missouri River. I don't pay huge attention to MT FWP's numbers, because honestly, we are gonna fish anyway. A high percentage of these trout are spawning in the river, and it seems to me that over the past few years,...
oooohh that smell
....can't you smell that smell? That new boat smell... Picked up my new drift boat this afternoon in Bozeman after a few errands and a quick stop by Brick Breeden Field House for Ice Out. While I didn't stick around long, I was able to pick up a few much needed...
Stateside & the ARG Experience
Been back in Montana/Wyoming for almost a week now and I'm still trying to process every day of the Argentine angling experience. There are moments that stick out, but they are more than just moments of time. More like days upon days. Not one part ranks higher...
It’s not far now
In one week, I will be sitting in Bariloche, ready to embark on a fishing trip of a life time - three weeks in Argentina with two of the closest friends a fishing guide can have. Ten days of this will be hosting a wonderful group of anglers that I have fished with...