Beaverhead River Winter Update

The Beaverhead River can be a great refuge for winter fishing. From Pipe Organ Bridge down to Barretts park you can fish in the winter season. Anglers must remember that from the Dam down to Pipe Organ Bridge is closed to fishing until the 3rd Saturday of May. You can find hatches of midges on warmer days and a few trout siping on the surface in areas of the river during the heat of the day. For the most part nymph fishing is the ticket right now on the stretches below Pipe Organ Bridge. You can also have some luck pulling streamers in the deeper pools and moving them very slow on the bottom of the river. Our best nymphs have been #10 San Juan worms, #16 shop vac, #18 micro may, and zebra midges. When you are nymphing make sure you find the slow tail outs of the runs in the deeper buckets. Once you find fish you should have a pile of them.

Spring season will be here before you know it. We are offering our annual spring special from April 1st – May 15th. Enjoy discounted package lodging/fishing with us and fantastic Spring fishing. Some of our weekends are filling up but we still have availability for the special rates. We are expecting more winter and plenty of snow the next two months. We will keep you updated on the Beaverhead River winter fishing season.

Montana Snowpack Update

We have your Montana snowpack update as we enter the middle of the winter season. It was a brisk -15 degrees here this morning but it looks like temperatures will get back into the 20’s in a few days. The Montana snowpack is much better this year compared to last year at this time. The Big Hole and Beaverhead drainage is sitting at 80% of normal snow water equivalent at this time. We still have 90 more days until our snowpack has peaked, so plenty of winter left to increase our percentages. It is still too early to predict streamflows for the spring and summer season. We usually will know streamflows for the spring in summer once April comes around. Updates will be coming from us throughout the winter and spring season as the snow piles up for outdoor enthusiasts.

We are looking towards a great 2025 fishing season. Fish health this past fall was found to be fantastic in the brown trout and rainbow trout in the Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers. We will start our season April 1st with our Spring Special. This year we are taking the Spring Special through May 15th. You will find great dry fly fishing opportunities in the Spring season. Hatches of Skwallas and Blue Winged Olives will dominate the menu for trout. Spring packages are 15% our regular season rates. Book your trip today.

Job Position Available:

Sunrise Fly Shop Manager Position:

Sunrise Fly Shop is searching for a qualified and hard working individual to manage our fly shop. This is a fun environment filled with passion for fly fishing on the legendary Big Hole River in Melrose, Montana.

  • Manage marketing and growth of online store.
  • Inventory accuracy and order fulfillment
  • Social Media Marketing and email marketing
  • Manage, promote, and grow Sunrise Fly Shop’s social media
  • Inventory management and inventory accuracy
  • Weekly email news blasts highlighting online store, sales, and guide trips and fishing reports
  • Help facilitate the accurate and efficient completion of all the day’s shuttles.
  • Communicate with clients via email and telephone to book both guided trips and lodging
  • Manage the stocking of merchandise and organize the backstock and back rooms
  • Contact all clients that will be checking in within the next 24 hours and ensure that they have all the – logistical information that they might need for their upcoming trip

To apply email resume to: [email protected]

Big Hole River Fishing Report

The Big Hole River fishing report has been pretty good lately for our guides and general public anglers. We have over 55 miles of open fishable water on the Big Hole right now. The Big Hole is open from Dickey Bridge down to Notch Bottom(Tony Shoonen Fishing Access). Hoot Owl Restrictions have been lifted on this section. You can fish all day and all evening from Dickey Bridge down to the Lower Maiden Rock (FWP). On the Big Hole you will find trico’s, hoppers and a few spruce moth’s still around. Nymphing has been solid with Spanish bullett’s, psycho mayflies and pat’s rubber legs. We have seen some very nice brown trout caught lately on the river. Hoppers and a nymph dropper has been the ticket to stay hooked up after the trico’s hatch in the morning.

Recommended Flies:

  • #8 Plan B (peach)
  • #10 Chubby Chernobyl Pink
  • #18 Trico Spinner
  • #18 Trico Comparadun
  • #18 Purple Craze
  • #16 Spanish Bullet Olive

Sections 3 and 4 of the Big Hole River Have Reopened

The USGS recalibrated the Glen gauge on Monday, August 5 and it was determined that the gauge was reading lower than the actual flow of the river. Because of this, FWP announced on August 6 that sections 3 and 4 of the Big Hole Rive are open again. This means that you can fish sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Big Hole River. These three sections are still under Hoot Owl Restrictions, meaning you can fish the river from Midnight until 2:00pm every day. With the river opening, our fly shop will be open again starting Wednesday, August 7 at 7:00am.

Full fishing closures are still in effect for both Sections 1 and 5 of the Big Hole.

Full Fishing closure is in effect for the following section of the Big Hole River beginning August 1

  • Section 5: Tony Schoonen FAS (aka Notch) to confluence with Beaverhead River

Flows have gradually decreased since hoot owl restrictions were put in place in early July and dropped below 100 cfs on the morning of August 1, 2024.

The Big Hole River has a drought management plan that is overseen by the Big Hole Watershed Committee and calls for a full closure of Section V when flows drop below 100 cfs.

Fishing closure is in effect for the following section of the Big Hole River beginning August 7

  • Section 1: ​​Saginaw Bridge on Skinner Meadows Road to the confluence with North Fork of the Big Hole River

​​Flows and water temperatures in Section 1 are measured at USGS gage 06024450 near Wisdom.​ 

​​Flows have gradually decreased since hoot owl restrictions were put in place in early July and dropped below 20 cfs on August 2, 2024. Flows have since fluctuated between 15 and 24 cfs.​ 

​​The Big Hole River has a drought management plan that is overseen by the Big Hole Watershed Committee and calls for a full closure of Section I when flows drop below 20 cfs. FWP staff visited the site last week to confirm the gage was providing accurate measurements. At the time, the gage was reading 46 cfs and staff measured closer to 35 cfs, so there’s a high likelihood that flows are lower than being reported.​ 

Big Hole River Spruce Moth Hatch

The Big Hole River Spruce Moth hatch has started and the dry fly fishing is fantastic. You will find Spruce Moth’s from Jerry Creek down to Maiden Rock. We also have Trico’s hatching river wide. You will find the trico spinner fall from 9:30 am till about 10:30 am daily. We are expecting a bit of a cool down in air temperatures, which is a welcoming for us all. Our best fishing has been in the riffles and tail outs.

The Fly Shop is Open 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Hoot Owl fishing restrictions (2:00 p.m. – Midnight ) has been implemented on the entire Big Hole River. This means you can’t t fish from 2:00 p.m. till Midnight. We have been sending out our guide boats in the early morning hours. New Shop hours are 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 7 days a week. Hopefully this current heat wave ends soon.

Recommended Flies:

  • Spruce Moth #12
  • Bloom’s Spruce #12
  • Chubby Chernobyl #10 Tan/Pink
  • Purple Craze #18
  • Trico Spinner #18
  • Spanish Bullet Black #16
  • Thread Frenchie #16
  • Mini Loop Sculpin #6 Olive
  • Lil’ Kim #6

Beaverhead River Fishing Report

The Beaverhead River fishing report is fantastic lately. We have hatches of PMD’s, caddis, yellow sallies and some golden stones. Our guides have been doing very well from the dam down to Barretts. You will find fish up eating PMD’s and yellow sallies throughout the day. Nymph anglers have been hanging fish very well on PMD nymphs and yellow sally nymphs. This is the month to hit the Beaverhead river for the best dry fly activity of the year. We currently have guides open this month if you want to see this river in prime form.

Hoot Owl (2:00 p.m. – Midnight ) Fishing restrictions have been implemented on part of the Beaverhead River. From HWY 41 near East Bench Road to it’s confluence with the Big Hole River is on Hoot Owl Restrictions. This is not the section that we fish regularly. From the Dam down to Barretts park is open with no restrictions.

Recommended Flies:

  • #18 Split Back PMD Black
  • #16 Spanish bullet Yellow
  • #18 Mahen PMD
  • #16 Psycho May PMD
  • #16 Comparadun PMD
  • #10 Chubby Golden

Big Hole River Fishing Report

The Big Hole River fishing report remains pretty good. We have had dry fly fishing in the morning and solid nymphing and streamer fishing in the early afternoons. You will find hatches of PMD’s, caddis, yellow sallies and nocturnal stoneflies. Our best fishing has been in the shallow riffles and faster moving water. Please be looking out for water temperatures in the late afternoon and evening hours. If water temperatures exceed 68 degrees we recommend giving the trout a break. The best fishing has been from Jerry Creek down to the Melrose area.

Hoot Owl fishing restrictions (2:00 p.m. – Midnight ) has been implemented on the entire Big Hole River. This means you can’t t fish from 2:00 p.m. till Midnight. We have been sending out our guide boats in the early morning hours. New Shop hours are 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 7 days a week. Hopefully this current heat wave ends soon.

Recommended Flies:

  • #16 Spanish Bullet Brown
  • #16 Jig Napoleon Yellow
  • #10 Chubby Chernobyl tan/yellow
  • #16 Purple Haze
  • #12 Yellow Sally
  • #14 Bloom’s Caddis
  • #6 Lil’ Kim Olive
  • #6 Mini Loop Sculpin

Skwala Tour De West on The Big Hole

The Skwala Tour De West is coming to Sunrise Fly Shop on July 2nd from 4:00pm – 7:00pm. You can check out the Skwala gear, information on TroutRoutes and an enjoyable time filled with food and beverages. This event is welcomed to all anglers and we want to hear your fishing stories. We are thrilled to have Erik Johnsen hosting this event and we look forward to seeing you here.

Fishing has been fantastic on the Big Hole lately. We have golden stones, nocturnal stones, PMD’s, Caddis and Yellow Sallies hatching on the river. We have been fishing the canyon stretches and lower stretches of the Big Hole River. Streamers have also been good in the morning hours and evenings. You will find swarms of caddis in the evenings.

Recommended Flies:

  • Chubby Chernobyl #10 olive/gold/tan
  • Head Light Sally #12
  • Purple Haze #12
  • Jig Duracel #12 tan
  • X Caddis #12

Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch Update

The Big Hole River salmonfly hatch continues to move up stream. We are seeing the bugs all the way above the Wise River on the Big Hole. Fishing has been great during the middle of the day when the Salmonflies have been landing on the water. You will find golden stones as well on the water and PMD’s. We have seen some amazing fish getting caught this week and it should continue into next week. The river clarity is around 3 feet and the dropping flows will make for some perfect river conditions. We are finding the thickest part of the hatch right now from Jerry Creek down to Maiden Rock. Below Melrose you will find PMD’s, caddis, yellow sallies and golden stones hatching.

Recommended Flies:

  • #6 Cat Puke
  • #6 Trinas Carnage Salmonfly
  • #6 Chubby Norman
  • #6 Chubby Chernobyl Purple
  • #6 pat’s stone black
  • #6 Dungeon Black
  • #6 Lil’ Kim

Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch

The Big Hole River Salmonfly Hatch is here! We are seeing the adult Salmonflies from above Melrose down to Glen. Within the next few days you will find Salmonflies around Maiden Rock and Divide. It’s that time of the year to throw the large dries and hold on tight for a massive brown trout. Flows remain stable on the river and clarity has been excellent. Everything is lining up to be a spectacular week to be on the Big Hole River. We will keep you updated throughout the hatch. Always feel free to call with the most up to date fishing report. (406) 835-3474.

Shop hours are 7:00 am – 6:00 pm 7 days a week.

Recommended Flies:

  • #6 Cat Puke
  • #6 Trinas Carnage Salmonfly
  • #6 Chubby Norman
  • #6 Chubby Chernobyl Purple
  • #6 pat’s stone black
  • #6 Dungeon Black
  • #6 Lil’ Kim