Big Hole River Fishing Report

Fish On! In the Big Hole River

by sunriseflyshop

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Flows on the Big Hole are starting to come up daily due to some snowmelt but not enough to put the fishing down. Fishing has been pretty darn good lately even with the slight bump in flows. Clarity remains around 4 feet. We have some skwalas around and March Brown mayflies. Our Big Hole River guides have been fishing on the upper Big Hole, Canyon stretches and the lower Big Hole. All three sections of the Big Hole has been fishing well. Water temperatures are hitting the magic number of 50 degrees lately, which has gotten the streamer junkies excited. We have done well on black, olive, and tan streamers. As we all know, conditions this time of year can change quick. Give us a call for up to date information. 406-835-3474.

Book your Spring Special fishing package today! 

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Recommended Flies: #10 Water Walker Olive; #8 Mr. Beam; #12 Parachute Adam’s; #8 T.J. Hooker; #8 Pat’s Stone; #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Squirmy Worm; #8 San Juan Worm Pink/Red #6 Smokin’ Mirrors Black; #6 Flash Minnow Yellow; #6 She Deamon;  Sex Dungeon Black/Yellow/White

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Big Hole River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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During last week we saw some colder temperatures that stopped some of the spring snowmelt and we saw the river drop back down near historical averages. With the drop in flows the visibility improved and we started having some really good fishing. We started seeing a few skwalas flying around, and as a result  fish were coming up for a dry fly. Our best fishing for the last few days has come while using a dry/dropper with a Skwala dry and a San Juan worm. The forecast for the next week is calling for some warmer daytime temperatures and as a result we might see the river start to bump. Hopefully any increases will be minimal and we will continue to see good fishing on the Big Hole. Give us a call at the shop to get the most up to date report on the river condition.

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Big Hole River & Beaverhead River Spring Fishing update

by sunriseflyshop

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The Big Hole has bounced back from the last recent bump in flows.  We have 2 feet of visibility, dropping water and the fish are looking up for Skwalas.  Our best dry fly fishing has been from Maiden Rock all the way to Notch Bottom.   Look for your best dry fly action to be from 1:00 to 6:00pm.  This week will be prime time for the Big Hole Skwala hatch.  Slow moving streamers have also been getting it done for us.  The best streamers of choice have been Coffee buggers, Natural Slap and tickles and Yellow/black beldars.


Image of a Big Hole River Skwala

The Beaverhead River has been fishing ok as of lately. Remember the river is closed from the Dam to Pipe Organ until the 3rd Saturday in May. We have had some dry fly fishing on the overcast days with Blue winged Olives. Sow bugs under an indicator with a blue wing nymph has been keeping our rods bent. Below Grasshopper we have been able to move some nice fish on streamers.

Client Alan Elm with a nice 20 inch brown on the Beaverhead.

 

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Spring Streamer Bite on the Big Hole River

by sunriseflyshop

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We are currently having some of the best streamer fishing we have seen in years for huge browns on the upper Big Hole. It has been flat out amazing streamer fishing this week. Large yellow streamers stripped fast off the banks has been getting the large Big Hole Browns attention. We have been floating anywhere from Fishtrap all the way to Jerry Creek. I had a solid report from Divide to Melrose yesterday on streamers. Some Mother’s Day Caddis are around and once we get a warm sunny day the caddis will pop hard. These overcast cloudy days are keeping the fish interested in streamers. With 2 feet of visibility the river is in great shape for mid May.

One of the Many large browns caught this week on the Big Hole River fishing in Southwest Montana

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Big Hole Valley Temperatures Finally Warm

by sunriseflyshop

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Southwest Montana is starting to feel like winter is turning the corner.  Our valley temperatures have been above freezing this week and man does it feel good.  Don’t let this fool you that the fishing is picking up and we are out there fishing the Big Hole.  The Melrose guage remains reading ICE and all guages for that matter are not reading flow on the river except the Maiden Rock guage.  The above freezing day time highs has started to break the ice from the lower reaches of the Big Hole.  It will remain mild through tomorrow and then it looks like we will get blasted with another winter storm on Monday and Tuesday.  Our Montana snowpack and the Big Hole snowpack is still increasing from the past week storms.  We are currently at 115% of normal snowfall and the snowpack has a snow/water content of 140% of normal.  It’s almost time to dust off your waders and get your drift boat ready for the Spring fishing season on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers.  Our Big Hole River fishing guides will keep you posted as conditions improve and we start to get on our home waters.

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End of the fall fishing season

by sunriseflyshop

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Our season officially wrapped up October 26th.  We had one of the best fall fishing seasons on the Big Hole that we can remember in many years.  Increased flows due to some big snow storms in the mountains at the end of September set us up for an excellent fall.  We had great streamer fishing with the rising flow from the snow storms.  Here are some of the highlight photos from the fall on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers.  We will be in touch with more to come this off season.

23 inch brown from this past October on the Big Hole River

 

 

Monster Beaverhead Rainbow from this past October

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Beaverhead River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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The Beaverhead River is fishing well from Pipe Organ Bridge down to Grasshopper. Below Grasshopper Creek the clarity has improved dramatically. Currently we have 3 feet of visibility below Grasshopper Creek. We have done the best on zebra midges and blue winged olive nymphs. The Blue Winged Olive hatches have been thick but fish have not been up eating them. Streamers below grasshopper creek and nymphing San Juan Worms have been the best option.

Reminder: From the Dam down to Pipe Organ Bridge is closed until May 18th.

Book Your Spring Special Package today!

Recommended Flies: #18 Zebra midge; #18 Shop Vac; #16 Green Machine; #18 Sow Bug; #6 J.J. Special #8 Flash Minnow Olive;

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Big Hole River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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The Big Hole is finally coming into decent fishing shape from the ice flows we had last week. Water clarity here in Melrose is 2 feet and we are starting to have consistent fishing. We have not seen much for dry fly fishing but that should improve towards the end of the week as air temperatures are going to improve. The Big Hole is currently running at 1,610 cfs in Melrose and the water temperatures are reaching the mid 40’s during the heat of the day. The skwalla nymphs are moving around and we are mostly catching fish subsurface on Pat’s stones, and San Juan worms. Currently the river is a nice stable flow. Spring fishing should be heating up!

Book your Spring Special Package Today!

 Eric with a nice Spring trout on the Big Hole

Recommended Flies: #16 Shop Vac; #8 San Juan Worm Pink/red/Wine; #8 Mr. Beam Skwalla; #10 Chubby Tan/Olive; #4 Yellow Yummy; #4 Sparkle Minnow; #6 Flash Minnow; #8 Prince Nymph; #8 Pat’s Stone

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It has been a crazy week here on the Big Hole River.

by sunriseflyshop

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It has been a crazy week here on the Big Hole River. Every year we get the spring thaw in the valley and that occurred this week. On Wednesday some major ice jams broke on the upper Big Hole. Currently we are ice free all the way up to Mudd Creek. The Big Hole River had a major flush occur on Wednesday as the ice jams broke, which made a muddy mess on the entire river. When the ice flows broke the river went over 5,000cfs here in Melrose. Currently the river has dropped to a manageable flow of 2,200cfs. A huge improvement has occurred and it will continue to get better. Currently we have around 18 inches of visibility here in Melrose. The river will start to fish this weekend. I don’t think it will be stellar but you will be able to catch a few fish subsurface on nymphs and streamers. Besides low visibility the cold water temperatures will make the fishing tough. We need the temperatures to get into the mid 40’s and currently they are in the upper 30’s. You will find the warmest water conditions around Melrose this weekend for fishing. Accessibility and hazards are too dangerous to float anything above Jerry Creek at the point.

Recommended Flies: #8 San Juan Worm Pink/red/Wine; #4 Yellow Yummy; #4 Sparkle Minnow; #6 Flash Minnow; #8 Prince Nymph; #8 Pat’s Stone

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We have kicked off the 2019 fishing season on the Big Hole ….

by sunriseflyshop

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We have kicked off the 2019 fishing season on the Big Hole with a stellar week of fishing and then the river blew out yesterday and is worse today due to an incredible valley floor snowpack that has been melting. This is by no means the “runoff” for the season but things are not good at the moment. The Maiden Rock gauge and lower river gauges on the Big Hole River are all rising and the river around Melrose has only about a foot of visibility. This is a great time to take a break on the freestone rivers and head to tailwater fisheries. We have trips this week heading up to the Missouri River. Here is a link to guide trips on The Land of The Giants. 

Book Your Spring Special Today! 

Sunrise Fly Shop Guide Chris “Romo” Getting after it between guide days

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