Streamer Season

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The colder weather over the past several days has brought the flows on the Big Hole River down to around 2500cfs and increased the visibility to more than two feet.  This lowering of flows and improvement of the clarity has made for some great spring fishing.  Even though we still haven’t really seen much sign of the Skwallas, the streamer fishing has been really good.  As usual for the Big Hole, yellow has been the hot streamer color, and slow stripping has been the most successful technique.  Below are three  nice fish that one of our clients caught this past weekend.

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On The Drop Again

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After an intense rain storm on Tuesday, the Big Hole River is back on the drop.  The flow has dropped back down to 2600cfs, and the visibility is increased to around 2 feet.  The great streamer fishing that we had been seeing on the upper river should come back as quickly as the river is dropping.  Yellow streamers thrown tight to the bank has produced quite a few fish over 20 inches in the last week.  Most of the anglers have been floating from East Bank to Jerry Creek, but fish are being caught from as high as Fishtrap and as low as Notch.  Cooler weather this weekend should keep the river on the drop and keep the fishing good.

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Streamer Bite

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We have started the spring-time roller coaster on the Big Hole.  Fishing has picked up for us and we are starting to see some nice fish caught again.  We had a good report below Melrose yesterday and I think it will fish well today.  Clarity is around 2 feet today.  We had two boats up river yesterday and they both did well on streamers.  If you are a streamer junky, now is the time to get out there.  We have been doing well with a moderate to slow strip from the banks.

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Sub Surface Action

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Fishing had been good but the reports from today have not been so good.  We had a bump in flows last night and yesterday.  The Big Hole is dropping again but the push of water last night reduced visibility in the river.  We are looking at around 18 inches of visibility.  I would stick to subsurface tactics right now.  Dead drifting streamers and Pat’s Stones will be your best option right now. As conditions improve we will let you know.

Guide Boats lined up at the shop ready to take clients fishing. Have you booked your Spring Special yet?

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Perfect Spring Conditions

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The Big Hole River is in prime condition and is fishing amazingly well.  Even though we haven’t seen a lot of adult Skwallas, the fish are looking up and eating Skwalla patterns on the surface.  And if you are willing to drop a nymph off of your dry fly, the action becomes even more intense.  If that wasn’t enough, fish are also chasing yellow and brown streamers.  Spring fishing couldn’t be better!

Below is a fish that our client Woody caught yesterday.

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Great Spring Fishing Is Back!

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The Big Hole has come back into shape and is fishing really well.  The flow is down to 1850cfs and the water temperature is getting up into the mid 40’s.  Fish have been eating streamer, nymphs and dries.  Yellow Streamers, Stonefly Nymphs and San Juan Worms have been the best flies.  We have been getting a few fish to eat on top, but the great spring Skwalla fishing is yet to come.  With the way the water is warming up, we could be seeing the Skwallas as early as this weekend.  Below is a fish caught today in the Maiden Rock Canyon.

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Dropping and Turning Tea Colored

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The ice has broken off the entire length of the Big Hole River and the river is starting to drop and clear.  We have 18 inches of visibility in Melrose and the river is turning the Big Hole tea color, which means it is about time to get back out there and fish.  We will have boats on the river tomorrow and we will be able to give you a precise report when we hear from our Big Hole River guides.  The Melrose gauge has dropped below 4000cfs and all up river gauges are on the drop.  It should be a good week of fishing on the Big Hole.

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Break-Up Continues

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As the ice on the Big Hole continues to melt, break-up, and flow downriver, the River remains swollen and off color.  As of 4:00pm on 4/11/14, the flow at the Melrose gauge is 4090cfs and there is about a foot of visibility.  A few ice-jams remain on the upper river, but a majority of them have flushed downstream in the last 24 hours.  A lot of ice and snow still remains in the upper river valley, but with the forecast calling for cooler temperatures for the next several days, the melting of ice and snow should slow down.

As long as there are not any more major pushes of water from a breaking ice-jam, the river should start to drop and clear.

Below is a photo taken just above the East Bank Fishing Access on Thursday night.

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The Ice is Breaking

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Things are not good on the Big Hole right now.  The ice is breaking on the upper Big Hole, which has caused the river to rise and it is very off color.  We have 18 inches of visibility here in Melrose and the fish are in shock.  Things will improve but today is not a good day to be fishing.  This is only the valley snow and river ice that is causing the poor conditions.  This happens every year and it is actually happening like it should.  We are not having any major ice jams and the river is breaking up slowly and as it should.  This is not high mountain snow runoff just the low valley melt. We will keep you posted on the Big Hole River fishing report as conditions improve.

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Clear to Dirty

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Well, the river made a big change last night that we did not want to see.  Warmer temperatures yesterday has brought the river on the rise and we went from clear water yesterday and great fishing to about 18 inches of visibility this morning.  It will be a tough day today.  I would prospect with a Yellow Zonker and San Juan worms.  The upper Big Hole is still frozen above Sportsman’s and with the warm weather the Big Hole River’s ice is breaking and causing the river to rise and be off color.  We will let you know what the Big Hole River Fishing report is after our guides get back tonight.

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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