BIg Hole River Salmonfly Hatch Update

by sunriseflyshop

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Just got our first morning report today of the Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch.  Fantastic fishing from lower Maiden Rock (FWP) to Brownes bridge.  We have salmonflies from Glen all the way up past Melrose.  We do not have a report of any adult Salmonflies in the Maiden Rock Canyon yet or the Dewey Canyon.  We have been throwing the Salmonfly dry with a Pat’s Stone nymph below it.  Some of our best patterns lately has been the Cat Puke, and Mutant Stone.

Flies: #4 Cat Puke, #4 Rogue Stone, #4 Fluttering Stone, #10 Purple Haze  #8 Chubby Chernobyl black/gold#10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #8 San Juan Worm; #4 Pat’s Stone orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Salmonfly Hatch

by sunriseflyshop

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The Salmonfly Hatch started yesterday.  We had two guides float from Melrose to Glen, and both boats saw several adults flying, saw a lot of shucks in the grass and willows, and had great fishing.  They threw a Salmonfly Dry on top with a Stonefly Nymph dropper and had moderate success on the dry, and phenomenal fishing with the dropper.

We also had two guides go up river yesterday.  They didn’t see any Salmonfly Adults flying, but they too had good fishing.  The guides that went up river did not have as much success on dry flies, but they too caught fish on Stonefly Nymphs.

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They’er Here

by sunriseflyshop

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The Salmonfly hatch has started.  I just got calls from our guides out on the water today, and they said that the Salmonflies are flying between Browne’s Bridge and Glen.  The report is that Salmonfly Dries and Pats Rubber Legs are working really well on the river.  We will post more info when the guides return to the shop tonight.

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Big Hole River Salmonfly Waiting Game

by sunriseflyshop

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Conditions are perfect for the Salmonflies to pop but we have not seen any of the big bugs yet.  We are looking every morning before we open the shop at the bridges and willows to see if we spot any Salmonfly shucks.  The river is dropping and the clarity is about 3 feet with the perfect tea color tint that the Big Hole carries this time of year.  We have been doing very well on the lower Big Hole with Salmonfly nymphs…hmmm that means they should hatch any day now.  Get ready to race over here because the hatch is almost ready to pop.  We will keep you up to date once we spot some Salmonflies.  The entire Big Hole has been fishing very well on streamers and nymphs with the occasional big fish eating the dry fly.  It should be a great Big Hole River Salmonfly hatch this year.

Flies: #10 Purple Haze  #8 Chubby Chernobyl black/gold#10 Rocky Mountain Mint, #8 San Juan Worm; #4 Pat’s Stone orange/brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Beaverhead River Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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Flows have increased out of Clark Canyon Reservoir.  We now have a flow of 520cfs out of the dam.  The water is still pretty cold so the hatches have not started up near the dam.  We have been manly nymphing on the Beaverhead River.  The fish have been actively eating and we have seen some nice ones to start the month.  We have been staying above Grasshopper Creek.  The Beaverhead River fishing report has been consistent lately and the fishing is improving with the increase in flows out of the reservoir.

Flies: #18 Split Back, #16 Soft Hackle Sow Bug, #18 Pink Ray Charles, #10 San Juan Worm, #18 Micro Mayfly, #4 Black Sculpzilla, #6 Sparkle Minnow,

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Salmonfly Hatch is Coming Soon

by sunriseflyshop

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As one of the best springs we have ever seen came to an end, we were hopeful that the trend of great fishing would continue into June.  After less than a week into the month, I think that it is safe to say that June is picking up right where May left off.  The upper Big Hole is still fishing extremely well.  A San Juan Worm dropped below a stonefly dry fly has been our most successful combination.

The lower Big Hole has dropped quite a bit, and it too is fishing well.  Stonefly Nymphs, San Juan Worms, and Yellow Streamers have been the most successful flies below Divide this week.

The Salmonfly Hatch should be just around the corner.  We haven’t seen any Adults crawling yet, but it could start any day now.  As soon as it starts, we will let you know.

If you are concerned about not having enough Salmonfly patterns in your box, don’t worry.  We have more than 30 different Salmonfly Patterns in stock here at the Sunrise Fly Shop.

Below are a few fish that were caught in the first 5 days of June.

 

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What an amazing Spring

by sunriseflyshop

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As May comes to a close, we just wanted to take a look back at some of the fish that were caught in the last 6 weeks.  By no means is this all of the big fish that were landed, but it is a nice representation of the kind of Spring we have had on the Big Hole.  To all of you who fished with us this Spring – Thank You.  To all of you that thought about it, but didn’t make it out for a guided trip this Spring – You can book your Spring 2015 trip NOW!

For those of you looking for an actual fishing report – The Big Hole is still fishing very well up high, but now it looks like the middle and lower sections of the river are fishable again.  The flow is down below 7000cfs in Melrose, the water temps are in the mid 50’s, and the river is still dropping.  With cloudy weather in the forecast for the next several days, the streamer fishing in the canyon and the lower river should be good.

The River is still running extremely high and floating the river at these flows can be extremely dangerous.  If you choose to float the Big Hole, Please float with extreme caution.

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Jurassic Park

by sunriseflyshop

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After the last six weeks of spectacular fishing, we have decided to start calling the Upper Big Hole “Jurassic Park”.  We can’t remember ever having a Big Fish year quite like this one.  In the last month, our clients have caught more fish over 23 inches than our clients caught all of last year.

The clarity at Mudd Creek is more than two feet, the water temperature is in the mid 50’s, and the big fish are still tight to the banks.  We are still slow stripping streamers or using a dry dropper with a San Juan Worm and having great success.

The lower Big Hole is still at flood stage, so we are recommending only floating the Upper Big Hole.  Regardless of where you float, please float with caution.

Below are two fish Graham Butler caught yesterday. What a way to wrap up a four day fishing trip on the Big Hole River. Jurassic Park!

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The Big Hole is Getting Bigger

by sunriseflyshop

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Well, it looks like runoff is officially here.  At 9:00 on Memorial Day, the Big Hole in Melrose was at 7800 cfs. But even though the lower river is unfishable, the upper reaches of the river are still looking good.  We fished from Mudd Creek to East Bank yesterday and had a very respectable day.  The visibility at Mudd Creek was more than two feet and the flow was very manageable.  We caught several fish over 20 inches slow stripping a Coffee Bugger with a red San Juan worm trailer.

It is important to note that we do not recommend floating on the Big Hole River below the Wise River.  The river in Melrose is approaching flood stage, and floating the Big Hole at these flows can be very dangerous.  If you choose to fish the Big Hole, please float with caution.

Below are two of the nice Browns the Bob and his son Grahm caught yesterday on their float from Mudd Creek to East Bank

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Big Hole River Montana Fishing Report

by sunriseflyshop

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The upper Big Hole River continues to drop and the fishing yesterday was stellar.  It should be another great day on the upper Big Hole. Clarity is around 2 feet up there and once you get above the Wise River and Deep Creek the volume of water decreases and your prospecting on the banks becomes very manageable at these high flows.  We have caddis hatching in the Melrose section but flows are rather high for any dry fly fishing. Streamers and San Juan worms has been producing the best fishing on the upper Big Hole River.  Flows at the Mudd Creek gauge continue to drop and the fishing will remain good up there until the next bump in flows.  Our Big Hole River guides continue to produce huge brown trout this spring.

Our Client Larry with a wonderful Big Hole Brown caught yesterday

Flies: #12 Elk Hair Caddis #12 CDC Caddis #10 Purple Haze #10 Rocky Mountain Mint #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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