Salmonflies were here

by sunriseflyshop

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Salmonflies were here, and the fishing was incredible. We were seeing the Big Bugs from Browne’s Bridge all the way up to Sportsmans and the dry fly was as good as anyone can ask for. Then the temperature plummeted and we were hit with one of the biggest rain storms that we have seen in years. That one rain storm caused the river to go back above flood stage. Now that the river is dropping and coming back into shape, we are expecting to see another round of phenomenal June fishing.  The upper river has dropped 3000cfs in the last 36 hours, and the clarity is better than 24 inches. With warmer weather coming, we should see some of the hatches reemerge, which will get the fish eating on the surface once again. Salmon flies, Golden Stones, PMD’s, Green Drakes, and Caddis will be hatching.

If you float below the Wise River, the flows are still very high.  Please float with caution.

Below is a nice brown that Ken caught a couple days before the rains hit us.

Recommended Flies: #4 Cat Puke; #12 Rogue Stone; #6 Chubby Chernobyl tan/orange #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #6 Pat’s Stone Black; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Pearl Lightning Bug; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

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The Salmonfly Hatch is Here!

by sunriseflyshop

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The hatch that everyone has been waiting for is finally here.  We are seeing the Big Bugs from the Glen Bridge all the way up to East Bank.  A couple of our guides did an exploratory float last night from Maiden Rock to Brownes, and they said that the Salmonflies were thick in the willows throughout the entire float.  If you are looking to get trout to eat dry flies on the surface, try to find the slowest moving water in-between willows, softer inside bends, and slower moving water along grassy banks.

The River is still extremely high for this time of year, so if you decide to float any section below the Wise River, please be very careful.  The river’s flow is very fast and strong, and if you are not an expert at rowing a drift boat or raft we recommend only floating the upper river.

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The Salmonflies are here! We have seen them in the Melrose area and on the upper Big Hole.

by sunriseflyshop

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The Salmonflies are here! We have seen them in the Melrose area and on the upper Big Hole. Fishing has been tough though because of high flows. The river needs to drop to a more manageable level to get the fish looking up. We have just started to see the Salmonflies and the hatch is in the early stages. We will keep you posted on the progress of the hatch and the quality of the fishing as the river drops.

Recommended Flies: #4 Cat Puke; #12 Rogue Stone; #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam; #10 Skwala Stone; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown; #8 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

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June has been off to a high water start.

by sunriseflyshop

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June has been off to a high water start. The Big Hole is almost at flood stage around Melrose. We would not suggest floating in the Melrose area due to high flows right now. Our Big Hole River guides have been fishing the upper Big Hole. Above the Wise River the Big Hole has 2 feet of clarity on the banks. We have been successful with dead drifting streamers, worms and stone fly nymphs. This is a good time to get all of your gear ready for the Salmonfly Hatch. We are getting close to the hatch and we will keep you posted once we see the bugs. We are hoping the river drops before the bugs start to hatch. The first area that we will see the Salmonflies will be around the Glen Access site.

Mark that calendar for June 10th. Our 2nd Annual Salmonfly Fest will be from 5pm – 9pm on June 10th.  We have music from Smokestack and the Foothill Furry. We have food from Brunchies, and Rollin Bites brick oven Pizza. Beaverhead Brewery will be here, and Rattlesnake Distillery. We have giveaways and raffle items from Patagonia, Winston Rods, Simms Fishing Products, Dirty Water Fly Company, Bauer Reels, Scientific Anglers and much more. 

Sunrise Fly Shop Client Corky with a Big Hole River brown trout

Recommended Flies: #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam; #10 Skwala Stone; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown; #8 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

 

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Beaverhead River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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We are lucky to have the Beaverhead River in our backyard. Unlike the Big Hole, the Beaverhead is running clear below the dam. The tough part is that the river is rising daily. Once they stop raising the flows out of the reservoir and stabilize the river it will fish more consistently. We have been guiding on it daily and some days have been better then others. Today the outflow is 494 cfs, which is a great floating lever. We have done well on nymphs and streamers.

Recommended Flies: #18 Ray Charles; #16 Scud Tan; #18 Zebra Midge; #12 San Juan Worm; #18 Sow Bug Tan/Pink; #18 Micro Mayfly #18 Split Back PMD

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Sunrise Fly Shop

by sunriseflyshop

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We have had some nice warm Summer like weather this past week in Southwest Montana. Today feels more like Spring with cool wet weather. The river has been coming up due to snow melt, which is typically for late May. Clarity still remains at 2 1/2 feet on the banks. We have had more good fishing lately subsurface. Lots of Caddis are hatching but the fish are not crazy about rising to them due to the high flows. Our best fishing has been underneath with streamers and nymphs. Around Glen we have been fishing Salmonfly nymphs with some success. As long as the river doesn’t rise too much, the fishing should stay consistent subsurface. If the flows continue to rise around Melrose it will be difficult to find fishable water due to high flows.

Mark that calendar for June 10th. Our 2nd Annual Salmonfly Fest will be from 5pm – 9pm on June 10th.  We have music from Smokestack and the Foothill Furry. We have food from Brunchies, and Rollin Bites brick oven Pizza. Beaverhead Brewery will be here, and Rattlesnake Distillery. We have giveaways and raffle items from Patagonia, Winston Rods, Simms Fishing Products, Dirty Water Fly Company, Bauer Reels, Scientific Anglers and much more.

Sunrise guide Rutger Wilson getting clients into the big ones this week

Recommended Flies: #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam; #10 Skwala Stone; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown; #8 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

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High water right now on the Big Hole but fishing has been fantastic the last couple of days.

by sunriseflyshop

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High water right now on the Big Hole but fishing has been fantastic the last couple of days. The Big Hole has about 2 1/2 feet of clarity and remains at a stable flow. We have had good fishing from the upper reaches of the Big Hole all the way down to Notch Bottom. If you want to get into lower flowing water then fish above the Wise River on the Big Hole. You will find some bug activity in the afternoons. We have had hatches of Blue Winged Olives, and March Brown mayflies. Our best fishing has been sub-surface with streamers and nymphs. Yellow Zonkers, Yummies, Sparkle Minnows and Sunrise Sculpzilla’s have been our best streamers. Nymph droppers have been San Juan worms, pheasant tails and lightning bugs. We have a good period of fishing before the next bump in flows. Get out there while it remains good.

Recommended Flies: #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam; #10 Skwala Stone; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown; #8 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

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Beaverhead River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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The upper Beaverhead River opened today for the general fishing season in Montana. The outflow from Clark Canyon Reservoir is only 114cfs this morning. the wade anglers are thrilled but the drifters will have a hard time below high Bridge. Not much for hatches right now on the Beaverhead. You will do best with sow bugs, scuds, and midge larva. Traffic will be busy there this weekend but should thin out by the week. If you want that tug from a trophy trout head down to the Beaverhead. If you are looking to take your drift boat on the Beaverhead at these low flows you will find it better to drift on the lower stretches. 

Recommended Flies: #18 Ray Charles; #16 Scud Tan; #18 Zebra Midge; #12 San Juan Worm; #18 Sow Bug Tan/Pink; #18 Micro Mayfly

 

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The upper Big Hole River has leveled off for the last few days.

by sunriseflyshop

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The upper Big Hole River has leveled off for the last few days. We currently have 2 feet of clarity in the river. Our Big Hole River guides are back on the river and we are catching some nice fish lately. Our guides have been fishing the upper Big Hole since it has less water volume and more fishable water at these high flows. The Mother’s Day Caddis have hatched all the way up to East Bank, but the river is currently too high to get the trout to eat on the surface. We have been doing the best subsurface with dead drifted streamers and worms. The trout have been filling up on worms lately. We have had fish puking up worms in our boats when we land fish lately. Some worms have been 5 inches long! Sparkle minnow, yellow yummies, Smoking’ Mirrors and zonkers have been our best streamers. If you are looking to fish high water for some trophy trout, this is the time to be here. Conditions can change if we get increases in flows so please call for the latest update. Here is some information on the 2nd annual Salmonfly Fest. 

Our Client Justin caught this Brown on the Big Hole yesterday

Recommended Flies: #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam; #10 Skwala Stone; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown; #8 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

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Runoff has started on the Big Hole.

by sunriseflyshop

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Runoff has started on the Big Hole. Don’t mark this river off your list but it is going to be tough fishing the next few days due to the increase in water volume. Clarity in the river around Melrose is about 18 inches. We had good reports from yesterday with streamers and nymphs but the river clarity has gotten worse since yesterday. Once the river stops the hard rise we should get some good fishing days in. The Mother’s Day Caddis hatch has started on the lower Big Hole. The Caddis hatch should be starting in the canyon in the next few days. We have reports of blizzarding caddis hatches below Melrose on the Big Hole.

Recommended Flies: #10 Purple Haze; #12 X Caddis; #10 Mr. Beam; #10 Skwala Stone; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown; #8 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail; #12 Caddis Pupa; #6 J.J. Special; #4 Smokin’ Mirrors; #4Mr. Creepo

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