Feels like winter but it’s Spring!

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It’s been a snowy cold start to spring in Southwest Montana. Even though the birds are churping and the days are getting longer, the guides on the rods are frozen some days and you still see the flakes of snow falling from the sky at times. We are not finding Skwallas hatching yet on the lower Big Hole. We have been throwing streamers and nymphs with some success lately. The floats we have been doing have all been on the stretches below Melrose. It is a little warmer on the stretches of river below Melrose. Water temperatures have been in the 30’s and some days creep into the 40’s, which turns on the fishing. A few ice shelves are still around but the lower Big Hole is shaping up and the fishing will be improving as things warm up to spring conditions. A bit of ice around the boat launches but we have been using Salmonfly, Brownes Bridge access and Glen lately.

Spring Special guided fishing details are here. Packages starting at $595 per person 

Recommended Flies: #10 Pat’s Stone (olive/Brown) #8 San Juan Worm (Red/Wine/Pink) #18 Zebra Midge; #6 Flash Minnow Olive; #4 Smokin’ Mirror’s J.J.; #6 Mr. Creepo Natural

Dan Soltau with a streamer eater from late last week on the Big Hole

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Even though is is officially still winter the days ….

by sunriseflyshop

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Even though is is officially still winter the days are getting longer and spring will be here soon. It has been a good winter in the Big Hole valley as far as snow is concerned. Many of the drainages are sitting around 130% of snowpack for this date in time. We will know more how our summer flows will be based on how the snowmelt occurs and spring rain/snow events. The current conditions on the Big Hole are rather winter like. Around Melrose we still have shelf ice and ice jams. The weather looks like it is gradually warming later this week. As soon as the ice melts around Melrose and south of Melrose we will start fishing. Check back for fishing reports. As soon as we hit the water we will let you know. We are all itching for some Skwala hatch fishing next month.

It’s time to start thinking about spring fishing. We have our annual Spring Special packages starting @ $595. Click here for details.

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After a week of really warm weather

by sunriseflyshop

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After a week of really warm weather, we were hit with a very powerful winter storm on Monday and Tuesday that brought several inches of snow to the upper river and below-freezing temp to the entire valley.  The drop in temperature helped to stop the increase in flow that we had been seeing because of the melting snowpack caused by the record-breaking temps.  During the last few days we have seen decent fishing, but now that the river has crested, the clarity is back to around 2 feet, and overcast skies in the forecast, we should really start to see the fishing take off.  Expect Streamers, San Juan Worms, and Stone Fly Nymphs to be your best flies. Caddis are hatching from Dewey all the way down to the Notch. The fish are not eating the adults since we have too much flow along the banks.  As the water temp increases over the next several days, we will probably see the start of the Mother’s Day Caddis Hatch on the upper river. 

Recommended Flies : #6 San Juan Worm; #12 Pheasant Tail #12 Prince Nymph; #10 Pat’s Stone Brown/Green; #10 Mr. Beam Skwala #10 Bullet Head Skwala #8 J.J. Special #10 Sparkle Minnow; #4 Sunrise Sculpzilla  #6 Yellow Zonker

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Big Hole River Spring Update

by sunriseflyshop

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Warm weather on tap today.  It is supposed to hit 70 degrees this afternoon.  After the cold week and the warm weather for the next few days the Skwala nymphs should start moving towards the banks.  We have gotten some dumb fish on top with Skwalas but it is still early.  We have been fishing dry dropper rigs all week and we have done very well on the Pat’s stone dropper and worm as a dropper.  Occasionally we have had eats on top but we are still not in full swing on the Big Hole River skwala hatch.  Your best window of opportunity right now is from about 11:00 am till 5:00 pm.  Streamers have also been working for our Big Hole River guides.  You will need to dead drift the streamers for your best results since the water is in the upper 30’s to lower 40’s.  Flows are stable at the moment and the visibility is around 2 1/2 feet.

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Earlier this week the ice broke off the entire upper Big Hole River.

by sunriseflyshop

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Earlier this week the ice broke off the entire upper Big Hole River. We are currently in the clearing process and the river is dropping from the ice flow. Water temperatures are starting the day around 37 degrees and warming to about 42 degrees. We currently have 2 feet of visibility in the Melrose area.  We fished yesterday and it was ok, not great.  We boated about a dozen fish in 5 hours.  We have a Big Hole River guide boat out today so we will let you know how the river improves.  All sub surface fishing right now on the Big Hole.  Our best bug yesterday was a red San Juan worm and a yellow yummy streamer dead drifted tight to the banks.

Check out our Spring Special Package Rates

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Big Hole Spring Fishing Special

by sunriseflyshop

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It is time to shake off the cabin fever and enjoy some Big Hole River spring fishing. Our season kicks off soon and our Big Hole River guides are ready to take you fishing.  We will have hatches of Skwala stoneflies, and Blue Winged Olives in April and May.  Every year some of our largest fish are caught in April and May.  Timing of the Skwala hatch on the Big Hole is from April 1st – May 15th.  Spring is a time of change, so you have to monitor river flows, temperatures, and weather conditions to catch the elusive Skwala.  Experiencing a fly fishing vacation in Montana to catch this hatch is not to be missed.  This is a great time to experience trout feeding with fury, as they eat their first stoneflies of the season.

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We made it back from our hosted trip to Patagonia River guides.

by sunriseflyshop

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We made it back from our hosted trip to Patagonia River guides. We will be getting some photos up here soon to share our amazing moments down south. March is here and with it has come a winter storm.  We are having heavy snow in the Big Hole Valley tonight and we will have sub zero weather following the storm. We had a very mild February in Southwest Montana but we are lucky to have a snowpack hovering at 100%. Typically our high country in March and early April receives some of the heaviest snow of the winter season. Eric was up in Wisdom yesterday and the Big Hole is still frozen above Dickey Bridge.  Most of the ice is off the river below Dickey Bridge but we are having slush ice daily from the overnight low temperatures. Our Big Hole River guides are dreaming about the days in April when we get to throw Skwala dry flies to eager brown trout.  The Spring fishing on the Big Hole is coming soon.

Check out our Spring Special Discount Packages    

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