Bozeman Angler Blog
Sitting here in the fly shop i've been vicariously fishing through my Dad who is currently harrassing trout in the Patagonia region of Argentina. He has been sending me reports of excellent weather, fishing, and friends with some awe inspiring photos and stories. As you can see it is pretty georgous country. He sent me this story the other day and i only wish there was a photo to go along- ...
Been pretty mild as winters in Montana go this year, even with the last couple days of snow and winter storm advisories. What does this mean for trout fishing? Been looking at the actual snow pack facts around the state and we may be better off than you'd think. Here is the most recent recording:
GALLATIN RIVER BASIN-82% of average
MADISON RIVER BASIN-78% of average
UPPER YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN-88% of average
Now although these numbers do not read...
Having our after X-mas sale on all the clothing from Patagonia, Simms, and Ex-Officio. Pretty much 25% OFF across the board with afew sweeter deals mixed in. Most should be available at the online store in the Blowout page or if your in the area swing by the shop on main street. Also getting excited for fly tying classes to start next week. So you have untill tuesday January 17th to sign up for the beginner...
It's nice when you can look back at the year and get all nostalgic reminscing about the last year before the ball drops. 2011 was a year of extremes for the Montana fly fisherman from the crazy run-off and flooding to incredible summer hatches continuing through september. We said goodbye to local legends like Syl Nemes and Tex Tucker while we also welcomed new faces like Ty and Sara's baby "Jameson" and my black lab "Trutta". Just wanted to say thanks to all the fishy bums...
Got a chance to demo the new Patagonia aluminum bar wading boots yesterday to see if they really live up to the hype. I figured what better place to put them to the challenge than the moss and slush covered river rocks of the Lower Madison. At first I was definately skeptical of a boot that closely resembles tap dancing shoes but since Patagonia has been field testing them for about a year now they must have something right. The benefits are noticed immediately upon...
Patagonia has been working on a breakthrough wading boot design over the past few months and will have their new Rock Grip Boot and river crampon available Jan 1, 2012. The Press release:
"Inspired by the mountaineering crampon but adapted for the river, the River Crampon (MSRP $199) is the fishing industry’s most innovative traction device for wading. The performance is derived from soft, malleable aluminum bars which are riveted to a burley, stainless steel adjustable frame...
For the most part, the 2011 guide season has come to a close. This is the time of the year when guides finally get to play and chase those big fall pre-spawn Browns we've been thinking about all summer. I'm here to tell ya, the fishing itch get dang strong after a six month stretch of watching someone else do all the fishing. For me, this fall hasn't gone down like the post seasons of the past. This winter, my wife and I are expecting our first kiddo, and that means my life has been...
The Yellowstone is finally spit'n out enough bugs to bring plenty of hungry trout to the surface. During the last week of fishing we've seen good numbers of small beatis and a few hecuba drakes in the afternoons. Load your box with Para Adams, Purple Parachutes, and small Royal Wolfs.
It's fall and the big browns are just now starting to get angry. So look for those cloudy days, chuck some big 'ol streamer, and hang on to your shorts!
Ty Webb
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Guided my friends Dudley and Sue for the Two Fly Event yesterday and it totally rocked. This is the Two Fly's first year as an event and fundraiser for the museum of the rockies and went off like a bang with an all-star group of guides and fly fisher folks. The guides competed in a casting contest to choose which floats they would do which was interesting considering the rod used for the competition was a 7' 000wt. The winner of the casting competition none other than my...
Spent the last two days fishing the giant spring creek tailwater of the Missouri with my Dad and had a blast. The mornings had some good trico action mostly closer to Holter dam and the afternoons still had some good fish eating tiny caddis, psuedos, and baetis. Got nothing on the hopper but by that point in the day we had pretty much commited to throwing streamers. Had a decent number of good sized trout eat sculpin and baitfish imitations and down low you had to fight...
Had the one day this whole Summer that both my Dad and I actually didn't have to work so we did some tough R&D work. Pretty relaxin day of throwing streamers and hoppers, pink ones to be exact. I have heard for years from guides and fisherman coming into the shop with that crazy look in their eyes asking if we have any pink hoppers left. For whatever reason they just have never produced for me....until this summer. Now they have become one of my go-to patterns...
Though the hopper fishing isn't as spectacular as it was a few weeks ago, the trout are still looking up for these big hunks of protein to stumble into the river. The fish in the pic above fell for a #10 pink Morrish Hopper in the middle of a riffle on the Yellowstone River. With the river as clear as it is, most of the larger fish are seeking shelter in the deeper water. So get away from that "beating the banks" thing and look to the dark stuff.
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The stone is fishing awesome still with a lot of good heads coming up to hoppers, mayflies, and attractors. The cold nights seem to slow things down in the morning but things get steady by 2pm and just get better and better til dark. Had a blast yesterday with clients Nick and Shelby bringing in three of Nick's biggest trout to date. The weather was perfect and saw one other boat on the water. Hot fly was the More-or-less Hopper yellow belly, the day before it was the...
Some real nice cloud cover and cool weather today around bozeman just screaming for big streamers to be thrown at big fish. The hopper bite is still going strong and a spent imitation would be good in this low light condition. I think the best bet for today would be to pick your favorite sculpin pattern tied off a piece of 12lb test and swing it, strip it, or dead drift it through river structures. Had to put up some interesting pics of good clients from the season which...
The fish are looking up all over for big terrestrial meals in Southwest Montana right now from small crystal clear mountain streams to the Glacial blue waters on the Yellowstone. The patterns and colors vary depending on where you are but the tan or yellow belly foam hoppers are the first choice amongst most fishermen. The trout seem less hesitant on deer hair patterns especially in high traffic areas and a double dry rig with an attractor or beetle/ant is a great setup. ...
The Yellowstone was fishing just how i like it today with cutthroats slamming hoppers and attractor patterns in the morning and tons of whiteys and big trout on nymphs/streamers in the afternoon. The glacial green color is turning a nice blue and later in the day some of the bigger fish have moved to the middle of the river seams. Still had good action against the real deep water banks all day long. A lot of browns and rainbows are getting a little savvy to the foam hopper...
Spent the last two days exploring some small creeks in the Paradise valley. Sight fishing the clearest water to small rising fish was the name of the game. Spruce moths and hoppers were the killer flies but they ate those so good i rarely had to switch up. We are in the short window for comfortable alpine creeks and lakes fishing right now so as hard as it can be to pull yourself away from the awesome hopper fishing on the Yellowstone the relaxation of small water is...
Went to the stone today for a big bachelor party floatilla and was rewarded with another day of beautiful sunshine and good fishing. We stuck a few browns on the beadheads and sculpins in the morning. By 2pm there was a nice breeze blowing some hoppers into the river. The stone still has a deep glacial green color to it and is dropping about 300cfs per day so i can't wait to see it by next week. The hopper bite on the Yellowstone may be just epic this year for late...
Had a big five boat trip today on the Yellowstone and things fished pretty good in the morning with some nice trout taken on small beadheads. The second half of the day cooled down with some quick rain squalls and turned things on for a while with a lot of whiteys and a few good browns and bows. Not a lot of heads coming up aside from little fry near the bank but in the middle of the day some nice fish have bean rising to attractor patterns and the hopper. I don't care if...