The Big Hole River fishing in May can be rewarding and humbling due to the environmental factors of runoff. We are having days right now that fishing has been good and some days have been darn tough. Flows around Melrose are over 4,000cfs and fishing has been difficult with these high flows. Fishing above the Wise River has been good some days and fair on other days. The Caddis on the lower Big Hole have started to hatch. On the upper Big Hole we have March Brown’s and Blue Winged Olives hatching. Our best success on the upper Big Hole has been with streamers and San Juan Worms. Visibility has remained around 3 feet on the banks, which is excellent. Flows and clarity can change daily due to the May runoff. The upper Big Hole is dropping in flows, which should bring good fishing conditions. High water means get your streamer box out and find some large brown trout.
Recommended Flies:
- Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown #8
- Pat’s Stone Black #8
- San Juan Worm Pink/Red #8
- Rio’s Tractor Trailer Yellow/Brown #6
- Jig Sparkle Minnow J.J. #4
- Dungeon Yellow #4
- Barely Legal Olive/Black #6
