Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch

by sunriseflyshop

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It’s been a busy weekend on the Big Hole. We are experiencing the most Salmonflies we have seen in about 10 years on the Big Hole. Currently the hatch is on the entire River. Some of our best dry fly fishing has been from Jerry Creek down to Melrose. Our best dry fly fishing has been in the morning and late afternoon. You will find Salmonflies, Golden Stones, Yellow Sallies and Caddis hatching right now. Flows have been dropping and water conditions are ideal right now for dry fly fishing. During the middle of the week you will find the river traffic to be much more pleasant. It is time to throw the big bugs and hold on tight. Our Big Hole River guides have been catching clients some very nice fish lately.

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They’re Here

by sunriseflyshop

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Early reports from today are that Salmonflies are flying between Maiden Rock and Brownes Bridge.  From what we are hearing, it sounds like there are a lot of bugs in the air and that the fish are really starting to key in on them.

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The Salmonfly Hatch is Here!

by sunriseflyshop

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It is still in the early stage of the hatch, but we have seen a lot of shucks in the willows and saw a few of the Big Bugs flying.  With the weather warming up over the next several days, Salmonflies should really be flying by this weekend.  Most of the fish that we have caught over the last few days have still been on the Salmonfly nymph, but we are getting a few nice fish to come up and eat the dry.  It really feels like the fish are starting to look up, and the fishing this weekend should be great.

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Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch Update

by sunriseflyshop

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Fishing has remained pretty good on the Big Hole during these rainy days of June. The water is up a bit today but that will not affect your fishing. Clarity remains good and the Salmonfly nymphs are moving around. We spotted about 10 Salmonfly shucks at Brownes bridge this morning. It is still early but a few Salmonflies are crawling and hatching on the lower Big Hole. Some warm and sunny weather will get the bugs flying around once they hatch. Right now dropping a #4 Pat’s Stone has been working very well.

Flies: #6 Chubby, #12 Purple Haze #4Pat’s Stone Orange/Brown #8 San Juan Worm, Bellyache Minnoe Olive #8 Sparkle Minnow, #4 Yellow/Black Beldar; #4 Smoke N’ Mirrors #6 Yellow Zonker #10  #6 Bad Boy

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Waiting for Salmonflies

by sunriseflyshop

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Tomorrow marks the first day of June and we are gearing up for the Salmonfly hatch on the Big Hole River. We are going to have great flows and clarity for the Salmonfly hatch this year. Currently, we are near average flows for this date in time at the Melrose gauge. We do not have any Salmonflies on the lower Big Hole River but they should start hatching soon. We have had great nymph fishing on #4 Pat’s Stoneflies which means the fish are keying into the Salmonfly nymph as the nymphs are moving closer to the banks. The Salmonflies will start to hatch around Glen. We will let you know when we first see these bugs. Fishing remains good on the upper Big Hole and throughout the entire river system. Clarity remains good and flows are currently stable.

Flies: #10 Chubby, #12 Purple Haze #4Pat’s Stone Orange/Brown #8 San Juan Worm, Bellyache Minnoe Olive #8 Sparkle Minnow, #4 Yellow/Black Beldar; #4 Smoke N’ Mirrors #6 Yellow Zonker #10  #6 Bad Boy

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Beaverhead River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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The Beaverhead River has been fishing well. Outflows from Clark Canyon Reservoir remain low. The outflow is currently 243cfs. You will have easy wade fishing right now on the upper Beaverhead. Nymph fishing has been the main recipe for flies. The Beaverhead River is running clear down to where Grasshopper Creek dumps into the River.

Flies #16 Ray Charles Soft Hackle, #16 Tan Scud, #18 RS2, #16 Sow Bug Tan/Pink, #18 Olive Split Back, #10 San Juan Worm, #18 Barrs Emerger #16 RS2 

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So Moist

by sunriseflyshop

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Click here to change this textaDamp, Wet, Moist, Soaked…However you want to describe it, that is how it has felt.  With the rain that we have seen in the last two weeks, it has felt more like the Pacific Northwest than the High Plaines Desert of Southwest Montana.  Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t complaining.  This rain is helping make up of the below-average snowpack that we received over the winter.  

What has all of this precipitation done for the fishing? It has been great for the fishing.  The river is around 3500cfs and the banks are full, and with those banks saturated from all the recent rains, the river is full of worms.  So while we wait for the Salmonfly hatch, we can continue to enjoy great subsurface fishing with San Juan Worms, Stonefly Nymphs, and Streamers

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Dropping and Clearing

by sunriseflyshop

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After the heavy rains that we got last week, the river is finally dropping and clearing.  The visibility around the Salmon Fly fishing access is about 2 feet, and even better than that if you get above the Wise River.  The fishing has been really good over the last couple days.  We have still been using dry dropper rigs on the upper river with Pat’s Rubber Legs, Pheasant Tails, and San Juan Worms.  From Jerry Creek down, the Caddis and March Browns are hatching with more consistency and the dry fly fishing had been pretty good.

Here is a nice brown that Pete got near Fishtrap FAS

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The rain we have had the last 48 hours has brought the river on the rise.

by sunriseflyshop

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The rain we have had the last 48 hours has brought the river on the rise. We had a fantastic day on the upper Big Hole yesterday. The clarity remains at about 18 inches on the upper Big Hole above the Wise River. The clarity here around Melrose is only about 6 inches. The Big Hole will fish above the Wise River today but I would stay off the Big Hole below the Wise River unless you just want a fast boat ride. We had the most success for large fish yesterday on San Juan Worms and streamers. It should be another big fish day on the upper Big Hole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelvin with a long overdue monster on the upper Big Hole

Flies: #10 Chubby, #12 Purple Haze #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green #8 San Juan Worm, Bellyache Minnoe Olive #8 Sparkle Minnow, #4 Yellow/Black Beldar; #4 Smoke N’ Mirrors #6 Yellow Zonker #10  #6 Bad Boy

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The moist wet weather continues in Southwest Montana.

by sunriseflyshop

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The moist wet weather continues in Southwest Montana. We are receiving some much needed rain to saturate the ground. Our Big Hole River guides have had fantastic fishing lately. This is the Big Hole River fishing report you have been waiting for. The large brown trout have been eating well during this wet cycle. You will find caddis hatching on the Big Hole from Jerry creek down stream. We have had March Brown hatches above the Wise River in the afternoons. Streamers have been working well for large brown’s on the upper Big Hole. The river is on the rise but don’t let that fool you. The large brown trout have moved to the banks as they are snacking on worms, and sculpins with the increase of flow. The river has 2 feet of visibility and now is the time to search for the large brown trout the Big Hole is famous for.

Brant with a nice Big Hole Brown

Flies: #10 Chubby, #12 Purple Haze #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green #8 San Juan Worm, Bellyache Minnoe Olive #8 Sparkle Minnow, #4 Yellow/Black Beldar; #4 Smoke N’ Mirrors #6 Yellow Zonker #10  #6 Bad Boy

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