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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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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The Spring Rollercoaster Continues

by sunriseflyshop

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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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S T R E A M E R S !

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The streamer fishing continues to impress all of us.  Even with the bright sunny skies that we have been having, the trout are still eating streamers.  We are still getting fish on San Juan Worms, Chubby Chernobyls, and Pats Rubber Legs, but almost all of the big fish that have been landed in the last couple days have been on streamers.  Warmer weather is forecasted for the next couple days, but then it looks like we are going to return to cooler temperatures with scattered precipitation. 

Below is a nice Brown that was landed yesterday between Fishtrap and East Bank.

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Streamer Season

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The colder weather over the past several days has brought the flows on the Big Hole River down to around 2500cfs and increased the visibility to more than two feet.  This lowering of flows and improvement of the clarity has made for some great spring fishing.  Even though we still haven’t really seen much sign of the Skwallas, the streamer fishing has been really good.  As usual for the Big Hole, yellow has been the hot streamer color, and slow stripping has been the most successful technique.  Below are three  nice fish that one of our clients caught this past weekend.

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On The Drop Again

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After an intense rain storm on Tuesday, the Big Hole River is back on the drop.  The flow has dropped back down to 2600cfs, and the visibility is increased to around 2 feet.  The great streamer fishing that we had been seeing on the upper river should come back as quickly as the river is dropping.  Yellow streamers thrown tight to the bank has produced quite a few fish over 20 inches in the last week.  Most of the anglers have been floating from East Bank to Jerry Creek, but fish are being caught from as high as Fishtrap and as low as Notch.  Cooler weather this weekend should keep the river on the drop and keep the fishing good.

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Streamer Bite

by sunriseflyshop

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We have started the spring-time roller coaster on the Big Hole.  Fishing has picked up for us and we are starting to see some nice fish caught again.  We had a good report below Melrose yesterday and I think it will fish well today.  Clarity is around 2 feet today.  We had two boats up river yesterday and they both did well on streamers.  If you are a streamer junky, now is the time to get out there.  We have been doing well with a moderate to slow strip from the banks.

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Sub Surface Action

by sunriseflyshop

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Fishing had been good but the reports from today have not been so good.  We had a bump in flows last night and yesterday.  The Big Hole is dropping again but the push of water last night reduced visibility in the river.  We are looking at around 18 inches of visibility.  I would stick to subsurface tactics right now.  Dead drifting streamers and Pat’s Stones will be your best option right now. As conditions improve we will let you know.

Guide Boats lined up at the shop ready to take clients fishing. Have you booked your Spring Special yet?

Flies: #8 Mr. Beam; #10 Bullet Head Skwala; #8 Rogue River Skwala  #8 San Juan Worm; #10 Pat’s Stone Olive/Brown: #8 RL Stone; #18 Zebra Midge; #6 J.J. Special #4 Coffey Bugger; #4 Bad Boy #4 Yellow Zonker

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Perfect Spring Conditions

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The Big Hole River is in prime condition and is fishing amazingly well.  Even though we haven’t seen a lot of adult Skwallas, the fish are looking up and eating Skwalla patterns on the surface.  And if you are willing to drop a nymph off of your dry fly, the action becomes even more intense.  If that wasn’t enough, fish are also chasing yellow and brown streamers.  Spring fishing couldn’t be better!

Below is a fish that our client Woody caught yesterday.

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