It might take a few years to dry out from all the rain which keeps falling. I saw Noah's Ark yesterday on the Firehole. There were moose, bears, wolves, bison, deer and elk hanging out on the bow. I think they were drinking Budweiser cans out of an ice cold Yeti...
Some go up, some come down
Over the past 10 days, our weather has been a crazy as it gets. The Big Hole dropped 4000 cfs and then jumped 7000 cfs in three days. Snow, wind, all day rain and a little sunshine - but not much of the latter, is to blame for Montana's crazy flows. My 10 day...
Wet Weather
The Missouri was red hot today for those who stuck above Craig. I witnessed some of the best high water nymphing I have seen in awhile. The weather was rough from about 10:30 am till 1 and a one point my hands went numb. Later in the afternoon, the rain let up and...
Missouri River Report
From Holter Dam to the Dearborn, the Missouri River has been good to great at times. Greg, Biggie and I have been rowing customers down the Missouri and mainly staying above Craig. Greg and I ventured down to Stickney Creek today and found plenty of trout willing to...
The Chicken Boys
For 8 years now, Kevin and the Chicken Boys from the South have joined the crew at BSA for fabulous fly fishing throughout Montana. We have fished the Madison, Missouri, Big Hole and the Beaverhead. 5 years ago we started hitting the Missouri in June, before the...
DBT
While I never talk much about music on the blog, it has played a rather large part in my life. During college I traveled to see over 300 live shows and learned to play guitar, mandolin and the banjo. As a boy, I was forced to learn the piano...should have listened...
Snow….yes…more snow
Our weather for the past three days has been depressing. Wind, rain and now we get snow. Nothing makes one want to crack a few beers before 5 o'clock like a snowstorm in late May of a record snowpack year. The Trout Gods must be angry. It might be time to...
Madison River Report
Pat Bond and I took off early this morning to meet up in the Madison Valley for a fencing project on the east side of the Madison River on the Granger Ranch. Their cattle like to utilize the banks of the river for water, but with O'Dell Creek flowing through the...
Madison River 05/22/11
I ran down to the Madison again today......why wouldn't I? What else did I have to do? It is Sunday, but I woke up early just to get some work done before heading to the river. Emails, trip planning, deposits recorded in the book, preparations for the Missouri...
Madison River Fishing Report 05/21/11
We woke this morning to warm temps, broken clouds and sunshine. Looking west past Horse Butte and towards the Madison Valley, the weathter didn't look so promising. As we rounded the north shore of Hebgen, lots of anglers could be seen fishing the lake. There is...
Green
The Madison is green and very fishable with about 18 inches of visibility. Nymphing will be king, but I would be they'll eat a streamer too.....I have caught fish on dries at this color plenty of times. Not saying it will fish well with dries, but lots of fellas...
In 3 days…………….
...........the Madison opens. It remains to be seen how clear the river will be on the Opener. There is color moving through Quake, which could be the determinging factor. The West Fork's brown line was running the bank - it wasnt't dirty shorts brown though. A...
Blown…for a day or two
Last night at the bar, I ran into my buddy Dan Rust, a guide for Blue Ribbon. He had just gotten off the Madison and had floated Varney to 8 Mile. Out of the gate, the river fished just fine, but at some point after lunch, river clarity had worsened and the bite had...
Upper Madison River Fishing Report
Madison River Flows Below Hebgen - 1210 cfs....up a little @ Kirby - 1420 cfs....Cabin Crk is puking mud, West Fork is clear @ Varney - 1700 cfs......up 300 from 3 days ago The Madison River can be tough at times when it is on the rise. Currently, she is very...
Salmonflies
One of the first salmonfly hatches we will see, is just about 10 days away.....maybe a bit later depending on the temperatures of the Henry's Fork. Life in the high country is behind every where else once again this spring. Yesterday there was about 2.5 feet of...
Valley Garden FAS…..OPEN
VALLEY GARDEN FISHING ACCESS SITE ON MADISON RIVER REOPENED BOZEMAN—The Valley Garden Fishing Access Site one mile north of Jeffers on the upper Madison River has reopened to public use. The site was closed to vehicles in November 2010 because of dangerous ice...
Sunshine…ahhhh…it feels good.
With the stream flow graphs showing stability on the upper Madison, I was curious to see what might be dirty with today's sunshine. At 2 o'clock this afternoon, Indian Creek and the West Fork were clean as a whistle. Up high on the Slide, the river was green, green...
Up They Go
The tributaries across the state are blowing out right and left, raising the big rivers like the Yellowstone, Madison, Missouri and the Big Hole. Mud season is upon us. Our recent rains have sent the snowpack tumbling down the mountains, and in the high country,...
Rain, Rain, Rain
Started raining early this afternoon and began to pour down about an hour ago. We heard lightning and thunder for the first time this season. It is 40 degrees at the cabin.....makes one wonder what it's like above 8000 feet. The weather cleared out for a moment and...
2 Weeks
14 days and the Madison River will be open for the 2011 season! The river is in wonderful shape and most of the snow has melted away from the banks, except for the stretch of river inbetwix. From Quake Lake to McAtee Bridge, the options for Opening Day are...