Sunrise Fly Shop-Big Hole River Blog

August is living up to our predicted expectations, big fish on dry flies.  This 28 inch 9lb. brown was taken on a dry fly on the Big Hole River!  This image sums up the kind of fishing right now on the Big Hole.  We have been fishing small attractor patterns in the morning and than hoppers and Chernobyl’s in the afternoons.  The current weather pattern has been favorable for good fishing.  We have had sunny cool mornings with overcast afternoons lately.  It is prime time on Southwest Montana Rivers; get out here while the catching is hot.  

Many people come to Southwest Montana to fish the famed Salmonfly hatch in June on the Big Hole River and the Madison River.    Besides the Salmon Fly hatch, the rivers of Southwest Montana have other great Stonefly hatches.  One in particular that is worth the trip to Montana is the Nocturnal Stonefly hatch.

Nocturnal Stoneflies are found on most freestone river is Southwest Montana.  In mid July after most of the Golden Stoneflies are gone the Big Hole River has a fabulous nocturnal Stonefly hatch.  As with most stoneflies, the males are much smaller than the females, and in this case the male Nocturnal Stone does not have the ability to fly.  This is part of the reason why you rarely see these flies buzzing around during the day like you will with a Golden Stone or Salmon Fly.  Similar to other stoneflies the nocturnal stonefly crawls onto dry rocks to sheds their exoskeleton and become an adult fly.  The best way to know if these flies are hatching is to look at dry rocks along the banks of the river to see if there are any stonefly shucks stuck to the rocks. 

The Best Time to Fish The Nocturnal Stoneyfly Hatch on the Big Hole River
 

The best time to fish the nocturnal stonefly hatch is in the early morning hours, or in the late evenings.  I believe the best dry fly fishing is in the early morning hours before the sun hits the water.  One section of river in Southwest Montana that has a wonderful nocturnal stonefly hatch is the Dewey canyon of the Big Hole River.  Mid July is the time period that the hatch seems to be the best.

 
Doug Barba With a nice Big Hole River Grayling!

It has been a wild June in Southwest Montana, record high water, and huge trout due to the amount of earth worms in the water system.  We are looking forward to the best water flows we have seen in many years for August and September on all Southwest Montana Rivers.   Happy 4^th of July and hope everyone is having a safe weekend.  We kick off the week with a dropping Big Hole River.  The river is finally below 6000cfs at Melrose.  We have Salmonflies still around, Golden Stone, Yellow Sallies, Green Drakes and Caddis.  You will find the best dry fly fishing on the Big Hole River from Mudd Creek to Divide.  Below Divide it has been a subsurface deal until we get some lower water.  I think this week we could see the lower river fishing better on dries as it drops.  Our early morning fishing on dries on the upper river has been stellar right now. 

If you all are on the river please look for a lost rod.  One of our clients lost a rod and reel.  It was last seen on the bank in front of the bright orange looking cabin below the old Dickey Bridge (that was taken down this spring).  Please contact us if found or stop by the shop.  The rod has the owners name printed on it.  We appreciate your help on finding this item. 

Over the weekend, we had our fist push of water.  On Monday the Big Hole climbed to a little over 2000 cfs, but the weather cooled off again and the river is back down to 1400cfs and the river is continuing to drop.  The water clarity has improved greatly in the last 48 hours, and we are back to about 2 feet of visibility.

Fish have still been coming up for Skwalla dries, but greater numbers of fish have been caught using nymphs.  Baetis nymphs, Stone Fly nymphs, and San Juan worms have still been the best nymphs. 

Remember, our spring special ends May 15^th.  $500.00 per person for three nights lodging and two days of guided fishing!

It is late January and the Montana snowpack is looking good.  Right now the Big Hole River snowpack and Beaverhead River snowpack is sitting at 116% of normal for this date in time.  We have had three years in a row of excellent water conditions throughout the summer.  It is looking like we are going to have another great water year on Southwest Montana Rivers.  Right now the Clark Canyon Reservoir is sitting at 91% full.  Winter flows on the Beaverhead River have remained above average which helps keep the fishery healthy.  Last year we saw a great age class of 17-19 inch rainbows in the Beaverhead that were about 3 to 4 pounds.  Look for this age class of trout to be in the 18-20 inch range and up to 5 pounds.  It is going to be a banner year on the Beaverhead and high flows will make for a great late summer hopper season in the Big Hole River.  

I am off to the Western Canadian Fly Fishing Exposition in Calgary, Alberta. We will have a booth at the show.  If you are attending the show stop by to check us out.  The Event is January 28^th-30^th.