Bozeman Angler Blog

July 3rd

2009-07-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Once again on the Upper Madison chasing the Salmon fly. This day proved to be long but excitement was in the air. The bugs were everywhere however the fish ate few. Tim and Mike did however manage to land a few nice fish. Tim was able to find a nice rainbow on a stone pattern early in the day and Mikes Best fish was on a yellow stimulater. The fishing should be good over the weekend and early in the week if you are looking for the salmon fly's, enjoy and good luck.

July 2nd

2009-07-02T19:21:00.001-07:00

I finally had the chance to fish myself today with fellow guide Bo. It was a day that will not soon be forgotten. The salmon flies were out in droves on the upper Madison. We rolled 20 + fish before a storm came in over head, after which the fishing went dry. Tomorrow should be another good day for the salmon flies so as they say, " GO BIG or go home.

Weekly fishing report July 1st. 2009

2009-07-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Salmon Flies have made the leap over Ennis Lake and are making their way up stream on the upper Madison. This week our guides found the giant stoneflies in large numbers between Varney Bridge and Ennis. If you plan on chasing the big bugs this weekend, give us a call and we’ll let you know where they are and what pattern their eating.

Constant changes in water levels this week has made the lower Madison a difficult piece of water to fish. Look for a couple of days of level water conditions if you want to find fish in the eating mood. We should be seeing the last of the spring run off, so the river should be a little more predictable soon. Golden stoneflies, PMD’s, and little brown Caddis are still on the menu, but now that the Salmon Flies have moved on, the big boys will begin to look for craw dads and sculpin again.

Though the Yellowstone River is still high and mighty, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The water has cleared to about 1’-1 ½’ of visibility and is slowly beginning to drop. It may be a couple of week before it’s where we like to see it, but we’re getting there.

The Gallatin River has dropped and cleared just in time for the arrival of the Salmon Flies. The big bugs have been spotted in the lower end of the canyon and will make their way to Big Sky in just a few days. The river is still a little high, so stay close to the banks and fish the soft pockets at the rivers edge. This is a great place to avoid the crowds of Salmon Fly crazed anglers on the Madison and still get a shot at this famous hatch.

Water levels on the big lazy Missouri River are through the roof, but some how the fish are still coming up and feeding on PMD’s and Caddis. Look for the water to drop over the next couple of weeks and watch this river come alive. So don’t let the high water scare you off and take advantage of Montana’s best dry fly fishery.

Salmon Fly's

2009-06-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Fished the Upper Madison today with John (father) and Chris (son). What a great day we had hooking fish. The Salmon fly's are on and these to fisherman hooked quite a few. They had some break the line, some were fought a little to hard and came off. In the end they fought 16 fish. The next week or so should be some of the funnest fishing of the year if you can find the hatch. Today there was not on certain salmon pattern the fish were taking, whatever pattern was on the line the fish ate.

Upper Madison Salmon Flies, Big Hole Excursions, Missouri River Giants

2009-06-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hello all, being my first post of the 2009 guide season let me first just say how happy I am to be back fishing at home after a spring full of global travel. There's really nothing like Montana!
I've been all over the place this month chasing trout. I've spent a lot of time on the Big Hole which has fished great this June. Some of my better days on the Big Hole were taken this month. Last week a few buddies of mine came up from Colorado for a few days and we ventured with Ty to do an overnight on the Big Hole. We had a great first day between Divide and Melrose on streamers and dries. They're eating the golden stones pretty good through there. The second day we floated higher up from East Bank and had it a little slower. Though I was not there for it, the salmon lies on the Big Hole were great this year. This river is still fishing quite well...
I spent a few days fishing the MO before the big spike and had a sweet time throwing dries at big lips. The PMDs have been prolific and the fish are eager to go for a caddis as well. Right now the river is running hard from the recent spike and long nymph rigs is pretty much the only way to find em. As it comes down though, dry fly fishing will return for July.
This week I have been on the Upper Madison looking at plenty of salmon flies! Yes, its happening people. On Monday I saw them popping in between Varney and town. Fish were rising to them, although not in a hay day. The fish we caught had bulging bellies full of salmon fly nymphs. Fishing has continued to be good on the hatch as it moves upstream. This is a great time to fish this river. Book a guide and we can show you how awesome upper Madison salmon flies can really be! There's some real hogs eating up there.We'll see you out there,
Daniel

June 25th fishing report

2009-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Weekly fishing report, June 25, 2009

It feels a lot like summer out there…….Finally. With temperatures in the 80’s and maybe 90’s for the rest of the week, a good portion of the remaining mountain snow should come down. If that is the case, by next week we should start to see more consistent water levels.

Currently the Yellowstone River is running at 15,000cfs and is still too high to fish. We saw the river turn a little green a couple of days ago giving us a little glimpse of things soon to come, but it was short lived and is now back to brown. Don’t get your hopes up for a fishable Salmon Fly hatch. It may happen before the river will allow us to get a boat on it.

The Gallatin River is at 2900cfs, down from 4000cfs just four days ago. Though it’s still not gin clear and knee deep wading yet, you should be able to bouncing big rubber leg Salmon Fly patterns through those soft pockets and pools close to the rivers edge. Keep your eye on this river, it won’t be long.

We had great fishing on the lower Madison River last week thanks to the consistent water levels. Tuesday the river took a 600cfs jump and as usual shut the fishing down, but since then the river has dropped a little every day and is getting the fish back in to the eating mood, for now. The USGS web site shows the upper Madison is coming back up, and that means the lower will do the same in a couple of days or so. The Salmon Flies have made their way well into the Bear Trap canyon and should jump Ennis Lake next week. Below the canyon the Golden Stones are now the star of the show, so arm yourself with some dry fly patterns like the Mystery Meat Golden Stone and King’s Yellow Sally for top water action. If you go deep, a yellow and black Pat’s rubber Leg or Iron Sally will do the trick. But, don’t forget the Lower Madison’s staple fly selection, craw fish, sculpin, and San Juans.

The upper Madison is on the rise duo to the rain this past week, but should level out soon. The Salmon Flies are a few days off but guides are coming back with reports of the big stonefly nymphs crawling around the banks in large numbers. So bust out those big rubber leg patterns and beat the banks. Also, look for caddis hatches in the afternoon and evenings for some late day dry fly fishing. So be sure to have a hand full of caddis pupa and adult patterns.

Back to the Big Hole

2009-06-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

We headed back to the big hole this past Friday to see if we could sucker some fish into eat'n a Salmon fly pattern. We fished up stream of Wise river to avoid playing bumper boats with the crowds down stream. But, I think we went a little too far up stream. Though we saw few boats, we also saw very few bugs. The fish we did manage to bring to the boat came on streamers and nymphs. Next week, the Missouri Rive for some early day PMD action.

Lower Madison

2009-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Fished the Lower with new friends Steve and his son Kellem. We did a half day float from Black to Grey Cliff starting with Rubber legs and beadheads pounding the banks. Not much was on the bite. We finally found some fish on the San Juan and a big prince nymphs.

Big Hole

2009-06-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

I took new friend Geoff over to the Big Hole yesterday. What a fun day the fish were taking rubber legs and bead heads. Geoff put 7 fish in the boat and improved his mending and casting. For the most part the weather was nice, we did however have a few showers that dampened us and helped to keep the day a little cool. With the river still a little high the water was fast and deep so make sure to use some bigger weight to get down faster.

Weekly fishing report 6/17/2009

2009-06-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Weekend of June 19th, 20th, and 21st.

Last weekend’s cool weather slowed the snow melt in the high country and gave us a nice little break from the runoff. All of our rivers dropped and cleared a bit which provided some outstanding fishing for about a week. However, the current ten-day forecast shows temps in the 70’s and rain. Surely these conditions will get the remaining snow in the mountains melting again, and we expect to see the rivers once again rise and get dirty. But, the worst of the runoff is behind us. So, stick with us and we’ll give you the low down on what rivers are hot and what’s not.

The Big Hole river is on the verge of a salmon fly explosion. Over the last few days, we’ve spotted rising fish eating these flying hunks of protein. You should arm yourself with honkin’ #4 and #6 dries such as the Cat Puke Stone, BLT Salmon Fly, and the Southfork Special. For you streamer junkies, get your big, hairy stuff out and bang the banks for that Big Hole toad. I ripped streamers most of the day last Friday and found that they wanted one of two things: streamers tied with yellow and streamers tied with copper flash. So, if you tie your flies, make something big and ugly. If you buy your flies, stock up on JJ’s, copper Zonkers, and Big Gulp Sculpins.

The upper Madison is still running below its average level for this time of the year, and still fishing well. The salmon flies are still a couple of weeks away from hatching, but the nymphs are beginning to migrate towards the river’s edge for their inevitable emergence. The trout is no dummy, so if the fish food is hanging out near the banks, so are the fish. Keeping tight to the banks, try bouncing rubber-leg nymphs or sculpin patterns combined with your favorite dropper.

Though the lower Madison has been fishing well over the last week, it doesn’t take much to throw this stretch of water off. Keep your eyes on the river reports for spikes in the flows. Yesterday, the river jumped up 500 cfs around noon, which gave the fish lock jaw for the rest of the day. It only takes a day or so for the fish to get comfortable again and begin to feed, so it should pick back up soon. Reports from anglers fishing the Bear Trap Canyon say salmon flies are beginning to make their presence felt more and more every day, and the fish are taking full advantage. More reliable hatches right now are the baetis on cloudy days and PMDs in the morning. If you wander into the canyon, keep in mind that it’s snake and poison ivy season.

It’s going to be at least a couple of weeks before we see the Yellowstone river in fishing shape. Today the flows are at 16,000 cfs and rising…again. We would like to see around 8,000 cfs for safe fishing. We’ll keep you posted.

Ty Webb

Big Hole report

2009-06-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

I floated the Big Hole this weekend with Sarah and our friend, Liz, now known as "The Grayling girl". Though we were a little early for the Salmon fly hatch, we did find the fish hanging out on the banks intercepting the giant stone fly nymphs as they made the migration to the rivers edge for their emergence. Most of our fish came on big streamers, but a few were picked up on nymphs dropped below a dry stone fly pattern. Liz's day was marked by a few firsts. First fish caught on a fly she tied, first fish on a streamer, and first Grayling. Actually, two Grayling caught back to back.

Ty

June 11

2009-06-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Back to the small creeks again today. I fished with friend and shop buddy Jason. Fishing with san juan worms and several different nymphs, we landed several trout. Over the last few days with temps. in the 50's and 60's for the highs the major rivers have been dropping. It is time to look for the salmon flies and getting in the boat.

2009-06-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

Fishing Report

Weekend of June 12th,13th and 14th

The cold snap has dropped all the rivers and this has created some great fishing. With the fish coming out of the dark for the first time in weeks, the bite is on. So, drop those yard work tools and pick up your fly gear. Here's our best picks for this weekend.

The Big Hole is on fire, with great fishing on big ugly flies like Bow River buggers, black/olive size 4, drop a Copper John or caddis emerger off the back or tie on a San Juan worm.

The Upper Madison is below it's average flow and fishing very good, with good visibility. The hot flies have been Sculpin patterns like Big Gulps, Crispy Critters and buggers.

The Lower Madison has been hot with both Sculpins and craw fish. Don't forget to drop off your favorite beadhead from the back.

Watch the East Gallatin as the flows look good.

I hear reports of PMD's on the Missouri. The river has dropped over 5000 cfs and when it stabilizes for a day or two should fish great. I have been on this river several times in the last few weeks at huge flows and really rocked some big 'bows.

The Yellowstone is dropping, but still big.

My advise is to put the honey-do list on hold and get out there and fish! You will be happy you did. Watch for Salmon Fies to pop on the Big Hole, then the Lower Madison.

For more info and flies stop down to The Bozeman Angler! We are stocked and ready for the best season in years.

Hylite Reservoir

2009-06-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

With the rivers looking like an overflowing glass of chocolate milk, i have been trying my luck at Hylite. The reservoir is very high, and still very cold, but the cutthroat are getting ready to spawn in the upper creek so they are stacked up in the deep water by the inlet at the southern end. The weather was mostly overcast so the fish weren't rising to the surface but as soon as the sun came out we saw a few rising. Over the last few days we've caught lots of big cutthroat on olive leeches, buggers and egg imitation patterns and a few grayling on small dark colored nymphs. So until the rivers drop, try heading to hylite or other lakes for some good fishing.

Small Creek Fishing

2009-06-05T13:09:00.001-07:00

I went to one of my favorite small creeks near Bozeman with good friend and outfitter Rod King, today. What a day, I put 20+ fish in hand, long line released almost as many. Rod, after landing enough to scratch his itch, went experimenting to see if he could find something the fish would not eat to no avail. The only down side to our day was we forgot to take our camaras, sorry no pictures. During Spring run off deffinatly look for the small creeks and springs to keep that touch of hooking and landing some fish.

Fishing the runoff

2009-06-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's June 1st and it's full on run off season. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look at the rivers and come up with an accurate fishing report. High, dirty, a little scary, with poor fishing. But, it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. If you put your thinking cap on and imagine what you would do if you were a trout in fast and dirty water, it won't take too long to find a few trout ducking the nasty water. The fish don't want to hold in that fast stuff any more than you want to stand in it, so they seek out easier places to hang out. Many of the river's residents get pushed to the banks looking for soft pockets to hang out in until the water returns to it's clearer and more manageable conditions. The beauty of this is that you can usually fish from the bank just up or down stream of the pool or pocket and not worry about fighting the raging river. So look for slower water at the rivers edge behind structure or on the inside of a bend and get your itch scratched.

TY

May 16, Ruby River

2009-05-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

With river levels finally on the rise in the Bozeman area, Sarah and I headed west to the Ruby and fish water that hasn't yet felt the effects of run off. The water below the dam was in great shape with that typical Ruby River haze and levels at 255 cfs. We stepped in at about noon and found caddis in the air in big numbers, but didn't see any fish feeding on top until we left at about 5:00 or so. We started with nymphs and caught fish, switched to streamers and caught fish, and at the end of the day threw drys and caught fish. Good stuff!

TY

Fishing update May 5 2009

2009-05-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

Most of our rivers here in South West Montana are one warm snap away from the inevitable run off and will creep over their banks. So if you need to get your fix, now is the time to get it. The mother's day caddis hatch has arrived and has trout looking up. We've recieved reports from the lower Madison of caddis so thick that you can't see the other side of the river. With so many naturals on the water the chances of a trout eating your fly is slim to none, so try throwing something that stands out like a para-adams or a bigger caddis pattern.

The Gallatin is fishing well but most of the action has come from bouncing the bottom with a heavy nymph rig. The water temp has come up a little getting the stone fly nymphs to rome around a bit and the trout are taking advantage. A Pat's rubber legs or a large prince nymph with any bead head dropper will be a winning set up. Water clarity is around 2' and the levels are still safe for wading.

The Yellowstone river has been the star of the show this week. With a wining combo of 2'-3' of visibility and late afternoon baetis, caddis, and march brown hatches, the local trout bums have had some of the best dry fly fishing this spring. For those of you meat hunters out there, a dead drifted sculpin pattern is probably your best bet for that big fat Joe Brown.

May 1st Yellowstone River

2009-05-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's dry fly season, people. I floated from Pine Creek to Carters on the Yellowstone with clients Asa and Steve in search of our slippery little salmonoid buddies. The day started off with Steve stick'n a nice little brownie on a dead drifted bugger within the first fifteen minutes of the float. As we all know, catching a fish right away could either jinx you or it's a good sign of things to come. Well, fortunately it was a good sign. With the exception of a few fish here and there, the majority of the day was quite slow. There was no sign of bug life until about 3:00 when a few Baetis began to pop, but we didn't see but maybe two fish feed until 5:00. Game on. When the clock hit five bells it was like a switch was flipped and the feeding began. We found large pods of fish eating BWO's in the back eddys like it was their job.....I guess it is their job if you think about it.

Back from the Bahamas

2009-04-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Pam and I had a great time bonefishing with our friends on Long Island, Bahamas this year.
In spite of some wind and clouds we did manage to catch some nice bone fish. And the wind and clouds were better than the snow that was waiting for us on our return to Bozeman. It was wonderful to see our good friends, Sammy and Jennie Knowles, Wade Smith, and Frank and Jerry Cartwright. We also spent two days fishing snapper, Cuda and sharks, with hand lines,what a blast!
To spend a day out in the ocean, on a boat with Wade Smith, is one of the best things that can happen to a person. You spend the whole day laughing and listening to Wades views on life and the world. It's like spring tonic for me, and I'll be doing it 'till God says no more.

The groups that joined us included Bozeman fishermen Don Lister, Joe Columbo, Jack Wiess, Al Gadouri and Robert Badaliance as well as many others from around the country.

We will be booking the 2010 season starting in May, so let us know if you are interested by calling 800-886-9111 and talking to Pam or Rod.

I watched the guides from the other lodges drive their clients from flat to flat, like taxi drivers with no idea of what they were doing. I really felt sorry for their clients as I watched them waste there time and money. Sammy Knowles, Jerry Cartwright and Frank Cartwright at the Smith & Wells Bonefish Lodge work with you every minute of every day, spotting fish, poling the boat and walking with you. They just don't drop you off on some flat and tell you to walk, while they stand by the boat or fish, like I saw the other guides do everyday.
Sammy, Jerry and Frank truly love what they do and work very hard to make sure you get into bones, see them. and catch them. I post this info not to book more trips, but to help future bone fishermen going to Long Island from getting ripped off. If you are one of the other bone fishermen that went to Long Island this April with one of the other lodges I would love to hear from you and discuss your trip.

Argentina 2010

2009-04-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Even for those of us die hard anglers that fish through the snowy months, the winters can be a little long and drawn out. The last two seasons shop owners, Rod and Pam King, have spent several weeks exploring Argentina in the Patagonia region in search the perfect break from long underwear and icy fly rod guides.

The Bozeman Angler has two one week trips reserved at the Carrileufu Valley Lodge for the winter of 2010, Jan 9th - 16th and Jan 16th - 23rd. The trip cost of $3750 is based on double occupancy for six days of fishing and seven nights lodging.

April 25 Lower Madison River

2009-04-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

I partnered up with Chad on a slightly dirty lower Madison yesterday for my first guide trip of the '09 season. We had about 2'-3' of visibility until we reached Cherry Creek, which was dumping a bit of mud and making the right bank of the river chocolatey. Shortly after we soaked the boats at the Warm Springs access, we found our little buddy the baetis hatching in fair numbers and seemed to be present all day. But, as often is the case on this piece of water, very few fish were looking up to slurp those BWOs off the surface. So, we stuck to bouncing nymphs through buckets and runs in search of hungry trout.

If you find yourself on the lower Madison anytime soon, be prepared with flies that will stand out in water with a little stain. San Juan worms, egg patterns, prince nymphs, and lightning bug are your usual suspects but don't forget your sculpin and crawdad patterns.

Pictured above is Tony from California with a little Brown Trout that jumped on a San Juan fist thing in the morning. After I let this fish go I told Tony that It was a 15" fish. This was the first client caught fish in the boat this year and I think my "internal guide measuring device" is a little rusty. He'll be a 15" trout next year for sure.

Ladies Night!

2009-04-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

This one is for the ladies! Ever get the feeling you're a small female fish in a big 'ol pond of dudes? Here's your chance to school up with some other lady fishermen for a night of wine and apps. We're not going to shove product in your face, and we surely recognize women fly fishermen aren't novelties in the industry. We just want to open up the shop to those who would like to meet more fly fishing bums who don't grow beards!

Where to be & when:What: Fishin' Chicks Meet 'n Greet

Where: The Bozeman Angler 23 E. Main St.

When: Friday, May 1st @ 6:30 - 8pm

Who: Lady Fly Fishing Bum & her friends

RSVP: No need, just show up!

Spring fishing

2009-04-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

April 2009

The spring weather has finally warmed up enough to fish comfortably. The Lower Madison has fished well producing good numbers of decent browns from 15"to 19", but few big dogs over twenty. The big guys were not there in good numbers last fall, so I did not expect to see them this spring and I was right. But with the number of nice fish in the 18" class there will be good numbers of 20 inchers this year in September.

I want to tell you about a game called Trout Football dreamed up by Mike Treloar. The scoring goes like this: a trout under 15" is a field goal for three points, a trout between 15" and 18" is a touchdown and 6 points, a trout over18" is worth 6 points plus the two point conversion(8),and all trout have to be played to the net to count. Now a whitefish is a safety for the other team or teams, giving the other teams 2 points, and the other team or teams only have to see that it is a whitefish, it doesn't have to be landed. Mike, Greg Bricker and I played on the Yellowstone the other day and had a blast. We rotated every 30 minutes around the boat with the front fisherman going to the rowers seat, the rower going to the back and the back fisherman to the front. You can make up other rules as you go along. You are allowed to call a time out to change flies but not if you break off.

I brought on the kicking team in the 3rd quarter throwing small baetis nymphs size 18 and landed 4 quick bows to break into the lead.

The final score Rod-41, Mike 29, and Bricker 16. It was a fun day. So, bring your A game next time Greg.

Headed to Long Island Bahamas on Monday to fish for some bonefish. Pam and I will give you a report when we get back, just in time for the Mothers Day Caddis hatch.

Fishing is not only about the fish

2009-04-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Fished the Madison river yesterday, in the Bear Trap Canyon. The fishing was a little slow but what a day to be on the river. Hiking up the canyon this time of year is very beautiful. The high steep banks covered with snow and the river banks with a slight hint of green showing. Even though I did not land any fish it was a great day. Remember, fishing is not just about the fish but about being in nature and enjoying the beauty of mother nature.

Another thing about being out on the river is meeting new people. I spoke with several folks hiking along the river just enjoying the day. Some had dogs with them and others were just out for a walk. I also met 3 gentleman going back packing for an overnight. They had their rods with them to catch some dinner that evening.

Wow what a great day on the river.