Category: 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

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.​ 

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

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

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

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

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

The Big Hole River continues to fish very well during this late May runoff timeframe due to prime water conditions. You will find some caddis still hatching from Jerry Creek down to Divide. We have had some good dry fly activity with caddis. Streamers have been doing well stripped off the banks and finding the slower pockets along the fast water edges of the riffles. From Melrose down to Notch in the afternoon hours the stonefly nymphing has been fantastic. Water conditions continue to be good but can change quickly if air temperatures get high and snowmelt occurs. Feel free to call with the most up to date conditions (406) 835-3474.

Recommended Flies:

• #4 Lil’ Kim Olive
• # Dungeon Black
• #6 Barely Legal Olive
• #8 Pat’s Stone Black
• #12 Jig Hot Spot

The Big Hole River clarity remains around 3 feet and the fishing has been good. We had a slight bump in flows due to valley snow, but the river is already on the drop and it fished well during the bump yesterday. Fishing will remain good unless we get a massive increase in flows. The holiday weekend fishing should fantastic. The streamer anglers have done well this week and the nymph fisherman are also producing nice fish. Olive seems to be the color of choice for streamers and you will want to move them slowly off the banks. Caddis are out from Maiden Rock up to East bank on the warmer days. Dry fly fishing on caddis should get going this weekend with the warmer temperatures. Enjoy the holiday weekend and be safe out there.

Recommended Flies:

• #4 Lil’ Kim Olive
• # Dungeon Black
• #6 Barely Legal Olive
• #8 Pat’s Stone Black
• #12 Jig Hot Spot

The Big Hole Mother’s Day Caddis hatch has started on the lower Big Hole River. We are seeing the caddis from the mouth of the river all the way up to Melrose. Above Melrose you can still find some March brown mayflies and blue winged olives. The river is entering the runoff time period. We are having some high elevation snowmelt due to the warm weather the last few days. Since the river is on the rise fishing might be tough this week. We are currently seeing about 3 feet of visibility on the edges of the river. Since conditions can change daily, we suggest calling us for the most up to date report. A dropping hydrographic usually means better fishing, but sometimes the Big Hole can fish great even with runoff pushing the hydrograph up. Streamers fishing has been active in the afternoons. We are seeing fish moving towards yellow/brown streamers and natural colors.

Recommend Flies:

• #12 Bloom’s Caddis Natural/Olive
• #12 Flambe Caddis tan
• #10 Chubby Chernobyl Olive
• #12 Jig Duracel
• #12 Blowtorch
• #10 Pat’s Rubber Leg
• #6 Barely Legal
• #6 Sparkle Minnow Sculpin