..........here in Southwest Montana. Fall is in full swing all around us. With the warmer Indian Summer weather just too stubborn to leave, I decided that my soul needed any early morning drive through the mountains. I took some photos along the way, walked the...
Browns, Bars and the Boys
Each year, sometime in early Fall, several of us local guides take off for a few days of fishing. We only fish stretches of rivers that we rarely float, try to camp the entire time and there is not schedule or pre-made plan. For some reason my idea of floating...
Angling grub and grizzly bears
Over the past 12 years, good food has come and gone around West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone is known for great angling, not good food. Sure Sydney's Bistro is good, but a fishing guide can't afford to eat there everyday. Wild West Pizza and Beartooth BBQ are...
Away from it all
Hiking is not something I am very found of, unless of course I am hunting or fishing. Walking for the sake of walking just doesn't make much sense....if this conversation was going on between my wife and I, she would just roll her eyes and change the subject. But,...
The bugle
.............my father and I have been hunting elk almost everyday since the opener. We have seen, heard, but not shot at any elk. We watched one nice bull and 12 cows way up high, about a mile away, late one morning , but when we made our move they headed off into...
Feels like Fall…..cause it is.
Flows @ Kirby - 948 cfs.....not bad for this time of year...fish it dry Fall is here my friends. I saw an aspen turning colors, just one little branch - a few leaves to be exact, not the whole tree, but none the less it was turning. The upland season in Montana...
Snow….August 31
This morning at 8 am. 32 degrees outside. The clouds broke through and revealed a skiff of snow. This should make the elk and birds think. Will there be more sunshine, warm weather and hopper fishing you ask???? Damn straight!
Ennis Lake – Madison Dam Rock Slide
On my way home from the Missouri this morning, I stopped by The Madison River Fishing Company, to catch up with the boys there in the shop. When I walked in the door, Mike Lum had just got off the phone with PPL and had this "oh shit" look on his face. At 5 am this...
Gulp……er
Having been way to busy to fish Hebgen much at all this summer, I finally got out there a couple of days ago with my good buddy Brian Worely. He lives on Hebgen for most of August guiding clients. Since BSA doesn't have the proper GNF permit to outfit the lake, I...
Late August and the river is empty
The Madison is almost empty of anglers......not complaining though. It is nice to see the river with less pressure. Hopper fishing is stupid good in many stretches up and down the river. I landed a 21 in brown yesteday on the Chubby Lady and about 10 rainbows from...
Custom flies, hoppers and good clients.
I floated from Windy to Mac yesterday and Windy to Story the day before. I am now tired of the Lyons crowd and since I met my clients yesterday a little later, at Lyons, I could not stomack putting in with 20 some odd other fishing guides. If you get there early,...
Wind, rain and few rising trout
Just when things looked like they might slow down a bit, the rest of August is now filling in quite nicely. Truth be told, I was looking for a few days off to fish, tie flies and catch up on life outside of the trout stream. Oh well, we will make more hay since the...
August Angling
FLOWS Madison River Below Hebgen: 1050 cfs @ Kirby: 1160 cfs Missouri River Below Holter: 4100 cfs Still very busy for us here at Big Sky Anglers. The river is fishing well in the am, but the afternoons are spotty. Totally dependent on how much cloud cover we...
Oh Brother 2 foot
Big Sky Anglers has been busy guiding anglers from the Missouri to the Madison and even a couple of days in the backcountry of YNP. The trout above was caught this morning on a #18 dry fly. Well done Doug, that is a toad. Our rivers here in MT are continuing to...
Flash in the Pan
The Missouri was pretty good this time around. Some dry fly fishing, a bunch of nymphing and several long days. On the road a ton this time of the year..... been back for four days and rowing the Madison. Our trout or getting smarter by the hook set. The big...
6390
The Missouri had heads up all day long. At 6390 you won't find finer dry fly angling. A few more hundred less and it is as good as it gets. Today's pmd hactches in the upper reaches weren't superb, but there were plenty of fish up to fool with. There were caddis...
Salmonflies and caddis
Summer is rolling right along. It will be a flash in the pan....already is. Are you coming out this season? You should, but there is always next year. The dry fly angling has been pretty solid here for the last week. There have been slow spots on the river...
It’s On!
There are Salmonflies and Goldens just below Shelton's Bridge. It seems to be just a pocket of bugs but the thick of the hatch is between Windy and Palisades. There are places where the trout are fat and lazy. Remember the last time you watched Monday Night...
Big Bugs. They ate them today…
......... for about 2.5 hours. I was off and floated with a few friends. Rare day off in July during the Salmonfly hatch. Might as well take advantage of the beautiful day and fish. The coming weeks are booked up, but if you are still wanting to fish with Big Sky...
Flows: Madison below Hebgen 900 cfs Madison @ Kirby 1320 cfs Missouri below Holter 16000 cfs Yesterday was wonderful. One of those days which you stock in your brain and bring out sometime in January to relish. Prewett to Cascade. One of my favorite floats on...