Salmonfly Hatch is Coming Soon

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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

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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

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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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The Big Hole is on the drop river wide.

by sunriseflyshop

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The Big Hole is on the drop river wide.  It is amazing how this river comes into fishing shape quickly.  We have 2 feet of visibility on the upper river and about 18 inches of visibility here in Melrose.  I think it will flat out fish today.  We will be heading to the upper Big Hole to get above the large volume of water.  Streamers and worms will be the ticket today for the big boys.  We will let you know how it goes. Caddis are as far up as Glen right now.

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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Big Hole River Montana Fishing Report

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Up up and away goes the hydrologic graph.  The entire Big Hole River is not going to fish well today.  You are much better off sitting in front of your vise and tying flies than fishing today.  All of the gauges on the river are increasing in flow.  Once the upper river stabilizes the fishing will be good again.  Clarity is not as much of an issue above the Wise River as increasing flows.  Once we get a break from the runoff and rain we will let you know.  Our Big Hole River fishing report changes daily this time of year since we are in runoff.  The Big Hole is a unique river since it does not muddy up as bad as other freestone rivers during runoff.  We will be fishing again once the flows stabilize.  Check back with us as we will let you know once it is time to get the boat back on the Big Hole.

A nice upper Big Hole brown

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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Caddis are on the Big Hole

by sunriseflyshop

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The caddis have popped on the lower Big Hole.  We have seen them as far up as Notch bottom.  We also have March Brown mayflies hatching and blue winged olives.  With the clouds out today it should be an excellent day and the fish will be looking up.  It is also a good day to be throwing streamers with the cloud cover.  All around it is going to be a great day out there.  Get some before the blow out comes and believe me it’s coming.

Doubled up Clients

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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The Spring Rollercoaster Continues

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As we enter another pattern of colder and wetter weather, the Big Hole River is again on the drop and river temperatures are creeping back down into the low 40’s.  The fish have still been very active chasing streamers, but with water temps dropping we might see slower fishing in the mornings.  The forecasted high for the next 5 days ranges from 45 to 55 degrees, which should be sufficient to keep the river warm enough to continue the phenomenal streamer fishing we have been seeing.  The benefit of the cold and wet weather system that we are going to see this weekend is that it will bring with it overcast skies, which will also help continue good streamer fishing.

Below are a couple photos from Lou’s guided trip on Tuesday.

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Here We Go Again

by sunriseflyshop

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After hitting 70 degrees in Melrose yesterday, the Big Hole is on the rise again.  It looks like the weather is going to cool off again on Sunday, but for right now we are going to have to deal with another push of water.  As soon as our guides get back to the shop this afternoon, we will update this report with a more detailed fishing report.

*UPDATE* 6:30 pm

The river has lost a fair amount of visibility.  In Melrose, the clarity is down to about 18 inches.  The river above the Wise River has 24 to 30 inches, and from the reports we are hearing the upper river fished much better than the lower and middle sections of the river.  A Red San Juan Worm and a Large Black Pats Rubber Leg were the best flies today.

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